GOMU GOMU NO!~ Hey everyone, I'm sorry for the stalled updates, but I've been busy with both life and work as of late.
Anyhow, I apologize that this initiation arc is taking longer than expected, and I should probably just keep my mouth shut when it comes down to arc lengths from now on.
Not much to say on this author's note, so with that cheers and happy reading everyone!
"Whoa, this place is way bigger than I thought it'd be."
A gentle breeze with the scent of stone and metal whisked past Jaune's nose. An octagonal center platform raised two feet off the ground, the esteemed professor Goodwitch stood in the middle with her trusty disciplinarian in hand.
"Welcome all of you to combat training, here you will hone your individual skills as well as your team coordination," Glynda said sternly.
Her students fumbled about getting sorted and positioned themselves in their respective teams near the base of the arena. With a flick of her weapon, Glynda shoved the first years and their groups toward the spectator seats.
"First-years will head to the armory and dress accordingly for battle. Once you have settled you will each participate in single combat. There will be no team fights today, as our main objective is to deduce where your skills stand as individuals. Please exit in an even fashion and do return with haste."
The professor's strict tone ushering the first years away, Jaune felt a tug on his sleeve and turned back toward the arena.
"Just a moment Mr. Hawkins, could I speak to you for a moment?" Glynda asked.
The blonde teen gulped. Had he already done something to earn the ire of his combat instructor? He handed in the apology letter after initiation as promised, so what could she possibly want?
"Y-Yes Ms. Goodwitch?" Jaune hopped onto the stage and hastily walked to his superior.
Her bright green eyes boring into an anxious pair of cerulean, Jaune did his best to not gulp.
"I apologize, but due to the uneven numbers of today's class, you might not get a turn to fight. Should this occur, I have prepared an after-school assessment that should give me enough information on where to place you among the first-year class. Are these terms acceptable for you?"
The young boy nodded. Ms. Goodwitch's way of evaluating her students was strict but fair in a sense.
"Best to change out of your uniform then. We don't want to keep the class waiting do we?"
"Y-Yes Ms. Goodwitch, of course!" Jaune hurried along, but he didn't go to the armory. He didn't like stuffing his good elephant pal in a metal locker and left him to snooze the day away in his dorm.
Dashing through the hallway, Jaune stumbled and nearly collided with a familiar figure. Her heart-shaped face and brown eyes widened in shock as her bunny ears mirrored her anxiety and twitched into a frenzy.
"Oh, I'm sorry Ms... Actually, I don't think I ever did get your full name." Jaune smiled sheepishly.
"V-Velvet Scarlentina, it's nice to meet you." The bunny Faunus stated.
"Jaune F. Hawkins, it's a pleasure to be properly introduced."
The awkward introductions done with, it dawned on the blonde boy that he still had a class to get to.
"Well, best take my leave now before Ms. Goodwitch gets mad."
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that honey, she's already infuriated." Chirped another familiar tune.
Twirling around, Jaune spotted an unmistakable black beret and stylish sunglasses along with a green armored warrior with a giant copper blade holstered on his back.
"I warned you about keeping the stern teacher waiting, didn't I? Oh well, luckily for you my team and I are role model students and happen to be headed to the same class as you." Coco chuckled at the blonde's dumbfounded face.
"Didn't you know? Combat training is a mix of students ranging from every year. This way, the rookies get to watch the more experienced prodigies go at it and take notes on the fights. Although today is a special day for teens in second-year or higher, as we get to spectate the capabilities of those fresh from initiation. Try not to disappoint me alright, Jaune?"
"Easy on the teasing, Coco. We don't want the poor kid to lose because his composure cracked under pressure." The next voice to speak Jaune didn't recognize.
Veering his cerulean gaze to a muscular individual with messy copper hair and blank eyes. A set of orange-colored metal gauntlets holstered on his forearms, he greeted Jaune in a polite manner and introduced himself as Fox Alistair.
"I've been meaning to talk to you for a while, just my luck that I happened to be in the bathroom when my team encountered you at the feast last night."
