So TBH, I just want to get into this one. It's been a while since I've gotten to write some, and I'm trying to increase the length of my average chapters, so that I may get more done. This is my first test.
Enjoy.
Initiation day. It is finally here, and the challenge has finally begun.
There, standing on Beacon Cliffs, were Ozpin, Glynda, and all of the fresh new students of this year, all of whom were excited for the prospect of battle.
"Welcome my students," Ozpin said, his voice near toneless and like that of a teacher, "For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
Ms. Goodwitch came over and said to everyone "I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams, so allow us to end your confusion. You will be given teammates… today."
Hearing this got a slight whimper out of Ruby, who was not excited by the concept. However, no one seemed to hear this, as Ozpin continued, saying "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 up with someone with whom you work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
From the sidelines, Rin looked over, and said "I'm not the only one who heard glass breaking, right?" Right next to Rin, the Lion Faunus from earlier whispered, "I think that was Little Red's hopes."
"After you've paired up," Ozpin continued, obviously paying Rin's comment no mind, "Make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not destroy everything in your path, or you will die."
Hearing this got a nervous chuckle out of Jaune.
"You will be monitored and graded for 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 player must choose one, and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
Immediately, Rin's hand raised, and he asked "If I climb back up this cliff before Initiation's over, can I get launched off again?"
"No. I'm afraid we won't be doing any RE-launching, Mr. Taiyo," Ozpin told him, a slight grin on his face, "Now, if there are no other questions…"
Immediately, Jaune tried to question, but Ozpin did not see it and told everyone to take their positions. Wasting no time, people began to get launched off the cliff, each and every one of them (except Jaune) looking ready to land in the forest.
Though some of them seemed to have a different meaning of 'Landing Strategy' than others.
The lion Faunus had decided that all he needed to do was to wrap his tail around a tree branch to land, and for a moment it seemed to work. But the moment after, he realized this was a bit of a mistake, as the branch was promptly ripped off of the tree, and he was forced to land on the ground. "Damn," he said, "I guess I don't know my own strength sometimes."
Meanwhile, as he looked up, he saw what appeared to be chains grappling onto trees, and heard a Tarzan-esque yell in the direction of the chains. "Well, looks like Ultier's found his landing strategy."
Suddenly, he heard a 'shing' kind of sound behind him, and when he looked back, he saw a tree that looked to be clean in half, as well as the sound of a tree being ridden by a certain wannabe Samurai. "And Zane. Now what about Rin?"
Meanwhile, a ways away, the psycho in question did not even look to be trying for a landing strategy, as he was just falling toward the forest floor. Others could see him, and they assumed he was doomed, but then he did something they were never expecting.
He CRASHED into the ground, landing on his feet, and leaving a sizable crater in the ground below him, and began to sprint off, with an almost sinister look in his eye that screamed 'Grimm, prepare to meet your maker'.
Everyone was out in the forest, and the initiation has started for everyone.
Not even five minutes in the forest, and Rin had ran into a pack of five Beowolves. The looked at him and growled, so Rin growled back. "Looks like I'm having FUN today," he said. A sadistic smile was plastered on his face, as he revealed his weapons. A pair of bracers on his arms (almost exactly like Ember Celica, except slate grey) whirred to life, turning into a pair of brutal looking gauntlets, along with spiked knuckles appearing over his black fingerless gloves.
"Come at me, you sons o' bitches!"
Without warning, one of the five ran up in an attempt to strike him, only for his face to meet Rin's left foot. The psychopath let out a brutal roundhouse, which he immediately transitioned into a spinning hook kick, followed by a quick transition into a left hook.
The force of that left hook combined with the concussive force behind his weapon was enough to blow the Beowolf's head clean off its shoulders, and using the momentum behind his arm, he only continued as another approached. The second Beowolf was clearly as dumb as the first, and approached right as Rin spun around, hitting it straight in the chest with another vicious left.
"Two down, three to go!"
This time, Rin was the one to push the pace. Rushing the creature with a superman punch that practically embedded it in the ground, he shot it straight through its throat with a right punch, before moving to the next, and hitting it with a rising uppercut that sent its head flying skyward.
There was one left on the ground, and it was clear that this one was not going to mess around. He was relentless in his strikes, not trying to give Rin the time to counter. But thanks to its relentless attack plan, there was no time for defense.
THAT was its mistake.
Rin grabbed the creature's arm as it went into claw him, and he threw it over his shoulder and into the nearest tree. Seeing the opportunity, he rushed in, and made his final strike. With a single punch to the chest, the Beowolf was down and out, as well as the tree having a sizable dent in it.
Dusting himself off, Rin smiled. "Well, that was fun," he said to himself. "And only four rounds used. Now where the hell is Tatsu?"
*BANG*
Rin recognized that sound. It was the shot of a revolver. Or more specifically, the weapon of exactly who he was looking for.
The lion Faunus was surrounded.
There was an Ursa Grimm approaching him from every angle, and he honestly couldn't see an opening to where he could get out without getting clawed up a little. But did that scare him?
The correct answer to that one would be 'Hell no'.
This isn't the first time that he has been in this kind of situation, and it certainly won't be the last. There has never really been a Grimm strong enough to take him down, and you'd be hard pressed to find one that could.
And even if he was outnumbered, he had this feeling that he would be receiving backup in 5…
4…
3…
2…
*Bang!*
"Called it."
Along with the concussive blast that had just happened, three more came, each taking down a Grimm as they hit. Within a second, the Grimm count had gone down from 12 to 8. Looking up, the Lion Faunus looked up to see Rin Taiyo, swinging on a vine, with his 'Curse Breaker' Gauntlets active, and ready to shoot.
