Ruby Rose was always described by her peers at Signal Academy as someone with boundless energy and positivity, though whether that's a result of her bubbly personality or a byproduct of her raging cookie and/or sugar addiction has yet to be determined. But if they could see her now, even they'd admit that she seemed extra perky. Though she would never admit it, her earlier squabble with the crabby Schnee girl had ruined her mood and her expectations for how her time at Beacon would be. Her sister had ditched her to meet up with her friends from Signal, leaving her to fend for herself (metaphorically speaking of course). She was nervous, and rightfully so. She gawked and gazed in wonder at the weapons the other students had as they strode forward, their grandeur and uniqueness a testament to the mettle of everyone present. They had earned their right to be here. Ruby couldn't say the same. At least, that's how she felt. There they were, the future of humanity against the Grimm onslaught, a merciless and cruel horde with fangs that tore flesh, wings that thundered in the sky, and claws that ripped even the hardest metals apart. And then there was her. Meek, clueless, anxious, friendless. That was what she thought her years would be like at Beacon Academy. And she was happy to be proven wrong. She found a friend in Jaune Arc, a fellow student who was just as clueless as she was. A total goof, but then again she was one too.

"Rose, try and keep up," the Schnee look alike ahead of her commented. Ruby snapped out of her own thoughts before responding with, "Coming!" and quickly closed the distance between them. Kazan was far more different than Jaune, but Ruby was slowly warming up to him in a fashion similar to how she did to Vomit Boy. In contrast to Jaune's loose stance and goofy attitude, Kazan was stiff, rigid, and cold. He carried himself with an air of superiority and arrogance. It was almost off putting. Almost. At the very least, he did offer to take them to the auditorium, so that was nice of him. Ruby suppressed the urge to cringe when both she and Jaune assumed that the other was taking them to orientation. In her defense, she did explode, so getting to orientation wasn't exactly an extremely high priority compared to dusting the ash and soot off her skirt. She kept pace with Jaune and Kazan, walking alongside them as an uneasy silence settled between the three of them.

"Soooo," Ruby said, trying to cut through the tension. "Where are you from, Kazan?"

She saw him hesitate before reluctantly answering. "A village some ways away from Mistral City. It was mostly made up of pompous aristocratic leeches, but the town itself was quaint and small."

"Leeches?" She asked, confused. "Why do you live with leeches?" Her brain wrestled to understand why anyone would want to live next to icky leeches. All they did was suck blood and be all slimy. Her mental gymnastics halted as she came to a horrifying conclusion. "You don't eat them, right?" She asked suspiciously.

"Uh, I think he just means greedy people Ruby." Jaune commented, as realization dawned on her face, responding with a simple, "Oh."

"Arc would be correct. Though we...I would often quarrel with the locals, I cannot forget the memories that place had given me." Kazan replied. Ruby smiled reminiscently, words reminding her of her own hometown. "Yeah, I get that. I came from Patch. It's small, there aren't a lot of big attractions or anything really exciting to do, there's like, one combat academy there, but it's my home, and I love it."

"Do they all dress as...eccentric as you do?" Kazan voiced with displeasure. The somewhat frilly design irked him.

Ruby's eyes narrowed pointedly in response. "Do you have something against combat skirts?"

"Combat skirts? What exactly is combat about your skirt at all?!" Kazan asked incredulously. "At least Arc is wearing armored plating on his torso!"

The girl merely hmph'd before proudly pulling out the mechanical parcel behind her cape and extending it into its full scythe-ridden glory, happy to have any excuse to show off her metal child. "For your information, you don't need armor when you have a fast semblance like me. Besides, Crescent Rose is all the metal I need!" she boasted.

"What in God's name is a semblance? Semblance of what?" Kazan asked.

The red riding hood cosplayer gave him a look of confusion in response. "No no, you know, a semblance? Those cool powers everyone has?"

A blank stare was all she got in return. "I don't follow."

"Uh, maybe Jaune could explain it better, right?"

Jaune defensively waved his hands in front of Ruby's expectant pleading for help. "Hey, don't look at me, I don't even have mine yet."