"U-Um, sure, but what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Jaune curled a brow at Fox's pensive face.
"Hm, I'd prefer to talk in private if that's okay with you."
"Really Fox, what's so secret that you have to keep it away from your own partner and teammates of CFVY?" Coco nudged her cohort with her elbow, but Fox shrugged it off and bid adieu to Jaune.
"Huh, team CFVY seems nice..." Jaune's eyes drifted to the clock in the hallway and felt his blood cool.
"Ah crud, I've already been gone from class for twenty minutes!"
Blitzing through the hallway and taking a left to his dorm, Jaune yanked open the door got dressed, and called for Funkfreed... who wasn't there.
"I swear to Oum, Funkfreed this had better be a joke, or else I'm not giving you apples for a week!"
"Pssst, Emerald," Ruby whispered to her teammate in the bleachers. Seated in the second row, team RPBE had a full view of the arena and patiently waited for their turn to fight.
"Yeah, what is it, Ruby?" The mint-girl replied.
"Where's your brother, he's going to miss the first battle, and I think Ms. Goodwitch already noticed that he's not here."
"Ugh, of course, that goofball had to do the one thing Ms. Goodwitch hates above all else, tardiness." Emerald observed the tapping of her instructor's boot as the esteemed professor took out her collapsable tablet.
"Jaune F. Hawkins, are you present?" Glynda called doing her best to mask the annoyance in her voice.
"Yes, I am!" Jaune yelled and burst through the doors of the arena. He wore his white ruffle-collared shirt with his black cape and metal armlet, but he didn't have his sword, and if you were looking hard enough you'd see that his shadow was also amiss.
"Need I remind you the importance of punctuation? A few seconds is all it takes to turn the tides of battle."
"I-I'm very sorry Ms. Goodwitch, I was looking for my sword and I well..." The student's lips clamped shut at the stern glare from his teacher.
With a lowered head, Jaune hurried up the steps and greeted his sister along with her teammates. An elbow to his shoulder and Jaune turned to meet a pair of annoyed crimson pupils.
"What are you doing Jaune, and where's Funkfreed and your doppelman?" His sister grumbled under her breath.
"I didn't have enough time to do a bunch of tarot readings, and I sent Doppelman to search for him while class is in session. I just hope that I don't have to fight anyone until my shadow finds my sword." Jaune whispered back.
"Why do you keep referencing your sword like it's a real person?" Ruby blurted, her head wedged between those of her friends earning a yelp from each.
"M-Ms. Rose?!" Jaune sputtered and jumped out of his seat. Fortunately, an eager bunch of young boys caught him before he crashed into the first row of benches.
"Phew, easy there, Jaune. You'll need all your energy if you want to beat our team leader." Russel along with his team members grinned at their blonde hero and smirked at their team leader who was forced to sit with them.
"And what are those idiotic grins of yours supposed to mean?" Cinder scowled as her underlings chuckled.
"This great warrior right here Cinder, is our champion who's going to kick your butt and regain our rights to sleep in our dorm!" Russel beamed and gestured to the lopsided student he supported.
"This dork?" Cinder curled a brow at Jaune's goofy smile.
"It's nice to meet you, my name's Jaune F. Hawkins." Despite dangling from his feet on the edge of the second row Jaune greeted his new acquaintance and future opponent with excellent manners.
"Cinder Fall." The black-haired student replied. She wanted to insult the blonde doofus, but Cinder bit her tongue and turned her attention to the front of the arena.
She shouldn't get riled over such a trivial matter, after all this Jaune student seemed like he didn't know the first thing about combat.
"Will students Neo Politan Crocodylus and Cardin Winchester please take the stage," Glynda called and tapped on her tablet screen.
The eyes of all present darting towards the center of the room, Jaune pulled out his tarot cards and did a brief summary of the battle's end result.
"Hm, things don't look good for Mr. Winchester, he's only got a 24% chance to win. Then again, this is Neo we're talking about." Jaune mumbled to himself.
