A/N: We're Ba~ack! And look at that, two weeks instead of...
Hold on.
365 x 4 = 1460
1460 / 7 = 208.5714286 ~ 209
Alright. It's only been two weeks instead of 209!
Was that math entirely unnecessary? Yes.
Why did I do it? I have no idea. I never claimed to have a sense of humor.
Anyway, hope you enjoy chapter 2.
Eight years before the present
Atlas; City of Stratos: Irene's Apartment...
Jaune walked inside of Irene's apartment, immediately thankful for the warmth. Of course, he had his concerns, but the girl was nice, if not rather exuberant. She also had a bit of a problem with respecting others' personal space, but Jaune appreciated the body heat. Once inside, he immediately noticed how... bland the apartment was. White walls with no decoration, and to the right only a white couch with a television hanging on the wall. To the left was a kitchen with black granite countertops, an island, as well as stainless steel appliances. To the left of the kitchen was a small hallway, which had three doors, one at the very end, and two to the right and left.
Jaune watched as Irene pulled off her boots and motioned for him to do the same. He slipped off his sneakers, placing them next to her boots, and waited for Irene as she left for the middle door. She came back after a few minutes with a pair of black cargo shorts and a white, long-sleeved v-neck. She handed them to Jaune and pointed to the door on the left.
"That's the bathroom. Please shower, 'cuz I don't want you stinking up my place if your story is to be believed." Irene said. "Also, I don't have boxers, for obvious reasons, so you're gonna have to go commando."
Jaune blushed but nodded nonetheless, scurrying into the bathroom and locking the door behind him. He only showered for a few minutes, not wanting to jack up his savior's hydro bill, but he did appreciate the warm water. It chased away the numbing on his skin, and he could now feel how sore he was from the shivering. He pulled on the clothes provided and stepped out of the bathroom, his hair a bit damp.
When he walked into the main room he found Irene leaning on the counter eating a plate of chicken nuggets. There was an extra plate with more nuggets next to her, and she smiled and slid the plate towards him.
"Here. I'm sure you're hungry after all that time in the cold."
The loud rumbling of Jaune's stomach was her answer, and she giggled at the adorable blush that spread across the boy's face.
"Don't be in a rush, though. I know you're starving, but it's still pretty hot. Don't want to burn your tongue, now do we?" She teased as she saw Jaune eagerly grab one of the nuggets and drop it back onto the plate, blowing at his fingers.
He looked at her curiously. "How did yours cool down already?"
Irene raised an eyebrow in confusion. Jaune pointed at the chicken nugget in her hands. "You're holding yours, so it's cooled down, right?"
Irene shook her head. "No, I'm just using my Aura to protect my fingertips from the heat."
Now it was Jaune's turn to be confused. "Aura?"
Irene's eyebrow raised even further. "Yes, the manifestation of our souls in physical form. It's what allows Huntsmen and Huntresses to do all of that cool stuff you see on the news."
Jaune looked down. "Oh."
Irene went over and guided him towards the kitchen counter where his nuggets were. "So what's your story? I know you ran away, but that's about it. There has to be a reason why."
Jaune looked at his hands, and to Irene, he looked… frustrated. Disappointed.
"My dream is to become a Huntsman," he said in a low voice. "My dad was one, my granddad was one, and my great-grandfather… he was one of the heroes of the Great War. I want to be a hero, too. A person who saves lives. But… my parents don't want that. They won't train me, no matter how many times I ask."
Irene nodded slowly. "I know how that feels. Well, it wasn't my parents per se, but it was the man who raised me. He… didn't want me to become a Huntsmen either. Said it would be "a waste of conviction," one time. So, I became something even better."
Jaune looked at her with confusion. "What's that mean?"
Irene chuckled a little as she scarfed down her final nugget. "Maybe you'll find out later. Go eat."
Jaune nodded and started to eat, the nuggets having cooled down considerably over their small talk.
"And Jaune?"
The Arc boy looked up at Irene, who was propped up against the side of the couch.
"How would you like it if I trained you?"
His eyes widened.
"Obviously, I can't train you for very long, but I can teach some of the basics," Irene explained. She turned so that her body was facing toward him. "In return, I want you to do some chores around here. Nothing too strenuous, just some minor things like washing the dishes, cleaning the floor, that kind of thing. I'm not really home all that much, so I don't often have the time to clean up properly."
Jaune nodded. It seemed like a pretty fair deal, but how was she going to train him if she wasn't home often? When he made to put the question into words, she cut him off.
"I know what you're thinking. I have some videos I made that I can give to you. You'll be responsible for teaching yourself with these videos, and when I do come back home, we'll go over all that you've learned and work on what you need help with."
Irene came over and pat his shoulder.
"It's gonna be hard, but I'll try my best. I expect you to do the same.
Present-day
Vale; City of Vale: Beacon Academy…
The light had just broken over the horizon when Jaune returned from the Locker Room. Old habits die hard, it seemed; he'd woken up long before anyone else, with the shattered moon still barely visible in the window of Beacon's Ballroom. But now it was dawn, and Jaune was already refreshed and ready to start the day. His daily routine had been a bit odd, considering when he'd woken up he had to step over a metaphorical minefield of bodies, but he'd managed alright and got his shower, brushed his teeth, and slipped into his field gear; he'd taken his time for today, given he wasn't in any rush due to his early awakening.
