"Hey, Nanashi? When you get older, what will you do?"
...
"...if you don't have any goals, why don't you and I become Hunters?"
...
"Come on! I'm serious! Everyone treats us like kids! ...okay, we are kids, but they can't treat us like that forever!"
...
"...hey, Nanashi? Can I tell you something?"
...
"I...I'm...sorry."
RWBY: Final Judgment
interludium II: Initiation and Revelation
As soon as the bulkhead touched down on the ground, everyone began to pour out of the door. Some had been too excited and rushed out immediately, wanting to be the first that got a good look at the new school. Others simply strode out calmly, yet with anticipation clear in their eyes. One of the new arrivals had practically bolted out the door as soon as it opened, dashing towards a trash can and dumping the contents of his stomach into it, wrenching violently. Nanashi winced at this as he passed by, noting that the poor sap was probably suffering from motion sickness, and shrugged his shoulders. He then followed out the door, moving with the rest of the students. Weiss was a bit behind, getting her luggage in order. Meanwhile, he had failed to notice Yang and Ruby moving out with the rest of the students. As soon as they found themselves staring at the mouth of the school, they could only marvel at the grand scenery. They had to say, up close, Beacon was far more impressive than what the papers said it was. "Whoooooa..." Yang and Ruby said in awe, looking at the long pathway leading up to the school. The pathway was lined with trees, all with branches colored a light shade of red to represent the current season. "The view from Vale's got nothing on this." Yang commented, taking in the sights as she looked around the school grounds. The school itself was vast in size, especially from the towering structure actually behind it, also likely to be apart of the school. Several lush areas were also surrounding it, providing a sense of serenity and peace and tranquility, likely to provide a sense of peace and quiet to the students.
"Ooh! Ooh! Yang!" Ruby's excited shout caused her to look at her as her form seemingly became smaller, her eyes in the form of sparkles, seemingly floating into the air as a student passed by. "That kid's got a collapsible staff!" she waved her arms around excitedly, hearts pulsing above her head before another student passed by, this time carrying a blade wreathed in flames. Ruby's face grew even more excited as she clung to her arm. "A-and she's got a fire sword!"
She floated off her arm to follow and get a closer look, but Yang grabbed her by the hood and dragged her back, turning her back to normal. "Easy there, Rubes. They're just weapons." The blonde bombshell shrugged.
"Just weapons...? JUST weapons?" Ruby looked at her sister as if she grew a second head...or her hair was cut short. "They are NOT 'just weapons'! They are a part of us, a part of how we live! They are extensions of ourselves! They protect us, fight with us, keep us warm and comfy at night!"
Yang quirked an eyebrow. "If your that into weapons, why not geek over your own weapon?"
Smiling, Ruby pulled out her weapon and unfolded it into its scythe form. "Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose~" She snuggled against the shaft of her weapon. "I just like meeting new ones. It's like meeting new people...but better."
"Ruby, weapons don't equal friends."
The scythe meister tilted her head. "Why would I need friends when I've got you?"
"Well..." Yang looked to the side. Suddenly a mass of people covered in shadows appeared around her. "Actually my friends are here now we gotta catch up see ya, bye!" She spoke rapidly as she and the mass of people sped away further towards the school.
he sudden commotion sent the poor hooded girl spinning. "W-Wait, where are you going? Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms?" She was close to collapsing from the dizziness. "...I don't know what I'm doing." Then the fell backward, knocking over a pile of luggage.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" a shrill voice admonished.
"S-sorry..." Ruby apologized as she looked up. It was a young girl, dressed primarily in light blue, white, and some red. She wore a pale blue bolero jacket over a similarly colored thigh-length dress with a piece of black lace making up the neckline of the dress. The inside of the bolero was red and the sleeves turn blue as they get closer to her wrists. The back of the bolero displayed a familiar crest, which bore a resemblance to a snowflake. Similar to Ruby, she wore a combat skirt(?). She wore an apple-shaped necklace along with a pair of thin, rectangular earrings. She had white, heeled wedge boots that go to mid-calf; the insides were also lined with red. Her long white hair was pulled back in an off-center ponytail, at the base of which is a small tiara that resembles icicles. She had a pale complexion and ice blue eyes. She also bore a crooked scar down her left eye. She also wore a small bag on the back of her dress, wrapped around her waist with a ribbon.