"Heh, watch me crush this shorty," Cardin smirked from the rows above, he swung his mace over his shoulder and strutted towards the arena platform.
"You go get em' Cardin." Yang rolled her eyes and gave a half-hearted clap. She wanted her partner to win, but his ego was already rubbing her the wrong way.
"Why bother blondie? Cardin's going to get his ass handed to him on a silver platter. He's up against my little sister, and when she wants to fight or forced to, she doesn't hold back." Roman winked and stretched his arms, eager to see his pompous leader throttled.
"Are you sure? Cardin might be a meathead, but he knows how to swing his mace at least." Weiss sighed and rested her cheek on her palm as she lazily observed the fight to come.
Down in the arena, an armored ginger-haired teen and the heiress of the RDI stared at one another.
"Don't worry girly, I won't hurt you too badly." Cardin grinned.
No reply came, and the noble narrowed his eyes on his opponent. Her heterochromatic eyes shifting as she tilted her head, Neo giggled at the thought that this brute could beat her, heck most guys she fought were all bark and no bite anyway.
Weapons drawn, Cardin gripped his mace's handle with both hands as Neo twirled her parasol. Their faces blinking onto the screens above the arena, their aura meters shined a clear green as Glynda positioned herself at the edge of the stone platform.
"All battles today will be decided once one of the students has fallen out of the arena's boundaries, or has their aura reduced to the red zone. Also, the fights will be recorded and will be available for review after class. Are these instructions clear?"
"Yes, professor," Cardin said.
Neo offered a silent nod, and with that, the battle commenced with the sound of a buzzer.
Cardin charged forward, eager to take the initiative and overwhelm his short-statured opponent with brute force. However, Neo was used to fighting opponents taller than her, and this bloke was no exception. Ducking under an incoming mace, Neo pivoted on her heels and took a jab at Cardin's chest.
This attack dinked off his chest plate, but Neo's objective wasn't to simply win, she wanted to show everyone that Cardin wasn't worthy of bossing her big brother around. So, she devised a strategy to annoy Cardin to the point that he'd be reduced to a failed combatant, and for the most part her plan worked.
Several swings later, Cardin's face reddened in frustration as his opponent continued to dance circles around him. Hoping for a surprise tactic, Cardin slammed the head of his mace into the ground and pressed the button above the hilt. A stream of exploding red dust bombarded the ground, sending Neo into the air as she covered herself with an open parasol.
"This is my only chance!" Cardin growled and ran towards the spot where Neo would land.
"..." The small girl observed her opponent's advance. Granted it was a direct approach, she had to give credit where it was due and accept that Cardin had actually come up with a decent last-ditch effort. Sadly for him, Neo would elegantly dodge his mace mid-air and land a swift kick to the bridge of his nose before she gracefully landed.
Cardin staggered back, his vision blurred, he failed to notice Neo close the distance between them with the blade part of her weapon unsheathed. Twirling around her bewildered foe, Neo slashed at his knees, elbows, and neck forcing Cardin to kneel as he desperately tried to put up a hasty defense.
His attempt futile, the bar on Cardin's aura meter widdled down from a ready green to a defeated red in a matter of seconds.
"And that's the match!" Glynda announced as the sound of a buzzer echoed right after.
"While impressive Ms. Crocodylus, I would advise you not to..." Glynda glanced at a grimacing Cardin as he picked himself up and cracked his neck.
"...Play with your opponents in combat. It's best to deal with the matter quickly and efficiently, as to avoid a waste of energy."
Neo shrugged and skipped off the stage. She didn't think it really mattered how the matter resolved itself, the only thing that did matter was that she won. Locking eyes with Roman who shot her a knowing look while tipping his bowler hat in appreciation, Neo strutted to her teammates who welcomed her with praise for her victory.
"That was great Neo, you danced beautifully while you fought!" Nora chimed with a pearly grin.
Neo rolled her eyes but accepted the kind comments from her partner. Though she didn't like it when Nora wrapped her arms around her for a hug.
"Better luck next time, Cardin." Yang soothed as her leader took his seat beside her.
