Morning.
It was a time of the day that Ao did not enjoy, he hated getting up early. Ao sat up and looked around, seeing several students already preparing for initiation. His friend was the complete opposite. Shin was up and running already, doing maintenance on his weapon. ''Good morning, hope you rested enough for today's test.'' Shin said while wiping a cloth on the steel frame of his weapon. Ao just grumbled something incoherent and scratched the back of his head.
Shin amusingly watched his friend standing up, wobbling on his legs. ''Be careful , you don't want to hurt yourself.'' Shin said with a slight grin on his face. In the mornings Shin could tease Ao endlessly, he either was too tired to respond or didn't really give a damn in the mornings. Ao made his way over to the coffee machine that was available for all new students. He poured in a fresh cup of coffee and slowly drank the energizing liquid. Ao could feel himself waking up more and more, already seeing the bottom of the cup. Shin's looked slightly disgust at the cup in Ao's hand, Shin was definitely someone who hated coffee.
''What time is it?'' Ao said, his first sentence of the day spoken. ''It's about 8 o'clock, why?'' Shin answered. Ao just shrugged his shoulders. ''It was just a question, not everything I ask has a meaning behind it.'' Ao said, trying to sound wise. Shin just rolled his eyes, and while doing that he spotted an odd pair of students. ''Wake up lazy bum!'' a cheery orange haired girl yelled. The boy who was being awaken by the cheery yelling slowly sat up and sighed, already used to the girl's happy go attitude. He wore a dark green tailcoat, covered in black and gold trimmings. He also had black hair with a stripe of Shin would assume was pink in it. The girl in question wore a black collared vest, a white sleeveless top and a pink skirt. Colorful and happy were the first things that crossed Shin's mind when he saw the outfit.
''I still don't know how you can drink that disgusting stuff.'' Shin said while pointing at Ao's cup. ''That's because you are always so up early, and never need any coffee. And it's not disgusting, you just have bad taste.'' Ao said in a grumpy tone. Shin grinned at Ao's response, it was indeed easy to get under Ao's skin easily in the morning and not face the consequences. Shin preferred tea a lot more, he stood up and walked over to the small table at the door. He poured in some hot water and picked out a random flavor. He added 3 sugar cubes and waited for the tea to cool down. ''So what do you think we can expect at the initiation?'' Shin asked Ao curiously.
''I don't know, but it will probably involve killing grimm, and walking a lot.'' Ao said. Shin groaned in disappointment, he hated walking. They both packed their stuff and walked to the lockers where Ao still had his weapons stored, underway they met Ruby and Yang, who were arguing about something until they stopped the two friends. ''Good morning Ao, Shin.'' Ruby said happily, holding/hugging her weapon. ''Good morning Ruby, Yang.'' Shin said, slightly staring longer at Yang before looking away again. Ao nodded at the sisters, clearly still not awake enough to be talking to other people. ''What do you have there, is that your weapon?'' Shin curiously asked. Yang face-palmed in advance, clearly bothered by her little sister's extreme addiction for weapons. ''Yea, this is Crescent Rose!'' Ruby happily extended her weapon, showing an enormous scythe and sniper rifle in one package. Both Ao and Shin dodged the dangerous looking weapon, which Ruby was swinging around. ''Hey watch it! You wanna get us killed or something?!'' Shin yelled terrified. Ao was much more reserved but looked just as surprised. Ruby sheepishly scratched the back of her neck. ''Oops, sorry. I got a bit excited.'' Yang shook her head. ''Sorry about her, she's a huge weapons dork.'' And with that yang pulled Ruby's hood from her cape over her head. Ruby flailed her arms in response to everyone's amusement.
Ao got to his locker and typed in his code. The door gave a soft bleep and opened up, showing Ao his weapons. Ruby almost teleported instantly beside Ao. ''Oooh! What are those?'' Ruby said excited. Ao backed up just a little bit, Ruby was standing a little too close. ''These are my katana's.'' Ao answered quickly. Ruby stepped closer the moment Ao stepped away. ''Do they have names?'' Ruby asked curiously. ''Names? You give weapons names?'' Ao said confused. Ruby nodded her head excitedly. ''Yea, don't you give your weapons a name?'' Ruby asked, almost shocked. ''By now you should have figured it out, no I don't give my weapons a name. Why do you ask, is it some sort of trend with the cool kids these days?'' Ao asked.