"Sorry?" the girl scoffed. "Do you have any idea of the damage you could've caused?!" Ruby didn't understand any of it as she took one of the white cases, handing it to the girl, who snatched it away from her. "This is Dust mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry." she informed her as she checked the contents, seeing all the vials within safe and sound without a scratch.
"Uh..." Ruby was still slightly dazed from the impact as her eyes were like swirls.
The girl glared at her, almost seethingly. "What are you, brain dead?!" she snapped as she removed one of the vials. "Dust! Fire, Water, Lightning, energy!" she stated as she swung the vial around. She failed to notice the powder that was flowing out, a result of the cork on the vial coming loose slightly from the impact when the cases knocked into Ruby. Unfortunately, due to the fact she was shaking the vial around, the dust leaked from the container and into the air, tickling the silver eyed girl's nose. "Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in?" More dust leaked from the vial. The twitching grew worse. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"
"A-ah... Ahh..."
Finally, the small traces of dust finally settled inside Ruby's nose, and-
"ACHOO!"
The girl sneezed, igniting the dust in the air. An explosion of fire, electricity, and ice was triggered and engulfed the two.
"...what in the hell was that?" Dagda asked as Nanashi felt the earth tremble beneath his feet for a brief moment. "It sounded like that damned sister of yours blew something up again."
The Godslayer sighed. "Knowing my luck," he muttered as he looked around, finding a small trail of black smoke rising into the air not far from his location. "She probably did."
"Seriously? Can't she go five minutes without making explosions or getting in trouble from her heroics?"
"Apparently not." Nanashi shook his head. "C'mon. Might as well see what trouble she got herself into this time." Dagda shrugged from his place of residence, thus leaving Nanashi to investigate. When he found Ruby, he face-palmed. His adopted sister was on the ground, slightly covered in soot...and in front of her was a very angry Weiss Schnee. "Of all the luck..."
"You...Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" She scolded, referring to the explosion. Finally the soot shook off her body, leaving her normal again.
"I'm really, really sorry!" Ruby apologized meekly, pressing her fingers together.
"Ugh! You complete, dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" Weiss leered, giving Ruby a cold glare. "We're training to become warriors! This is no place for children!"
"W-well excuse me!" Ruby snapped. Honestly, what was this girl's problem?! "And who are you supposed to be anyway?! A princess?!"
"An heiress, actually."
Both paused in their argument and turned to one side, seeing a girl approach them. She had long, wavy black hair that end at her mid back with a black bow sitting on top of her head. Her eyes were golden amber, almost like a cat's. She was dressed in a sleeveless white blouse that exposed her midriff with a black vest over it. She also wore white shorts with leggings that transitioned from black to purple on the way down and black combat boots with metal studs around the top. Around her neck was a black scarf. She had a single black, sleeve on her left arm that extended to her upper bicep while both of her wrists had black bandages wrapped around them like bands. Sheathed at her back seemed to be a sword of some kind. In her hands were a brown covered book and the missing vial of dust.
"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world..."
"Finally, some recognition!-" Weiss stated smugly.
"...The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." The girl finished.
Instantly, her smug smile fell into displeasure.
"Why you...!"
Nanashi sighed, deciding to intervene. "Alright, Weiss," he called out, walking over to the three girls. "Quit trying to pick fights with everyone on the first day."
The faces of both Ruby and Weiss perked up upon seeing the teen. ""Nanashi!"" The two then stopped and looked at one another. ""How do you know him?""
The teen smiled wryly. "I see you've met my dorky sister..."
This statement stirred different reactions from the two. Ruby puffed her cheeks in a pout while Weiss whipped her head between the two.
"Hey! I'm not dorky!"
"You...you two are siblings?!"
Nanashi nodded. "Weiss, this is my adopted sister, Ruby," he introduced the weapon's dork. "Ruby, this is Weiss. She's the girl I met when Uncle Qrow took me to Atlas."
Ruby's eyes widened, staring at Weiss, who likewise stared back at her in utter dumbfoundment. "H-how, what?!"
