Chapter 7
The locker room bustled as students grabbed their gear and chatted about what their test would be. There was all manner of rumors floating around about what it would be, from as simple as fighting a pack of Beowolves to as far fetched as taking down a Leviathan. There was also the issue of being assigned to teams and how they would go about it. James knew about as much as the others, even though Yang and Blake were happy to share stories of their time at Beacon, they were tight lipped about what to expect as far as challenges.
He let out a sigh and closed his locker. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned, expecting to see Micah, and was surprised to find Nina standing behind him with a big, happy smile.
"Oh, Nina, good morning," he greeted with a slight nod.
"Morning," she greeted back with a wave; she clasped her hands behind her back, "today's the big day huh."
"Yeah," James replied, touching his bracer, "it is."
"Any idea what we'll see? I heard Professor Schnee is your aunt."
"Micah, I assume?"
Nina nodded.
James sighed, "Nope, I don't have a clue. Wei- I mean Professor Schnee isn't gonna give me special treatment just because I'm her nephew."
"Awe darn, and I was hoping to mooch some favoritism off of you," Nina giggled.
James chuckled, "You and Micah both," he replied, glancing toward Micah who was chatting with Chrys, "though, he probably wants it for getting out of trouble."
"Does he get in trouble a lot?"
"No, but he does have a habit of creating trouble."
James glanced down at his the clock on his arm, "We should probably head out," he said.
Nina nodded, "Let's do this!" she replied, cheerfully pumping her fist, "Lead the way!" James couldn't help laughing.
The Emerald Forest was quite the sight; it was almost impossible to see the ground from the cliff all the first years were gathered on. The only spot where the ground was visible was the area just below the cliff, the rest was lost in a sea of green. Guess Emerald is a pretty appropriate name then.
The class looked over at Professor Schnee and Professor Pine who were both standing off to the side of the class, the former holding her scroll in its' tablet form.
"Good Morning everyone," Professor Schnee said; she gestured to the area in front of her, "please take your positions on the pad you see before you."
The students obliged, everyone picking out spaces near their friends. James himself stood between Micah and Nina.
"Well then let's get down to business," Professor Pine said, swirling his cup of, what James assumed was, coffee, "I'm sure you've all heard plenty of rumors and stories about what you will be facing today." He paused to scan the students then continued, "Well allow me to quell your curiosity," he gestured toward the forest, "in this forest is a set of ruins from Remnant's past, your task today is to retrieve some relics from these ruins."
The students all looked at one another, "That's it?" someone called out.
"Yes," Professor Pine replied with a smile, "but this task will not be as easy as you think. This forest is filled with the creatures of Grimm, and they will make every attempt to stop you from reaching your goal and, if you are not careful, they will succeed."
The students looked at one another again, the mood having clearly shifted.
James rolled his shoulders and glanced at Professor Schnee who met his eyes with a serious look. I see, he thought, their not messing around then.
"One more thing before you go," Professor Pine said, leaning forward on his cane, "I'm sure you've all heard about the assignment teams. That particular rumor is true, and those assignments will be happening, today."
Some of the students began talking in worried tones. James couldn't help feeling nervous himself, if he ended up with anyone he didn't know then that could make things a lot harder. Professor Pines next statement didn't inspire confidence either.
"This assignment will begin with each of you being paired with a partner, and this person will be your companion for your entire time at Beacon, so you would be wise to pair up with someone you can work well with. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner." He finished that last part with an amused smile as many of the students sported looks of shock.
Oh no, James thought with a groan, that's why they wouldn't tell me anything isn't it? Damn.
Professor Pine stepped back and Professor Schnee stepped forward, "Alright students, get ready, you'll be dropping in momentarily." With that all the students took up ready positions.
About a second ticked by and the first student launched off toward the forest. James glanced to his left and caught Micah's eye who gave him a thumbs up before being launched.
James took a deep breath before feeling the pad swing upward, propelling him into the sea of green below.
The wind whipped by him as he sped rapidly toward the trees below. Just before he broke the canopy, he flipped, slowing himself down slightly and allowing him to kick off a branch in front of him. He flipped again and this time kicked through a branch, shattering it into tiny wood splinters.
Having slowed down just enough, he reached out both hands and caught another branch and, using his momentum, propelled himself up, back flipping and easily landing on the branch he had grabbed. He glanced back at the cliff which he could just barely make out through the leaves and gave a satisfied 'hmm' before turning back and jumping to the forest floor.
