I just realized I forgot to do color themes and emblems for Arthur and Ciel, so I'll just go over that quickly. Arthur's color theme is navy while Ciel's color theme is green/white. Their emblems are a yellow spiked circle and a green drop of water with white in the center respectively.

If there was one thing that Gilbert McLane hated above all else, it was heights. One day, the damn thing would be the death of him. Unfortunately, he didn't have the luxury of cursing, as he found himself chasing after Nana using his Charge Spear to boost himself along.

One of the most useful features of the Charge Spear was that it could be used for propulsion. While Arthur thought it ironic that Gilbert would use a weapon that could allow him to glide through the air for short periods of time, the spear user disagreed, as he could use his weapon to slow his fall if necessary. Like in this situation.

Eventually, when Nana hit the ground, Gil took the opportunity to slowly lower himself, landing a couple meters away from the pink-loving God Eater. "Nana."

"Yeah Gil?"

"Please try to slow down a bit."

"Wow, Gil. I know you're afraid of heights, but that's a little bit too much." Nana said as she hefted up her Boost Hammer.

Gil was not amused. "Anyway, the relic should be this way. I brought a compass just in case."

"Awesome!"

Glynda Goodwitch looked at the screen in interest. "Visconti and Alencon are partnered up, and so are McLane and Kozuki. Interesting. To think that the God Eaters would pair up almost right away."

"It's about as expected, Glynda. After all, they were all raised to become a team by Dr. Rachel Claudius, you know."

"The scientist that runs the orphanage on the side in Atlas?"

"The very same. While her methods have been somewhat controversial in the past, they have also created the strongest Anti-Grimm fighting force, with the key figure in it being Julius Visconti, her adoptive son."

That got the professor's attention. "The older Visconti child?"

Ozpin nodded. "The very same. Julius and Arthur were both adopted by her after their parents were killed and no one else wanted to adopt them."

"Julius has already graduated, correct?"

"That is correct. In fact, I believe he and Miss Schnee's older sister graduated from Atlas Academy as part of the same team. Something on your mind, Glynda?"

Professor Goodwitch nodded. "Why would you ask Dr. Rachel if she could send Arthur over here and not Julius when he became old enough to attend the huntsmen academy?"

"…"

"Professor?"

"Because Arthur possesses a unique ability that Julius does not. Tell me, have you heard of Evoke?"

"Say, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.

"Yes, Jaune?"

"Who was that other guy that you spoke with briefly before we got to the cliff?"

Pyrrha took a moment to think about it before it dawned on her. "Oh! You mean Arthur Visconti, right?"

Jaune nodded. He didn't say anything though. That very palpable threat of castration by surgical precision he received would remain his little secret. "Yeah, him. Who exactly is he? I heard a couple people mention that he was a bit of a celebrity as well."

"Of a sort." Pyrrha nodded. "Arthur was also an athlete before he came to Beacon, so some people know him from that. He's from Atlas, but he's participated in the Mistral Regional Tournament a couple times because there was no equivalent he could attend in Atlas. I've fought him a couple times in the tournament. You may have seen him on the cereal box as well."

Jaune chuckled nervously. "I think one of my sisters may have fangirled a bit over him."

Most people in a forest where Grimm could take you by surprise would try to be extremely people. Ciel Alencon and Arthur Visconti were not most people. With Ciel's Semblance, Intuit, the two of them could travel through the forest at a brisk pace without much worry.

Key word being 'much'. Ciel stopped Arthur for a second. "A small pack of Beowolves will be at our position in about a minute. Do we want to engage?"

Arthur blinked once before changing his God Arc into Blade Mode to prepare for the upcoming fight. "Might as well get rid of them now. It'd also help the other students in the forest if there were less Grimm around."

"Acknowledged." Ciel also shifted her God Arc into Blade Mode. While she would have preferred to go sniping, there were only two of them here. In this situation, melee combat was the preferable option.

Arthur ran a hand along his God Arc, which began to glow. "Let's go."

They were upon the Beowolves in an instant.

"So, is there anything special about Arthur?" Jaune asked. "I mean, you're a star athlete and he's also fought you in tournaments before."

Pyrrha nodded. "He's one of the two remaining users of the Visconti Sword School."

"Uh, the what?"

"It's an old school of sword-fighting. Most fighters learn combat from mentors or schools dedicated to swordsmanship. The Visconti Sword School is slightly different. It's a more advanced school that puts their emphasis on one thing: Aura manipulation."