"Wait, she's the girl you got together with when we weren't looking?!"
"WE'RE NOT LIKE THAT, OKAY?!" The white haired girl yelled, her face flushed red.
Nanashi sighed. "I swear...the next time I see Qrow..."
The reason behind Ruby's words were due to Qrow. Nanashi and Weiss had met when the scythe master responsible for teaching Ruby had decided to show Nanashi around the world, the first stop being Atlas, the militant country. Back then, Nanashi had put on the facade of having amnesia due to the incident that left him in near death, thus Qrow took it upon himself for the boy to get reacquainted with the world. Atlas was a state governed by both it's council and military, which was shown with it's academy. The students were not taught to be heroes or warriors, they were taught to be soldiers. As it happened, Qrow was tasked with guarding a shipment of goods from the Schnee Dust Corporation.
And during that job, Nanashi had met 11-year-old Weiss Schnee, and her intimidating older sister, Winter. All he really remembered from the encounter was that the two adults talked...then yelled at one another...then finally brought out their weapons and clashed. He wasn't interested in what was happening, so instead, he talked with Weiss. At first, she didn't really like him. Who could blame her? Given his attitude and his haircut, she pegged him for a delinquent when she first saw him. But then they talked and held a steady conversation. He didn't remember how, but he managed to get her to laugh a few times. By the time Qrow and Winter were about to get really violent, a man dressed in white with a rather intimidating look to him, Ironwood he believed his name was, stepped in and stopped it. He didn't remember much after that, but he and Weiss kept in touch, exchanging e-mails and whatnot.
It still surprised him to know that his smartphone could connect to Scrolls, but he chalked it up to Dagda, as he was a god of knowledge and whatnot.
At any rate, he wasn't sure what Qrow had told his adopted parents and siblings, but it seemed like they were under the impression that he and Weiss were going out. After so many years, he thought that they had all forgotten about it.
Obviously, not.
"Ruby," Nanashi looked at his sister, folding his arms. "Weiss and I aren't dating."
The silver-eyed girl gave him a suspicous look. "Are you suuuure?"
The green eyed teen deadpanned. "I am sure. And right now, you are starting to sound like Yang."
Weiss, for her part, was still having trouble comprehending this situation. How could this klutz be Nanashi's sister?!
"What?! I am not like Yang!"
"Yes, you are," Nanashi retorted. "Seriously...what is it with my sister's and my love life?" He then frowned at her, a slight glare forming. "Also, what did you do THIS time?"
Ruby snapped out of her stupor regarding Nanashi and Weiss, and blushed. "It-it was an accident!"
"Nearly blowing us off the side of the cliff is hardly an accident!" Weiss snapped as she marched over to the black-haired girl, who had remained silent throughout the conversation, and swiped the vial in her hand. "Now, if you excuse me...!"
She turned on her heel and briskly walked away. But not before saying bye to Nanashi.
Ruby's face dropped as she leaped up to her feet. "I-I promise to make it up to you!" she shouted at Weiss. However, the heiress ignored her, causing her to sigh at the retreating form of Weiss schnee. "Looks like I'm not the only one having a rough first day." she muttered before turning to the black-haired girl. "So what's-?"
The girl was gone.
Again, she sighed dejectedly as she fell on her rear tiredly. "Welcome to Beacon..." she muttered before feeling someone standing over her. Looking up, it was the blonde-haired boy from earlier, holding his hand out to her.
"H-hey." he greeted. "I'm Jaune."
"...Ruby." the girl smiled as she pulled herself up, accepting his hand. She then cocked her head to the side. "...aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?"
Jaune hung his head in dejection while Nanashi gave a shadow of a grin.
"...look, all I'm saying is, motion sickness is more common than you think!"
"Hey, I'm sorry, but vomit boy was the first thing that came to mind!"
"Speak for yourself, crater face."
"N-Nanashi!" Ruby pouted. Now her own brother was calling her that accursed nickname too?!
"Hey, I'm just saying it like it is. You DID cause a dust explosion after all..."
"It wasn't my fault!"
"Yeah, sure, just like the explosion you made back in the sixth grade wasn't your fault, either."
