Ok, I said would upload the next chapter for Xenoverse I was but someone kept pestering me to get this one up so here. and there is another reason why it's taking a while to get it up... well let's just say that Writer's Block is a bitch.
Chapter 2: The First Day
Brown eyes looked over the city of Vale through the window of a Dust airship that was flying over the city, currently, it was carrying passengers at the age of seventeen, with the expectation being Ruby whose only 15. These are all students that are going to Beacon Academy for training to become Huntsmen and Huntresses. Among them were Kei and Ruby talking to each other. Currently, they were in the viewing gallery, a twelve-foot wide room located in the bottom of the ship's hull. The gallery had four semicircular windows, mounted at a downward oblique angle, on each side. And apparently, each window had a hologram projector which could be used like TV, as one of the other few people in the room had it set to a local news station.
"And-And Then!-!… *pffft* Ga ha ha! Grandpa fell face first into the circle! That was the biggest explosion that grandpa had ever seen in his life! And when he came out of it, he looked as black as the Grimm! Ha ha ha ha!" Kei was holding his stomach from laughing so hard, while Ruby was full out laughing.
"HA HA HA HA HA! That is so funny… Ha ha… and you pushed him into it?" "
"Ha! Let's just say I was getting him back for an earlier prank he pulled on me…"
"Wow, your grandpa sounds like a good person."
"Yeah… he was…"
"Still, the things that you two had done all sound so cool. That's exactly the kind of stuff that I've always wanted to." smiled Ruby as Kei gave a sigh.
"Hate to tell you, but sometimes work isn't as glamorous as it seems." warned Kei. Ruby gave a small nod and looked down at the floor of the airship
"I know, fighting monsters and bad guys is dangerous. And sometimes, bad things can happen when you least expect them. Believe me, I know." sighed Ruby, her usually cheerful attitude seemed to be replaced with a depressing one. Kei noticed her change in demeanor. She had a pained look in her silver eyes and a slightly sad expression on her face, causing Kei to frown. He shook his head. Kei went to Ruby's side and lightly whacked her on the back of her head.
"Ow!" Ruby yelped. An anime bump appeared where Kei smacked her. "Kei?" she asked him rubbing the part he hit. Anyone could have guessed that something happened to her or her family in the past.
"Stop looking so sad. It really doesn't suit you Ruby." Which is true, it's a face you'd never want on Ruby's face. It just seems so… wrong. "So, you said your sister is going to the same school?" asked Kei, trying to change the subject. Ruby's mood reverted back to its natural, cheerful self.
"Yeah, her name is Yang. She was two years ahead of me, but now we are in the same grade." answered Ruby.
"How did she take the news?" asked Kei.
"Oh, I already called her last night, she's really happy for me. She is also eager to meet you." said Ruby.
"You didn't tell her everything did you?" Kei asked.
"Oh... no?"
"Ruby..."
"No, I swear!"
Kei sighed letting it go for now, "Anyway, don't see your sister yet?" He asked.
"She said she'd be here. Oh man, what if she got stuck in traffic and didn't get here before we took off?" asked Ruby anxiously.
"Don't worry I'm sure she's here." assured Kei before sitting down and taking out a book from his vest before reading it.
"Why are you reading?" asked Ruby confused as Kei looked up.
"Don't know." said Kei simply before returning to his book as Ruby raises her eyebrow. One minute, he's fun and social and now he's quiet and reading.
"RUBY!" yelled someone excitedly, cutting Ruby off as she turned towards the viewing gallery's door to see someone running up to her. The young girl is 17 years old with bright-gold blonde hair that flow down her back in a loose and messy manner with a few locks sticking out along with an ahoge, lilac eyes, pale white skin, a curvy, athletic figure with large breasts, and wearing a tan with gold trim vest with puffy sleeves and black cuffs over a yellow low-cut crop top with her symbol on it; a black crest that resembled a burning heart, an orange scarf around her neck, fingerless gloves with yellow devices underneath those gloves., black short shorts with a brown belt with a buckle, a pouch, and a small banner-like object. The same burning heart crest appeared on this banner, except golden in color, a white symmetrical back skirt, and brown boots with orange socks of different lengths with an orange bandana wrapped around her left boot. Kei naturally assumed that this is Ruby's sister, so he went to find a seat, not wanting to spoil the moment.
Kei found a seat not too far from the two sisters. Once he sat, he took out a book and began to read it.
"Is this seat taken?" asked a feminine voice as Kei looks up from his book to see a girl. She wore a black buttoned vest with coattails and a white, sleeveless undershirt that exposed part of her midriff with white shorts that were connected to her shirt, although it was partly obscured by the vest. Her shorts had a zipper on the front of each leg. She also wore a detached scarf-like collar around her neck. She had long black hair with a black bow on top of her head and yellow eyes. Strapped to her back was a wide, single edged sword, with a black ribbon attached to the handle.
"Nope. Name's Kei Neo." introduced Kei as he puts the book under his arm before extending his hand.
"Blake Belladonna." greeted Blake as she shook Kei's hand before sitting down next to him and taking out her own book titled 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'
Yang ran up to Ruby and put her in a crushing bear hug.
"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" squealed Yang happily. Ruby, however, did not look as happy, possibly as a result of having the life squeezed out of her.
"Please… stop…" croaked Ruby as Yang released her death hug and Ruby sighed in relief.
"But I'm just so proud of you." gushed Yang, hopping up and down like an older version of Ruby.
