Ahhh this is honestly later than I'd have liked, and a bit shorter because I've decided to keep Initiation to its own chapter. I was debating for a while whether to even go through initiation, but I think it's important to, for reasons that'll become obvious.

Things are still a bit hectic, but calming down more and more. I've gotten started on the next chapter of Hereditary, but I just need a bit more time before I get back into the right groove for it.

Thanks y'all for reading! Feel free to leave a review if you'd like to, I am so grateful to everyone who has given me one so far, it's been a huge boost to my week seeing the reviews come in! I hope you all enjoy, more to come soon!

Ruby knew that her morning was going to be interesting, in fact, it had made getting to sleep a little difficult, but she wasn't quite expecting the wake up call she'd received. At about half past six in the morning, a short redhead began loudly exclaiming "good morning" to wake up her companion, and the cacophony that followed found Ruby awake earlier than expected.

She didn't mind too much, she was always fine with waking up early if she needed to, but unfortunately Yang was able to sleep through just about anything, and so she was sisterless as she went to the lockers to change. Getting into her Huntress attire wasn't hard at all, most of the initiates still rather slow getting up from the unplanned redhead reveille.

Once she'd arrived in the cafeteria, she sent Jaune a message, hoping that her best friend had been another of the students unfortunate to be woken by the unexpected wake up call. While she waited for a response, she approached the staff members serving food. They weren't teachers, clearly, but Ruby could tell that these people were also likely former Huntsmen, or at least had some training.

When she asked for food, she was given a rather sparse meal compared to the ones offered for dinner. Asking why, she was only given the ominous answer that she "wouldn't want to do Initiation on a full stomach." That wasn't exactly the most encouraging thing to hear, in all honesty, but she did her best not to think about it.

Finding a table as far away from any of the unfamiliar faces that had filed into the room, Ruby picked at her meal while waiting for Jaune. It was nothing particularly impressive, some eggs and toast, and she really hoped that Initiation was a unique circumstance and they would normally let her choose her own things like they had the night before.

By the time Jaune arrived, the cafeteria had filled up a lot more, and Yang had joined her sister, though her focus was split between her and chatting with Yang's friends from Signal. Thankfully, Ruby's extraverted sister seemed content to call out to her friends instead of inflicting a large crowd onto her table, and so Jaune was able to find a seat across from her easy enough.

Odd, though, that he wasn't carrying any food.

"Um, Jaune." Ruby started, the blonde stiffening awkwardly as she addressed him. "Did you, uh, want to eat?"

"Oh, um. Not really?" The way he ended his statement as if it was almost a question would've made Ruby chuckle, if she wasn't so concerned by the fact he was missing food.

"Did… Did something happen?" She chanced, his face falling slightly.

"I, um…" Jaune had that downcast look he always got when he was embarrassed in a bad way, his deep blue eyes facing anywhere but towards her. "Did you, uh… know that Cardin was going to be here?"

Cardin. Ruby held back a sneer. Cardin Winchester was a menace, particularly for Jaune. While he was a bully to everyone on Patch, given his father's status, he had a particular fascination with bullying Jaune after the blonde wore a dress for his Sauin costume when he was eleven. Ruby thought it was awful that Cardin made such a big deal about it, but ever since Jaune had been far more hesitant to do anything outside of the norm.

Then there was that whole big ordeal with his sister Viridian, but she didn't want to think about that. Safe to say, Cardin was the worst, and she had a pretty good idea of what had happened now.

"Do, uh, do you want some of my breakfast?" Ruby asked tentatively, pushing her plate towards him slightly. She had only eaten one of her two eggs, and half of the toast.

"I, I couldn't!" Jaune insisted, though that sounded like a bunch of rubbish to Ruby.

"Really, Jaune, it's fine." Ruby said, before leaning in slightly. "Besides, they told me we should eat light, I bet that's why Cardin took your food." Her expression turned sinister. "I hope that he regrets it whenever we find out why we should've eaten light."

"Oh, well…" Jaune still didn't seem too thrilled, but Ruby knew that was just one of those things he struggled with. Putting on a somewhat forced smile, the blonde finally took the food offered. "If you insist."

"I do." Ruby retorted immediately. "Maybe it won't be as much food as we could've had, but I think it'll be enough to get us through Initiation. Besides, who knows when we might have to split rations on the field when we're Huntsmen!"