Jaune was confused. "Aura manipulation? How is that different from using aura like you mentioned earlier?"

"While many huntsmen are capable of manipulating aura through their weapons or body, the Visconti are undisputedly the best at it. They can shape their very aura into weapons, unlike many people who use their aura in tandem with dust or their Semblance to fight. With it, they can create waves of energy,"

Arthur cut through another Beowolf before turning around and sending out a wave of aura that cut through three more Beowolves.

Off to the side, Ciel did a flip over a Beowolf while decapitating it before bringing her God Arc down to cut down another Beowolf down the center.

"increase their mobility,"

Arthur ran his hand down his blade again before channeling aura into his feet and charging with unprecedented speed and cutting through more Grimm.

"or even augment the strength of their attacks." Pyrrha finished.

"Question. Does each move have a name?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha nodded. "They're all named based on how they're used.

"That is so cool!" Jaune looked excited. "Do you think I could learn from him?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "Perhaps one day. For now, we should focus on getting the relic."

"Oh, right! Relic first."

After finishing off the Grimm, Arthur and Ciel made their way to the temple. Finally getting there, it took them a moment to figure out what they were looking at.

"Chess pieces. The relics are chess pieces. I'm guessing they're not really relics after all then." Arthur noted.

"Indeed. This is most likely how they do their initiation every year." Ciel agreed.

Arthur looked at the temple, noting how the pillars were rather well-maintained. "So, in other words, they come here every year, make sure these pedestals are intact, and place 'relics' to determine how the teams will be set up. Any ideas on how grading is done, Ciel?"

Ciel glanced over at each of the pieces before making her analysis. "Given that there are two of every piece here, even the ones that should not have two pieces, it is safe to assume that whichever pairs pick the same pieces will be part of the same team."

Professor Ozpin chuckled. "Oh, she's good. I suppose I shouldn't underestimate General Ironwood's daughter."

"That's James' adopted daughter?" Professor Goodwitch looked at the screen, confused. "Why is she in Beacon?"

"If the report I received from Dr. Rachel is correct, it's because the two of them are the closest of friends."

"It's hard to imagine James would approve of his daughter attending a school that wasn't Atlas Academy." The telekinetic professor looked surprised.

Ozpin chuckled. "Knowing Dr. Rachel, she probably talked him into it. She can be quite convincing when she needs to be."

A couple moments later, Arthur heard something over the horizon that sounded distinctly like something being launched. "Ciel, that's not what I think it is, is it?"

"If you are thinking that it's Nana and Gil coming here through unconventional methods, you are correct." Ciel stated.

"I was afraid of that."

A couple seconds later, Nana's Boost Hammer crash-landed in front of Arthur, with Gil and Nana following suit.

"Dare I ask how this happened?"

"Nana tied herself and me to her hammer and spun around until she could throw it far enough to land near where we thought the relic was." Gil explained. "We just managed to get lucky with placement."

"Right, I guess that works." Arthur shrugged. "At least we're all here with no Grimm on our tail."

It was at that moment Nana spoke up. "Umm, Arthur?"

"…You didn't."

"Afraid so. I might have gotten a bit excited. I think it was a pretty big one. Still a bit of a distance away, but it's closing in."

Gil palmed his face. "I was afraid of this."

Nana's Semblance, Attract, was one of the most dangerous Semblances in existence. Not in terms of potency, but in terms of what it might do. Attract forced attention to be diverted to the user, which meant that Nana could effectively get anyone to focus their attention on her.

Unfortunately, as she didn't have complete control over it yet, this also applied to Grimm.

"Nana…" Ciel mirrored Gil's expression. "Orders, Arthur?"

Arthur's mood switched. "Grab the black knights and let's move back to the cliff. If we're going to end up fighting a huge Grimm, we might as well lead it away from here so the others coming don't have to worry about it. Ciel, do we have an idea of what it is?"

Ciel frowned as she pressed her hand to the ground, eyes closed. "It's difficult to tell. It's large and moving quickly, but it doesn't seem to be able to turn as fast."

"Can it fly?"

"No."

Arthur nodded in understanding. "Nana, bait it. Ciel, find us a spot. Gil, I need traps to try and slow it down. When we get it to the clearing, Ciel focuses on sniping while we go with Merry-Go-Round. Let's move."

"Yes, sir!"

When they finally made it to the clearing, they started setting up. Ciel noticed a spot in a tree. "Nana, I need a slingshot."