She groaned in frustration before a spark of brilliance came to her. "I got it! I can just show you!"

Kazan shook his head. "Forget I even asked, let's just get where we need to go without any dela-" A strong blast of wind whipped past him, forcing him to shield his eyes as rose petals touched the ground beside him. Ruby now stood a few meters away. "See!" She shouted excitedly. She never grew tired of the surprised looks she garnered from people.

The Yamaoka heir stood wide eyed and flabbergasted. Only a quiet murmur, a small, "Wow," escaped his lips. Was this normal? If so, how had he been this ignorant all this time? This feeling, this cold and fearful ache of weakness didn't sit well in his chest. And above all, was he abnormal? Jaune had mentioned his own lack of a "semblance" and yet spoke as if he would be unlocking it soon. Was Kazan, then, inherently weak? From what he could remember, the clan made no mention of anyone possessing powers like this. He possessed no extraordinary, not to his knowledge. If a "little girl" could do this, what of fully seasoned warriors? Was the gap between him and "them" that much larger now? Was all his preparation for naught?

Blissfully ignorant of the mental war Kazan raged in his mind, Ruby and Jaune continued chatting, both equally nervous and excited for what would lie ahead. It didn't take long for him to acclimate himself into this new dynamic of walking in an ambiance of the other two chatting. Before long, Kazan had found what he presumed to be the auditorium where orientation was being held. At least, that's what the massive volume of students still pouring into the building told him. "It appears that we've arrived," he notified Ruby and Jaune. The inside was like nothing the young heir had ever seen before. The auditorium had wonderfully decorated stone columns lining the walls on each side, while having coliseum styled spectator seats wrapping around the building in a circular fashion. If he didn't know any better, he'd say this was more of an arena. Considering the nature of Beacon as a whole, it probably is.

"Ruby! Over here, I saved you a spot!" Ruby turned to the chime of her sister's voice in the crowd, before somewhat hurriedly yelling at her pair of newly made friends. "Oh, hey, I-I gotta go! I'll see you guys after the ceremony!" And with that, she dashed off, disappearing in a red blur.

"W-wait!" Jaune exclaimed, before giving a fatigued sigh of complaint. "Oh, great. Where am I supposed to find a nice quirky girl to talk to? Well, at least I have you, Kaz….Kaz?" The boy in question was busy glaring at the excited and bright eyed expressions adorned by many of the attending students. "Hey Kaz, you alright?" Kazan, as if he hadn't heard Jaune at all, wordlessly left the blonde to his own devices. Jaune's head drooped almost comically. "Come on, dude," he groaned.

-x-

Ozpin softly grabbed the microphone, a slight bit of feedback reverberating around the auditorium. "I'll keep this brief," he began, almost sighing from boredom. Every year, the same god forsaken speech again. It was almost burnt into his memory through simple rote memorization. His gaze lingered and traveled between the various students in the crowd as he spoke. "You have traveled here in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction." Beacon's headmaster had to bite back a smug grin. That slight jab earned him a few angry whispers. "You assume knowledge will free you of this," he continued. "But your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

Glynda soon came up to take his place as we walked off the stage. "You will all gather in the ballroom tonight. Your equipment will be stored in special lockers before you enter the ballroom, which you'll each have specific access codes for. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. I suggest you use the remainder of your time to perform any necessary maintenance on your equipment, the workshop is available for all freshmen students. Feel free to socialize and interact with the other students thereafter. However, anyone not present in the ballroom by eight twenty-five post meridiem will be expelled. I repeat, you will be expelled if you are not in the ballroom by eight twenty-five. And with that, you are dismissed," she concluded, walking off to finish whatever else tasks she had left for the day.

Soon enough, the freshmen began pouring out of the auditorium, except for one, Ozpin would notice. He sighed, before smiling at the approaching form of his companion from Mistral. "And good afternoon to you too, Kazan. To what do I owe the pleasure of this…unexpected visit?"

"The ballroom. You told me earlier that I'd retire to a dormitory after orientation."

Ozpin feigned remembrance. "Ah, that. Well, that's a surprise for later."