"Yeah…" Jaune gave her a nervous chuckle, before starting to eat. Okay, it was getting a little weird watching her friend eat, she should really stop doing that and try to do something else. What would Yang do what would Yang d- Yang!

"Hey, Yang?" Ruby looked to her sister, who turned her attention towards the younger girl. "Did dad tell you how Initiation works?"

"Nah, he kept getting vague about it whenever I asked." Yang replied with a dismissive hand wave. "It seems to always be kept super hush hush, it's one of the biggest secrets about Beacon. Did Uncle Qrow give you any hints?"

"No, not really." Ruby shook her head. "Whenever I asked he would just tell me that it was better if I didn't know."

"Yeah, that's no surprise." Yang rolled her eyes, frowning. Ruby didn't know why Yang had such a problem with Uncle Qrow, but she always seemed to be cross about him, even if she cared. "What about you, Vomit Boy?"

"Huh?" Jaune blurted out, the rest of the egg he was eating slipping off his fork and landing back on the plate, before he turned to look at Ruby with a playfully betrayed look in his eyes. She only hoped he could understand that she hadn't meant to tell Yang. "I, um… Dad didn't really talk about his time in Beacon, so I never asked."

Ruby frowned a bit at that. She knew that Jaune's dad could be… harsh, whenever Jaune asked things related to being a Huntsman, but it always troubled her at how much that left Jaune sounding disappointed.

"Ah, well, no need to worry." Yang waved a hand dismissively, before starting to stand up from her seat. "We'd better get to the lockers and get our weapons. I guess it'll be a surprise for all of us."

Ruby and Jaune shared a silent look before nodding in agreement, Jaune eating the last bit of egg before stuffing the toast in his mouth and following her and Yang back to the lockers.

Entering the lockers, Ruby came to a stop beside her sister, their lockers thankfully beside one another, while Jaune waited nearby. He was a little nervous to go on his own to find his locker, something Ruby couldn't blame him for at all. "So, Yang, ready for Initiation?" Ruby asked, before adding: "even if we don't know what it is?"

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll do great, sis." Yang nodded, slipping Ember Celica on and checking to make sure they deployed fine. It wasn't as though she really needed to check, but Ruby noticed her sister had a habit of doing so whenever she first put them on, after she had a bad jam during a training mission at Signal. Luckily dad was there to keep her sister safe, but it had given Yang a greater appreciation of weapon maintenance, something Ruby was happy to help her with.

"Me too." Ruby replied with a confident smile. With Crescent Rose at her side, she felt like she could fight anything and win, even something like an ancient Grimm! Her baby wouldn't let her down, she was sure of it. "What about you, Jaune?"

"Oh, um, I'm sure I'll do okay." Jaune chuckled nervously. Ruby could understand why he was nervous, even if she wasn't feeling quite so anxious herself, now that she had Crescent Rose in her hand.

"Come on, let's go get you Crocea Mors." Ruby insisted cheerfully, giving him a reassuring pat on the back, though his posture showed it wasn't as much help as she'd have liked. "Which locker did you say it was, again?"

"Oh, um…" Jaune took out a scrap of paper. "636? That's… where is that, exactly?"

"We'll help you find it!" Ruby chirped cheerfully, a wide smile on her face as she looked back at her sister. "Come on, Yang!"

"Yeah, okay." Her sister chuckled, ruffling Ruby's hair. "You're awfully chipper this morning."

"Aw, well, you know." Ruby felt a bit like her best friend as she chuckled sheepishly at her sister's comment. "No more small talk or "getting to know you" stuff, just letting Crescent Rose do all the talking!"

"Well, remember Ruby, you're not the only one going through Initiation." Yang cautioned. "If you want to grow up, you're going to have to meet new people."

"You sound like dad!" Ruby groaned. Honestly, it felt like she'd had the same conversation with their dad a day ago before they got on the airship to Beacon. If she had to hear about how she had to open up and make more friends one more time, she might have to scream. "What does meeting new people have to do with being a good Huntress? And I don't need people to help me grow, Yang, I drink milk!"

She ignored the snickering that came from her best friend.

"What about when we form teams, huh?"

"Oh, you know…" Ruby stammered nervously, eyes darting from Yang to the floor. "I'll just be on your team or something…"

"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team?" Yang suggested, earning a pout from Ruby. Yang was doing that thing again, where she thought that she had to really push Ruby out there in order to get her new friends or something. Sure, it worked once when she was seven and Yang was nine, back when the Arcs first moved to Patch and dad had taken them to visit the new neighbours, but Jaune was different, they had a shared desire to be heroes even as kids.

