Beacon initiation is an event that would prove that one is worthy of their place at Beacon. And Jaune was nervous due to him having faked his way into the school. Nonetheless, he planned to prove that he belonged here. Though, he is thinking about whether to use Crocea Mors or not. But remembering his father's words about him not being cut out for Huntsman's life because he didn't have talent in Sword and Shield combat art.
"Hmph! I'll show him!" Jaune said in a low but determined voice. "I'll show him that I'm more than capable of being a Huntsman!".
Jaune was about to leave Crocea Mors and pick up his blue and gold fingerless form-fitting gauntlet that goes all the way to the elbow and armoured boots with the same design as the gauntlets that go all the way to his knees. But then, his father's voice once again rang into his mind. He curled his finger into his palm so hard that it would bleed if he put any more pressure.
While Jaune decided whether to take Crocea Mors or his gauntlet, Ruby arrived behind him and spoke.
"Hey, Jaune!" Ruby called loudly. Jaune nearly screamed due to his surprise. "What are you doing?".
"Oum! Ruby, you shouldn't be sneaking up on a guy like that!" Jaune said. He then took a deep breath to calm his nerve. "Phew! Anyway, I was just getting ready for the initiation".
"First of all, Jaune. I wasn't sneaking up on you," Ruby said. "I've been calling you for a few seconds before I decided to shout. Secondly, You need to hurry up and get your weapons ready since it would be time for us to head to the cliff".
"Right…Just give me a moment," Jaune said. He then looked at his gauntlets and boots, shook his head and picked up Crocea Mors. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's head to Beacon Cliff".
At Beacon Cliff, overlooking a forest, several students are standing on silver tiles in front of Professor Ozpin and Glynda, who was on her tablet.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors," Ozpin said. He then took a sip of his mug, which contained hot chocolate. "And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest".
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of 'teams'," Glynda said. She was going through her tablet as she spoke. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today".
"What?" Ruby said with horror in her voice. Then she sighed. "Ohhhhh..."
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So, it's in your best interest to be paired with someone you can work well with," Ozpin said while taking another sip of his hot chocolate before resuming. Ruby's groan was heard by everyone. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years".
"What?!" Ruby shouted her shock. She didn't want to be in a team with a stranger! "Oh, Oum! Please let my partner be Yang?!".
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the forest's northern end. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die," Ozpin said. He then looked at every student in his vicinity before continuing. "You'll 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?".
Looking around, Ozpin saw no one needed an explanation. So, he nodded at everyone.
"Good!" Ozpin said. "Now, take your positions".
Everyone strikes a pose on their tile. Nora crouches low, Ren wields his weapons, Yang raises her fists, and Ruby readies her body. Jaune was looking at everyone. He was asking himself why everyone was overdramatic with their poses? On the other hand, Jaune bent his knees enough to absorb the impact of what was coming.
One by one, all the initiates were flung into the forest, including Jaune.
Ruby fires off a few rounds from Crescent Rose to slow her down, then turns the weapon into its scythe form to catch the branch of a tree in her blade and fall downward at a slower pace.
Weiss, armed with Myrtenaster, summons a white snowflake circle under her and leaps off of it to the forest below.
Ren descends with Nora Valkyrie, briefly being seen next to him at a faster speed and spins in the air, eventually using Storm Flower's blades to spiral around the trunk of a large tree and hit the ground, brushing off his clothes.
Yang was using her gauntlets and their recoil to push through the air further and further north, spinning and laughing with each blast, even when she crashed through the leaves of a tree and leapt off two trunks to tumble to the ground.
With her weapon in sword form and armed with a shield, Pyrrha crashes through several trees and rolls on a branch, immediately shifting her blade into a rifle and looking through the scope at Jaune as he descends onto the forest.
Pyrrha transforms her weapon again to its spear form, takes a moment to evaluate her throw, and rockets the spear deep into the forest until it catches Jaune in his hoody. Pyrrha was not going to let anybody team up with Jaune. She got dibs first.
In the locker rooms, before Jaune started getting ready, she and Weiss were blocking Jaune's locker. This was the first time Pyrrha had met Jaune. Sure, he was awkward at first, but he was unlike any of the guys she had met before.
Interacting with him felt like a dream come true as he wasn't avoiding her due to thinking he would never be able to match up to her or fanboying at the fact that she was Pyrrha Nikos, The Invincible Girl, though he didn't know that at first. However, even after Weiss told Jaune who she was, he didn't care and wanted to get to know her, not the one on the Tv, but the real her.
Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat for the adorakble blonde with that simple act. Hence, she decided that she would be picking her partner, not through chance but through opportunity, which she planned to create.
"Yes! I got him!" Pyrrha said. She then looked around to make sure that no professors saw what she did. "Let's go and pick up ourselves a blonde!".
In the middle of the forest, Ruby lands in a crouch and then darts off with a single mantra in her mind.
"Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang! Gotta find…Yang!" Ruby shouted. "Yang! Oh, this is bad, this is really bad. What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first?
Well, there's always Jaune. He's nice. He's funny! I don't think he's very good in a fight, though. Ooh! What about Blake?! So mysterious, so calm. Plus, she likes books!
Then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her. Ugh! Okay, who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, and..."
Ruby skids to a halt in front of Weiss as she turns to face her. She stops just in time for their eyes to meet, and a pause follows. This ends when Weiss turns on her heel and walks the other way.
"Wait! Where are you going?!" Ruby shouted towards Weiss, who was running away from her. "We're supposed to be teammates!".
Weiss is seen struggling through the forest, giving an occasional grunt as she pushes plants out of her way. She brushes herself off and sighs in relief when she hears a voice above her.
"What the hell?! Why would Pyrrha throw her spear at me?!" Jaune said. He then tried to remove the spear from his hoody, but he couldn't pull it out due to being in an awkward position and being unable to exert any strength on the spear. "Oh, come on! Come off of me!".
Weiss sees Jaune hanging a few feet in the air by the spear embedded in his hood and the tree behind him. As Jaune gives up trying to pull it out, he looks down and sees Weiss, giving an embarrassed wave. Weiss simply heads back to where she came from, and Jaune groans in dejection.
"Wait! I know you don't want to be my teammate, but at least help me out of this!" Jaune shouted at the retreating Weiss. "Dang it! She could have at least given a guy some help. I know I didn't show any interest in her or in what she had to say, but still!".
As Jaune was feeling dejected, he heard a bush rustling nearby, and he thought it might have been Grimm. However, his smile grew as he saw who it was.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune said with a smile on his face. "Thank Oum! I need help getting down from here!".
"S-Sorry!" I'll get you down now," Pyrrha said. She then used her polarity to get Jaune down. The guys proceeded to drop down from the tree as Pyrrha pulled her weapon away from him. Pyrrha gasped air between her teeth as she felt Jaune's hard fall. "I'm sorry!".
"N-No, it's fine, and I'm fine. I just need a moment." Jaune said. He then tried to get up from dropping down quite a height. Once he was up, Jaune then cracked his back. "That feels better. Now, we should get going…Do you happen to know which way is north?".
"I think it's that way," Pyrrha said. She was pointing in front of her, which happens to have a mountain nearby. "I think it's that way".
"Well, I haven't got a clue," Jaune admitted. "It's better than the location I thought of".
Jaune and Pyrrha made their way in the direction that Pyrrha pointed. The whole time, Pyrrha was conscious of how she looked in front of Jaune. She was making sure that there was no dirt on her face or hair. Pyrrha was even looking at Jaune the entire time, except when Jaune looked at her, she would look away and pretend that she wasn't looking.