"Hmph, I expected a noble of your stature to at least land one hit before the match ended." Weiss scoffed.
"Well, I can't say I expected any other outcome. Out of all the people you had to fight, it just had to be my little sister." Roman sneered in a condescending tone.
Yang shot them both a fierce glare and patted her partner on the back.
"Leave me alone!" Cardin snarled and slammed his mace down next to him which cracked the wooden boards below the benches.
"Hey, I'm trying to be supportive here, Cardin. You don't need to be so hostile-" Yang's sentence never finished.
Cardin abruptly stood himself up and stomped towards the exit of the arena.
"Mr. Winchester, the class hasn't ended yet and I would advise that you remain in your seat!" Glynda raised her disciplinarian, but Cardin had already made it past the doors.
The room silent, Glynda positioned the misplaced stone with her semblance then rubbed her temples and veered her narrowed eyes back to her tablet's screen.
"Will Ms. Rose and Mercury Black please take the stage."
The young reaper in question snapped her head up in shock. As for her gray-haired adversary, he let out a yawn and hopped from the bleachers and onto the stage.
"Well, don't keep Ms. Goodwitch waiting," Emerald said as Pyrrah and Blake motivated their leader to step forward.
"R-Right, I got this, you guys!" Ruby slapped on a face of determination and made her way towards the arena platform.
"You got this in the bag, Rubes! Make your big sis and teammates proud!" Yang cheered with two thumbs up and a wide grin.
"You can do this Ms. Rose, you've got a..." Jaune hesitated with his words of encouragement. Shuffling his tarot cards, he bit his tongue as the percentage of Ruby's victory was not in her favor.
"Hey, Jaune, why did you go quiet all of a sudden? Are the chances of my leader losing that bad?" Emerald peeked over her brother's shoulder as he flashed her a nervous smile.
"I don't know what Mr. Black is capable of, but he's got a 65% chance of victory," Jaune whispered so quietly that no one would hear.
Unfortunately, with Blake's perceptive hearing she curled a brow at the blonde's words but said nothing, there wasn't any point in announcing Jaune's statement and it wouldn't change the outcome of the battle if she did mention it.
"That's an impressive weapon you got there," Mercury smirked at his opponent's flustered expression.
"Y-You think so? I built it all by myself at Signal Academy, but where's your's?" Ruby gripped the handle of Crescent Rose but tilted her head as Mercury stretched his arms and legs.
"Ah, thanks for the concern but you don't need to worry about me. I can handle myself just fine." The gray-haired teen tapped his heels against the floor and cracked his knuckles.
Their remarks exchanged, Glynda, tapped her tablet and initiated the battle with the aid of a loud buzzer.
"Here we go!" Mercury ran forward and stepped in for a kick aimed toward's Ruby's ribs.
Swinging the blade of her weaponized scythe to meet his attack, cold steel collided against flesh and bone. At least that's what Ruby assumed. To her surprise, Mercury pivoted on his heels and the sound of a gun firing echoed into the air. The bullet clipping a piece of her red-tinted locks, Ruby jumped back but Mercury wasn't keen on duking it out in a battle of distance.
He chased after the young reaper with his arms raised and hidden guns at the ready. In response, Ruby's eyes flashed a bright silver as her semblance took control of her movements. In the blink of an eye, the hooded student found herself on the other side of the arena behind Mercury and collapsed her weapon into its stationary gun form.
Her eyes on the target, Ruby planted the tip of her scythe in the floor and let loose a volley of dust rounds that Mercury weaved and backflipped around.
"Tch, this isn't getting me anywhere." Mercury hummed and set his sights towards the ceiling. He activated the propulsion system in his prosthetic legs, and stores of red and blue dust mixed together to produce a white cloud of steam that shot him into the air.
He too, let loose a bombardment of dust rounds, but unlike Ruby's that sailed a straight path, those of Mercury spiraled around him in a tornado-like fashion. Engulfing the arena in a misty display, the spectators had to squint and lean over the railings to see the action.