"Yang, my dearest sister, are you implying you don't want to be on a team with me?"

"I, um." Perfect, Yang was starting to crumble under the weight of her puppy eyes, something only dad could resist. "Gotta go!"

Yang scampered off before Ruby could stop her, leaving the redhead to sigh loudly. "Don't worry, Ruby." Jaune reassured. "We can be on a team together! Just, uh… I really do need to find my weapon."

"Oh, yeah!" Ruby ducked her head sheepishly. She'd gotten distracted talking with Yang when she said that she'd help him. "Um, 636 right? Should be down this way."

With Jaune following her lead, Ruby made her way to the locker in question, unfortunately being blocked by two students chatting. One, she immediately recognized from yesterday, Weiss Scheme or whatever her name was, the rich girl. The other? She was, in a word, amazing. Ruby hadn't really experienced crushes or anything on her classmates at Signal, but that didn't mean she hadn't ever recognized when her classmates were attractive. This girl, though? She wasn't like anything she had ever seen before.

Tall, about as tall as Jaune, with muscles as impressive as her sister, long red hair tied into a ponytail. Eyes the most beautiful shade of green, strikingly vivid. A bronze circlet on her head with teardrop emeralds that matched her eyes, and a bronze gorget around her neck. A brown leather corset that was vaguely reminiscent of old Northern Animan attire, though her entire outfit seemed to be inspired by that. Before she could continue gaping like a total dork, Jaune thankfully woke her from her stupor with a sharp poke to the side with his elbow, and she became painfully aware that Weiss had been saying something, and she'd totally missed it because she was being stupid about her fellow initiate.

"Oh! Um, sorry." Ruby blurted out, face as red as her cloak. "What did you say?"

"I was trying to find out why you and tall, blonde, and scrawny were coming over here to pester us!" Weiss snapped back, the tall redhead at her side frowning slightly as the heiress spoke with such vitriol. "Really, what were you going to do, beg her to join your team or something? Who do you think you are?"

"I think I'm Jaune Arc." Jaune retorted, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly in the way Ruby was familiar with whenever one of his sisters started acting like he was being stupid when he wasn't. "And that's my locker."

Ruby had to hold back a giggle at how Weiss froze up at that, her mouth opening for a retort that seemed to die before she could say it. The tall redhead stepped aside, letting Jaune by so he could acquire Crocea Mors, a gentle smile on her face the whole time. "So, why did Weiss think we were going to ask you to be on our team?"

The tall girl seemed slightly surprised at the question, her brow raising ever so slightly, though she managed to keep the same small smile. Before she could say anything, though, the wind seemed to have returned to Weiss' sails, the Atlesian turning towards Ruby with an angry expression.

"What?" The pale-haired girl asked, disbelief heavy in her voice. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"Not in the slightest." Jaune admitted unabashedly, Ruby giving him a grateful smile as he presumably tried to take the heiress' ire off of her. Either that, or Jaune had no idea who the redhead was, either, which honestly wouldn't surprise Ruby at all.

One or the other. Maybe both?

"This is Pyrrha." Weiss stated as though that was supposed to mean something immediately, the tall redhead giving a cheerful hello with a short wave. Admittedly, the name sounded vaguely familiar, but Ruby couldn't place it.

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum Academy." What? That was incredible! Ruby's eyes darted towards Pyrrha, who didn't look entirely pleased with how Weiss was going on about her. It was subtle, but she could spot the slight hint of a frown at the edge of her lips on the otherwise pristine smile.

"Never heard of it." Wow, that was kind of bad. Ruby knew Jaune had struggled with a sometimes isolated life, but the idea that he hadn't heard of Sanctum was beyond the extent of what she believed possible. Then again, his dad had really started cracking down on him for wanting to be a Huntsman pretty early on, so she could believe that he hadn't managed to do much research on places that weren't local. That just made it even more fascinating that he'd managed to get into Beacon despite the clear disadvantage his father had enforced on him.

"She's won the Mistral Regional Tournament four times in a row!" Pyrrha looked even more displeased that Weiss was revealing more and more, as much as she tried to hide it, so Ruby tried to reassure the taller girl with a nervous smile.

"The what?"