"I don't like surprises, Ozpin," Kazan hissed. "I'm already being forced to waste my time here, the least you could do is give me some clarity. I'm stuck here, surrounded by clueless, doe-eyed idiots, and I can't even be afforded an explanation as to why I'm being lied to?!"

"Look, it's all just pointless academic semantics. Give Beacon a chance for a month, that's all I ask," Ozpin gently said.

"A month?" Kazan's head whipped back in Ozpin's direction. "A month, Ozpin?! You think I have time for a month?! My very being here is already exceeding any generosity I can spare, and you ask me for a month?" His hand gripped his head in frustration upon seeing Ozpin's gentle expression unchanged. "If a month is all it takes to get you off my back, then that's fine."

"I'm glad we've come to an agreement, Mr. Yamaoka," Ozpin smiled. "Oh, and from now on, it's Professor Ozpin."

"Whatever."

The afternoon gave way to night as sunlight retreated behind the horizon, a blanket of pitch black soon covering the sky in the sun's absence. Students took respite in various areas of the ballroom, illuminated partially by the moonlight seeping in between the gaps of windows not enveloped by curtains and partially via the small reading candles many of the students held. Sleeping bags and blankets were provided by the academy for the meantime. Future heroes had to have some amenities, right?

"Kazan, over here!" The Yamaoka's attention was brought over to the Rose girl from earlier (though this time in a set of pajamas as opposed to the red cape and "combat skirt"), who was currently shouting his name, much to the chagrin of Kazan and the annoyance of those sleeping. He awkwardly waved his hand, greeting the younger girl as he approached. "Hello Rose, is there anything-"

"Ruby!" She interrupted with an annoyed expression. Kazan's face twisted in confusion. "My name is Ruby," she elaborated. "Rose is my last name. I'm not old! Call me Ruby."

The Mistral swordsman sighed. "Right, Ros—Ruby," Kazan quickly corrected himself. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"We're friends, right?" she asked with some hesitance. Kazan met her question with a puzzling stare. What did it matter? Pretty soon they'd just go about their separate ways. Question met question. "Why?" he half asked, half demanded. "Is it that important?"

"W-well, it's just that I kinda came here at the last minute," she stammered. "And, uh, I don't really know anyone here, besides my sister I mean. I-I was talking to her just now, and I was thinking about the people I met today. Some were….not great, but I met you and Jaune. In a way, I kind of wanted to show you guys to my sis, but Jaune's busy doing...Jaune things?" She paused as if in thought, before repeating her previous question. "We're friends, right?"

'Well, if all she wants is to prove that she's not socially inept, it wouldn't hurt to just say yes and get her off my back, right?' Kazan thought. With feigned hesitance, he said, "Yes, Ruby, we're friends." If her smile were any brighter, the poor boy would've been blinded. "Great! I mean, uh, cool." She said, "Anyway, I can introduce you to my sister. I think you and her would get along great!"

"You 'Yang'?" A lively voice from behind them asked. Kazan turned around, hazel eyes meeting lilac ones belonging to the blonde in front of him. And speaking of blonde, she has a lot of it. A lot. A lot of hair to be specific, much more than Kazan but very similar in length. A cheeky grin adorned her face, accompanied by a yellow tank top and black shorts. "That pun was terrible," Ruby said flatly.

"You know you loved it," her sister retorted, the grin still on her face. Her attention returned to her sister's new friend in front of her. "So, this your boyfriend or something?" she teased, relishing the growing red blush of embarrassment on Ruby's face.

"YANG!" her sister yell-hissed. Yang giggled at her reaction. "I'm joking, I'm joking. Anyway," she said, turning to Kazan, "Rubes might've already mentioned it. Most people call me Yang, but you can call me anytime. Ha ha, get it, because–"

"Kazan," the name's owner interrupted with an unamused expression. "Charmed, truly." Yang rubbed the back of her head with a somewhat sheepish grin. "Geez, tough crowd. But, I heard nicknames are good icebreakers, so guess who's getting one. How's Kaz sound?"