Jaune chuckled. "You know, for one of you being adopted and all, you really do act like siblings." he said smiling. "Sort of reminds me of my own family."
"Really?"
"Yep," he smiled. "Oh, didn't introduce myself properly, huh? Name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue, and the ladies love it~"
Nanashi sweat-dropped. "...do they?"
"Th-They will...At least, I hope they will..." His confidence dwindled as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I-I mean my mom thinks so, so..." The two's stare became rather uncomfortable. "You know what, never mind."
The conversation died down immediately after, being replaced by awkward silence. Ruby decided to break it.
"Sooo...uh...I got this thing."
She whipped out Crescent Rose to its scythe form and stabbed the blade into the ground. Jaune yelped in fright, jumping back while Nanashi sighed. "Ruby...This is why your social life is awkward as hell." he shook his head in exasperation. "Who in their right mind would randomly show off their weapon in order to start a conversation out of the blue?"
"What?" she frowned. "I made herself, so I think I should be entitled to showing it off."
Jaune's eyes widened. "Wait, YOU made that?!"
"Yep," Ruby grinned. "Meet Crescent Rose! She's my sweetheart~ Oh, and she's also High-Caliber Sniper Scythe!"
Jaune blinked.
"It's also a gun."
"O-oh..."
"How about you, Jaune?" Ruby asked curiously. "What do you have?"
"Well, uh...I-I got this." He unsheathed a double edged sword from his hip. It was standard in design, possessing a normal blue handle and gold pommel and guard. From the Godslayer's observation, it seemed to be an antique, given the choice of weapons in modern society. But even then, the blade of the weapon remained sharp.
"Oh?"
"And I got this shield too..." He grabbed the sheathe from his hip and pressed a button, allowing the scabbard to unfold out into a shield. But as he did so, the item jumped out of his hands, resulting him in playing an awkward game of hot potato before catching it.
"Wow..." Ruby breathed. "So, what do they do?"
"W-well, the sword's pretty much what it looks like, nothing fancy." Jaune said as he sheathed it. "And as for the shield, I can make it smaller, so it makes it easy to carry around."
Nanashi raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it still heavy?"
"Y-yeah..." Jaune sighed, putting his shield away. "H-how about you, Nanashi? What weapon do you got? Let me guess, something cool like Ruby's scythe of death?"
"Not a scythe...but I have my own instrument of Death." The green eyes teen shook his head. In a swift motion, he unsheathed the black katana that he had strapped to his back. The blade was as black as the night sky. Its edge was so sharp it seemed to cut the air around it. "It's not a transformable weapon...but Kamikira is a true embodiment of carnage."
Jaune was left staring at the blade in awe, feeling slightly jealous before tilting his head. "Kami...kira?"
"In my homeland's language," Nanashi explained. "Kamikira means God Killer."
"G-God...Killer...?" Jaune gulped. The very name sounded quite ominous.
Ruby giggled. "And you tell me I have a problem with naming weapons."
"Heh," Dagda chuckled. "If only she knew why you picked that name in the first place."
"S-so, uh... do either of you guys know where the auditorium is?"
"Huh? No...I thought you knew."
"Well, fortunately for the BOTH of you..." Nanashi stated as he took out his small note book. "The auditorium should be the large building on the left from where we stand now."
Ruby smiled widely. "You are the best, Nanashi!"
Jaune sighed in relief, and the three left.
"Oh, Nanashi! Ruby! I saved you guys spots!" Yang waved out to them amongst the crowd.
"Oh, there's our sister!" Ruby cheered. She was both happy and irritated to see Yang, the latter being because she practically left her to her lonesome. "Well, it was nice talking with you, Jaune. Later!" she bowed her head, and went after Yang.
Jaune sighed, drooping his head low. "Great..." he muttered "Now where am I supposed to find a nice, quirky girl to talk to?" It was now he only realized that Nanashi was still presented, and immediately panicked. "N-not that I'm trying to hit on your sister or anything! Honest! I-it's just that, well, um..."
The green-eyed teen smiled wryly, holding up a hand to stop him. "It's fine, Jaune." he told him. He noticed a girl with red hair staring at them, having overheard Jaune's comment. "Besides, who knows? You might find one closer than you think."