"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" Weiss snapped, clearly exasperated. Ruby couldn't exactly blame the girl for her exasperation, it was mind boggling that Jaune didn't know what the Mistral Regional Tournament was. That being said, it was still rather funny to watch, and she knew that Jaune would at least pick up on that last one - Pumpkin Pete was his favorite cereal.

"That's you?" The blonde gasped, hands brought up to his face in shock, eyes wide. "But they only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"

"I mean, winning the Mistral Regional Tournament four times would make someone a star athlete." Ruby chuckled, giving the tall redhead an awkward smile as she turned to look back at Jaune. "But neither of us are really interested in that sort of stuff, I don't think Jaune's even gotten to watch the Vytal Tournament since his family moved to Patch."

"Yeah, we haven't." Jaune admitted, bitterness clear in his voice. Ruby remembered one time he tried to sneak out to her house to watch it, but after being caught by his dad, it had taken a month before they could meet again, and ever since, his dad would crack down a lot around the festival season. "Sorry I didn't recognize you, I, uh, I guess you're pretty important, then. Sorry."

"It's okay, really." Pyrrha said, offering a sympathetic smile. "I would be happy to be on a team with you two, if you wanted."

"Oh, well, if you really wanted." Jaune chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Me and Ruby were planning on trying to be on a team, I'm not really sure how many people are let in one group, but if we can fit you we'd be happy to have you I'm sure."

"Y-Yeah." Ruby stumbled out, still feeling a bit embarrassed about how she'd acted earlier. Weiss had provided a good distraction, but that didn't last long enough to make things less awkward. "I don't mind at all."

"There are four members on a team," Weiss informed them, arms crossed in front of her as she looked at Ruby and Jaune with frustration. "And I don't think you just get to choose them."

"Well, if we can, then the four of us could be a team?" Jaune suggested, a nervous smile on his face. Ruby wasn't too thrilled with the idea of being on a team with Weiss, but she figured she could put up with it if it meant being on a team with Jaune and Pyrrha. Was that too quick to say? Pyrrha seemed nice at least. She could definitely get along with her, versus Weiss and her snooty attitude.

"On a team with you?" Weiss scoffed at his statement, clearly thinking the idea absurd, before her eyes shifted towards Ruby in particular. "Don't make me laugh, I'm not going to be on a team with this… menace."

"Menace?" Ruby took offense to that! She wasn't a menace, Weiss was! "Whatever, I don't want to be on a team with you, anyways."

"Good!" Weiss snapped back, before stomping off towards the exit.

As the white-haired girl stalked off, Ruby stuck her tongue out her defiantly, before loudly declaring "she was rude!" Jaune chuckled at his friend's antics, Ruby giving him a pout before turning to Pyrrha, who was standing awkwardly. "Um, sorry I didn't recognize you."

"That's okay, really!" The taller girl was quick to insist, waving her arms dismissively. "I really don't mind. It's… refreshing!"

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Pyrrha." Jaune said, offering a hand. "I'm Jaune Arc, and this is my friend-"

"Ruby Rose!" Ruby was quick to blurt out, before ducking her head down sheepishly. Was it weird to want to properly introduce herself instead of letting Jaune do it? She didn't know. She felt weird. Which she totally wasn't.

"It's nice to meet you as well, the both of you." Pyrrha said with a warm smile on her face. Ruby was happy to see it was a little more genuine, but she still seemed guarded. That made sense, this was Beacon Academy, and she was all the way from Mistral, so she probably didn't have many friends here, either. "As Weiss so… kindly said… I am Pyrrha Nikos. And I really don't mind being on your team. I'm just sorry that she was talking to you like that!"

"You don't have to apologize," Jaune gave one of the reassuring smiles Ruby was familiar with whenever she was feeling down, though it didn't seem to have quite the same effect on Pyrrha as it would on her. "Really, she said it, not you. You've been wonderful."

"Oh! Well, I'm, I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologized again, Jaune chuckling a little in response. Before the conversation could continue, the voice of Glynda Goodwitch came on over the intercom, commanding an instinctive silence from the initiates in the locker room.

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

"Sounds like we need to go." Ruby noted, offering Pyrrha and Jaune another sheepish smile. "It was really nice meeting you, good luck on initiation Pyrrha!"

"Good luck to the both of you as well." Pyrrha said, giving a nod and a smile before making her way towards the exit to the cliffs, Ruby and Jaune following a moment later.