"Kaz" pinched his temple in annoyance. "Please don't, there's already one idiot calling me that unprompted. Two idiots is already more than enough–"

"Kaz it is!" Yang said, confident in her choice of nickname.

"Dear God."

"See Ruby, I told you you'd be fine. You already have two friends! Look, there's another!" Yang excitedly pointed at the black haired girl from Ruby's rather "explosive" accident. Grabbing both Kazan's and Ruby's hands, she began dragging the three of them towards her. "Wait, why am I being dragged into this?" Kazan hissed at the blonde. "Well, you're Ruby's friend, which automatically makes you my friend," Yang cheerfully replied. "And what's that supposed to even mean?" Kazan spat back. "It means we do everything together!"

-x-

"Aren't you….the girl that exploded?" came the unsure question from the black haired girl as she looked up from the book she was reading. Oh Ruby, forever cursed to bear a great legacy, just not the kind she wanted. Kazan barely withheld himself from smacking his forehead. "Uh, yeah!" Ruby nervously said. "My name's Ruby, but you can just call me Crater….actually you can just call me Ruby."

The black haired center of attention gave an apathetic, "Okay," before her nose dove again into her book. "What are you doing?" Yang whispered to her younger sibling Ruby looked at her sister with a pleading expression. "I don't know, help me! Kazan, do something!" The Yamaoka raised his hands in self defense much like Bartholomew from before.

Her sister, equally unsure of what to do next, said the first thing on her mind. "So….what's your name?"

"Blake," the girl said with an agitated tone. Well, at least they're getting somewhere. "Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister. That's Kaz in the back. Don't mind him, he's usually like that, right? I, uh, I like your bow!"

"Thanks!" Her gratitude sounded rather forced and annoyed. She clearly did not appreciate Yang's attempt at a compliment. "It goes great with your….pajamas!"

"Right," came Blake's somewhat skeptical reply, before once again letting her eyes wander to her book's pages. Yang looked to Kazan, who was busy trying to sneak away back to a corner of the room to sleep. "Psst, Kaz! Do something!"

"You're not going to leave me alone, are you?"

"Just break the ice or something, I don't know!"

Kazan sighed before crouching in front of Blake, somewhat a ways away from her. His eyes were drawn to her book's black and gold binding, his eyes widening. "What's so interesting?" He asked. Blake responded with a confused expression. "Excuse me?"

"The book," he repeated. "What's so special about it?"

"Well," she hesitated. "It's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body." Kazan resisted the urge to roll his eyes, while Yang made some sarcastic remarks. Ruby, on the other hand, gave a small smile. "I love books," Ruby said softly. "Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters. They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress."

"And why's that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake asked, a hint of a giggle in her question. Ruby (intentionally or not) failed to notice the slight Blake made. "Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves."

"Why?" Kazan's abrupt question snapped Ruby out of her speech. Confused, she asked, "What do you mean?'

"Do you truly believe that?" Kazan inquired, making no further question beyond that lone sentence. Ruby simply smiled and said, "Of course." Kazan reluctantly held his tongue, lest he bring trouble to himself on this relatively quiet night. But for God's sake, he could swear his ancestors were cursing his very name. A Yamaoka biting back their words? Unfathomable. The clock struck at midnight, a small bird cooing emanating from the various clocks in the room. Almost unnerving, really, given how synchronized they all were.

"If it's all the same to you," Kazan said, standing up, before walking off to a corner of the room. "I think I'm going to retire for the night. It was a pleasure meeting all of you, truly. Goodnight. And good luck with the initiation tomorrow." In hindsight, it was probably a good idea to leave, seeing as how the white haired girl from Ruby's explosion somehow got into another argument. "Children," he thought somewhat disdainfully.

-x-

Kazan shut the door to his assigned locker after grabbing his equipment. He had slept in. Naturally, the curses he had sent himself were slowly and steadily rolling in. Quickly attaching his cuirass and menpō, he was about to make his way over to the front of the waiting area before he was stopped by a particularly annoying blond. "Hey Kaz! Noticed you didn't get up on time. Feeling a little lost?"