"Right!" Nana prepped her Boost Hammer, pulling back before taking a huge swing.

As Nana started swinging, Ciel hopped into the air and planted her feet on the front of the hammer, letting Nana spin around once before pushing off, the extra momentum giving her what she needed to land in the tree.

"Traps are set!" Gil called out.

Arthur nodded. "Great! Everyone stay concealed except for Nana. Once Gil's traps go off, we move in and initiate combat. Let's move!"

A minute later, a large Grimm appeared, being about the size of a Death Stalker, but having the shape of an alligator. It was well armored, on both the top and bottom and it seemed to crackle with electricity.

Everyone recognized it from their Grimm glossaries. "A Sinensis."

Nana waved at the Grimm. "Hey, you looking for me? I'm right here! Just don't try to eat me. I don't taste that good, even if I do eat a lot of food."

As the Grimm got closer, Gil pressed his trigger. A large flash of light blinded the Grimm, commencing the next step of the operation.

Arthur, Nana, and Gil ran around the Sinensis, firing off their weapons to damage it while Ciel aimed for its legs to slow it down. This was the basics of Merry-Go-Round: Divert the attention of the Grimm so that it couldn't focus on a single person. Whenever it did lock onto a single person, that initiated the next step.

When the Sinensis focused on Gil, Arthur shouted. "Switch!"

On that word, Arthur and Nana both jumped from where they were on the sides of the Grimm, switching to Long Blade and Boost Hammer respectively before attacking the Grimm. The strikes were enough to distract the Sinensis , with Gilbert taking advantage of that moment to stab it with his Charge Spear before throwing an explosive charged with lightning dust to paralyze it. It was enough to keep it from suddenly lunging, so they fell back to evaluate the situation.

As they took the moment to catch their breath, Ciel hopped down from her tree. "We're not doing enough substantial damage. It's too well-armored. We need to do as much damage as we can with a single attack."

Arthur looked at the Grimm that Gil was pelting with flashbangs before an idea came to mind. "We're switching strategies. Falling Petal. You all know your roles."

Everyone nodded before Gil and Nana charged at the Grimm, with Ciel hopping up to a different sniping spot. Falling Petal was a different strategy in that it involved distracting the enemy until Arthur had fully charged up his technique, which was also named Falling Petal. By himself, he would never consider using it, as it took too long to charge up. As part of a team, there was enough distraction provided for him to fully charge the attack. There were two more variations to this strategy that were utilized by Nana and Gil depending on what kind of attack was needed.

Arthur stood in place before raising up his God Arc with both hands, eyes closed. As the seconds passed by, the God Arc glowed as more aura was being poured into it.

While he did so, Nana was having a field day with the Sinensis' face. One of the most useful features of the Boost Hammer was that, as the name suggested, it had extra propulsion behind it for when Nana wanted more speed on her swings. Nana was using this to great effect, leaving only half a second between strikes as she continued battering the Grimm's head. Over on the side, Gil was surrounding the Grimm with traps that only left it a single direction: forward.

Arthur's shout of "Ready!" got their attention, prompting Nana to stop battering the Grimm's face and lead it to her captain with her Semblance. As the Sinensis got closer, Arthur's eyes remained closed before opening. With some exertion, Arthur brought down his blade. A giant blade of aura came out of the God Arc, splitting the Grimm cleanly in two before it started to dissolve in smoke. Arthur stumbled right afterward before being caught by Gil.

"So much for the epic pose that you were planning to do after you killed it." Gil had a smile on his face.

Arthur responded with a grin. "Shut up, Gil."

Nana was jumping in the air in joy. "We did it!"

Ciel ended up being the buzzkill in the celebration, though she did have a small smile on her face as well. "We still need to get up the cliff to finish the assignment."

Arthur raised up a hand. "Just give me a moment to catch my breath. I spent a lot of energy on that last attack."

"Very well. I will make sure to add more stamina training to your regimen later." If not for the look in Ciel's eyes, Arthur would have assumed she was serious.

When they finally made it up the cliff, Professor Ozpin was there to greet them. "Well done, students. You are the first group to make it back."

Arthur and Nana handed over the chess pieces. "Your 'relics', sir." Arthur made sure to put an emphasis on the word 'relic'.

The professor chuckled. "I see you four figured out how teams were created. Well done. Dr. Rachel certainly raised you well."

"Thank you so much, sir!" Nana said.