"Really sis, it was nothing. Besides, I had a little help." assured Ruby as she motioned her head towards Kei.
"Um, which one?" joked Yang as Ruby turned around and saw the reading duo, unknowingly gritting her teeth.
"The one in the black." answered Ruby.
"Ruby, they're both wearing black." deadpanned Yang as Ruby double-checked the reading duo's attire and realized her sister is right.
"The boy with the red T-shirt." groaned Ruby as Yang squeezed her eyes to look at Kei, What she saw caused a light blush to come over her face. 'He's really good looking.' Yang thought before she muttered "Lucky girl."
"What was that?" asked Ruby.
"Nothing!" replied Yang quickly.
As Blake continued reading her book, she noticed Kei's reactions to the book he's reading and she looked at the title only to slightly tilt her head.
'What kind of book is that?' thought Blake before something caught their ears.
"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities." announced a voice. Kei and Blake stood up and saw several students crowded around a hologram screen in front of one of the large, semicircular windows. On the screen was a prison profile of the redhead (who didn't have it on), with his real name 'Roman Torchwick' printed on a sign he was holding in front of him.
"If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you Lisa." said the newscaster. The screen changed to display a newswoman with short silver hair that became purple by the ends. She wore a black dress coat and purple dress shirt. Her name 'Lisa Lavender' was displayed on the bottom of the screen.
"That you Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus civil rights protests turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony." informed Lisa. A red emblem against a white backdrop appeared on the news wall. The emblem was a stylized head of a big cat in front of what looked to be three claw marks.
"The once peaceful organization has now disrupted…" paused Lisa as the hologram screen was suddenly cut off and disappeared. Kei looked down in sympathy and sadness. The racism between Humans and Faunus has now gotten worst and he had been made aware of another potentially dangerous organization. He would have to ask either Ruby or Ozpin later about them. After a few seconds, a holographic image of Glynda appeared in front of every window and started playing a recorded message.
"Hello and welcome to Beacon." began the message.
"Who's that?" asked Yang.
"My name is Glynda Goodwitch." introduced the image.
"Oh." said Yang simply.
Their attention was suddenly drawn to the news feed on VNN (Vale News Network) playing nearby.
"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you Lisa."
"Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony the once peaceful organization has now disrupted..."
The news feed was suddenly cut off as a hologram of Glynda Goodwitch replaced it.
"Hello, and welcome to Beacon! My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." The image spoke in a kind and gentle way that was uncharacteristic towards the real Glynda, in Ruby's and Kei's opinion. And when it was finished the image faded away.
"She's nowhere near that nice in reality." warned Ruby. Kei and Blake moved alongside the sisters and looked out the window.
"Wow!" said Ruby breathlessly. The view from the ship was spectacular; it provided a great view of the entire city.
"You can see Signal from here. I guess home isn't too far after all." smiled Ruby. Yang put her hand on her sister's shoulder.
"Beacon is our home now." said Yang. Ruby smiled at the comforting thought. However the nice, warm moment was interrupted, the four heard a passenger groaning and hunched over near the window, and then made a beeline to the back of the ship where the restrooms are.
"Well... I guess the view isn't for everyone." Yang commented as she rolled her eyes.
"It was a nice moment while it lasted." nodded Ruby.
"If he knew he had motion sickness why didn't he bring medicine for that?" asked Kei to Blake, who put away her book alongside her vest-wearing companion and shrugged.
"So, who do you guys think we are going to meet?" asked Yang.
"Well, whoever they are I hope they are just better than Vomit boy." hoped Ruby.
"I'm fine with anyone as long as they don't try to kill me." shrugged Kei. He still doesn't know much about the Red Ribbon Army or why they're after him. Blake was about to ask about that exact topic until Ruby noticed something.
"Oh! Yang, gross, you have puke on your shoe!" grimaced Ruby in disgust.
"Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross." repeated Yang as she tried to shake the disgusting substance off.
"Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me!" repeated Ruby.
Kei shook his head as Ruby tried to run away from Yang who was just trying to go the restroom to clean her footwear and looked out the window see Beacon Academy coming up in the distance.
"There's a bathroom on the far side of the left." directed Blake as she pointed at a hall.
"Thanks, black girl!" thanked Yang as she headed to the direction Blake pointed.
"Hey, Kei, who's the girl?" asked Ruby, trying to change the subject.
"Oh, yeah. Blake Belladonna, this is Ruby Rose. Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna." introduced Kei.
"Hi!" waved Ruby.
"Hey." nodded Blake.
The ship docked next to a cliff side and the four teens disembarked before the kid that barfed earlier went to a trash can and vomited into it.
"Let it out, let it out." advised Kei as he patted the poor kid's back for a few moments before continuing with his friends. What greeted them was a glorious sight. At the end of a long, gray stone brick road lined with stylized street lamps that had red banners with the academy's symbol embalmed on the flag, was a huge castle like structure, that had a very medieval times feel to it.
Beacon Academy was a large school, multiple large buildings and a great huge tower standing in the middle of it, all on top of a great cliff that dropped into the ocean. It was on the border of Vale, one of the 4 major kingdoms, and was one of the hardest schools to get into. Nobody who wasn't worth their salt could get in; there was no buying your way in. You were either good enough of a fighter to get in or unless your transcripts were of an essentially high level... or the headmaster took such an interest in you that he gave you the chance to apply.
Kei found himself glancing around the academy. He had to admit the academy looked rather nice.
