And we are back! For the ones who reviewed and answered my question from the last chapter, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. It definitely gave me some more ideas on what I want to do with this story and where I want to direct it. While I am exceptionally rewriting RWBY at this point, that doesn't mean that just because some characters are reversed with each other that will mean that they will just do everything that the original character did in canon. As well as some special changes that have yet to be revealed. Of course, there will be some similarities, but most of those are going to be purely personality-based. You'll see what I mean as I continue the story.
Beta: CrowSkull
YBWR
Chapter 5- Vassalization
"U-Uh, on second thought I have several questions I'd like to ask!" Pyrrha exclaimed right after she saw Ruby get flung off the cliff by some kind of springloaded mechanism that she understood absolutely zero about! Her hand raised high above her head and she even hopped on one foot in order to get the attention of the headmistress and her deputy.
"Ah, Pyrrha Nikos," Salem looked at her with a strange warm expression on her face. "How can I help you?"
"How are we supposed to land?" Pyrrha asked desperately. The sound of the platforms beneath the feet of her fellow students launching up suddenly and sending people into the Grimm-infested forest.
"With your own personalized landing strategy," Salem said as she took a sip from a mug that Pyrrha had no idea she was holding. "Ugh, coffee again? I told Arthur time and time again, I hate coffee! Bah," She threw the mug over her shoulder and shook her head. When she realized that Pyrrha's hand was still raised, one of her blonde eyebrows perked up. "Is there something else?"
"Yes!" Pyrrha exclaimed. "What is a landing strategy!?"
"Oh, that?" Salem rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. Just like Cinder here," the headmistress patted her deputy on the back, earning a scowl from the undoubtedly beautiful woman. "I sent her flying off these cliffs myself once I accepted her as my student. She had the same questions you did, now that I think about it. But in the end, she managed to figure out what to do."
"I broke both my legs, two ribs, and an arm." Cinder pointed out. "It's a miracle I was still able to move after that, much less survive."
"Oh, don't come back at me with that grudge young lady," Salem pouted. "I came down to save you… eventually."
"Eventually!?" Pyrrha screeched, finally deciding that now was a good time to give up on her dreams. "I changed my mind! I don't wanna go- AHHHHHHHH-"
"Oop, and there she goes," Salem said as the redhead was flung a few hundred meters into the air and over the cliff behind them. "I knew that saving her for last would be entertaining. Though I must say, lying about your own experiences here was a bit over the top."
Cinder scoffed, but couldn't quite hide the amused smirk on her face.
"Allow me my own pleasantries every now and again, will you?"
Salem chuckled. "Very well, do as you wish."
Pyrrha spun and twisted through the air uncontrollably. She felt her eyes tear up as the wind blew into them endlessly. She had no control whatsoever over her falling and didn't even have an idea of how close she was to the ground. It was a terrifying experience. For the first time in her life, she wanted to curse up a storm.
"Hupp!" Jaune Arc climbed up the tallest tree and looked over the treeline. He narrowed his eyes and placed his hand horizontally against his forehead to prevent the sunlight from muffling his vision. He heard the screaming, and for some reason, he just knew exactly who that was.
"Ah hah! There you are!" He exclaimed when he saw a head of red hair and absolutely no control over her trajectory. Jaune winced as he realized what she must have realized already. If she hit the ground like that, not even the trees would help break that fall. But they'll definitely break something. Like her arms, back, spine, ribs, legs, and so on and so forth.
"Alright then, this is now happening," Jaune said as he balanced himself on the thick tree branch and shifted his scabbard into a shield. He let his sword hang off his back limply and took his hand out of the handle behind his shield. After taking a deep breath, he grabbed the edge of the shield and drew his arm back in a wild arc. He sucked in another deep breath and felt his aura come to life all over his left shoulder, and his entire arm. He gripped the shield tightly, yet loosely, and used his other arm to help aim at his target.
"RAH!" Jaune screamed as he threw the shield with all his might to the spot he knew Pyrrha was going to end up in about four seconds. He saw the shield catch Pyrrha by the belt of her dress. "Yes!" He shouted in his excitement at the expert-like throw. The satisfying sound of the thunk when his shield stabbed into a tree made him feel all the happy feelings in his stomach.
"YOU OKAY!?" He shouted once the sound reached him.