"Arc," Kazan said with a groan. While he hadn't interacted with Jaune much, his opinion of him was already cemented. He didn't like him that much. "Whatever it is you think I need help with, don't."

"You sure?" Jaune asked. "Still got a few spots left on Team Arc. But, uh, just for the record, I saw Weiss first."

"Who? Also, what teams? We're getting assigned teams now?"

At that Jaune slightly gawked. "You're telling me you don't notice the literal snow angel standing in the room?"

Kazan pinched his temple in frustration. "Arc, please, my blood pressure can only go so high. I asked you a mentioned teams, what about them?"

"Well, it's not my fault if you're blind. But, if you change your mind I'm sure I can fit you in later on Team Arc. Us sword guys have to stick together."

"That really won't be necessary. Please, just answer the damn que–"

"Who's this, Jaune?" An unexpected third voice joined the conversation. A woman dressed in Spartan like bronze colored armor, with piercing green eyes and flowing red hair. Jaune turned to her before clearing his throat. "Pyrrha, this is Kaz. Kaz, Pyrrha."

"Pleased to meet you." Pyrrha extended her hand forward. Much to her disappointment, Kazan ignored it. "Likewise," he said, an uncaring expression on his face. "Are you always so….warm?" Pyrrha asked, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

Unfortunately, Kazan's reply would never be heard as the voice of Goodwitch ran over the intercom. "Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

-x-

Had Kazan not been preoccupied with thinking about initiation, he would've commented on how nice the weather currently was. A soft breeze ran over the first year students, rustling the leaves on adjacent trees and causing some of the less excited students to give a yawn. The sun sat high above all persons present, but wasn't sending down a scorching heat. Beacon Cliff sat overlooking the Emerald Forest, the proving grounds of would-be huntsmen and huntresses. All sorts of dangerous creatures lurked around every nook and cranny the forest offered, creatures that Kazan had no idea of them even existing.

Ozpin stood, his posture relaxed as he sipped again from the bountiful mug of nondescript brown liquid. "For years," he said, "you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

"Now," Glynda picked up where Ozpin left off. "I'm sure 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."

Ozpin spoke up. "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 with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years.

After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet….shall we say, opposition along the way." His tone shifted from relaxed to somewhat grim. "Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die."

At that, Jaune nervously laughed. "Ah boy."

Again, Ozpin continued relaying the necessary rules and regulations. "You will be monitored and graded through 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 regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

"Uh," Jaune uneasily raised his hand. "Sir?"

"Good!" Ozpin exclaimed, unfazed at all by Jaune's question. "Now, take your positions."

Kazan stepped onto a metal plate embedded into the ground of the cliff, standing beside Yang, who had donned a pair of sunglasses, giving him a cheeky grin and a metallic yellow thumbs up, courtesy of the gauntlets she wore. Curious weapons, they were. Had Kazan not been irritated by the lack of sleep he had gotten, he would've asked her about them. He eyed the vast expanse of trees below him. Wait, below him? How were they supposed to get down? With the metal plate, the sound of a spring being launched by him, and the sudden disappearance of Yang from his side, it didn't take long for him to put two and two together. His eyes half nervous and half furious, they whipped towards Ozpin's direction. "You cur!" He half shouted, interrupting whatever rambling Jaune was going through.

Ozpin gave an innocent smile on his part. "Why, Mr. Yamaoka, whatever is the matter?"

Kazan had been lenient and willing to overlook Ozpin's infuriating tendencies before, but this was getting ridiculous. "You know damn well what's the matter! Where the hell was this during the explana–"

"I suggest you keep your feet firmly on the pressure plate Mr. Yamaoka."

"Pressure plate?" Jaune Arc asked, before being unceremoniously launched into the Emerald Forest, Kazan following soon after.

The Yamaoka was admittedly terrified, being sent flying into a forest with many tall and large trees at high speeds was no laughing matter. How does one even mentally, let alone physically, prepare themselves for a high speed impact with trees older, taller, and stronger than he was? The question would never be answered, as Kazan braced himself for the oncoming collision, eyes shut in anticipation. "3, 2, 1…"