"The view from Vale has got nothing on this." compared Yang, crossing her arms. Kei and Blake just shrugged. Ruby just stared wide-eyed at the castle in front of her, she was finally here, and it was everything she had hoped it would be. Several other students who were disembarking walked past them, which gave Ruby the chance to marvel at their weapons.
"Oh, sis, that kid has a collapsible staff!" said Ruby excitedly, grabbing her sisters' arm and pointing to said weapon.
"Whoa, and she's got a fire sword!" noted Ruby as another student passed them, following her to get a better look at her weapon. Yang sighed as reached out and grabbed her sister by the hood, pulling her back which got a few admittedly cute 'owes' from Ruby.
"Easy their little sister, they're just weapons." said Yang, trying to calm Ruby down.
"Just weapons? There are extensions of ourselves, they're a part of us. Oh they're so cool." swooned Ruby.
"You have a scythe that folds into a rifle, why would you go fan-girl over someone else's weapon? Don't you like it?" asked Yang. Ruby pulled out her scythe and cuddled with it as if it were a teddy bear.
"Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose. I just like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people…but better." compared Ruby. Yang tugged Ruby's hood over her head.
"Ruby, come on. Why not try to make some more friends?" asked Yang. Ruby pulled her hood back.
"Why I already have you three?" asked Ruby.
'Three? But there is only-oooohhh.' mentally realized Blake, touched to be considered a friend.
"Well… I was actually planning to meet with my friends, soooooo… see ya!" waved Yang as she took off running so fast that it made Ruby's head spin.
"Wait, where are you going? Aren't we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms?" called Ruby after Yang, stumbling around dizzily.
"I don't know what I'm doing." mumbled Ruby, as she allowed herself to fall backwards… into another student's luggage.
"What are you doing?" practically yelled a voice. Ruby, who was surrounded by a cluster of white briefcases, turned to the presumed owner of said cases. The owner was a young girl with pale skin, wearing a white bolero jacket over a similarly colored thigh-length dress with a piece of black lace making up the neckline of the dress. The inside of the bolero was red and the sleeves turned blue as they get closer to her wrists. She had white hair that could be rendered invisible in a blizzard, light blue eyes, and a peculiar looking rapier that had what looked to be a magnum revolver chamber just above the hilt.
"Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?!" demanded the snow princess from the still dazed Ruby.
'Huh, she seems familiar for some reason.' thought Kei, recalling where he had seen her but giving up in the end. Kei picked up some of the briefcases on the ground and offered them to the snow princess.
"I'm pretty sure your bags are fine, miss." Assured Kei. The snow princess angrily snatched a case out of Kei's hand and opened it. Inside there were small glass bottles with a snowflake emblem imprinted on the front containing various colored powders held in place by foam slots for each bottle.
"See, not a single crack." waved Kei while Blake helps Ruby up. "Look, I am sure she didn't mean any harm to your product. Can't you just let it go? She seems genuinely sorry."
"Well, what does she have to say for herself? This is no ordinary dust. This is all matter of dust mined from the Schnee quarry." The girl replied quite haughtily.
"Uuuhhh…" trailed off Ruby with swirly eyes as Blake narrowed her eyes at the snow princess.
"What are you, brain-dead?" She brings up a vial of red dust. "Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!" informed the snow princess as she shakes the vial in front of Ruby. The combination of the girls careless shaken off the vial as she went on to lecture what she perceived was a clueless teen bits of particles seeped out of the slightly dislodged cork.
"Hey! It's not her fault! If anything, it's her sister for spinning her dizzy!" informed Kei as he points to the direction where Yang took off.
"Uh… uh... " trailed off Ruby as Blake ran behind a bush for cover. Kei raised an eyebrow until he noticed the gaseous Dust entering Ruby's nose.
"LOOK OUT!" warned Kei as he ran in front of the snow princess and hugged her to his chest.
BOOM!
A multi-colored explosion occurred between them creating a huge explosion of flame, snowflakes, and electricity, the bottle was sent flying off until Blake caught it in mid-air.
Weiss, being held in such a position, blushed red. She was in the arms of a very, toned man. And he was good looking too. Kei looked at her and asked, "Are you okay?"
'So warm.' thought Weiss though she did notice something wet on her cheek. She wiped it and saw a tear.
"Hey, are you ok, you're crying?" asked Kei.
"Yea, don't worry me probably got something in my eye." Replied Weiss. She didn't know why she was crying but as soon Kei protected her from the explosion, she felt this feeling of joy and happiness and she's very confused about this.
Kei lets go while Weiss noticed the soot on Kei's back.
"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" the white-haired girl shrieked angrily, waving at Kei's back soot.
"Don't worry about it. I'm used to explosions." said Kei neutrally as Weiss glares at Ruby for an additional reason.
"I'm really, really sorry!" Ruby apologized, embarrassed, but Weiss continued to snap at her, causing her embarrassment to be overridden by anger.
"Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little too young to be attending Beacon?" scolded the snow princess.
"Well, I-I…" stuttered Ruby.
"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight monsters, so... watch where you're going!" exclaimed the snow princess.
"Hey, I said I was sorry, princess!" defended Ruby, finally fed up with what Weiss said.
"It's heiress, actually." corrected Blake as she came out of the bush and examined the logo.
"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world." informed Blake.
"Finally, some proper recognition," Weiss said smugly.
"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners, ever since her father took the reins." the black-haired girl finished." added Blake.