"I'M SORRY!" Pyrrha shouted back from a distance. "AND THANK YOU!"
"No problem!" Jaune replied as he hopped down to the ground. "Great work Jaune, you saved the redhead and now she's stuck in a tree. Now you gotta go get her before a Grimm finds her, or worse… Another person."
His ocean blue eyes narrowed as he broke into a full sprint and charged straight into the bushes. Thankfully, there was no Grimm between him and his soon-to-be partner. Some might call him desperate and maybe a little creepy for wanting to become a girl's partner after meeting her just once, but honestly, he just couldn't help it! He couldn't bear the thought of being forced to partner with any of those weird fangirls or the weirder fanboys. Sure, he might just manage to get along with them eventually after a while, but it was a much better thought to get on with someone right away! Not to mention the challenge that would present itself.
When he shook that girl's hand, even though her gloves he could tell that her palms were way too soft to belong to a huntress in training. Even though he'd consider most hands to be soft because of how calloused and gruff his own were due to his hundreds of training sessions in just the past year alone, he also was a little concerned for her. There was a good chance, too good of a chance, that a Grimm would find her before any potential partners would. Thankfully he made sure to keep track of her as they were launched off the cliff at similar instances because now he could be that person to protect her.
And who knows? He might just take a liking to her even more so than he has already. It wasn't every day that he found someone that he could get interested in.
"Hah!" Yang cried as she shoved her fist down a Beowolve's throat and felt the crunch of the monster's skull as her fist came back out the other side. She wrenched it out and flicked the blood off her hand before bringing them both up to block and deflect two clawed paws from slashing into her chest. The next Beowold staggered to the ground, giving Yang the opportunity to kick it across the face, and unintentionally passing it off to Blake.
Her black blade sliced through the creature's jaw and cleaved it clean off. Yang was about to warn her that there was another Grimm behind her, but once it's huge paw passed through her body, Yang watched as the real Blake appeared again behind the creature, stamping on it's back and slashing Gambol Shroud across its shoulders and neck. She flipped off of it and was nearly caught out of mid-air, but another clone was left behind in her wake as she seemingly teleported away from the line of danger and appeared underneath the second creature.
The first one that she slashed at before was still alive, and it was staggering toward Yang while roaring and whining at the same time because of the pain in its back. Despite that, its claws still yearned to tear her apart. Yang huffed and brought up her fists as a boxer would, and weaved under the first wildly telegraphed strike and then bobbed underneath the next to the left. In just two motions, Yang was deep inside the guard of the creature and with all her strength she stabbed her fist into its liver and tore it back out in a splatter of blood.
"Ewww," Yang complained as the monster died and faded away around her fist. "That feeling of you dying is disgusting, never do that while my fist is still inside you ever again."
She felt her eyes widen in surprise when she heard one of the bigger Beowolves fall flat on its face just behind her. She jumped and yelped, but quickly reigned herself back under control once she saw Blake standing on its back. The heiress flung her hair over one shoulder and stepped off the dying Grimm as it evaporated into the air.
"Pay more attention," Blake said as she holstered Gambol Shroud and crossed her arms. "If it weren't for me, you would have gotten ambushed from behind."
Yang scoffed. "Wouldn't have been much of an ambush while we were already being attacked."
Blake rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean, human."
"Why do you keep calling me that?" Yang asked as Blake started walking off in a random direction. "My name isn't 'Human', it's Yang!"
"I am aware," Blake replied, not even turning around to face her. "Does it offend you?"
"Well, a bit, yeah," Yang admitted. "I get that you're a faunus and everything, and a pretty rich one at that. But that doesn't mean that I'm so far beneath you that I don't deserve to be called by my name."
"What was it you said about me?" Blake asked instead, turning to face her and glaring into her purple eyes. "I believe you referred to me before not by name, but what was it… oh, I know now. Bitchy," Yang winced as she remembered her slip from yesterday. "You should be thankful that I don't call you anything less, human. But if it is worth anything to you, I do not call you human as an insult. That is what you are, is it not?"
"Well… yeah, I guess."
