Chapter 4: Initiation
Hey guys, it's TheNegaAsian with the fourth chapter of Shade of Gray. If your wondering why I haven't been updating these past few days, it's because I recently went through a breakup with my girlfriend and I got all depressed and stopped updating for a while. However, I'm happy about all the views I'm getting for this story, and I hope it keeps rising. I will also want to thank all the people in the reviews for liking the characters and story so far. SO…now that I'm done with all the thank yous and stuff, let's get on with the story. I do not own RWBY, but if I did, Gray would be in the series. Jk. Let's begin.
"It's morning! It's morning! It's morning!" I heard a girly, high pitched voice sing, which woke me up from my sleep.
"What the hell?" I said under my breath, propping myself up on one arm and looking around the ballroom for the voice that woke me up. I turned to my left to see a perky redhead prancing and singing around a guy in green with black hair, the two obviously friends. She kept singing and dancing around the guy, waking more and more people up. However, the guy she was singing and dancing around wasn't annoyed, like me and other people. He just seemed tired.
"What the fuck is that racket!?" Dante exclaimed, always angry without his beauty rest.
"It's just some perky girl who's excited about being at Beacon, man. Calm down." I advised my friend, yawning halfway through the statement.
"Well, if you don't mind, I need to sleep, so I'll see you at initiation later." Dante plopped back down in his sleeping bag, snoring once his head hit the pillow. I got up, stretching and yawning as I walked over to my old friend. As he was snug inside his sleeping bag, I decided to ruin his fun. I grabbed the collar of his tank top and dragged him out of the bag. He instantly woke up and began to claw and punch me, yelling and swearing as I dragged him across the ballroom floor.
Ignoring his attacks and screams of protest, I just told him, "Dude, you can't get sleep right now! We have to get prepared for the initiation later today, right now. Don't you want to stay at this school and become a badass Hunter?" I said this, still dragging Dante around in the ballroom.
"Yeah" He poutingly responded, stopping his attempts to get my hand of his shirt. After about a minute, I finally let him go; letting the guy walk for once. Our luggage that we brought with us was with everyone else's bags against the wall. Within ten minutes, we were properly dressed for the initiation in our normal battle outfits. Dante in his lightly armored khaki cargo shorts, black and green hoodie that was also lightly armored, and dark red combat boots. We tied up our sleeping bags and headed towards the cafeteria for breakfast.
We walked in and stood in line, waiting for the buffet of breakfast stuff in front of us. Once we were there, I grabbed an apple, some waffles drizzled with syrup, tons of bacon and eggs, and hash browns; creating a delicious protein-filled breakfast. Dante on the other hand piled pancakes into a foot tall tower of pancakes drenched in syrup. I berated him about protein like I always do and he added a slice of bacon. Just one. This guy. How does he stay fit and still eat like that? I thought to myself as Dante and I sat at the table. We ate our food with small chatter, although we did notice the perky girl from this morning still jumping around and squealing about Beacon with her best friend, who was that guy she woke up with this morning. I swear to Dust that I saw her slurp an entire pancake into her mouth, without chewing.
As soon as we finished breakfast, we searched for Ruby and Yang within the large locker room. While we did that, we prepared our weapons for the upcoming initiation. I pulled Wolves Bane out of my designated locker and checked the arrow amounts and Dust levels. I slipped the weapon into my holster and looked over the rest of my supplies. As I did, I heard Glynda Goodwitch's, who I believed was Ozpin's assistant, voice over the intercom. "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliffs for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliffs immediately."
I closed my locker and walked towards the exit, Dante following close behind me. We finally found Ruby and Yang soon after near the exit doors. Yang was walking aimlessly ahead of her sister, who was helping up Vomit Boy. "'Snow Angel' probably wasn't the best start." Yang remarked as Ruby lifted up the guy.
Ruby put his arm around her herself to support him. The two followed slowly behind Yang, Ruby telling Vomit Boy, "Come on, Jaune- let's go." I looked to my right to see Dante glaring at the blonde guy known as Vomit Boy, obviously jealous of how he was being treated by Ruby.