He tumbled into the crowd, standing back up. It was now both of them, back to back, with Grimm approaching from eight angles. "So Tatsu, what's your kill count," Rin asked, to which Tatsu replied "Nine of them. You?"
"Those four made nine, so now we're tied. Whatd'ya think? Four each?"
"Sounds like a master plan."
Nothing more needed to be said, as the two went to work on their master plan. The opponents were predictable, and each fighter had their own ways of taking them down. Rin's way was obvious, beating the living hell out of anything that moved. However, Tatsu's strategy was a bit more refined.
Pulling out a golden pistol with a red handle, he pointed directly at one of the Ursa, as if to say 'You want to hit me, but you can't'. Evidently, it took that as a challenge, and tried to rush him, only to receive a bullet directly to the jaw, blowing its head apart. Another approached from behind, and got struck upside the head with the back of a second pistol –this one a slate grey with a black handle- before receiving a bullet itself.
Looking over, Tatsu could see that Rin was going ham on the enemies, three of the four Ursa of his already down and dissolving. 'Looks like I'll need to pick up the pace,' he thought to himself, 'Lest he think he's got dibs on my last Ursa.'
Tatsu put away his revolvers, and as one Ursa approached, all he did was claw at the creature, ripping open its throat with little to no effort. It didn't take much more than that to bring the beast down, and for his ally to try to attack the Lion. But this attack proved futile. As it raised its mighty arms to try to slash at him, it was raised off the ground, and slammed into the ground with a Suplex. As it attempted to get up, the last sight it saw was Tatsu's boot, which slammed into its face, crushing its head.
And with that, the battle was over. The two simply looked at each other, and Rin looked rather happy.
"So, be honest, did you know I was coming," Rin asked, to which Tatsu replied "I could smell the stench of blood. Who else could it be but you?"
Rin let out a laugh, and said "Well whatever the case, the system works! I mean you bench press trees, and I punch 'em so hard they fall. Sounds like a match made in heaven to me!"
This, Tatsu knew was true, and he knew that Rin was definitely an ideal teammate. From hand-to-hand combat, to mastery of anatomy (Human, Faunus, Grimm, or otherwise), to just brutal strategy, Rin was definitely the best possible teammate he could get.
"Well then, sounds like we should take advantage," Tatsu said, the slightest hint of a smirk on his face. "Now, let's go find us a temple and a relic."
On the opposite end of the forest, a certain wannabe Samurai was strolling, his mind completely blank at the moment. He looked up to the sky and smiled. 'Ah, contentment,' he thought to himself, 'No dealing with that annoying stuff in my head. I can just relax and search for the temple.'
Suddenly, he heard a powerful crash come from the side of him, and sighed. For a moment there, he had assumed he could just stroll on easy street for a while, but he knew that was not the case. Looking over, he saw someone he hasn't seen in a long while, and that made all of his annoyance go away.
There, standing in front of him was a short man, only about 5'3 in height, with slightly tanned skin, and messy black hair. He was dressed mostly in denim, in a pair of jeans, and his jean jacket, which he had wrapped into a makeshift sling for his left arm. But what really made him stand out were the chains wrapped around his wrists, and his eyes, which were a bright emerald color, greatly contrasting the rest of him.
"Ultier Princeton," Zane said, a smile on his face, "I see you found your way into Beacon."
"And I see that you found yaself some contact lenses," Ultier said with his light accent. To this, Zane looked a little embarrassed, and brought his hand up to his mask for a moment. Ultier let out a slight chuckle, and told him "Now ya mind helping me take down these assholes, or am I gonna have ta bust up some face alone?"
In all honesty, Zane didn't feel like he needed to answer, considering he and Ultier knew each other for long enough to know how they fight. And besides that, there was a Beowolf approaching each of them, and that mean they would have to deal with them.
Zane unsheathed his blades, Muramasa and Masamune, and stood in stance, focused and determined. He saw the beast charging, and only made a slight adjustment to his stance, bringing his blade down to his side. The moment the beast got close, he swung the blade, and with a precision cut, it was down.
Ultier on the other hand, seemed to be taking a much different approach. He started by unwrapping his sling, and allowing both arms the ability to move. As he seemed to stretch just slightly, the chains on his arms were fully seeable, revealing a dagger at the end of each of them, with steel blades.
"What the hell," Zane asked, "We don't see each other for a few months, and you go from rope darts to fricking chain kunai!?"
"Eh, what can I say, ropes is too flimsy. I needs me somethin' strong!"
His Beowolf tried for an overhead claw slash, only for Ultier to wrap its hand up with his chain, before placing his boot on the joint, and snapping that arm. "And besides dat," he continued, "How many ropes let'cha do dat?"
Zane chuckled, "Fair enough."
The Beowolf was angered, and attempted to attack once more, only for Ultier to catch it with a palm strike, and then to strike it directly through the throat with his dagger blade.
"Two Beowolves in under ten seconds," Ultier said cockily, "Not half bad."
Zane only nodded to that, before asking "So, I guess we're partners then?" Ultier nodded back and said "Uh huh, we's partners! See, you gots da skills for the job, and I got da street smarts! If that don't sound like a match made in Heaven, I dunno what does!"
The samurai definitely could agree with that. At first glance, Ultier didn't seem like the toughest guy on the block, but his combat abilities were second to few, and he was skilled at controlling the flow of battles. No doubt about it, Ultier was one of the best allies he could conceivably get. The only one more efficient would likely be Rin.
"Well alright then," Zane responded, "What do we do now?"
"We go searchin' for da temple, duh!"
Zane didn't need to be told twice. The two warriors wasted no time, beginning their walk, and their search for this temple, and the relic that would decide their team.
The four warriors were out in the Emerald Forest, ready to shape their destinies themselves.