Shin face-palmed at Ao's choice of words. ''You are also still 17, you cannot call them 'the cool kids' like some old man.'' Shin said a little annoyed. ''I can say whatever I want.'' Ao said stubbornly. ''Yea let's not do that, you would scar the people around you with your choice of words.'' Shin said annoyed. Ao and Shin continued to argue, when the speakers sparked to life and professor Goodwitch started her announcement. ''Would all first year students please report to Beacon cliff for initiation. Again, all first years students report to Beacon cliff immediately.'' and with that the speakers turned off again. Ao and Shin both stopped arguing and looked at each other, both of them showing a smile. Finally it was time for some action.
Yang and Ruby went on ahead to help up someone, Ao and Shin weren't paying attention in the beginning. ''Having some trouble there lady-killer?'' Yang opened smoothly. ''I don't understand, my dad said all women look for is confidence, where did I go wrong?'' the guy explained. He had blond hair, darker than Yang's. It was a bit of a mess, giving it a rougher look. Dark blue eyes stood out in combination with the dark blond hair. He wore several pieces of white armor, the biggest piece being the white chest plate. He carried a basic sword as weapon. ''Snow angel, probably wasn't the best start.'' Yang said, like she was stating the obvious. ''Come on Jaune, let's go.'' Ruby said while helping Jaune up.
''So who are these two?'' Jaune asked, looking at both Ao and Shin. ''I'm Shin, and this is my friend Ao.'' Shin held out his hand to shake it with Jaune's. ''I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc, nice to meet you.'' Jaune said while shaking Shin's hand. Ao only nodded in acknowledgment. ''Likewise Jaune, so do we know where we're going?'' Shin asked curiously. ''Just follow the rest of the first years, we'll reach Beacon cliff in no-time.'' Yang said while smiling, walking in a casual pace. The group followed Weiss and another girl with long red hair, and golden armor. Blake eventually joined the group, quietly and walked a bit further away from the group. She made sure not to attract any unnecessary attention to herself, her focus was on her book, and her book alone.
The group arrived at Beacon cliff a little early, being the first ones to arrive. The waited for the rest of the first years to arrive at the location. More students slowly showed up, but the most noticeable one to arrive was a guy with orange-ish hair, covered in steel armor and carrying a mace as weapon. He was talking with a friend, loud enough for the others to hear. ''Did you see how I made that faunus trip, it was hilarious.'' He somewhat proudly exclaimed. Ao clenched his fist, not really amused by his sense of 'humor'. Blake looked in disgust at this guy, while Shin only looked a bit sad. ''He deserved it, he shouldn't have walked in my way.'' he said like it was a matter of fact. Ao was doing brining up every bit of willpower not to react. ''Ah screw it.'' Ao eventually thought and stood up. Shin tried to hold him back, while Ruby and Yang looked a bit confused. ''He isn't worth it, just let him go.'' Shin said calm and worried, scared of what Ao has planned for the bully/racist in question. ''Someone needs to teach that...guy a lesson.'' Ao refrained himself from swearing, as he quickly gazed at Ruby. ''I'll just swear when I'm close enough so she doesn't hear it.'' Ao thought.
''Could you shut your trap for a second, no one here is interested in your so called 'tough guy' stories.'' Ao said over to the so called 'tough guy'. ''Or what, I'm allowed to talk about what I want.'' He aggressively reacted back. ''You act proudly on your racist actions, I should kick your face in for that.'' Ao said, aggressively walking over to the bully. Shin quickly wrapped his arms around Ao's middle, trying to hold him back. ''Don't act rash Ao, he's not worth it!'' Shin said worriedly. Ao overpowered Shin quickly, as the bully and Ao quickly walked to each other. The bully had a short moment of hesitation, seeing the actual height of Ao. ''You wanna go at it, huh!?'' the bully said, still with confidence. ''Let's do it then ass-wipe!'' Ao quickly looked back at the rest. ''Atleast I tried to hold back the cursing.''. The bully tried to punch Ao in the face, but Ao weaved his head, effectively dodging it. Ao clenched his right fist and threw a very heavy punch, hitting the bully right in the face. The bully's head recoiled back, his nose bleeding a little bit. The bully staggered a bit back, shaking his head to shake of the confusion.