I ignored what Dante was about to say and began to run past Ruby and Vomit Boy, towards Yang. To get her attention, I hugged her from behind. "Hey beautiful!" I softly exclaimed in her ear, slightly spinning her around. She instantly recognized me and began to giggle loudly. I set her down and turned her around, getting a kiss from her as a reward for surprising her. "Hey." She seductively responded, looking into my silver eyes.
Vomit Boy's jaw dropped as he saw us flirting, stomping his foot in annoyance. "Man, I thought I was gonna get a chance at her. Now it looks like she already has a boyfriend." He threw his arms into the air as the other four of us laughed.
Dante, who was still laughing, commented, "Hey dude. No offense, but you had no chance with her." He took the words right out of my mouth. Yang giggled and nodded her head in agreement, putting Vomit Boy in awe.
"What?! But my dad said-" The blonde was about to go on, but I put my hand up to stop him.
"Sorry, Jaune was it?" I asked, since this wasn't the best time to call him Vomit Boy.
He nodded his head. "That's it. Jaune. Jaune Arc." He told me, lifting himself proudly. "The name's short and too the point. Ladies love it." He commented, winking at a girl passing by. She rolled her eyes and kept walking.
I shook my head at his attempt to flirt, trying hard not to laugh. "Sorry Jaune, but my friend is right. You kinda have no chance with most of the nice girls here." I told him as his proud figure slumped over in defeat. "But I can teach you how to pick up girls if you want. Who knows, but you might even get a nice girl in your team, am I right?" Like that redhead in the armor." I elbowed him in the stomach softly.
"Oh, you mean Pyrrha? Yeah, I guess you're right." His voiced raised with enlightenment.
"See. Always stay positive and optimistic and confident. That's what I say." I advised him.
Dante then cut in. "When have you ever sai-" I elbowed him in the ribs to instantly shut him up. He got the message. We then headed towards Beacon Cliffs. As the five of us walked, I held hands with Yang with her occasionally resting her head on my shoulder romantically, and Dante chatting with Jaune and Ruby behind us.
In about half an hour or so, we reached the cliffs, getting an entire view of the famed Emerald Forest. Several silver tiles that were installed into the ground showed us that we had to stand on one of them, so Yang and I separated, obviously kissing each other goodbye. I stood on a random tile, which was coincidentally placed next to Dante's. Ozpin stood to the side, a mug of coffee in his hand, occasionally taking a sip or two. His assistant stood beside him, a tablet placed in her hands. He looked at us once we were all stationed at a tile. "For years," He began. "you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
His assistant looked up from her tablet towards us. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'. Well, allow us to out an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates…today." A few whispers began to be spoken around us, excluding Dante and me.
Ozpin took a sip of his coffee and continued. "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 with." A few people, like Ruby, groaned in annoyance or surprise. I smiled, looking at Dante. He had the same look on his face and we nodded simultaneously on the plan we both had in our heads. I nodded my head towards Yang and Ruby, eliciting a shrug from my friend. I rolled my eyes and looked back at the professor. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Everyone began to talk louder as others exclaimed in surprise. I looked towards Dante once again and tried another silent conversation. I pointed at him and me, which he nodded at. I looked back at Yang and Ruby, and he shrugged once again. I raised an eyebrow in confusion and he responded with a shrug at first, then a nod. I nodded my head in agreement and returned my attention back to the headmaster. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest." Ozpin spoke again. "You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path… or you will die." I heard a few gulps and even a nervous laugh after he said that. "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 we will grade you appropriately. Any questions?" He continued as he took a sip of his coffee.
I looked to my right to see Jaune raise his hand. "Yeah…uh, sir?"
Ozpin completely looked over him and took another sip of his coffee. "Good! Now, take your positions."
As everyone, including myself, took our positions. Mine was slightly crouched, my weapon in my hand and positioned in the crook of my arm, against my tricep. Jaune still had his hand up, barely in position to be launched. "Uh…sir? I've got, um…a question." I heard Jaune stutter, making me roll me eyes in disbelief. Meanwhile to my right as I noticed, Weiss the Ice Queen launched from her springboard; starting the beginning of the initiation. Jaune completely didn't notice it. "So, this landing…strategy thing…Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?"