For now, Crocea Mors was sheathed on his back, slotted into a placeholder on his back armor plate that held the blade in place by the crossguard. It clanked around a little bit less there, and made for an overall slimmer profile. Better for when he was walking through crowds, of which he was sure to do today.
A quick scan of the hallways revealed that there were a few other souls rising from their sleep; a pair of glowing amber eyes, in particular, caught his attention, though he ignored their gaze in favor of setting a course for the Cafeteria. The line was abysmal, filled with the few souls who ate before washing up. Jaune took his spot right behind a tired-looking girl.
Waiting patiently, he quietly went over his agenda in his head.
Breakfast should only take me about 15 minutes, which would leave well over an hour for gear check-ups or calisthenics. Initiation is unknown, but it'll probably take up a better half of the day, maybe less. It'll probably be r'n'r after that. Wonder when partners are being assigned?
He slid his tray along the guide rails and slapped a steak, broccoli, and mashed potatoes down onto it. For a small moment, he warred with himself over what to drink before his better half won out and forced his hand towards the orange juice rather than the soda. Balancing all of his food items carefully, he made his way over to a table situated in the corner.
It was secluded, which helped with his discomfort of large groups of people, but it also gave him a nice open view of the entire room. He quickly set into his meal.
He took the time to look over the people entering the mess hall. The room wasn't nearly as empty as he originally thought it would be, but then Jaune realized, more like remembered, that the school wasn't just composed of only first years. It made sense the older students came down to get breakfast, especially given they needed the energy for their own assignments.
Jaune almost felt like planting his hand into his face for forgetting. He started to eat just a little bit faster, intent on getting a few warm-ups in before Initiation. Shoving the last piece of, admittedly delicious, steak into his mouth, he stood and went to deposit his tray over to the washing station window.
After that was done and he was on the way out, he spotted Ruby and Yang making their way into the mess hall, and he returned the energetic wave the two sent his way.
"Good morning," he greeted them as he made to pass by. A hand lashed out and grabbed onto the back of his collar, stopping that from happening.
"Oh no, you don't," Yang tutted. "You're stuck with us, Vomit Boy."
Jaune groaned at the name. Why did Yang know that? Actually, scratch that, she was Ruby's sister, of course she'd know about that. Still, wasn't Lady Killer good enough? At least that sounded somewhat cool.
"Ruby…" he deadpanned, turning to the short-stack. The girl in question looked away and whistled innocently. Jaune rolled his eyes until Yang, still holding the back of his collar, reeled him in closer so that he was walking the same way as they were. He sighed in resignation and followed along. For the second time that day, Jaune found himself sitting in the lunch line, though he was merely there to talk with the two sisters.
"So what do you think Initiation will be like?" Yang asked. "I heard they're going to pit us against the upperclassmen."
"Well," Ruby piped up, "I heard we're going to be put in an arena with a Grimm."
Jaune chuckled and shook his head. "For one, Yang, that'd be kinda pointless to pit Intinitiates against people way out of their skill level. It'd basically be a one-sided double pummel beat down."
Ruby snorted. "You're such a nerd."
The Arc rolled his eyes before turning a scrutinizing stare towards her. "So are you, considering you know where that comes from."
"Buh- I- you-"
"Anyway," Jaune waved away, "your point, Ruby, wouldn't make sense either. Grimm dissipate if kept in captivity for too long. Maybe a day at most. I doubt they'd have enough resources or Huntsmen to capture a single Grimm for every single one of the Initiates."
Yang shrugged. "Makes sense, but I think with mine they'd just have us go for as long as we can, you know? Test how we do against an opponent that outclasses us."
"I don't think they'd do that, but you might be right. I guess we'll just have to find out."
Jaune joined the two as they went to grab a seat. He tried to get them over to the corner table he sat at before, but the two shot that idea down faster than he could get the words out. Instead, they opted to take a seat on the edge of the sitting area. Out of habit, Jaune took the outermost seat so that he could see the other students, while Ruby and Yang settled themselves across from him.
"So, Vomit Boy, if you think our ideas are kaput, what's your take?" Yang inquired as she bit into a bagel.
He thought for a moment. Initiation was a test to see who had the skill and determination to survive as a Huntsman; it had to be something challenging enough to weed out the ones who were too weak, but also manageable enough so that all Initiates have a realistic chance at proving themselves. He looked out the window and across the vastness of the Emerald Forest. It was beautiful from up here, but down there, it was… filled… with.. Grimm...
"Jaune?" Ruby called.
"That's it!" The Arc snapped his fingers, turning back to the two sisters with a look of realization. "The Emerald Forest. There's enough Grimm down there to prove a real challenge to every Initiate without being a complete death sentence."
"And I guess the teachers can monitor us if the Grimm become too much, yeah?" Yang commented, licking her fingers of cream cheese.