"Then it shouldn't be an issue." Blake turned back around and walked off. Not even giving Yang the time to think about what she had just said. With a whispered curse, Yang jogged up to catch up with her… partner? She didn't know just yet. It should be obvious, since, well, they looked into each other's eyes already, and by Salem's rules they had to be partners for the next four years now. Yet except for the quick battle against some Grimm before, they hadn't really done anything to be partners. It was insanely early to even draw conclusions, but the rules were rules. As much as Blake hated her and as much as Yang disliked the way she talked to her, they were partners. They were stuck with each other.
"Hey," Yang said when she caught up to the faunus. "You said that if I wanted to become your partner, I needed to prove it to you, right?"
"Correct," Blake replied as she pushed aside a branch.
Yang ducked underneath it before it could strike her in the face. Then refrained from calling Blake out on that.
"Well, did I prove myself to you yet or what?"
"Hm, you did perform… adequately back there," Blake admitted. It was closest to a compliment Yang felt she was going to get from her partner for now. Blake spared some seconds to think about it before sighing. "But either way whether or not I approve of you being my partner for the next four years, it seems that we are going to be stuck with each other."
"I see," Yang smirked, then stepped out in front of the faunus, stopping her in her tracks. The taller girl looked down at her, raising an eyebrow when Yang extended out a hand to her. "So, we're official partners then?"
"Hah," Blake scoffed and gently slapped Yang's hand away. "No need to gloat about it, I said that we were stuck with each other either way, did I not?"
"Tch," Yang's eyes flashed red when Blake pushed rudely pushed past her. She wanted to lose her temper, but she knew that if she did there would be little that could rehabilitate their already straining relationship after that. Instead, she sucked in a deep breath and walked to the nearest tree.
"RAH!" After punching it so hard that the tree was ripped out of the ground, Yang exhaled deeply and turned back to continue walking with her partner. Or well, keeping up with her at least.
Blake had something right though, they were partners. But only because they had to be partners the moment they looked at each other in the eyes. Yang wondered if there was actually any cameras watching them and making sure that they weren't cheating, but how could they possibly keep track of every square acre of this forest? Then again, Yang had to respect Blake for one thing. She hadn't tried to break the rules, at least not since after they killed that pack of Beowolves together. That had to imply some amount of respect, right?
Yang sighed, ditching Blake, and trying to find another partner was a huge no go. Not only because she'd be leaving the girl in a Grimm infested forest by herself, but because she did feel like she owed it to Blake to at least give it a shot.
Well, like her mother once told her, "Remember this, Yang; If you find yourself in a shitty situation, try to make the most out of it. That's how you were born, after all."
Yang winced and shook her head.
Right, Raven Branwen wasn't exactly the best person to remember quotes from.
Ruby peeled apart two sides of a bush and peered into it. "Yang? Are you here?" Yang was in fact not there in that bush, for it was nothing but leaves and branches. Ruby sighed and stood away from it. She looked around and peered into the surrounding forest. Trying to find the vibrant pair of blonde pigtails that more often than not always meant that her sister was around. She was just so easy to pick out, but perhaps yellow blended more with the color green than Ruby ought to admit.
"C'mon Yang, I know you're looking for me too. Where are you?" Ruby asked no one in particular as she kicked a rock lose from the ground. It perked up and struck something in the chest, not anyone that Ruby was particularly interested in looking at.
"Hey there, do you know where my sister is?" Ruby asked as she traced circles in the ground with her boot.
"Grrroooarr." The strange person growled at her.
"No? Well, that sucks. Well, if you see a pair of pigtails on a girl who should know that she's too old for that kind of hairdo, let me know, okay?" Ruby said, looking at the definitely Grimm gorilla in the neck. Just in case it was Halloween and she didn't know, she didn't want to look any higher into its eyes.
Big splotches of drool splashed onto the ground, Ruby looked at the wet spot in the grass and dirt and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good," She said as one arm burst out of her red hood, Crescent Rose and it's crimson blade shifting into action. "For a second there I thought you were just a really big bla- ergh, that sounds bad when I say it like that… let's just leave it at 'I thought I forgot it was Halloween and you were wearing a really cool costume', okay?"
The Beringel did not agree.
"Oh, phooey," Ruby flashed stepped behind the Grimm as it slammed one hugely oversized fist into the spot where she was standing before. "Looks like I'm gonna have to kill ya now, that sucks. I was thinking of giving you a name, y' know?"