''That's enough you two!'' a more mature female voice sounded. Professor Goodwitch and Ozpin had arrived. ''Ao, Cardin, I expect you two in my office after the initiation, also this incident will be taken into account when grading you appropriately.'' Goodwitch explained. Shin shook his head and face-palmed at his friend, while both Yang and Ruby looked a bit shocked at the event that had rapidly escalated. Blake had a more amused expression, she probably didn't mind that the bully, named Cardin, got what he deserved. Ao shrugged his shoulders, walking away calmly. ''Just you wait, you bastard...'' Cardin said threateningly to Ao. ''Back off, or I will break your face with the next punch..'' Ao said, glaring hatred at Cardin. ''Come on, knock if off now. You don't want to fail just because you hate the guy.'' Shin said to Ao.
Goodwitch nodded at Ozpin, who returned the gesture and spoke up. ''For years you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald forest.'' When Ozpin stopped talking, Goodwitch continued the explanation. ''Now, 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.'' Goodwitch said with a slight pause at the end. Ozpin took over and continued talking. ''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 whom you can work with well.''. Ruby didn't enjoy this new piece of news, and groaned in response. ''With that being said.'' Ozpin continued. ''The first person you make eye contact with after landing, will be your partner for the next 4 years.'' Ozpin said slightly amused. ''What!?'' Ruby cried out, not happy with the rule.
''After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition on the way, do not hesitate to destroy anything on your path, or you will die.'' Ozpin said, sounding a bit too casual for the possibility of incoming death for the new students. Jaune laughed nervously, before gulping out loud in fear. ''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 pair must choose one, and return to the top of the cliff. We will guard that item, as well as your standing and grade you appropriately.'' And with that Ozpin ended his explanation. ''Are there any questions?'' Ozpin asked.
''Yea uhm..sir?'' Jaune tried to ask but got cut off by Ozpin. ''Good, now take your positions.'' Ozpin continued. Everyone got ready on their platforms. ''Uh sir, I've got a question.'' Jaune asked. And with that the first person, Weiss, was thrown into the air by the launching platform. ''So this, landing strategy thing, what is it? You'll like, dropping us off or something?'' Jaune asked. ''No, you will be falling.'' Ozpin answered. ''Oooh..I see, so like, did you hand out parachute's for us?'' Jaune asked, getting a bit more nervous the further he explained his question. ''No, you will be using your own landing strategy.'' Ozpin answered, again casually. ''Ahaa..that.''. Yang and Ruby where launched into the air, leaving only Jaune, Ao and Shin at the platforms. ''So what exactly is a landing strategy-.'' And before Jaune could finish his sentence, he was launched into the air. Ao and Shin looked at each other, both grinning as Ao got shot into sky, Shin following him closely. Ozpin looked at the 'flying' students, and took a sip from his coffee, smiling at the display of people in the air.
Ao quickly grabbed the handles of both his katana's, while Shin let his tonfa's transform into it's rocket launcher mode. They could see Ruby braking mid-air by shooting infront of her, the force of the recoil slowing her down before swinging around a branch with her scythe. Weiss used her glyphs to make landing platforms, and carefully making her way down. Ao held up both his katana's, planning to use the trees to slow down his descent. When he was low enough he slammed both his katana's into a tree, and continued to slide down a few more meters before coming to a complete stop. He looked around and did a quick scan of his surroundings. He heard a loud cheer and looked up, seeing Yang flying by. Yang was using her gauntlets to launch herself forward, effectively covering lots of ground. Shin launched his rocket launcher at the last possible moment to slow down. He landed a bit rough, but not that it would injure or hurt him.