"Wha- How dare you- The nerve of...!" Weiss shouted. The girl relented, tired of dealing with them and decided to storm off.
"I promise to make this up to you." called Ruby after Weiss, trying desperately to not have someone hate her not even five minutes after getting off the airship here.
Ruby turned to the black-haired girl, "So, what's…" But the girl was already walking away from the pair.
"See you at the ceremony." Blake waved as she walked away.
Kei cocked his head as he watched the girl go. "Later Ruby, I need to explore the place for a second." He said as he began making his way further into the academy.
"W-Wait hey…I…" Ruby said as Kei left, and she collapsed backwards onto the ground, "Welcome to Beacon…"
She remained on the ground for a time until a figure stood over her.
"Hey, I'm Jaune." the figure said, offering his hand to Ruby.
He is tall with messy blond hair, dark-blue eyes, a toned build, and wearing a black hoodie with a white chest plate and shoulder armor, brown wrist-length gloves with exposed fingertips and small metal plates, blue pants with a white patch on the left knee, a sword in a sheath strapped to his waist, and black shoes.
"Ruby." she responded, taking his hand and stood up, smiling, "Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"
Kei continued looking around the school as he made his way to where the students were gathering. He meets back up with Ruby
"Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" A voice called out from the crowd. Until the whole exam and sorting occurred there wasn't much for him to do besides try to see if anyone skilled was around.
"How's your first day going, little sister?"
"You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?"
"Yikes, meltdown already?"
"No, I literally exploded a hole in front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice...?"
"Are you being sarcastic?" she asked her in a patronizing way someone did to someone younger when they were being adorable.
"I wish!" Ruby scoffed exclaiming. "I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage! And then she yelled at me while shaking that fire dust in my face! And then, I sneezed and exploded. And then she yelled again. And I felt really, really bad and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me. And I nearly lost it until Kei came." She finished her rant.
"You!" Weiss shouted coming up behind her causing Ruby to jump into Kei's open arms in a bridal position.
"Oh god, it's her!" Ruby wailed and jumped behind Yang.
"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff and this guy didn't break his spine protecting me. Thanks for protecting me by the way." thanked Weiss as Kei nodded accepting the apology.
"Oh, my God, you really exploded..." Yang said dumbfounded.
"It was an accident! How many times do I have to say it- What's this?" she asked when Weiss held up a pamphlet in her face titled "DUST for dummies and other Inadequate Individuals" with a picture of a man holding a Dust crystal in his hand and a puzzled look on his face.
"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory the Schnee family highly encourages their customers to read and familiarize themselves with the easy-to-follow guide to Dust application and practice in the field." Weiss said from memorizing the pamphlet.
"Uhhh..." Ruby said looked at her with blank eyes.
"You really want to start making things up to me?" Weiss asked.
"Absolutely?" Ruby asked before the pamphlet was forced into her hands.
"Read this and don't ever speak to me." Weiss ordered.
"Look, uh, sounds to me like you two just got off on the wrong foot," Yang said rubbing the back of her head. "Why don't you start over and try to be friends? Okay?"
"Yeah! Great idea, sis!" Ruby said excitedly and held out her hand to Weiss. "Hello, Weiss. I'm Ruby. Wanna hang out?" She asked the irate heiress. "We could go shopping for... school supplies."
"Yeah! And we can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys, like tall, blonde, and scraggly over here!" Weiss said sarcastically as she jabbed her thumb at Kei who just rolled his eyes not noticing that it wasn't him she pointing to but the person behind him.
"Wow, really?" Ruby asked hopefully but faltered when Weiss "kind" smile turned to a glare.
"No." She said plainly.
"Y'know you're not better than everyone else as you think Weiss. So if I were you I'd check that attitude at the door." Kei suggested.
"Hmph!" Weiss said crossing her arms and looking away from them.
"She so has a long way to go to being a people person." Kei thought to deadpan.
Ozpin approached a microphone at the front of the stage with Glynda besides him, and cleared his throat, catching the attention of all of the gathered students while pushing up his glasses. "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 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."
As the students whispered among themselves in reaction to Ozpin's speech, Glynda stepped up to talk.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
"He seemed kind of… off." Yang remarked.
"It's almost like he wasn't even there." Ruby agreed.
Kei remained silent, deciding to withhold his judgment. Before he left he saw the professor pushes his glasses back onto his nose, looking up directly at the ceiling. He smiles and nods, carefully walking off the stage. Kei looks left some more and sees Glynda also looking up at the ceiling with a frown on her face. Kei looked up and saw windows on the ceiling, was somebody on the roof? Kei closed his eyes and sure enough, he sensed that someone was on the roof but it had a strange power source unlike anyone here. Who was it? Kei scratched his cheek for a moment in wonder, "Huh… I'll have to look into that…"
"Hey, Kei! What's keeping you?"
Kei quickly jolted out of his thought process, "Ah! Sorry, sorry! Talking to myself here…"
"Do it later… I wanna eat some snacks…" Yang said.
Kei rolled his eyes and chuckled under his breath "Yes yes…" Kei quickly made his way towards the two sisters. This is going to be an interesting semester.
After being served dinner in the cafeteria, the new students retired to the ballroom, where sleeping bags littered the floor as everyone was turning in to get rested for the rumored initiation tomorrow.
Once those who would be worthy passed only then would they be allowed to be put into rooms.
So everyone had changed out of their hunter gear and into their pajamas.