He landed in a crouch and looked around at his surroundings. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary where he landed, it was like any other forest really. He could vaguely hear the sounds of gunfire ahead of him, most likely from people employing their own landing strategies, he decided.
He started running in the direction he assumed the ruins were ,at least, in the area of, weighing his options. The objective was to find the relics at the ruins but he also had to find someone to partner up with. Micah was the most obvious since they had been friends for so long, Chrys would be the next best, even though they didn't know each other quite as well they were still friends.
He thought about Nina as a third option; she was nice after all and they seemed to get along well, so far anyways. Then his fourth option would be…
His mind went back to Sakura and the conversation they had the other day. She didn't seem interested in getting to know him but… For whatever reason James felt he wanted, no, needed to get to know her. He furrowed his brow, wondering why that was.
He stopped as he noticed some particularly thick bushes blocking his path, upon closer inspection he could see they were also thorn bushes.
"Yeah, no," he muttered, glancing at his surroundings. He really didn't want to have to try cutting his way through so he needed a different approach. His eyes fell on a tree just beside the bushes.
"Works for me." He moved back for a running start than ran full sprint at the tree, using his momentum to run up it and backflip over the bush.
His eyes widened as he saw, on the other side, was a girl with red hair. She looked up at him and James saw that it was, in fact, Sakura.
Crap, he wasn't going to be able to correct himself from hitting her.
Suddenly Sakura reached behind her and pulled out a stick that extended outward and, at the top, produced a massive red blade. She swung it towards him and James kicked off of it, flipping and landing a few feet from her.
James let out a relieved sigh, "Nice save," he said, giving her an appreciative smile, "How'd you know I would be able to do that?"
"I didn't," Sakura replied, putting away her scythe, "I was trying to knock you out of the way."
"Oh." James rubbed the back of his head; that was...he wasn't sure what to make of that. He looked up at her and took note of her combat attire; she was wearing a black t-shirt with a white broken heart on it and had on a pair of black pants with red patches in them. She also had on a pair of black and red boots and wore a open leather jacket that reached about half way down her midsection. On her right hand was a fingerless red leather glove and her other hand was left bare.
"Well I uh I guess we're-"
"No."
"Uh...what?"
Sakura gave him a hard look, "No."
"Bu-why?"
"I don't need a partner, I'd rather be on my own."
"But...tha-that isn't how this works."
"It is now." With that she spun on her heel and began walking away.
"Hey wait!" James called, running after her; he could feel his anger begin to boil, "Stop!"
He reached out to grab her shoulder and she whipped around, producing her weapon and holding the tip of the blade up to his throat. Her eyes had a look that seemed to burn straight through him.
James held up his hands in a peaceful gesture though his eyes betrayed the annoyance he still felt, "Whoa, what the hell is your problem? I just wanted to talk."
"Well I don't," Sakura replied, moving the blade just a tiny bit closer to him.
James took a breath to calm himself and looked into Sakura's eyes, "Why? Why are you so intent on pushing me away?"
"I have my reasons," she replied; James took note that her stance faltered slightly as she said that.
"And those would be?"
"None of your business, that's what."
James let out a sigh and he looked at her for a moment before speaking again, "So what exactly is your plan then? You heard the headmaster, we're getting assigned teams today, starting with getting partners."
"And?"
"And, besides the fact that he specifically said the first person you make eye contact with, who else are you gonna partner up with?"
That seemed to get her, she relaxed her stance more and moved her weapon away from him.
James put his hands down, "Look," he said, softly, whatever anger that might have remained completely dissipating, "we're on the same side here. We both have the same goal so why wouldn't we work together?"
Sakura watched him for a moment then put away her scythe, "Just don't get in my way or slow me down," she turned and started walking, "I wanna get there first."
James was about to say this wasn't a race but opted for a more safe approach, "Lead the way," he sighed.
A/N: And there we go, chapter 7. It's kinda hard to write some things because I come up with major ideas for a story first and have to figure out how to go from one to the other. My mind has also been on other things, like I love coming up with stories in another universe for fun and I've been playing Devil May Cry recently so ideas for that are pretty fresh, especially compared to RWBY because it has been a while since I watched the first few volumes. Anyways, enough of my long winded BS haha, as always I would love to hear feedback on the story so far. Kay bye.