"Probably. Beacon hasn't had a casualty in its Initiation since the Post-Great War Era. I don't think that'd be the case if all the teachers did was sit around on their hands the whole time."
Suddenly, a beep resounded over the PA, and the voice of a woman cleared her throat over the mic. "*Ahem* To all Initiates remaining in the Ballroom, please make your way to the Mess Hall for breakfast."
"Damn," Yang murmured, "didn't think anyone was still asleep."
"Probably not," Jaune shrugged noncommittally, "more than likely just some stragglers still caught up in the bathrooms."
Suddenly, a pressure made its presence known in his lower abdomen, and he grimaced. "Speaking of bathrooms, I gotta hit the can. I'll see you guys at Initiation?"
"Sure," Ruby nodded. "See you, Jaune!"
"Bye VB!"
Jaune turned with a roll of his eyes at Yang's parting words. Walking through the hallways of Beacon, he realized just how big the Academy was. He never really took the time to appreciate the sheer scale of the building to his own size, but the ceilings were easily well over 16 meters tall, supported by huge arches and columns, the walls lined with huge floor-to-ceiling stained-glass windows.
It was a miracle Jaune managed to find the Mess Hall as quickly as he did. Looking around, he found another bathroom just a few ways away from the doors to the Ballroom. He was about to enter when he noticed a few students standing outside the door adjacent to the Ballroom, which was odd. They were students, simply for the fact that they were wearing Beacon's uniform. There were three of them, each of them carrying weapons of some sort, though Jaune was too far away to get a close look. One of them, a Rabbit Faunus more than likely due to the ears, spotted him and gave a cheery wave, which he quickly returned before heading into the bathroom to finish his business.
That was odd, what were they doing? Something was probably being done in there, but what? Maybe it had to do with Initiation?
He finished up and washed up his hands, and, out of curiosity, peeked out of the bathroom entrance toward the unknown door. The three students from before were still standing there, although now, they were in what appeared to be their combat gear.
...huh. Either they can change really fast, or I take longer to piss than I thought.
They were guarding the door, that much was clear. Why else would they have their weapons displayed inside the school? What they were guarding, however, Jaune had no clue. He considered walking over and asking when a hand clapped his shoulder. He nearly jumped out of his skin and was about to draw his blade when he heard a chuckle. Turning to the source, he found a pair of milky white eyes staring right back at him.
The first thing Jaune noticed about the boy before him was the way his eyes moved. They moved constantly as if searching for something. It was only a half-second later that the Arc realized that this guy was blind. But it was clear that he was able to see to some degree, or at least sense Jaune, simply due to the fact that he nonchalantly had his hand resting on his shoulder.
"What are you doing, Initiate?" Blank irises squinted at him. Jaune took a moment to appraise him, taking in his darker complexion and lean build, wild hair not unlike Jaune's own save for the fact it was colored a burnt orange. He was dressed in combat attire, a form-fitting ensemble consisting of a sleeveless zip-up vest in orange and a pair of black combat trousers.
What caught Jaune's interest the most, however, were the pair of blades attached to the guy's forearms. Orange in color and fairly large, it was hard for them to not catch his eye. They appeared to be in their compacted form, however. There was clearly a handle folded against the bottom of the weapon, as well as a large-bore barrel towards the front where his fists were. The blades, backward-facing as they were, had a hinge of some kind which suggested their ability to swing forward, with serrations along the surface of the metal hinting at a longer length than what was currently shown.
"I didn't think snooping around was part of Goodwitch's instructions."
Jaune chuckled and scratched the back of his head. The other boy in front of him looked unimpressed and merely shook his head in exasperation.
"What are you guys doing in there?" Jaune asked. The boy turned his head over to the doorway near the Ballroom, then back to Jaune, repeating the motion once more.
"You don't have to worry about that," the boy shrugged. "You should worry more about your Initiation. You only have about an hour left before they call you guys up."
Jaune looked up at a clock on a nearby wall and found that, yes, there was only an hour, 54 minutes to be exact, until Initiation began. He let out an affirmative grunt that made the second-year nod appreciatively before letting go of Jaune's shoulder.
A part of Jaune urged him to call upon his Aura, but using his Semblance was absolutely out of the question. Not here. Besides, they were students. They were more than likely helping out with prep for today.
He gave an apologetic wave to the senior as he turned away fully, stealing a few glances toward the ballroom door as he passed. Apparently, he wasn't being discrete enough either, because the girl in front, the Faunus girl with large bunny ears, smiled and waved at him again. He offered a small wave in return before rushing back to the Locker Room.
Walking into the large room to find only a small group of people within, he sat down on a bench in front of his locker and unhooked Crocea Mors from its place on his back before bringing it to rest beside him on the seat. Reaching over to his locker and pulling it open, he reached for his duffel bag and ruffled around inside before he pulled out a towel, a whetstone, and a small spray bottle. He sat back down and began the mundane task of sharpening his blade.
Crocea Mors was already sharpened, of course; the perks of being made using Mistralian forging techniques was that it retained its sharpness very well. A softer metal core on the inside with a hard outer layer ensured that repeated blows would not cause any significant damage to the edge.