Ruby was wearing a black tank top with a heart-shaped Beowolf design on the chest and long white pants with pink rose designs, was writing in her journal while Yang, wearing an orange tank top with a flame emblem on the front and brown boy shorts, crashes next to her.
"It's like a big slumber party!" Yang said joyfully.
"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though." Ruby remarked, not looking up from her journal.
"I know I do!" Yang purred, watching several muscular, shirtless guys until Jaune, dressed in blue-full-body pajamas with blue bunny slippers, smiled and waved to her, making her groan.
Then the sight of something caused her to make a strangled squeal. Kei returned from the bathroom dressed in a simple gray t-shirt and a pair of solid black silk pants wearing his scarf around his neck.
"I guess they figured with so many students no one would get bold." Kei murmured as he joined the girls. For some reason, something about Ruby and Yang reached out to him. Both of them were nice and approachable girls and he had to admit, it was better than being alone.
He took a glance around when he noticed Jaune's attire and quirked an eyebrow.
"That is not a good way to start a year if you're worried about your standing."
"So what are you girls up to?" he asked as Yang whispered out a, 'nothing much' and looked away. When he turned his attention to Ruby she stole glances at the black haired teen. Her eyes nearly bugged out by how defined his arms were.
"Oh, just a letter. I promised to tell my old classmates all about Beacon and how things are going." Ruby answered him.
"Aw, that's so cuuuute!" Yang cooed until she was knocked over by a pillow Ruby launched at her.
"Shut up! I didn't get to take the friends I wanted to pass with me to Beacon because they scored low points! It's weird not knowing anyone here besides you…Kei and maybe Blake?" She added as she pouted.
"What about Jaune? He's... nice! There you go! Plus three, sort of, friends! That's a three-hundred percent increase!" Yang said cheerfully. It was easy not to be a spaz as long as she was focusing on anything but Kei.
"Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. That's back to two-ish..." Ruby countered as she lay back, making the black haired teen frown before Yang's expression brightened back up.
"There's no such thing as negative friends! You just made three friends and one enemy!" Yang said, only to be hit in the face by Ruby's favorite dog pillow.
"Listen Ruby, it's just been one day. Trust me you'll make some new friends in no time." Kei said poking her sides making Ruby giggled and Yang smile. Before anything else could be said, the three noticed a candle being lit nearby. Looking towards the source, they found Blake, wearing a black yukata with gray and white as sub-colors, sitting against the wall reading a book.
"Blake…" started Ruby.
"You know her? Isn't she the girl who pointed the direction to the bathroom after Vomit Boy puked on my shoes?" asked Yang.
"HEY!" complained Jaune.
"Not really. Kei introduced us after you went to the bathroom. She saw what happened this morning, but left with Kei before I could say anything." explained Ruby.
"Well, now's your chance!" stated Yang while grabbing Ruby's arm and lifting her up.
"Wait! What are you doing?!" Ruby yelped in protest as Yang dragged her over to Blake.
"Oh boy..." Kei chuckled and followed them.
Blake continued to read her book before she heard noises, and looked up over her book to see Yang dragging Ruby over to her with Kei following.
"Hellooooo!" Yang greeted in a singing voice before letting go of Ruby, who hid behind her and Kei. "I believe you guys may know each other?"
"Hey, Blake." Kei greeted with a grin.
"Hey Kei," Blake greeted back before looking at Ruby, "Ruby."
"Blake." Ruby offered a hand to shake with Blake but she just looked at before Ruby pulled it back. She faltered embarrassed with what she was going to say. "Thanks for this morning… I guess."
"...Okay." Blake said as he went back to her book.
"What are you doing?" Yang asked in a loud whisper.
"I don't know help me!" Ruby hissed back before going back to smiling at Blake.
"It was kind of you, what you did." Kei walked forward gaining the black haired girl's attention. "Even if your words did not show it you were trying to stand up for Ruby. For whatever reason, you're not willing to open up to us easily, but I'm hoping you can bear with us a little longer."
"So, you're Blake. Kei told us." Yang said, attempting to start a conversation.
"Yes. You're well informed." Blake said while sighing at being distracted again. "And you?"
"I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister!" Yang introduced herself. "I like your bow!"
"Thanks..." Blake said with her eye twitching as she was now a little irritated at being interrupted again from reading.
"It goes great with your... pajamas!" Yang said.
"Right..." Blake said going back to her book.
"Nice night, don't you think?" Yang asked.
"Yes..." Blake said glancing up. "It's lovely. Almost as lovely as this book..." She hinted. "That I will continue to read..." Ruby and Yang just stared at her blankly while Kei had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing from picking up the subtle hints that Blake wanted to be left alone. "As soon as you leave." Blake finished as she looked back to her book.
"Oh come on, don't be such a spoilsport." Yang said as Ruby took notice of Blake's book.
"What's it about?" Ruby suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Blake asked, surprised.
"Your book. Does it have a name?"
"Well... I-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body. It's based off the book of the old world before Remnant, the Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde." Blake revealed, becoming a little more open to the others.
"Oh, yeah... That's real lovely!" Yang stated sarcastically, but with no malice.
"Remind you of anything?"
"I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters... They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress!" Ruby explained, making Blake giggle a little.
"And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake questioned, hearing the naiveté in Ruby.
"Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!" Ruby said with determination.
"Huh. That's very… ambitious." Blake said before her smile turned into a frown, "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."
"…Well, that's why we're here! To make it better." Ruby tried to reassure her, but Blake didn't look convinced.
"Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister!" Yang squealed and grabbed Ruby in a bear hug into the air.
"Cut it out!" Ruby cried, her feet kicking out before punching Yang in the face, causing the forced sisterly evolved into fighting limbs.
"Well, Ruby, Yang, it's a pleasure to ha…"
"What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"
Weiss, wearing a faded bluish sleeping gown with short sleeves and white trimmings with her family crest on the upper-right chest and her hair down, came storming over to the group and skidded to a halt when she saw exactly who is was that was making all the noise.
"Oh, not you again!" Weiss and Yang shouted at the sight of each other.
"You really can't complain about people sleeping if you're going to show." Kei noted with a dry tone.
"N-No one asked you!"
Weiss screeched as Ruby quickly placed her finger on her lips.
"Shh! Guys, she's right. People are trying to sleep!" Ruby's words drew Weiss' attention to her.
"Oh, now you're on my side!" Weiss snapped.
"I was always on your side!" Ruby countered angrily.
"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!" Yang asked as her eyes turned red.
"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss said, stamping her foot on the ground.
As they spoke, Kei gave Blake a look, and she nodded. She closed her book after saving the spot where she left off in her book, and reached over to the grab her candle and blows it out, enveloping the ballroom in darkness.
That led to the unfortunate event of someone tripping over someone else
Which devolved into sounds of kicking, swearing, panic, and the likes. At the very least things will end up being interesting.
It was morning. Preparation for the big exam was just around the corner.
As Kei, Yang, and Ruby brushed their teeth, they heard the excited animated chatter of a girl talking with her friend.
"I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full twenty-four hours! Not that I thought we'd get kicked out or anything I mean, you're the perfect student and I'm... well, I'm me! But it's just crazy, you know?" The speaker was an orange haired girl with short orange hair and turquoise eyes. Her clothing seems to be a mix and mix of different colors of themes. A collared black vest that ended at her waist. Under the vest were two layers of clothing colored red and light blue respectively. She also wore a white sleeveless top that formed a tiny heart shape between her cleavage and collarbone, with a white detached sleeve on each arm with matching fingerless gloves on each hand.
To complete the outfit she sported a pink skirt that started at her waist and ended mid-thigh with shoes a mix of pink and white with pink laces displaying what he assumed was her symbols on her soles with some sort of armor that began in the middle of her shoulder and neck which ended by the waist with a light gray-white bow at the back of her skirt with ribbon extending to the skirt's bottom.
Taking a glance at her weapon he noticed it was a large hammer. That girl had to be deceptively strong if her weapon was that large hammer.
"Man, that girl's energetic." Kei mumbled.
"You think she's on anything?" Yang teased.
"Probably." Ruby said spitting some water out in the sink.
Gathering his clothes he hit the showers. A good ten minutes later he exited the shower and to his surprise, the girl was still talking.
"We've been friends for soooooooo long! What are the odds we'd still be together? Well, not 'together-together'... Not that I'm not saying that you're not beautiful; you are beautiful, but that'd just be weird, right?".
Kei glanced at her companion. A teenage male with long black hair tied into a ponytail that ends midway down his back. There is a magenta streak on the left side of his hair. His eyes match the streak in his hair, and his clothing appears to be influenced by Chinese culture.
He wore a dark green, diagonally-buttoned, long-sleeved tailcoat that is red on the inside, with black and gold trimming and pink cuffs. The trimming went down the right side of his torso and forming a black collar. He wears a black, long-sleeved shirt beneath the suit and light-tan pants with black shoes. His overall look reminded him of a lotus flower.
Ruby and Yang made their way out of the shower, fully dressed in their huntress outfits.
"Wonder what those two are so worked up about?" Ruby asked as she opened her locker to retrieve Crescent Rose.
"Oh, who knows? So, you seem awfully chipper right now!" Yang noted as she finished equipping her Ember Celica and crossing her arms.
"Yep! No more awkward small talk or 'getting-to-know-you' stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking, haa~" Ruby declared and strokes Crescent Rose lovingly, sighing happily.
"Well, remember, Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation," Yang said uncrossing her arms and placing them on her hips. "If you wanna grow up your gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together." She told her making Ruby growl in irritation.
"Ugh, you sound like Daaad!" Ruby complained shoving Crescent Rose back into her locker and folding her arms. "Okay, first of all: What does meeting new people have to do with fighting? And secondly: I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk!"
"To answer your first question: It allows you to learn other people's strategies and incorporate them into your fighting style so it becomes easier to fight Grimm and in tournaments." Kei explained placing his Power Pole on his back.
"And what about when we form teams?" Yang reminded her as Ruby then became nervous.
"Um, I don't know, I... I'll just be on your team or Kei's or we all can be..." Ruby replied without looking at them.
"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team, Rubes." Yang nervously grabbed her own hair and began stroking it with her hands.
"I really don't mind being on a team with you Ruby." Kei said rubbing the back of his head
"I'm sorry Yang, but are you implying that you don't wish to be on the same team as me and Kei?" Ruby asked angrily glaring cutely at her.
"What?! No? Of course, I do! I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... break out of your shell!" Yang explained hastily.
"What the-?! I don't need to 'break out of my shell'!" Ruby ranted furiously. "That's absolutely ridiculous!"
As Yang tried to calm Ruby down, he left the sisters and was going to leave until…
"Kei... is that you?" A female voice said from behind Kei.