The cliffs were really beautiful, overlooking the vast expanse of woodlands that was the Emerald Forest, which circled around most of the land Beacon Academy was situated on. Would-be students were gathered in a line on the cliff's edge, just about two and a half meters from the end, with Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch standing in front of them.

Ruby looked around her, trying to make out as many people as she could. Jaune was next to her on the right, near the end of the line, with Yang beside her on the left. Further down, Ruby could see Weiss Steam and a very exasperated Pyrrha, though as seemed her usual, the tall redhead was keeping on a gentle smile. She felt a little bad for the girl from Sanctum, but there was nothing she could do yet. Hopefully they'd be on a team together, that would make things better. Her, Yang, Jaune and Pyrrha. That was the ideal team in Ruby's mind.

"For years, you have trained to be warriors," Professor Ozpin began to address the crowd, Ruby's attention shifting back to the Headmaster as he spoke. "And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignments of teams." Professor Goodwitch picked up as soon as he had concluded, a scroll tablet in her hands as she looked over the students lined up. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given your teammates today."

Ruby went rigid at that, a nervous shiver running down her spine. That didn't sound like they'd be able to choose their own teammates. What if she was partnered with someone awful, like Cardin? Even Weiss would be better than him.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Professor Ozpin continued calmly, the Headmaster stopping to briefly sip from his mug as Ruby (and several others) groaned loudly. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

"What?" Ruby shrieked, not even caring about how people might stare. That was a horrifying prospect! How was she going to find Jaune, or Yang, or Pyrrha if they were all in the forest? What if someone found them first? What if she was found by someone first? Would she need to keep her eyes closed? That seemed like a bad idea. She only had to run face first into a tree with her semblance once to know that was not a good idea.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die." Professor Ozpin continued on talking ignoring her outburst, and speaking ratherly plainly as he ominously warned about potential death. Surely everyone here would at least be able to fight a few Grimm, so everyone would be okay, right? They wouldn't intentionally let the students die, would they? Hearing Jaune give a nervous laugh beside her, she turned to give a reassuring smile, though it lacked any weight behind it.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene." It was weird how for the briefest moment, Professor Ozpin stopped in front of Jaune, staring directly into his eyes, before continuing. "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 regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

"Um, yeah, sir?" Jaune raised his hand beside Ruby, a rather nervous look on his face. That wasn't good, why was he so nervous?

"Good!" Professor Ozpin didn't seem to notice, or perhaps care, about Jaune's attempts to ask a question, focused more on the whole group. "Now, take your positions!"

Right, it was time to get ready. Ruby deployed Crescent Rose, getting ready for the inevitable sensation of weightlessness as her body was launched into the air. Jaune wasn't getting in position yet, and she really wasn't sure why. He… He was ready for landing in the forest, wasn't he? They were all standing on launch pads, so he should've been getting ready, right?

"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question." Ruby heard the sound of initiates further down the line being launched into the air. Someone, the girl who'd woken her up with her excitement earlier, cheered loudly as she was sent above the forest. Looking back at Jaune, he was totally unprepared. He hadn't even bent his knees or nothing. "So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?

"No." Ozpin seemed almost entertained by Jaune's question, but Ruby was feeling more and more worried. Still, this was Jaune, he'd be okay. He got into Beacon after all! "You will be falling."

"Oh, uh, I see…" Ruby wasn't so sure he did get it, but it was fine. His Aura would prevent any serious issues. If Professor Ozpin didn't care, she was positive that he was confident in Jaune's ability to land safely. "So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?"

"No." The Headmaster replied bluntly. Ruby frowned a little at that, becoming increasingly aware that Jaune really had no idea what to do. "You will be using your own... landing strategy."

"Uh-huh... yeah." Jaune bumbled out. Ruby wasn't sure what she could do for her friend, aside from hope he would be okay. The person beside Yang was launched into the air, and the younger girl knew she had only a few moments before she'd be sent into the air, so she decided to do what little she could to try and reassure her friend.

"Don't worry, Jaune." She insisted, not really looking at him, though, as she focused on the forest in front of them as Yang let out a cheer when she was launched. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

With that, she was suddenly skyborne, and she heard Jaune's surprised scream as he was launched a moment later. Shutting her eyes for a moment, she took as deep a breath as she could manage while sailing through the air, beginning to tap into her semblance as she fired behind her once to accelerate.

Hearing Jaune shout "thank you" at someone in the distance, she let out a sigh of relief, before she entered the top of the canopy and began to slow her descent.

Like she said, everything would be fine.