Did Jaune know how it was done? No. Was he grateful for it? Yes, he was.
He took the towel and wiped down the whetstone before spraying it again.
He paid no mind to the people around him, even as the amount of people started to pile up. It was only when somebody roughly bumped into him that he was snapped out of his work-induced trance.
The person responsible let out a quick "Sorry!"and disappeared into the sea of faces before Jaune could even affirm the apology. Letting out a short sigh, he wiped the whetstone down one final time and threw the towel onto his shoulder as he put the spray bottle and whetstone away. Then, he closed his locker and sat back down to do function checks on Crocea Mors.
After all, it wouldn't do if his shield suddenly decided it didn't want to cooperate.
With the sword still sheathed, he attached the whole assembly to a mount on his gauntlet. Funnily enough, it was widely unknown that the gauntlets were just as much a part of Crocea Mors as the sword and shield were. Without it, there was no other way for the shield to unfurl. A bit of a design oversight, Jaune would admit.
Testing the aforementioned function out, he twisted his wrist in a specific manner, engaging the catch mechanism within and unfurling the shield with a significant amount of force, sounding out with a loud 'chunk' sound. Repeating the motion several times, the shield collapsed and unfurled a few more times before Jaune was satisfied. Collapsing it one more time, he then took Crocea Mors, sword still sheathed, and held the handle in both hands. With his right hand, resting on the upper part of the grip, he twisted counter-clockwise then clockwise in one rapid motion, almost as if he were revving a motorcycle.
The sheath expanded slightly before extending outward and revealing a previously-hidden edge, with the grip lengthening by about half a foot in length, effectively turning the entire assembly into a two-handed bastard sword. Looking the new edge up and down with a critical eye, he was content with the sharpness of it and switched between a few stances. Since this mode of Crocea Mors was a lot heavier and with a wider profile, the edge didn't have to be nearly as sharp as its shorter and more light form, so he decided to forego sharpening it today. It would probably need attention after Initiation, however; depending on how hard he ran it, that is.
He nodded to himself before twisting the grip again, returning Crocea Mors to its sheathed sword form and hooking it to his waist rather than his back.
With a small grin, he looked around and saw that quite a few people were still in the room with him. Checking the clock on the wall revealed that there were still 43 minutes left before Initiation started, so he had some time to kill. He gave a small wave as he passed Yang and Ruby on the way out of the Locker Room, to which they both responded in kind; though, they looked to be talking about something. He decided to let them be.
Once outside, he turned and saw that a large crowd of people were making their way down the hall to his left, and, recognizing them as fellow Initiates, followed them down to the end of the hallway. Unfortunately, a small brushing sensation on his right cheek brought his attention to a piece of loose fabric on his right shoulder: his towel for his whetstone. Letting out a disappointed groan, he turned back around and made for the Locker Rooms again. While he could have just stuffed it into his jeans, the bulge that it would cause would prove uncomfortable, not to mention the moisture. Distractions would be ill-afforded during Initiation.
Only five minutes laters he found himself back in the Locker Room, making his way to his locker. He noticed that Ruby and Yang were still there, the little Reaper now outfitted with her "Baby" strapped to her back and Yang armed with yellow bracelets that he knew for a fact were not on her arms before. Judging from her physical profile, from the way she stood and the hints of muscle that complimented her rather lithe frame, he assumed they were melee weapons outfitted for a more hand-to-hand fighting style.
Claws more than likely. Might not even have a ranged form, much like Crocea Mors. Ruby would be miffed at that fact, given his antics the day previous, but she didn't need to know. At least, assuming she wasn't on his team.
Sidetracked, Jaune shook his head and focused on making his way back to his locker, where he found two girls standing in front of the door conversing with each other. He managed to catch the tail end of the tall, red-headed girl's sentence as he approached.
"...that sounds grand!" she exclaimed, though Jaune noticed a bit of forced cheer behind that smile. Looking over to who she was talking to, he could see why. The white haired girl from yesterday, the one who'd called him 'scraggly' during Ozpin's speech and confronted him, Yang, and Ruby later that evening.
The white haired girl didn't seem to notice her companion's discomfort, and instead smiled brightly and exclaimed, "Great!"
Jaune decided now was his time to cut in and get to his locker. Clearing his throat lightly, he caught their attention and gave a polite smile.
"Sorry to bother you two, but could I get to my locker?" he asked lightly.
The two turned toward the locker they were standing in front of and made synchronous sounds of mild surprise before stepping off to the side.
"Thank you," he said as he opened the door. As soon as he was done, he turned to the two and smiled again.
"I'm sorry, I managed to catch the tail end of your talk. Mind if I ask what you two were talking about?" he asked.
The girl in white seemed as if she were about to dismiss him, were it not for the redhead stepping in with that same forced smile on her face.
"We were just talking about partnerships and how they were being handled during Initiation," she replied politely.
Deciding he didn't like that smile, he turned to her with a bit of a teasing smirk. "Well, I dunno about you, but I've got plenty of spots open for team Jaune." He then gestured to himself with an exaggerated bow. "That's my name by the way, Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, la-... y'know what? Forget that last part."