"Now, you have two options. You can go in and wait for the rest of the students to get here, or you can go straight to the auditorium. Either way, you will be waiting."

"We should get a good view then, don't you think?" Nana asked.

Ciel nodded. "Agreed."

"I think it's a good idea." Arthur sat down on the grass. "Nana tends to have quite a few of those."

Gil still looked a little pale from the climb up the cliff. "Maybe we could sit a little further back from the edge. That'd be nice."

"Do you mind if we look at the video feed, professor?"

"Help yourself."

After killing the two large Grimm that had come after them, the four pairs of partners made it up the cliff to see a group of four sitting there munching on raisins while looking at a video feed along with two professors.

Pyrrha raised her eyebrow. "You four certainly finished quickly. Were you waiting here the entire time?"

Gil shrugged. "The other option was to wait in the auditorium. We figured we could go for the more scenic waiting area."

"Nice job with the Death Stalker and Nevermore, by the way." Arthur had a smile on his face.

Ruby was quick to respond, blushing. "Oh, stop it."

"Yeah, that was so cool how you just ran up the cliff dragging the Nevermore with your scythe." Nana looked excited.

"It was certainly impressive." Ciel noted. "Especially Mr. Arc's strategic planning. Few people are that naturally gifted at tactics."

Jaune scratched the back of his head, sheepish from the praise. "Thanks."

"So, how'd you guys do?" Yang asked.

Arthur shrugged. "We did alright."

"Your friends here were actually the first to make it back to the cliff." Ozpin noted.

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at Arthur, who responded in kind. The athletic rivals stared each other down for a second before Ozpin interrupted them.

"While it would make for riveting conversation, the twelve of you should probably head back to the auditorium now. We will be deciding teams in a moment."

At that, the two broke their stares and started walking back to school. Arthur took the time to talk with Pyrrha.

Pyrrha initiated the conversation. "Your group finished first?"

Arthur nodded. "According to Professor Ozpin. We've been working together for years. Coordinating is second nature to us. Granted, we ended up fighting a Sinensis on the way to the cliffs, but we took it down without too much trouble. We figured that if we could wait in either the auditorium or on the cliff, that we'd pick the more scenic view."

Pyrrha frowned. "A Sinensis? Aren't those rare?"

"Nana got its attention by accident with her Semblance."

"I see. Did you partner up with Ciel?" Pyrrha asked.

Arthur raised his eyebrow. "Is that even a question?"

"No, I suppose not."

"So, who'd you partner with?"

"I partnered with Jaune."

Arthur blinked for a moment. "Jaune? As in Jaune Arc?"

Pyrrha looked strangely at Arthur. "Do you not like him?"

Arthur shrugged. "He tried to flirt with Ciel, I threatened him with precise castration if he tried again. That about sums it up. As long as he doesn't do it again, I don't think I'll have a problem with him."

"Well, I see you're protective of your girlfriend." Yang Xiao Long popped up behind them with a cheeky grin, making them both jump.

"Arthur and I are not romantic partners. We are however, best friends." Ciel stated from the side.

Yang looked thoughtful. "I see. Care to make some more friends? We can hang out during lunch."

"Can we really?" Ciel's eyes started sparkling.

"Of course! Well, if you can make time for us. Ruby needs to learn to make more friends."

"Arthur is always encouraging me to make new friends as well." Ciel said with a smile.

Arthur nodded. "That, I am."

"Great! It's settled. We're all friends now."

All things considered, Arthur thought coming to Beacon was a great idea.

Then he tripped and fell face-first on the ground.

I was wondering when that was going to happen again.

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by Cardin Winchester."

Arthur barely glanced over as that team was formed. It was the next group that interested him.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR (Juniper). Led by Jaune Arc."

Jaune's surprise was evident. "Huh? L-led by?"

Arthur was surprised as well. "I thought Pyrrha would be the one leading."

Ciel whispered to him. "Jaune was the one making the strategic calls during that fight with the Death Stalker. He may not be as strong in combat, but he probably does a good job directing people."

"Fair point." By the time they finished talking, the next group was up.

"Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY (Ruby). Led by Ruby Rose."

Arthur blinked. "That was unexpected."

"Did you expect anyone else to lead?" Gil asked.

"…maybe Weiss?"

Nana looked over. "Arthur, do you really think that?"

"…point."

After watching everyone else go ahead of them in team assignments, Arthur's group was up.