"Eh?"
"It's nothing." he told him before bidding him farewell. He then joined his sisters.
The blonde knight watched him leave while he scratched his head. What did he mean by that? "Talk about a weird guy..."
"So," Yang smiled widely. "I see you two made friends with Vomit Boy."
"Yeah," Ruby rolled her eyes before giving the blonde a mock glare. "Right after you ditched me and I exploded!"
She winced. "Ooh, that bad of a first day, huh?"
"I'm being serious, Yang!" Ruby pouted. "I ran into a girl who yelled at me for some reason, I inhaled something, I sneezed, and it blew up in my face! There-there was ice, fire and I think electricity everywhere, and then she yelled at me again, and I really really wanted her to stop!"
Nanashi sighed. "Yep, that's Weiss for ya..."
"Who?"
Just as Nanashi was about to answer, a familiar mass of white hair popped up behind Ruby, and yelled. "YOU!"
"AAAH!" In a fit of fright, Ruby jumped up, landing in Yang's arms. "Oh god, it's happening again!"
"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff, you dunce!"
The blonde brawler's eyes widened, staring at Ruby in utter shock. "Oh my god you really exploded."
"I could have told you that," Nanashi grumbled before sighing again. "Alright, Weiss, I think you've scared my sister enough."
"But she...!"
"I know." Nanashi held up a hand.
Weiss still looked as if she wanted to protest, but relented. She still gave Ruby a glare before she thrusted a packet into her hands, much to her confusion. "W-what's this?" Ruby stuttered, looking at it. "How To Use Dust...For Dummies?"
"Yes. I suggest you take it and study it thoroughly."
Nanashi couldn't help but snicker. "Better take her advice, Ruby," he said teasingly. "After all, we don't need a repeat of what happened back at Signal eight months ago."
Ruby groaned. "For the last time," she stressed. "It was an ACCIDENT!"
"You blew up the science lab. You were banned from handling Dust for a month!" The boy countered.
"Again, an accident!"
Yang sighed, shaking her head. "And here we go," she muttered, practically used to this routine before she looked at Weiss. "So, how do you know my little bro, anyway?"
The ivory haired girl turned to her. "We met a few years ago, when he uncle took him to visit Atlas. I was with my idler sister at the time and they crossed paths and then...well..."
Lilac eyes narrowed. "...aaah, so you're the girl he hooked up with all those years ago."
"For the love of-!" Weiss growled. "We are not like that, okay?! We're friends! That's it! I swear, whoever says we're going out next...!"
"Are you suuuuure?"
Her rambling was cut short when the feedback of a microphone resonated throughout the room. Everyone turned their attention to the podium. There, Ozpin and Glynda stood on the stage. The silver haired man stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak. "Ahem...I'll keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy. In need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far...It is up to you to take the first step."
The group looked slightly bewildered at his statement. Nanashi, however, found himself in agreement. Everyone here (well mostly everyone) believed that, by learning here, they would obtain the skills they needed to make the world a better place, or at the very least, get stronger for whatever reason. He didn't know why people would want to obtain strength, though it wasn't hard to figure that out. Some wanted power for personal gain, and others, for their own benefit. Either way, Ozpin's statement rung true. Everyone was wasting their energy for idiotic things. They were fools who had no idea what they wanted in life. As for himself...he was still lost on what he truly wanted. He had been so close to achieving his goal of a new world, one where his friends would be alive, yet that prospect was robbed of him because YHVH decided to be a sore loser. Since then, he had simply gone along with the whims of others, choosing to become a Huntsman in order to see more of the world, to find some new purpose, at the very least, a way back home. Soon, the man made his exit, though as Ozpin nodded his head to them, he gave a glance to him and Ruby. For a moment, the two locked eyes, a smoldering intensity present between the two of them before their contact broke. As the man left the podium, Glynda walked up to the microphone.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
That said, the chatter resumed, and the crowd of people moved away. As they did, the three siblings followed after them. "What was up with that?" Yang asked with a frown. "Kinda seemed like he wasn't all there."
"I don't know." Ruby shook her head. "Maybe he's tired?"