The redhead giggled lightly, though as he popped back up from his little show of flare, he noticed that she was still a little apprehensive. A little cough from behind him turned his attention to the girl in white.
"Jaune, was it? Do you know who you're talking to?" she asked politely, though her words were laced with condescending undertones.
Raising an eyebrow, he looked the redhead up and down. She did seem familiar, particularly her hair. The intricacy of her armor indicated she had some form of wealth and, by extension, fame; despite that, he couldn't really place her face in his memory, so he shrugged as he turned back to the white haired girl.
"Sorry, Miss," he replied. "Can't say I do."
"Do you not know who I am either?" she asked incredulously.
"Not really."
"I am Weiss Schnee of Atlas, and-"
"Oh, Atlas? I was there for a little while. Lived in Stratos for a few years before I came back to Vale."
"...I see," Weiss responded lamely. She looked over Jaune's shoulder, catching his attention, and he turned to see the redhead looking at him weirdly.
"I'm sorry, never asked you for your name. I'm assuming you're at least somewhat famous given how Weiss is talking about you?"
The redhead was snapped out of her reverie by his words and, surprisingly, let out a genuine smile. "Somewhat, yes. I'm a bit of a hometown hero, but it's nothing special. My name is Pyrrha Nikos."
He gave her a smile in return and stuck out his hand. "Well, you already know my name. Nice to meet you, Pyrrha."
Pyrrha grasped his hand gently but firmly and shook it. "Likewise."
Jaune then turned to Weiss and stuck out his hand. "Sorry, should have said that to you first, huh? Nice to meet you, Weiss."
The girl in question looked at him as if he were an alien, but she warily grasped his hand and shook it once. "...you as well, Jaune."
Jaune retracted his hand and looked back up at the clock. This little distraction had cost him about ten more minutes of time, leaving about 20 minutes left to get to the Cliffs and do some warm-ups.
He started to leave, but not before addressing the two girls one final time. "Well, I think we should go to the Cliffs, huh? We only have 20 minutes left before Initiation starts, and it'd probably be best to do some stretches or something, right?"
The two girls looked at each other before nodding their agreement and following after him.
Jaune unhooked Crocea Mors from his waist and did some practice swings with the sword still sheathed, testing it with the added weight. After a few minutes of going through his motions, he twisted his body from side to side and did some lunges. Looking out to the rest of the clearing, he saw many of the other students doing the same thing while Headmaster Ozpin and Headmistress Goodwitch stood off to the side conversing quietly with each other. Just as he was finishing up his stretches, Ozpin cleared his throat and gathered the attention of all the gathered students.
Jaune walked over and was joined by the rest of the Initiates, forming a large crowd of people. Despite the crowd's size, there was still plenty of space on the Cliffs to hold them all. He looked around briefly before Ozpin tapped his cane against the flat rock he and Goodwitch were standing on.
"If I could have your attention, we will be beginning Initiation shortly," Ozpin stated loudly. He paused for a moment to look over the crowd. "For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated here."
Jaune took a quick glance behind Ozpin toward the Emerald Forest, and inwardly grinned. Looked like he was right, earlier.
"First off," Ozpin continued, "we will be splitting the entirety of your group into four separate groups of 20. That being said, you will all have your Initiation at the same time, but within different areas of the Emerald Forest you see before you. The goal for each group is to reach the abandoned temple, of which there will be one located within each of your respected areas. Within each temple, there will be several relics for you to choose from, one relic for yourself and a partner."
Goodwitch stepped forward and adjusted her glasses. "That being said, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams.' Allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates… today."
Jaune recoiled lightly from the statement, and a quick turn to his side revealed that his fellow Initiates were just as baffled as he was. He was sure that he heard Ruby yell something from the other side of the group, but that could have been his imagination.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon," Ozpin continued before taking a sip from his mug. "It would be in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."
A groan sounded from the other side, and this time Jaune was definitely sure it was Ruby this time.
Ozpin seemed to acknowledge the groan with a slight smirk before it was wiped from his face as if it were never there. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
A chorus of 'huh's and 'what's made their way through the crowd, Ruby's voice sticking out in particular as well as a ginger-haired girl off to his right, who was shaking the person next to her, a close friend if Jaune were to guess.
"See? I told you!" she exclaimed to the ravenette person at her side. Whether they were male or female, Jaune could honestly not tell, given that he couldn't see their face.
Ozpin cleared his throat and quieted the crowd once more. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. That is where the temples will be located. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path… or you will die."
Jaune narrowed his eyes at the Headmaster's words.
If Ozpin noticed, he didn't comment or give away that he did, instead continuing his instructions. "You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. After you've partnered up and chosen a relic, return to the top of this cliff. We will regard your relic, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
Jaune raised his hand immediately, garnering the attention of the students around him. However, Ozpin merely glanced over his hand and nodded in satisfaction before turning away. "Good, now please follow Miss Goodwitch's instructions for how you will be split up."
The Arc frowned at Ozpin's back. He didn't miss the smirk on that man's face as he looked over his hand.