Ruby dashed through the legs of the creature and cut one of them off in the process. The Grimm didn't seem to register that Ruby was gone along with its left leg, but when it tried to turn around and found itself falling to the ground in a stagger, it soon realized. Nonetheless, it reached out with one huge hand and tried to grab its prey and to its credit, it did manage to touch her for an instant before its fingers and hand were diced apart in a flurry of rose petals. In its eyes, the girl didn't seem to move at all. But in truth, Ruby was just too quick for it to see.
"I could name you Abraham. You know, like the headless horseman?" Ruby laughed. "Only there's one issue with that, but don't worry. I can fix it!"
Ruby gripped Crescent Rose with two hands, her eyes flashed and her semblance activated. She perceived the world as moving in so slow a motion that it was almost like it wasn't moving at all. She watched the crimson blade of her scythe hooked around the Beringels neck and slowly slice through fur, skin, tissue, muscle until it hit bone and went through the same process but reversed. By the time her perception of the world returned to normal, the Beringels head was flying in the air, removed from its body in a motion that took about point three seconds to fully complete.
"Damn, I was a little slow there," Ruby said, embarrassed by her poor performance before deciding to jog in place for a bit. "I must not be warmed up just yet. Eh, whatever, it's not like Mom is here to scold me for it and it was hardly my worse time yet."
Crescent Rose shifted into action again when she heard something tear through the bushes to her right. Again, time seemed to slow as her semblance activated, but by the time she turned around the Beowolf was already in the process and wrapping its arms around her. Ruby was prepared to grapple for her life in an instant, but the creature suddenly slowed down for some reason and she found herself able to slide out of its grip easily and dash away from it.
Some kind of white symbol glowed and animated beneath the monster and it was enough to make Ruby pause and wonder what it was. "Wuh…" Ruby's mouth hung open slightly as she looked at the alien device.
"That was close there," A voice called out to her.
Ruby turned to see who it was and without really thinking about it she found herself staring into light blue eyes. She recognized the girl quickly as the one who got into a huge argument with that Blake girl from the other day. The white hair made that a dead giveaway. The partnership was made before Ruby even realized it, but right now there were more important matters for her to be concerned about.
"Was that you?" She asked, gesturing to the symbol spinning underneath the Beowolf, slowing it down immensely. It was almost like she was using her semblance it was that slow.
"Indeed it was," Weiss smirked at her as a thin sword slid out of an equally as thin scabbard. "It's my semblance, I can create and control different kinds of glyphs." The rapier-type sword Weiss held in her left hand while her other made sure that the glyph stayed active. The revolver-like dial which actually looked like it was a piece of a gun attached to a sword spun, and it landed on a red fire dust crystal. Ruby watched as Weiss thrust her sword through the air and a torrent of fire come out of the tip like some kind of flamethrower. The flames burned through the Beowolf as easily as a microwave would melt butter. The monster was ash within seconds.
"Wow, that was cool," Ruby admitted with a soft chuckle. She looked around this time before shifted Crescent Rose back and holstering it behind her back. "You're Weiss, right?"
"I am," Weiss said, smiling at her. "And you are Ruby from the night before. It seems that we are going to be partners."
"It does indeed," Ruby nodded. She wasn't against it as Weiss was far from the worst option in the world. Sure, she might have had a bit of a racist problem if her display of pure disdain toward Blake last night was anything to go by. But it wasn't like Ruby hadn't made friends with the… less than pleasant type of people before. Hell, there was Melaine and Militia once upon a time, who were known for their drug dealing shenanigans amidst's most of the streets of Vale and Junior just cause he was around at the same time. Perhaps in her birth mother's name, she could see if she could do something about that certain trait of hers. Summer Rose was the one who apparently changed Uncle Qrow and Auntie-Mom Raven after all.
"Now, have you seen my sister around here? Can't miss her, she's blonde."
"Doesn't that blend well with the mostly green scenery around here?"
Damnit… walked right into that one...
Pyrrha hung sadly from the shield that somehow hooked into her belt and pinned her against a tree. She tried time and time again to pull herself out of the tree, but every attempt ended in failure. It was just so stuck in there that not even with all her strength could she pull it out!
"Hello!?" She called out to the wild. "Anyone there?"