Kei turned to face the woman. She was a red-haired girl with waist-length ponytail, curled slightly into a loose ringlet with vivid green eyes. She also wore light green eye shadow around the far upper corners of her eyes.
Amazon would be an accurate way to describe her, being sixth feel tall and quite muscular compared to most of the other girls at Beacon.
Her top consisted of two layers. The top layer a light-brown, strapless top split divided vertically with some bronze patterns. It looked like she traded out of her old piece of leather for metal armor that looked rather sturdy; this layer also seems to have some kind of riveting or small, round embroidery on the sides, which may also be heavy stitching. The bottom layer is a low bronze V-neck. She also wore an elastic, red, A-line mini skirt and brown cut-off sleeves on both arms with red ankle-length drapery that appears to be wrapped around her skirt.
She also had with her a small circular bronze plate by her right hip opposite a pouch with both connected to a belt. The plate bears her "shield and spear" symbol.
On her head, she wore a bronze circlet headpiece that can be seen above her ear and under her bangs. A pair of small, green, teardrop-shaped emeralds hangs from her circle on thin chains. She also sported a large bronze gorge around her neck and a bronze bracelet on the upper half of her left arm.
The rest of her armor consisted of elaborate bronze greaves that started below her mid-thigh, continuing downwards into her boots and a pair of cuisses that begin mid-thigh and end slightly above her knees. She also won a bronze bracer on top of the sleeve on her left arm, which appears to be able to connect and disconnect from her shield easily. Her boots are brown with bronze trim, matching her skirt and sleeves, and reach up to mid-calf.
"Pyrrha? Pyrrha Nikos?" Kei smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her with Pyrrha wrapping her arms around his neck and hugged him back. "What are you doing here?"
"I decided to attend Beacon." Pyrrha giggled as Kei set her down.
"You look great." He said.
"I didn't think I would ever get to see you again..." Pyrrha said after a moment.
"So, have you met anyone yet?" He asked as Pyrrha looked at him with a raised eyebrow in surprise.
"No, not yet."
Suddenly there would be conversation was interrupted.
"Pyrrha Nikos... good morning to you."
They turned to see the speaker and Kei sighed. Weiss Schnee.
"Can I talk to YOU alone, though?" Weiss asked with a look towards Kei.
"You're lucky I can put up with the things you give me, but can we at least be civil? I really don't like unnecessarily making friends into enemies." He then turned to Pyrrha. "This is the part where I take my leave. Try and find yourself a good partner okay." He said as Pyrrha almost lifted her hand and called out to the teen, but hesitated.
She turned her attention back to Weiss who was waiting expectantly. "Hello Weiss Schnee, I am surprised to see you chose to come to Beacon and not Haven. That is much closer to where you are from."
"Oh yes, I figured a change of area would be more beneficial for me in the long run. It helps that Beacon has produced finer Huntsmen and Huntresses than any other secondary training school." Weiss said off the top of her head.
"So, do you a have teammate picked out yet? I hear that teams are groups of 4." Weiss said with a message hidden in her tone.
"Well, I have one possible choice." Pyrrha answered with a smile on her face.
"You know what else is great? Me. Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you." Jaune introduced himself Casanova-style.
"Argh, you again?" Weiss said, getting even more irritated.
"Nice to meet you, Jaune!" Pyrrha greeted, walking forward, but Jaune pushes her aside.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." he said continues talking to Weiss.
"So, Weiss, couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day."
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Weiss remarked.
"Don't worry! No need to be embarrassed! So, been hearing rumors about teams~! I was thinking you and me would make a good one! What do you say?" Jaune offered, getting close to an uncomfortable Weiss.
"So you're looking for team members? Well, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so…" Pyrrha started to say, but…
"You don't stay." Jaune said smoothly again and advanced on Pyrrha, "Well, hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team."
"Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Weiss asked has if Jaune was stupid.
"Not in the slightest, Snow Angel." Jaune countered gently.
"This. Is. Pyrrha. Nikos." She told him, incredulous at how dunce the boy was.
"Hello again!" Pyrrha said with a wave. Pyrrha liked to believe the best in people. She was happy and willing to work with most people.
"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum."
"Never heard of it." Jaune said as Weiss scoffed.
"Like I said, She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row!"
"The what?" Jaune asked while trying to keep the confusion out of his voice.
"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" Weiss said loudly, waving her arms rapidly in anger as Jaune finally recognized her from that.
"That's you?! But they only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"
"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you." Pyrrha admitted, a bit embarrassed.
"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?" Weiss asked the now depressed Jaune.
"I guess not…Sorry…" he mumbled, hanging his head.
"Cheer up, Jaune! I believe you'd make a great leader!" Pyrrha told him.
"D'oh, stop it!" Jaune said bashfully after brightening back up.
"Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!" Weiss snapped, trying to separate the two.
"Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?" Jaune offered in his Casanova mode while leaning into Weiss again.
"Alright, that's a bit too close! Pyrrha, a little help, please?!" Weiss whined.
A clicking sound was heard, with Jaune turning around in time to see Pyrrha's weapon Miló in Javelin Mode strike him in his hood and sending him wailing into a wall.
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologized.
"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately." Glynda spoke through the intercom system.
Weiss passed by the prone Jaune without a second glance, with Pyrrha coming up next.
"It was nice meeting you, Jaune." Pyrrha said as she retrieved Miló and followed after Weiss as Jaune dropped to the ground.
"Likewise." he groaned, slumping against the wall.