He went along and followed Goodwitch's instructions, being labelled as part of group one. Looking at his fellow group members, he noticed that among the people he knew, Pyrrha, Weiss, Yang, and Ruby were all present. The ginger-haired girl and the raven-haired boy, (now that he could see his face), were also present, as well as the amber-eyed girl from earlier in the morning.
They all lined up and stood on separate squares that, as soon as he stepped on them and felt them shift, Jaune realized were launch pads.
This place was fucking nuts!
He looked off to the side and saw Ozpin and Goodwitch approaching, and he decided now would be a good time to ask his question.
"Excuse me sir, I have a question," he stated politely.
Goodwitch looked up at him with a small quirk of her eyebrow, whereas Ozpin smiled at him enigmatically.
"What might be your question?"
Jaune let in a small breath. "You said the instructors wouldn't interfere, but-"
*CHUNK*
That absolute bastard. He fucking knew what I was going to ask!
Jaune cursed in his head as he spun head over heels in the air. He reached for Crocea Mors and attached it to his forearm, expanding its shield form and allowing him to correct himself somewhat. He managed to flatten his trajectory a bit and place the face of Crocea Mors in front of him.
The treeline was closing in fast, and his brain rifled through all his options. Seeing the approaching form of a particularly large husk of a tree leaning at an angle against a rock-face, he unsheathed his sword and extended his body out as much as possible to maximize the amount of wind resistance. Flaring his Aura around his arm so that it wouldn't be torn off by what he was about to do, he angled himself so that his body was parallel to the length of the tree. Crocea Mors bit into the bark hard and fast, the tree audibly cracking and groaning as the sword carved into it.
Noticing he was still going too fast, Jaune twisted his body and jabbed the sharp end of Crocea Mors' shield into the bark as well, adding more resistance and slowing him down more. It still wasn't enough to slow him down completely, but it was better than nothing. He kicked off the side of the tree and tore Crocea Mors out of the wood before hitting the ground roughly and rolling to displace the kinetic force behind the impact, Aura activating after the initial hit.
The faint glow of his Aura began to fade away and he stood up with a wince, his back and his legs aching a bit after his little stunt. Could have been better, but all things considered still favorable than eating the dirt entirely with his Aura.
He looked back at the tree he'd basically carved in half, whistling at the amount of damage he'd caused.
"Damn. That'd do some real harm to a Grimm, I bet," he mused.
Turning, he sheathed Crocea Mors and attached it to his back. It would be better there rather than on his hip given he was walking through a dense forest. Wouldn't be banging around as much against the foliage and trees. But just in case, Jaune reached for the handle and twisted it, transforming it into its bastard sword form; it would save him time on the draw in case a Grimm decided to poke its ugly face around.
Taking a moment to look to the sky, he deduced the sun was rising directly in front of him, meaning North was to his left, given it was still Spring.
He began to make his way through the forest, ready at a moment's notice to draw.
20 minutes later, Jaune frowned to himself. Crocea Mors' sword was in his hand, sheathe on his back, as he cut through another bit of foliage blocking his path.
So far, Initiation was… not very engaging.
Scratch that, it was straight up boring.
He didn't know if he should feel glad or upset by that. He figured there would be at least a Beowulf nearby, but nothing even came close. Not even another person. He idly wondered if the others had managed to partner up. At least he knew he was making good time getting to the temple. He'd stopped occasionally to orient himself and make sure he was travelling north. Only a few times he'd been led off the right way, simply because of how uneven the terrain was.
He pushed through the newly cut foliage and forged onward.
Then he heard it.
It was a faint sound, but it was the sound of a branch snapping.
There were no wild animals in the Emerald Forest, that was something he knew from prior research, meaning there were only two options as to what could have caused the noise. Grimm or somebody else.
His head whipped around to the direction the source came from, just in time to see a branch fall to the ground with a light 'thud.'
In a quick, fluid motion, he sheathed Crocea Mors, unhooked it from his back, attached it to his forearm, and unsheathed it again, unfurling the shield at the same time. Lowering his center of gravity by bending his knees, he rested the tip of his sword over the top of his shield, leaving just enough room for his eyes to peak over. He warily skirted around the area which the branch fell, looking up at the where it had more than likely snapped off.
His breathing was all that could be heard in the eerily silent forest.
Then, a gunshot sounded off in the distance. He instinctively tensed at the sound and rounded his shield on where it came from, but there was no follow up. He frowned, looking around again. There was nothing that gave away something was nearby. Usually, Grimm would give some kind of indicator. It would be easily discernible in this silence, but there was no Beowulf growl, no ruffle of Nevermore feathers, no clicking from Deathstalkers, no rumbling of Creeps, nothing.
For a single second, he allowed himself to close his eyes, calling upon his Aura. With a faint glow surrounding his body, he gathered a sizeable amount, about 5% of his reserves if he were to guess, and sent all of it outward in a pulse that expanded in a dome up to 100 meters away from him.
Then he felt it: the resonance of another person's Aura. Actually, there was more than one person. Two, to be precise.
He turned to the direction of the resonance, and he sheathed his sword.