"Okay, that's really cool," Ruby said dumbly, biting her lower lip as she contemplated her next move.
"Eyes on the prize, Rubes!" Yang shouted from the sidelines.
Ruby shook her head and shot an apologetic smile at her sister before charging back into battle. Whatever Mercury did, his attack seemed to have some sort of seeking properties to them, but Ruby took pride in her speed and quickened her pace with the aid of her semblance.
Rose petals dancing around the two, Mercury and Ruby clashed in rhythmic patterns until the flying projectiles around them narrowed in on their target.
Dropping to the ground, Mercury kicked his legs in the air and spun like a breakdancer. Firing off numerous amount of rounds as he did so. Ruby parried these attacks with ease but didn't realize it had all been a distraction from the get-go. With a well-placed kick against the young reaper's ankles, Ruby's back met the ground as her eyes darted above to the incoming steam bullets aimed for her person.
"Good fight, Rubes, but this is game set and match." Mercury saluted playfully as his opponent yelped under the barrage of dust.
"And that's the match!" Glynda called as Ruby's aura teetered on the edge of orange and red.
With a round of applause from the spectators, Mercury ran a hand through his gray locks and smirked at the applauding crowd. With a trembling tap on his shoulder, the proud kicker turned to meet a nervous smile and extended hand.
"U-Um, that was a really good fight, Mercury." Ruby grinned.
'Huh, points for sportsmanship I guess.' The gray-haired teen shrugged and clasped his hand with his former adversary.
"Not too bad yourself."
With that, the two excused themselves from the arena platform and returned to their teams.
"That was an impressive display, Ruby!" Pyrrha clapped and moved aside for her tired partner.
"You almost had him," Blake said with a thin smile.
"You gave him a good run for his money." Emerald grinned.
A few rows down, team LMNN were celebrating yet another victory for their team.
"That was so cool Mercury, you didn't tell me you could shoot steam clouds!" Nora jumped up and down and held up a clenched hand for a fist-pump which Mercury tapped.
"You showed great versatility." Ren clapped and scooted over for his partner to take a seat.
"..." Neo said nothing, but held up an open bag of cherry-flavored gummies and winked at her breakdancing teammate.
"Hah, well let's just hope the R and N of team Luminant can keep the win streak going then." Mercury chuckled and swallowed a handful of sweets.
"Congratulations to both of you," Glynda raised a hand to calm her class' chatter and tapped her tablet.
Her bright green eyes checked the time, and there was just enough to squeeze one last match in.
"Excuse me, professor!" Russel shouted from the benches.
The instructor rolled her eyes but allowed the student to speak.
"Mr. Jaune here wants to fight our team leader, and I think now is as good a time as any for them to duke it out!"
The blonde in question felt his spine rattle. He sputtered that he wasn't ready for combat, but his three nominators ignored his claims and pushed forward with their proposal.
"Hold on a minute!" Cried another head of blonde.
His cerulean eyes lit up with hope, but quickly dimmed when they landed on the one who spoke.
"I've got a bone to pick with Jaune, and he promised me that we'd fight in class today!" Yang roared. The rims of her lilac eyes starting to fuse with blood red.
"I promised what?" The young magician mumbled.
"Sorry, Ms. Brawler, but Jaune's been dying to kick Cinder's ass since he first set foot in Beacon!" Russel barked.
"That's enough!" Glynda's authoritative tone drowned the voices of her bickering students. Despite her initial plans for single pairings, Glynda decided it would be a good way to end the class with a doubles match.
"Very well then, since you're all eager to fight and can't wait until tomorrow..." Glynda flicked through her tablet and analyzed the records of the three students.
Both Yang and Cinder excelled in terms of hand-to-hand and weapon combat, and their average exam scores were both above eighty percent. However, there wasn't a lot on Jaune's file other than being a great tactician and skilled swordsman since he never attended a prior combat school.
A minute passed, and Glynda, satisfied with her selection called out four names.
"Will students Cinder Fall, Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, and Jaune F. Hawkins please take the stage."