No one replied, which was probably both a good and a bad thing. Bad because, well, no one heard her. And good because that meant that no Grimm probably heard her as well. With an indignant huff, Pyrrha let her arms hang limply along with her legs. This was really a shitty situation, even she'd admit that. But it seemed that all she could do right now was wait for that boy with the shield who pinned her to this tree. Surely he'd come to find her, if only to at least retrieve his shield, right?
Right?
The slim chance that her assumption was wrong started to make her nervous. Pyrrha gulped and wondered whether or not it really was a good idea to just sit- hang up there by her belt and just wait. Sure, she could simply unbuckle her belt and let herself fall down to the ground. But that was a good ten to twenty feet and she did not feel like testing her body to see how high she could fall before it became a health hazard.
"Hello?" That boy's voice asked as he pushed through a nearby bush. Pyrrha widened her eyes and felt the excitement give her energy.
"Hello again!" She cheered back, getting the boy's attention. When she locked eyes with the blue-eyed boy she couldn't help but smile widely. "I'm over here! Jaune, is that you?"
"Hehe, indeed it is!" Jaune exclaimed as he broke through the clear, Crocea Mors rested on his shoulder, black ash burning off of it as he looked up at her. Pyrrha didn't really pay much attention to it before, but he was wearing almost full body armour. It was all white gilded with black and gold with the crest of what she assumed to be his family's symbol on his right breast. She knew that because she has had plenty of time to look at that blasted shield that kept her pinned to this damned tree!
"Good to see that my aim remained true. Now, I am going to shrink the size of my shield there for a bit and it should make you fall. But don't worry, I'll catch you."
Pyrrha swallowed nervously. "Y-You're sure?"
Jaune nodded his head and grinned at her confidently.
"I'm more than sure, just trust me alright? We already looked into each other's eyes and you know what that means."
Pyrrha nodded her head, relaxing slightly. "We're partners."
"Exactly," Jaune's grin seemed to widen even further. "And that means that as your partner, I'm going to make sure no harm comes your way, I swear it on my name as an Arc!"
"A-Alright! I trust you," Pyrrha said, tensing up as she prepared for a sudden drop.
"Good," Jaune pointed a hand up at his shield, Pyrrha could barely get a good look at the glove on that hand from her angle, but she saw some white glow that somehow made her know that she was about to fall. "On a count to three, one, two… three!"
"Ah!" Pyrrha felt gravity take its hold on her and she fell twenty feet in a single moment. She started to yelp halfway down but didn't feel the need to as she felt a strong pair of arms holding her above the ground. Her legs coiled slightly around one arm and she felt a palm on the small of her back. She blinked owlishly and turned her face toward the one who had caught her, his handsome grin met her head-on.
"Told you I'd catch you," Jaune winked as he let Pyrrha down. Once she was on her feet, he looked back up to the tree where his scabbard was still stuck. Now that Pyrrha was free from it, he reached his hand up again and Pyrrha watched as the shield wrenched itself out of the tree and flew right back into his hand handle-first.
"Some special technology one of my sisters made for me," Jaune explained simply as he scratched the back of his head. "Through some magnetic science, I don't know much about, I can call back my shield whenever I want."
"Wow, that's amazing!" Pyrrha exclaimed, her eyes lit up as she looked into her new partner's eyes. "And thank you so much for helping me there! I feel like I was hanging up there for hours!"
"Actually, it was about twenty-four minutes and eighteen seconds," Jaune pointed out.
"What? How could you possibly know that?"
"I counted."
Pyrrha tilted her head at the boy.
"Come again?"
"I counted," Jaune repeated, shrugging his shoulders. "I like to count down the number of seconds it takes for me to get from point A to point B. It's something my dad drilled into me when he was training me a long time ago. Is that weird?"
A little.
"No, of course not!" Pyrrha said with a kind chuckle.
"Hah, that's a relief," Jaune laughed along with her. "For a second there I wondered whether or not counting to 1458 was the kind of thing I probably shouldn't repeat often."
"Huh…" Strangely enough, Pyrrha was quite impressed by this revelation. "You must be very patient."
Jaune felt part of his face heat up and he looked away from his new partner.
"Y-You think so? Well, that just makes this new partnership even better!" Jaune exclaimed. He held up a thumb and smiled. Pyrrha couldn't help but think it cute. "Well, as much as it is calming holding a conversation with you we should probably move on to try and find those relics. Don't you agree?"