"You can come out, now," he called out to them. "I know you're there."
There was a short pause before two people landed in front of him. One of them with nary a sound, the other with a heavy thud. After a brief moment of observation, he recognized the two of them as two of the three students he saw standing outside the door near the Ballroom.
"So I was right. The seniors are watching over the other students."
The bunny-eared girl laughed sheepishly while the veritable giant of a man next to her grunted.
Jaune eyed the two of them critically, trying to discern their fighting styles in case they would be fighting him for finding them out.
Their eyes looked him over as well, and he lowered his shield to allow them a better look. Judging from her physique and stance, she was a very balanced fighter. The only thing that really stood out as a possible weapon, however, was a box that hung from her hip.
Her friend, however, was a little more overt.
What really drew Jaune's attention were his weapons and armor. A giant, green, five-layered sode pauldron was strapped to his exposed left shoulder, with his forearms and hands protected by similarly colored braces. On his back rested a bronze-colored, single-edged greatsword of considerable size, nearly as tall as the man who wielded it. Merely judging by the physicality of the man and the sheer size of his weapon, Jaune guessed he was something of a tank fighter, lending credit to the chinks and chips on his shoulder pauldron.
The two seemed to be done looking him over as well, so he cleared his throat. "So… what happens now? Do I just keep going and pretend like you're not there?"
The man, (boy?), nodded his head. "You will continue as normal, and should you meet up with a partner, you will not reveal our presence. The reason why our presence was kept secret was to impress upon Initiates the need to perform their best."
Jaune sighed. "And the looming threat of death is one heck of a motivator, huh?"
The girl next to him nodded shyly.
He shrugged. "Well, I guess that's fair. I'm Jaune Arc, by the way. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue."
The man quirked an eyebrow at his odd introduction, but nonetheless did a small bow in greeting. "My name is Yatsuhashi Daichi, member of Team Caffeine," he introduced himself, then gestured to the girl beside him. "This is Velvet Scarlatina, my teammate and partner."
"Yatsu!" The girl protested, looking at him with a mild pout. "I can introduce myself, you know?"
Jaune was slightly taken aback by her accent, but soon gave a small chuckle at her expression.
"Well, best you guys get on," Jaune suggested. "I don't suppose I can ask if I'm still headed the right direction?"
Velvet shook her head with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but no. You've gotta figure that out on your own."
Jaune sighed. "Right…"
He turned from them and looked to the sky to gain his bearings again, since he lost them when he was looking for the source of that noise earlier. A few minutes later, after confirming where North was, he set off in that direction.
For a moment, though, his head spun as he started to walk. Something didn't feel right. He turned around and…
….wasn't he talking to someone a few moments ago?
It was a few minutes later that Jaune heard the sound of gunfire. Sustained fire, lacking the crack that accompanied intermediate and higher calibre rounds, so more than likely sub-sonic or pistol-calibre rounds. Probably a submachine gun or automatic pistol, maybe even a pistol-calibre carbine.
He headed in the direction of the sound, making sure to keep track mentally about the fight. Pauses in gunfire indicated either a reload or bouts of melee and dodging. Person could very well be alone, unless there was another person around that was solely melee like himself.
Suddenly, a loud crack resounded through the forest, as if someone had just broken rock.
Or Grimm bone.
He sheathed his sword and collapsed his shield before hooking it to his back and transforming it to its bastard sword form. Weapon out of the way, he pumped his arms and ran as fast as he could to the sound.
He came upon a clearing, and the thing of immediate concern was the fading corpse of a King Taijutu. Its twin heads were curiously missing, the necks seemingly exploded outward. Looking around a bit, he saw the raven-haired boy from the cliffside standing in the shade of some trees off to the side. Just as he was about to call out, a sound not unlike a trill was heard, and a girl swung out from the canopy above the boy.
Upon closer inspection, it was revealed the girl was the ginger-haired girl from earlier as well. The raven-haired boy turned to her without a hint of surprise. The two seemed to exchange some words before the girl reached over and tapped her finger on the boy's nose.
He chuckled to himself, vaguely reminded of his little sisters by the girl's antics.
Apparently the two managed to hear him, as they both turned to him as he was walking over.
"And who might you be?" the girl asked excitedly, still hanging upside down and now pointing at him with an outstretched arm.
"Jaune Arc. You two know each other I'm assuming?"
The girl grinned before swinging once and dislodging herself off of the branch she was hanging on. Landing on her feet with a small thud, she did a mock bow before zipping over to her green-adorned friend.
"Yup!" the girl exclaimed as she draped herself over the boy's shoulders. "Nora Valkyrie, Sloth Imitator, Pancake Connoisseur, and Hammer Smashing Expert at your service!"
The boy smiled, almost imperceptibly, and stuck out his hand, which Jaune grasped tightly. "Lie Ren."
"Nice to meet you two," Jaune said politely. "I… don't suppose you guys found a third person to be my partner on the way here, huh?"
The two shook their heads, causing the Arc to sigh at his misfortune.
Just my luck.