Dagda scoffed. "The man's probably had to deal with these brats' admissions," he said. "So, stuck here for four years just for some lousy title...why even bother with this, kid? Compared to these idiots, your stronger than all of them. Hell, none of these brats, especially little miss Snow White over there, wouldn't even stand a chance in hell against what's outside of the Kingdoms. None of this could even compare to the hell that was Tokyo, so why bother even going through with this?"
"Because it's necessary," Nanashi stated as he closed his eyes. "If I can obtain a Huntsman license, I can travel the kingdoms without restriction, and take on jobs that might have some idea as to how I can go back home." He paused briefly. "...if there is a way home. That, and a little training never hurt anyone."
"I guess I can see your point. But I still think it would be a waste of time looking for a way home, kid. Like I said before, this place is not connected to the Axiom. It's completely cut off from our home."
The young teen's hands balled into fists. He knew Dagda, had a point...but he still refused to believe it. He didn't want to believe that all of the sacrifices...the hardship...the betrayal...was all for nothing. He made a promise to himself...to everyone...to Asahi that he would make a new world, free from the influence of Gods. No matter what, he would make that world a reality. He had gone far in that goal of his, killing Fujiwara and Skins, the Hunters Association, the Samurai of the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado, the Ashura-kai, and even the Ring of Gaea. He refused to let those sacrifices be in vain. He had to find a way back to his world.
"If there is a way, I'll find it," Nanashi stated firmly. "And if there isn't...well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."
It was night-time in the ballroom, with several students cramped inside. Several people were gathered, all packed in a single room. Various lamps were lit to provide illumination for them, which Ruby was grateful for, as she was lying on her stomach, a paper in front of her with a pencil in her hand. She was in the process of writing a letter to her friends back at Signal, as she had promised to do so when they learned that she was graduating Signal two years ahead of them. Needless to say, everyone was ecstatic for her, and wanted to know everything about it.
"Whatcha doing, little sis?" Yang asked, coming up from behind her. "Writing a letter?"
"Mm." she nodded. "Back to my friends at Signal. I promised I would write back to them on my first day."
"Aw...that is sooo cute~" Yang was greeted to a pillow in the face.
"Shut up! I wasn't able to bring any of my friends with me!" Ruby pouted.
"Oh, come on..." her sister said coolly as she removed the pillow from her face. "What about Jaune? I'm sure he counts as a friend."
Ruby sighed. "And I'm sure Weiss counts as a negative friend, so I'm back to zero." she mumbled, hanging her head low.
"Oh, come on...I'm sure she isn't that bad. Hey, she's friend's with Nanashi, right? So that ought to mean something. Plus, that doesn't count. It just means you have one friend, and one enemy."
Another pillow impacted her face. "I thought you said it didn't count!" Ruby pouted.
"Just saying~"
The girl wearing the rose petal pajama bottoms puffed her cheeks in annoyance before looking around. "By the way, where did Nanashi go?"
"He said he wanted to take a walk around the campus," Yang answered before she looked around the grand hall. "Gotta admit, though. There's a LOT of people here." She grinned widely. "It's like a slumber party!"
"Not sure Dad would approve of all the boys though."
"I know I do~" Yang said lecherously, looking around and ogling the many hot bodies in the room before her eyes fell on Jaune, who was wearing a light blue onesie. Her face dropped while he raised an eyebrow, tilting his head before smiling and waving at her. The girl waved back weakly. By chance, however, as she looked away, she found something that made her drool. "Hellooooo beautiful~" The student in question was a teen with his upper body exposed, and boy, did she enjoy the view. He was very well-toned, packing a six-pack, as well as an athletic build. His black hair was short but wild, and wore only a pair of white shirts. Sadly, he was in the process of putting on a black tank-top, but still, at least she got a good look at the heat he was packing. "Oooooh yeah, I'm gonna love Beacon!"
Ruby shook her head at her sisters antics. She then went back to writing. However, as she did, she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye. "...wait, is that...?" She turned to Yang, tugging on her shirt. "Yang, over there. Isn't that...?"
"Huh?" Yang looked over to where her sister pointed. As soon as she did, her eyes widened in recognition and disbelief. "No way...!"