"Oh, yes," Pyrrha coughed into her fist. "I'm sorry, let's get a move on now shall we- Agh!" Pyrrha winced and nearly fell over, she only didn't because Jaune caught her arm before she could begin to stagger.
"Woah, what's wrong!?" Jaune asked, looking her up and down. "You don't look hurt… hm… Did you sprain something?"
"I…" Pyrrha prodded her left food on the ground and felt the shock of pain rocket up her leg, making her wince a second time. "I-I think so… in my left foot. It must have happened in the fall and I must have just noticed it now after standing on it for some time."
"Why didn't you use your aura?" Jaune asked, confused.
"Aura?" Pyrrha looked just as confused as he. "What's that?"
Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Aura, you know… the one thing that has aided humanity the most in beating back the Grimm?" Surely you must know about it."
Pyrrha laughed nervously. "I'm sorry… I don't believe I do."
"Huh?" Jaune raised his other eyebrow, thoroughly shocked now. "Are you telling me you're only oblivious to aura but you also don't have an aura at all, and yet you still enlisted yourself into Beacon nevertheless!?"
Pyrrha bit her lip and looked away. "I'm… sorry?"
"Hah!" Jaune couldn't help but chuckle. "Man, you are just full of surprises now, aren't you? Come here," When Jaune stepped forward and placed a hand against her forehead and his other on her shoulder, Pyrrha felt embarrassed.
"W-what are you doing?"
"I'm gonna unlock your aura," Jaune explained as he closed his eyes. "I can't have my partner running around and getting herself in danger without something to protect herself, can I?"
"W-Wait, I don't even know what aura is!"
"Don't worry, its nothing bad." Sensing her discomfort, Jaune opened his eyes and looked at her. "It's quite simple, really. Aura is widely regarded as the manifestation of the soul. Once unlocked, you can control it and use it as a sort of… well, 'Force Field' is what my youngest sister always called it," he chuckled fondly before continuing. "It is also a source of power you can draw from to both protect yourself and enhance your physical capabilities, and once harnessed and mastered to a certain point, you can also unlock your semblance. I'll explain more of that after initiation. Now, are you more comfortable with me unlocking your aura now?"
"I… I believe so." Pyrrha nodded slowly. "Will it hurt?"
"Of course not," Jaune replied. "It will feel like you're getting an adrenaline boost if anything. All you have to do is sit still and let me do my thing. Trust me?"
"O-Okay…" Pyrrha sighed through her nose. "I trust you."
"Good," Closing his eyes again, Pyrrha watched as Jaune's white aura began to grow and expand around his body. It wasn't anything she has ever seen before and it left her in awe. She watched it extend from his body all the way down to his hands, and then she felt something begin to awaken within her. She looked down at her own body and watched as a vibrant red color started to come to life, surrounding her much like Jaune was doing to him.
"For it is in glory and chivalry do we become Living Legends," Jaune began to chant. "Through this path, we rise above all hardship and defeat every obstacle. Infinite, unbound, and growing ever more powerful, I release your hidden strength and beseech thee; Become the Knight that you were meant to be."
Pyrrha gasped as a red light exploded from her body. It faded away just as quickly as it came, but as Jaune pulled away his hands Pyrrha knew that she felt it. Her… aura. It was strange to think about it, but as she giggled and hopped on her feet, feeling that the once sprained ankle was no longer injured at all, she couldn't help but feel the need to scream in excitement.
"My lord!" Pyrrha shouted, feeling more powerful than she'd ever felt in her life. "This… this is amazing! This is aura!? I feel so strong!"
"Heh," Jaune crossed his arms and watched her fondly. "I felt the same way when I first unlocked mine. You're amazing, too. You have almost as much aura as I do, and I'm supposed to be the one who has the most aura out of anyone in the world."
"You do!?" Pyrrha gasped. "You must be so strong!"
"W-Well, I don't like to gloat about it," Jaune said, embarrassed. "But hey, you want to go test out that new strength of yours? I passed a cave on my way here, there might be a relic in there."
"Let's go!" Pyrrha exclaimed. "Together, we can take on anything."
"That's right," Jaune agreed easily. "Anything is possible, don't let any wall stop you."