"Well, I guess our best bet is to keep heading North," he murmured, though just loud enough for Ren and Nora's benefit as well. "Should be able to find a partner there, if not on the way."
He was about to look to the sky to find North again when a loud roar interrupted him.
Their talking must have masked the sound of something approaching, as an Alpha Beowulf had managed to sneak up on him and burst out of the treeline to his left. His hand flew to the handle of his sword, but a moment too late as the Grimm swiped and sent him flying to the other side of the clearing. He tumbled and rolled, slowly sliding to a stop only a second later. He pushed himself up and grabbed Crocea Mors' handle over his shoulder with his left hand. Just in time, too, as the Beowulf had ran up and was in the process of lunging at him. In one fluid movement, he unhooked Crocea Mors and swung down, at the same time tilting his body to the right and allowing himself to fall and roll to the side and into a crouch. The movement caused the tip of the bastard sword form to make a deep cut into the Alpha Beowulf's neck, and the Grimm yelped and crashed into the ground.
Jaune didn't allow it to recover, directing Aura to his legs and blasting off with enough force to make a crater and a loud cracking sound. He crashed into the Grimm, impaling Crocea Mors down its open mouth and straight into its throat. He slammed the corpse into a tree before twirling around and hefting his sword on his shoulder. Using his shoulder armor as a pivot, he pulled down on Crocea Mors' handle and pulled his sword free from the Alpha Beowulf's dissipating corpse with a wet crunch.
He turned to see if there were any other threats just in time to witness Nora smashing what looked like a massive warhammer into the ground and exploding the dirt beneath, killing a crowd of five other lesser Beowulves. Ren was off to the side slinking around an Ursa Major, firing dual automatic pistols and occasionally landing the occasional slice with the attached blades.
Nora went to assist and spun before reeling her hammer over her head, but the Ursa Major swiped her out of the sky with a backhanded swing and knocked her into a nearby tree. Jaune pushed Aura into his legs to assist her when a red and bronze blur zipped in from the treeline and engaged the Ursa alongside Ren.
He made it Nora's side, the girl groaning as she tried to push herself to her feet. Jaune grabbed her by her upper arm and pulled her to her feet. Nora nodded her thanks before grabbing her hammer and rushing back into the fight.
Not that it was really needed.
The redheaded girl, Pyrrha if he remembered right, was making absolute work of the Ursa Major.
Almost like a dancer she weaved between each swipe of the Ursa's massive paws and stepped away from each aggressive bite of its maw, all the while making considerably large cuts in its hide with her xiphos.
Not one to stand idly by, he hooked Crocea Mors to his arm and unfurled its shield, tearing the sword out of its sheath as he rushed in with a burst of Aura-enhanced speed. Pyrrha seemed to notice his approach and spun out of his way, allowing him to slam his shield into the Ursa's face with a sickening crunch, cracking its mask and stunning it enough for it to reel backwards. Bringing his sword in an upward slice, he tore into the Grimm with a huge slice up the entire length of its body.
The Ursa Major roared defiance and raised its paws before smashing down onto the face of Crocea Mors' shield, Jaune almost buckling under the force of the blow. Ren's bullets pelted the Grimm, and it wasn't long until a silver flash knocked the Ursa off of him, courtesy of Nora's hammer. It slammed into the ground with considerable force, throwing up a large dust cloud and causing them to lose sight of it.
The four of them gathered together, Jaune making sure to shoot Pyrrha a short glance. The two met eyes.
"Nice of you to join us," Jaune grinned. "Just as I was certain that I would have to find a partner at the temple."
"Well, I'm glad I saved you the trouble," Pyrrha responded in kind. A roar cut off their banter, and the two sets of partners addressed the Ursa in the clearing once more.
It was starting to die, given how sluggish it was moving, but the fight hadn't left it entirely.
"Hey," Nora piped up, "think we can ride it to the temple?"
The other three looked at her in bewilderment. Nora returned their stares with a shrug.
"What?"
A/N: I wanted to do something a little different for Initiation, as well as addressing a bit of a discrepancy I noticed during Initiation in the show: How the hell are there that many people in the Auditorium during Ozpin's speech but only a few handfuls of people on the Cliffs at the start of Initiation? Like, where did they all go? I also had to do a considerable amount of research on the timeline of RWBY, primarily the timeframe of Beacon's school year. As your average American robot, I had absolutely no idea whatsoever how the hell it could be so fucking green in the beginning of the school year when its Autumn, until after researching that Beacon's school system follows the Japanese school year.
Looks like all those Japanese cartoons I watch didn't prepare me enough.
Anywho, I didn't figure this all out on my own. Stumbled upon a HUGE helping hand in the form of a Reddit thread that I would link here, if not for FF's thing about putting links in Fics. So instead, just search up "An Attempt to Actually Establish a Calendar-based Timeline of RWBY," by u/TheRisenThunderbird. Major props to them, I could never have wrapped my head around it otherwise.
I'm a robot, not a super-computer, god dammit.
Anyway, that's Chapter 2. I hope it was worth the wait. Already working on Chapter 3 as we speak, so look forward to that.
Keep doing what you do.
-IU13