"And finally: Ciel Alencon, Nana Kozuki, Gilbert McLane, Arthur Visconti. The four of you retrieved the black knight pieces. From this day forward, you four will work as Team ACGN (Acorn), led by Arthur Visconti."

Like the first group, the newly-christened Team ACGN stood there stoically. At least until they walked off-stage. Out of all the teams there, only Team ACGN looked completely unsurprised by their assignments.

"Did you guys know how the teams were going to be decided?" Pyrrha asked, curious.

"Ciel figured that out pretty quickly. But I want to talk to you about something else." Arthur extended his hand. "I know we're just acquaintances, but if we're going to be classmates for the next four years, we might as well be friends. So, what do you say, Nikos? Friends?"

Pyrrha smiled before shaking. "That sounds wonderful."

Things were shaping up to be a good year.

Elsewhere, a person chuckled as he read the message from his scroll.

"Something the matter?" A woman next to him asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing to be worried about. Arthur just finished Beacon's initiation as a team leader."

"I see. And Weiss?"

"She's in a different team, though she's not the leader. Break is over, right?"

Winter Schnee nodded. "That's right. We have a briefing to head to, Julius. Let's go."

The man nodded and stood up. He spared one last glance at his scroll where there was a picture of Arthur chatting amicably with some new friends.

Julius Visconti smiled. It's good to see that you're doing well, Arthur.

Well, that settles it for this chapter. I'll try to get weekly uploads out, though as a certified computer science major, that might be difficult.

The Sinensis is based off the Ukonvasara from God Eater. I said I would be including characters and monsters from God Eater and I intend to stay true to that promise. Granted, I'll be changing color schemes to make sense, but other than that, Aragami from God Eater will be making an appearance here.

The Visconti Sword School is essentially my replacement for Blood Arts, which I personally am enjoying. And yes, I eventually plan to have Jaune learn some techniques. It'll be another power-up for him, seeing as he has yet to have a ranged option.

As of this chapter, I've also decided to change the name of this fanfic to 'Inheritance'. There's a reason to the naming, though I won't be discussing it for now.

Other than that, feel free to shoot reviews, questions, criticisms, or even insults if that's your thing (please don't shoot insults. They're not really worth it).

Thanks for reading!

WX

Name: Gilbert McLane

Age: 18

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Color: Dark Brown

Color Theme: Purple

Emblem: A spear laid over the letter 'G'

Height: 6'1

Likes: Playing guitar, billiards, riding motorcycles

Dislikes: Heights, broken equipment, pineapples

Equipment: God Arc – Charge Spear, Assault Rifle, Shield

Semblance: Inspire – Can deliver what is effectively an adrenaline rush to his team.

Combat Description: The second middleman of Team ACGN, Gilbert puts more of a focus on using the Assault Rifle feature of his God Arc than he does on the Charge Spear though he'll switch with Arthur depending on what's needed on the battlefield. Gilbert also works as a technician of sorts, utilizing all sorts of gadgets on the battlefield, ranging from mines to traps as well as explosives and flashbangs.

Trivia:

Is slightly older than the rest of the God Eaters on Team ACGN, due to having been found on the streets a year after he would have started his education as a huntsman. As a result, he joined in the same year as Arthur, Ciel and Nana.

Is the primary mechanic for the team, having taught the rest of the team to maintain their God Arcs and is able to replace each module of a God Arc if necessary.

Skilled with drawing. He helped to design everyone's emblems.

The most perceptive of people's emotions

Name: Nana Kozuki

Age: 17

Eye Color: Dark Pink

Hair Color: Black

Color Theme: Pink.

Emblem: Pink cat curled up to sleep

Height: 5'2

Likes: Oden Sandwiches, Cooking, basically anything food-related

Dislikes: Sniping, military rations, snakes (she had a traumatic experience with a King Taijitu)

Equipment: God Arc – Boost Hammer, Shotgun, Tower Shield

Semblance: Attract – Can force people to divert their attention to her.

Combat Description: Nana is the consistent front line for Team ACGN, being able to soak up damage without even batting an eye. While most people would be sent flying, Nana can hold her ground against even a punch from an Atlesian Paladin (tested while at Atlas). As far as Aura potential goes, Nana has the most out of any member on the team.

Trivia:

Picture-perfect definition of the word 'gullible', as "rules" written on a sticky note are enough to make her follow instructions

Gets about as depressed as Nora Valkyrie on a 'pancakes for breakfast' day.

Is the undisputed board game champion of Team ACGN.