Chapter 4: Budding

Auron and Clay finally made it. The glory of Beacon Academy was theirs to behold - as well as the hundreds of students that were walking in with them.

'We'll never get a good spot like this,' thought Auron. He stared at Clay with a sarcastic face.

Clay tried his hardest to look innocent. "What?"

"Mister 'fashion' over here needed just the right jacket, didn't he?" Auron snarked.

"Hey, I thought we had time." Clay retorted. Auron's stare remained.

"It's hard finding clothes my size," Clay argued. Auron raised an eyebrow.

"... Nothing looks good on me unless it's brown." Clay continued. Auron just shook his head.

Clay muttered under his breath, "We still made it. I don't see what the big deal is..."

Auron turned to look at him, but Clay looked as if nothing happened so Auron just shook it off and continued.

The area around the stage was packed, and students craned their necks to see what was happening. Clay needn't have bothered. At six-foot-seven, he was a good head and shoulders above everyone else. He looked down at Auron, who was struggling just like the others. 'Ohh, that's why he's so upset.'

"So," Clay started, "...You want a boost or something?"

"...What?" Auron replied.

"You know, so you can see."

"...Are you making fun of me?"

Clay was confused, "What? No. I just thought you might want some help."

Auron was flabbergasted, "That doesn't even makes sense. I'm not even short. I'm like, six feet almost."

Now it was Clay's turn to look skeptical, "You're not six feet."

"I'm pretty close."

"Naw, you're like five-and a half."

Suddenly, a large Wolf Faunus in a black trenchcoat spoke up, "Hey, you! Are you making fun of short people?"

Clay responded hastily to the wolf faunus, "No! I'm just trying to help him."

"Being condescending is no way to help short people," The other Faunus continued.

Auron was starting to lose it, "I keep telling you, I'm not short! Not even a little bit!"

"I wasn't trying to be condescending," Clay explained, his voice growing thick with frustration, "I was only trying to help him see better."

The Faunus remained preaching on his soapbox, "Now now, our height is not something we can just lord over people. We have to be accepting of all body types. Just because he's short, that doesn't mean that you're better than him."

Auron had had enough! His voice exploded out, "For the last time, I AM NOT SHORT!"

His voice bellowed out, hushing the crowd around him. The students were no longer looking toward the stage. Hundreds of eyes bored into the - quite frankly, above average-sized man. Auron's shout was so loud, it could be heard out to the top of the stage's tall facade.

Up on the tower, two figures sat weathering the wind. Neither had spoken for a few minutes. "Soooo," said Rouge to finally break the silence, "What brings you here? If you don't mind my asking."

"What does it look like?" Nero answered cheekily, "I'm a new recruit, just like the rest of you."

"It's just that you appeared to be a different person last time, not one to be here at all." Although she was curious, Rouge kind of regretted saying that. 'Way to make an impression.'

Nero turned his head to the side, "I make it my point to be whomever I need to be. Anyway, you're one to talk, little miss 'Darts'."

"That was a 'one last night' thing," Rouge pouted, getting a bit defensive.

"I don't judge," Nero responded calmly, "It's good to be able to shift gears so quickly."

Rouge sighed a little in relief, "That's good at least." She looked down at the specks of people below. "Good eye though. I've never met anyone who kept up with me."

Nero grinned at that, "Never underestimate the petty thief. Like those gamblers." Nero began chuckling again.

"They really had no idea did they?" Rouge added, smiling cheekily.

Suddenly, Rouge's ears perked up. "Did you hear that?" She turned her head toward the crowd. It sounded like an angry yell. "Sounds like someone is a bit upset."

Nero squinted, "Yeah… It sounded oddly familiar."

"Familiar?" Rouge repeated. She looked back at him a little quizzically.

Nero racked his brain for a moment. "Ehh, I can't place it. Oh well, it's probabl-oof!"

Nero's speech was cut off by Rouge as she elbowed his ribs. Rouge held a finger up to her mouth, as the world famous Professor Ozpin was on the stage. He was preparing to give the orientation speech.

The stoic figure of Professor Ozpin walked up to a circular microphone. He limped as he walked, with a silver and black cane to give him stability. Despite the limp, he held himself with an air of dignity.

"New students of Beacon Academy," His no-nonsense voice echoing through the sound system quieted the busy crowd instantly. "You have journeyed here to acquire knowledge, to perfect your skills and acquire new abilities. When you have reached your goals here, you plan on pledging yourselves to the protection of the people. However, when I look amongst the crowd, all I see is wasted energy - a need of purpose and direction. You believe that this accumulation of knowledge will give you this. Your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only get you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

Ozpin's assistant, Glynda Goodwitch, took his place at the microphone. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight," She said, "Your initiation is first thing tomorrow morning. Be ready." She then raised her hand to her mouth to yawn. As she walked away from the microphone, she muttered to herself about changing the orientation to a better time from now on.

"Hm," Nero quipped, "I'm gonna be honest. No matter who's talking, a thirty second speech wasn't really worth the effort climbing the tower."