"The lady-killer is having some trouble?" Yang asked. She and Ruby had just finished making sure their weapons were in perfect condition.
"I don't understand. My dad said all women look for is confidence! Where did I go wrong?" Jaune groaned in disappointment as he accepted Ruby's hand and uses her to lift himself up.
"'Snow Angel' probably wasn't the best start." Yang told him as she passed him by.
"Come on Jaune, let's go." Ruby said as she led him and his damaged self-esteem out of the locker room.
The Beacon Cliff was the site where the initiation into the academy began. It was an impressive view, overlooking the forest area.
Right now, the first year students were standing on silver tiles in front of Professor Ozpin with a mug of coffee and Glynda with her tablet scroll.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin stated as he looked among the students.
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today." Glynda announced.
"What? Ohhh…" Ruby whined at this unexpected development.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin advised them.
Kei looked at Ruby as she whined some more, with Yang who noticed his gaze looked away from him quickly completely clueless to the look Pyrrha was sending him.
"That being said, for this year's initiation, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin declared.
"Whaaaat?!" Ruby wailed in distress.
Kei could literally hear Ruby's world shattering into little shards of broken glass and immediately felt really bad for her. 'Oh. This will not end well for some of us.'
"See? I told you…" Nora said to Rin but was interrupted by Ozpin as he started speaking again.
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."
Jaune set out a short nervous laugh and gulped loudly while Nora looked way too happy before Ozpin continued.
"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
"Yeah, um, sir?" Jaune started to say while raising his hand.
"Good! Now, take your positions!" Ozpin instructed.
Everyone got into her battle stances on their own tile, readying to begin, except for Jaune, who still had his hand raised and was not in a position like everyone else.
"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question." Jaune spoke up, not noticing the title under Weiss launching her up into the air like a springboard and over the forest with others following suit, "So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?"
"No. You will be falling." Ozpin said as if commenting the weather.
"Oh, uh, I see..." Jaune said as he still failed to notice his fellow students being launched into the forest, "So, did you, like, hand out parachutes for us?"
Kei turned his head towards Jaune with a look of disbelief. 'I'm starting to think there must have been some sort of mistake or something. That guy really can't be a huntsman can he?' If the boy had potential it would be a shame for it to go to waste.
"Whoo-wee!" Nora yelled cheerfully as she was launched.
"No. You will be using your own 'landing strategy'." Ozpin said as Glynda gave the boy a calculating glare while Rin was launched.
"Uh-huh... Yeah." Jaune said slowly while still oblivious to what is happening.
Yang winked at Ruby, the latter giving a thumbs-up in return, put on her pair of aviator sunglass before getting launched.
"Woo-hoooooooo!" Yang yelled before Ruby, with a smile on her face at Kei, joined her in the air.
"So, what exactly is a landing strateYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Jaune wailed at the last part as he was catapulted and sent soaring ungracefully into the air.
Finally, he was launched into the air. His hair whooshed backwards as he soared through the air. He looked down at the Emerald Forest below.
A bird Grimm was flying slowly and magnificently over the forest until it shrieked and exploded in a burst of feathers thanks to Ruby crashing into it.
"Birdie, no!"
Ruby fired a few rounds from Crescent Rose's Gun Mode to slow her down and then switched to Scythe Mode to catch the branch of a tree with her blade to descend to the ground safely.
Weiss summons a white snowflake glyph and leaps off it to slow her own fall into the forest.
Nora sailed by Rin who spun in the air and used his weapons Storm Flower, a pair of green-colored SMGs with an axe-like blade attached under the barrels, to spiral around the trunk of a large tree and landed on the ground, brushing his clothes of dust before looking up to see Yang soaring past his.
"Woo-hooo! Yeah! Ally-oop!" Yang yelled as her used Ember Celica gauntlets and their recoil to travel along the top of the forest, spinning in the air and laughing with each blast as she went further north, "Whoa-whoa!"
She ended up crashing through the leaves of some trees while whooping and bounded off of two trees before rolling onto the ground.
"Nailed it!" Yang boasted and ran off, unaware that she landed near the girl in black who began to trail her.
Pyrrha, with her weapon and shield Miló and Akoúo, used her shield Akoúo to tank through several trees before landing on a branch, shifted Miló into Rifle Mode to check her surroundings and saw a screaming Jaune falling helplessly into the forest. Pyrrha twirled Miló around as it's transformed into its Javelin Mode, calculating her aim she let Milo fly after throwing it with all her might deep into the forest until a dull "THUNK!" was heard.
"Thank you!" Jaune called in the distance.
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha replied, waving.
Grabbing his Power Pole from its sheath, he spins his magical staff around at blinding speeds. "Power pole extend!" The young martial artist commanded.
His staff extended several feet, and then it hits one of the trees. Kei loosens his grip on the pole and slid down until he reaches the tree. And with a shout of, 'Power pole retract!' rode down its decreasing length and landed on the side of the tree, Kei drops down towards the ground and landed on the ground.
Kei began making his way through the forest. Hoping he would find a competent partner while making his way where the treasures were kept.
Not far from where he was a figure immersed in shadows watched as the teen went down the path before him. The only thing that could be seen of this mysterious was two glowing red eyes with silver teeth gleaming in the darkness.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes:
So, who was it on the roof during the ceremony, why was Weiss crying, why am I asking this questions you ask... well I don't know myself. well anyway, see ya guys on the next chapter! Peace!