I shook my head and launched off after Dante, thanking God that I couldn't hear Jaune anymore. I spun my staff above me, turning it into its double bladed form, where the two ends of the staff become separate blades, as I did; creating a type of propeller. I smashed into trees with my Aura and cut through them as well with my weapon. I soon landed on a thick branch about 15 feet off the ground. I pulled out my binoculars and searched for Dante. As I searched the skies for my friend, I only found Jaune falling, only to be saved by a spear that pegged him against a tree. Then I felt my Semblance involuntary activate. I instantly rolled to the side out of reflex, just in time to see Dante fall through and land on the branch, his Aura thankfully saving him from serious damage. "Hey Gray." He weakly greeted. "You were supposed to not notice me. And if you did, why didn't you catch me." He asked as he got up, his green Aura fading away.
I went out laughing, almost falling off the tree branch as I rolled around. "You know I can tell what you're about to do before you do it, right?" I asked him.
He face went blank as he probably inwardly facepalmed himself. "Shit. Forgot about that."
"Yup." I joked, still laughing at his misfortune.
As we stood back up, all back to normal, I looked around. "Where did he say the relics were?" I asked my friend.
He looked in a certain direction and pointed. "North, I think." I followed his direction towards north. "That way."
As Dante used his tonfas to slide down the trunk of the tree, I used my bow form of Wolves Bane to shoot a rope arrow into an above branch, letting the rope fall to create a way down. I jumped and grabbed the rope, sliding down it without burning my hands and landing on the ground with a thud; Dante landing beside me. We headed north, weapons at the ready. A few minutes in, we encountered our first Grimm; a pack of four Beowolves, a common Grimm on Remnant.
I popped my neck, releasing my blades from my staff and facing two of the four Grimm. Dante chuckled in excitement, swinging his tonfas dangerously as he faced the other two Beowolves. Each of our targets growled at us, ready to pounce.
The first attack was my group of two. One of the Beowolves launched itself forward at me, claws extended. I strafed to my left, one of the claws barely hitting me. I slashed at its back, the dark red blood leaking down its fur. It turned to me, its body already tired from the tiring strike on its back. It charged at a slower rate towards me, so I ran at it as well, my weapon ready. I sensed its surprise slash and dodged, swiping my blade sideways and decapitating the beast. It walked forward a few feet before falling in front of the other Beowolf. I turned to it and smirked. I retracted the blades on Wolves Bane, twisting it around as I approached my next target. The Dust Containers on the ends of my staff were specifically designed for combat, such as when I strike it against something; the Dust releases its power. The Beowolf launched itself at me like the other one had, allowing me to dodge and strike it with the edge. It flipped over me, landing on its back. The frost of the Dust started to freeze the Grimm to the forest floor., incapacitating it. As it struggled to escape, I ran at the beast, jumping off its knee and into the air. I somersaulted in the air to face the Beowolf, turning my staff into bow form. I flipped it around to switch to Dust-tipped arrows and launched one. The arrow lodged itself into the ground, only to explode and shatter the frozen Grimm apart in the seconds to come. I landed on my feet, turning to see Dante clean his blades of the Beowolf's blood.
He chuckled once he was done and turned to me, sheathing his tonfas as he did. "That was fun!"
I joined in his short laugh and put Wolves Bane away. "Yes it was." I agreed.
As we celebrated our victory, I heard a few gunshots in the distance and to see smoke rise over a part of the Emerald Forest. "Do you think Yang and Ruby are alright?" I asked my friend as I stared at the smoke.
"They wouldn't be at this school if they weren't able to." He told me, patting my shoulder. "Let's move."
A/N: Hey guys, I hoped you like that chapter. You know the drill; if you liked this chapter, follow, favorite, or review. If you didn't, give me some advice and talk shit about me. Anyways, I need a team name for Gray and Dante's team. Be creative with this and tell me in the reviews. Oh, and Gray will be first in the list of names. That's it for me, so I will see you guys around. This was TheNegaAsian, and I'm out.