"But I'm not ready to fight!" Jaune's protests fell on deaf ears as the three males of team CRSD shoved him off his seat.
"Don't be so shy Jaune, you need to show the same confidence from the time you fought the Deathstalker in the emerald forest ruins if you want to win!" Sky said with a hopeful smile.
"Yeah bro, a month's worth of desserts is on the line!" Dove and Russel beckoned.
Jaune wrestled against his friends who pushed him. "But I don't have my-"
The blonde's words never finished as his stern teacher was fed up with his delays. With a wave of her disciplinarian, Jaune was propelled into the air and brought to the center of the stage. There he met his sister's partner, Ms. Belladonna, curiously observing him as he steadied his footing.
As for the fiery duo in front of Jaune and Blake, both Yang and Cinder had looks of indignation but for different reasons. In the blonde brawler's case, she felt the need to exact revenge for the mishap and lost hairs from the earlier botanic class. While in Cinder's mind, she considered the two before her unworthy opponents, especially the bumbling blonde goofball.
"Oh, it's payback time Jauney~" Yang cooed in a sickeningly sweet voice that was by no means comforting. Cocking her golden-colored gauntlets, Yang cracked her knuckles with a satisfied grunt.
"At least entertain me for a few seconds before you pass out?" Cinder sighed and presented a pair of curved swords with small hooks on the back edges that combined to form a bow if necessary.
"Are you ready, Jaune?" Blake turned to her temporary partner for support but looked down to see Jaune sitting cross-legged on the floor with a deck of cards in his hands.
"75% chance Ms. Fall and Ms. Long have semblances," Jaune mumbled and shuffled his cards again. "82% that Ms. Belladonna has a semblance."
"53% chance that we can win, but since I don't have Funkfreed or Doppelman the chances drop down to..."
"Ahem, Mr. Hawkins, I've had quite enough of your dawdling and wish to end my class on time. So please put your silly cards away and let us begin the match." Glynda frowned as Jaune begged for another minute as he jumped off the stage and ran towards the spectator seats.
"Please, can I borrow a weapon from anybody?! Preferably a sword about this long!" Jaune raised his hands and spread them so they were about 43 inches apart.
Groups of students, most notably the older years, jeered and mocked the poor boy for his pathetic display. Emerald scowled at the rude crowds and slid her hand behind her back to offer Thief's Respite, and Pyrrha and Ruby seemed to have a similar idea seeing that they reached for their weapons. Team Luminant, the remaining members of team Crusade and had similar plans of aid, but one student beat the competition to delivery.
"Mr. Hawkins, catch this!" A blind student by the name of Fox Alistair tossed his cohort's weapon known as Fulcrum down toward where Jaune stood.
Spinning, Jaune beamed a smile and moved his hands to catch the gift, but underestimated the sword's size and the flat part of the blade smacked him square in the forehead. Scrambling to his feet, Jaune thanked the copper-haired boy for his generosity and scampered back to the platform while struggling to uphold the sharp gift.
"You threw it too hard, Fox." Coco giggled alongside Velvet.
"Are you sure it was a good idea to give him my sword? It might be a tad big and heavy for Jaune to wield." Yatsuhashi said in a concerned tone.
"He'll be fine." Fox stretched his arms and clasped them behind his neck. Though he couldn't see, he couldn't wait to observe Jaune's aura outline in battle. After all, he was the assumed son of the great Branwen magician.
"Now that we're all ready to begin..." Glynda shot Jaune an annoyed glare and the boy winced in response.
"Let the battle commence!"
"Finally!~" Yang cheered and bumped her fists together.
"Let's have some fun shall we?~" Cinder leered at the fumbling blonde doofus across from her.
"I'll take on Yang, and you deal with Cinder in the meantime. Sound good to you, Jaune?" Blake muttered before rushing into combat thus leaving Jaune behind.
"I... guess?" Jaune gulped and swore he'd scold Funkfreed for deserting him and wished his doppelman would find his elephant pal sooner rather than later.