Ao quickly jumped from branch to branch up high in the trees, having a higher point of view meaning he could look further ahead for potential allies or threats. Ao silently made his way forward, looking for clue's on where to find the abandoned temple and it's artifacts. He also made a list on potential partners that he could encounter. ''Well there is ofcourse Shin, I would most likely want to partner up with him. There is also Blake, she seems like she can handle herself, despite not being very vocal. Then there is Ruby. A bit impulsive, maybe a tad childish, but considering she's still 15 and already a potential student to Beacon must be a conclusion that her fighting skills are top-notch to say the least. There is also Yang, the happy and very talkative older sister of Ruby. She also seems strong, despite her cheery and free-going attitude. Weiss is another potential partner, though I must say that I like her the least out of the bunch. Still, despite the cold and strict attitude, her fighting must be very versatile, having her dust and glyphs she can work with. Rather using strategy and tactics then brute force.''. Ao continued onwards, occasionally glancing sideways to see if something or someone was trailing him.
Shin in the mean time, was running towards the north side of the forest. He hoped that he would meet Ao along the way. ''Considering we have perfect teamwork, getting trough this forest is going to be a breeze.'' Shin heard the first shots being fired in the forest, echoing throughout the entire forest. ''It seems the first people already found some enemies to destroy'' Shin mumbled to himself quietly. He then heard a branch snap in the bushes behind him. Shin instantly stood still, and turned around. He group of Beowolfs standing, glaring and growling at him. Shin slightly smirked and made his tonfa's combat ready. ''Finally some action.'' he said to himself, as the Beowolfs ran at him, seeing Shin as a delicious prey. The first Beowolf was instantly stopped by hard hitting blunt end of Shin's tonfa. Shin could hear it's skull crack, making the Beowolf fall back on it's back dead. The other didn't seem fazed by this and two Beowolfs decided to flank him. Shin jumped back just in time, dodging a swipe of a claw and the bite from the other. Shin combined his tonfa's again to make his rocket launcher usable again. He fired off a rocket, but the two target were too quick and jumped out of the way of the flying projectile.
''Damn..'' Shin muttered to himself and quickly changed his weapon back to his two tonfa's. Shin decided to take it to close range combat, his rocket deemed too slow for the faster Beowolfs. He brought up one tonfa to block a swipe from a Beowolfs claw. Sparks were produced upon contact, as Shin brought up his other tonfa up in a uppercut motion, hitting the Beowolf in question square on the jaw. It flew a bit in the air before landing on top of another Beowolf, who struggled to get his friend's corpse off him. Shin brought down his tonfa's to block a huge swing from a Beowolf's claw. Shin skidded back for a meter or so, before lowering his guard again. Only three Beowolfs left alive, Shin transformed his weapon again, and shot a rocket at the struggling Beowolf on the ground. The explosion made body parts of the beast go everywhere, coating the grass underneath it red with blood. One Beowolf saw an opportunity and attack Shin while he still had is weapon in it's shooting mode. Shin hastily brought up his weapon in defense, the Beowolf swiped his against a tree as Shin groaned in pain a little.
''Damn..that hurts.'' Shin said in a strained voice. He stood up again, ignoring the pain in his back and focused back on the fight, with his tonfa's at the ready again. The same Beowolf he smashed him against the tree attacked again, feeling confident he could take Shin on now. He swiped his claw at Shin again, who dodged by ducking very low, surprising the Beowolf. Shin jumped up and slammed a massive uppercut against the Beowolf's jaw, breaking it's neck from the force of the hit. Shin however didn't wait for the last Beowolf to act, and kicked the dead Beowolf at the still alive one. The last Beowolf wasn't counting on that and staggered backwards when hit by the corpse of his dead friend. Shin took that moment and threw a combo of attack at the last Beowolf. A sideways punch to the skull, a punch against the liver, then a one-two against the skull again and ending it with a massive punch against ribs. The Beowolf was launched against a tree, making the tree bark break under the force, shaking the tree to it's roots. Shin looked around for the last time, and dropped his fighting stance, the first fight over. Shin sighed out in relief. ''Phew...that was a tricky battle, agh my back will kill me tomorrow.'' Shin complained, before setting off and continued onwards to the temple, and hopefully his friend Ao.