"Hm," Nora hummed as she sat on a rock, looking curiously at the dying Grimm at her feet. "For quite the large King Taijitu, you are quite weak. It seems that all that length and girth of yours only served to slow you down." She commented as she looked down the length of the giant snake Grimm. Many parts of it were smashed and demolished, and half of its body was evaporating into black dust just as its white counterpart was. Both of its venomous fangs were destroyed, and one of them was used against it as Nora impaled its neck and pinned it to the ground with it.
"It seems Magnhild served me well," Nora said with a fond grin as she looked down at her weapon and polished it. "Can you die now? The smell you're giving off is disgusting, and waiting here for my soon-to-be partner would be much more pleasant if you weren't here."
The King Taijitu tried to snap at her, but its jaw had been dislocated a long time ago. It finally expired as it slumped against the ground, tired with its terrible and destructive life. Nora let out a soft sigh as she watched it evaporate away. Really, it was such a waste. Creatures like these would be so much more benevolent if they weren't so chaotic and mindless. It went without saying that the world was a better place without Grimm in it, but seriously, did they all need to be such mindless monsters? Even the smallest Grimm would try and tear apart a human if they had the chance to, and the largest Grimm were just the ones to worry about the most. Like that horde of Goliaths that were spotted countless times in the outskirts of Vale. Just biding their time and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"Oh no," Nora pretended to be helpless after waiting several more minutes. "I am going so hungry, I will die without my best friend's favorite recipe of pancakes. Whatever shall I do? Perhaps I shall simply lay here and accept my fate, for that is all that is left…"
Bushes rustled behind her.
Nora stood up and braced herself.
"I'm here!" Ren screamed as he burst out of the bushes, twigs, and leaves in his hair as he sped up to directly in front of Nora with a wide, concerned look in his vibrant pink eyes. "Don't worry Nora, I'm here now! Are you okay? Do you need me to take you back to Beacon's cafeteria so I can make you some pancakes? Well?"
"No, Ren," Nora said with a fond smile, making sure to stare into her best friend's eyes. "I just needed to get your attention is all. It worked like a charm, as usual."
Ren pouted and crossed his arms indignantly. "Oh you, always pulling stuff like that. You know I have super hearing when it comes to you calling for help!"
"Well, I didn't want to wait for you to work up the courage to face me and look me in the eyes anymore."
"Hey, I wasn't just hiding in those bushes waiting for just the right time to come out and make you my partner!" Ren denied expressively, waving his arms around his body as he spoke. "Not, that'd be like, not cool. And you and me? We're cool, real cool. I wouldn't want to tarnish that coolness."
"Sure you wouldn't," Nora yawned, then stood up from her rock and stretched her arms up above her head. "Now let's go find some relics so we can actually stay in this school we traveled through a continent to get to."
"Oh, right, initiation," Ren skipped alongside her as they passed by the still evaporating head of the King Taijitu that Nora killed earlier. "Forgot that was a thing for a bit there,"
"Yeah, yeah," Nora rolled her eyes and smirked. "That's what you always say."
"Hey! This is the first time I'm saying that!"
"I know, I'm just messing with you."
You know, it just feels weird to me that I am writing that last part and thinking of Ren's voice as I type out his dialogue. He was just so quiet and reserved before in canon and in pretty much all of my other stories and here I am writing him as if he had Nora's personality, which he pretty much does. Just hearing Ren's voice as he asks "Do you need me to make you pancakes?" In such an uncharacteristic excited tone just makes me laugh for some reason Lol.
Now I thought about writing all of the initiation segments in just this one chapter so I didn't have to split it in half like I am going to do now, but as you can imagine I got a little wordy with a few of the scenes back there. Thankfully I thought ahead and Pyrrha is in fact one of the main perspectives I'm going to be writing in, so I put her tagged her as such. It worked out though because now everyone has their partners and I actually do think that Initiation was split into two episodes in the show anyway. So we're all good on that front.
I did consider reversing the roles so much that partners were reversed as well, but in the end, I decided against it. I had a lot more plans with the regular partnerships than the shuffled mess I thought of before, and, well, this story is called YBWR. Really wouldn't make much sense if I made a team that didn't have the same girls in it, and even then, it changes surprisingly little even if I did shuffle them up.
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