Not far from them was a young man, 17 years of age, possessing unruly black hair that fell down to his shoulders, and dark red eyes, which had a lazy look to them. He wore a gray dress shirt with a black cape with red accents and a high collar. The sleeves of the shirt were rolled up to the forearms while wearing black fingerless gloves, leaving the knuckles exposed. Around his wrists, he wore black bands with red stripes. Additionally, he wore black slacks with leather shoes, with a belt with silver studs hanging off lazily to the side.
And currently, from the look of things, he was trying to woo a girl with a red tail flicking back and forth, as well as a pair of red ears atop her eyes. The girl looked to be falling into his pace given her giggles and flushed face.
"It totally is!" Yang exclaimed as she leaped up to her feet. "Yo, Cris! Quit chatting up your girlfriend and give your cousins some love, will ya?!"
The flirting teen flinched, his look of confidence becoming replaced by one of anxiety. He whipped his head around and squeaked upon seeing them, well...more so Yang than Ruby.
"Ah, crap..."
"Oh, are they friends of yours?"
"C-cousins, actually...hey, can we talk later?"
"Sure!"
"Thank you!" The boy sighed and relief as he bowed courteously at the girl, who giggled at his gentlemanly display. He then stood up and quickly moved over to where the girls were in the ballroom.
As soon as he arrived, Yang gave him a wink. "What up, lady-killer?"
"Hello to you too..." 'Cris' Nightingale Branwen sighed in greeting as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Jesus, you scared the hell out of me like that!"
"Well could you blame me? I was surprised you were even in the same room! Why didn't you tell Rubes and I you were enrolling in Beacon too?!"
Cris chuckled sheepishly at this. Truth be told, he had honestly not expected to run into them...that, and partially because he honestly didn't want to run into Yang, more out of preference than anything else, really. "It was more of a last minute thing," he said. "Dad decided that I needed to expand my horizons, so he dumped me here," he answered with a shrug before smiling at the two sisters. "So, how's life treating you girls?"
"Good!" Ruby chirped with a grin. "It's even better knowing our favorite cousin's here with us!"
"Speaking of that...how'd you end up here two years early, Ruby?" Cris asked. "Last I checked, you're still fifteen."
The girl chuckled awkwardly. "Funny story behind that..." she said before curiosity took over. "Now, let me answer your question with my question; why are you still in your day clothes?"
Cris fell silent.
"...you forgot your pajamas, didn't you?" Yang deadpanned. "Be honest."
"...shut up. Don't judge!" Cris folded his arms and turned away. Both sisters giggled at his confession. Cris was still the same as ever...
"So, how is Uncle Qrow doing anyway?"
"He's doing the same as always. Y'know, hunting bad guys, doing Huntsmen duties, slaying Grimm...drinking his ass off..." Cris cringed slightly at the last one. "Seriously, you'd think an accomplished old man like him could take his job seriously, but he instead he'd rather take a swig of booze." Yang shrugged simply, not really caring about her uncle's habits. "Anyway...if Ruby's here, then does that mean Ashi's here too?"
"Call me that nickname again, and that girl you were chatting up is going to learn about every other girl you flirted with."
"Gyagh!"
The raven haired male jumped up in fright as he turned around. He was greeted with Nanashi's annoyed visage. "Hey, little bro," Yang greeted with a wink. "So where have you been off to?"
"Just taking a walk. Getting some fresh air." He shrugged. He then redirected his attention to the startled teen. "Good to see you again, Cris."
"Y-yeah, nice to see you again too," Cris sighed in relief. "Good grief, what is it with you and Yang scaring the hell out of me?"
"Technically," Nanashi pointed out. "You're scared of Yang because she looks just like your aunt." A frown settled on his face as he folded his arms over his chest. "Seriously, I don't see how you can be scared of her just because of that. Sure, they're mother and daughter, but..."
"Look man, until you've met my aunt and dealt with her, then you wouldn't understand!" Cris shouted, eyes wide with fear. "I have to look over my shoulder to see if that demon is standing behind me nearly every day!"
The green-eyed Godslayer raised an eyebrow at this, and then looked at Yang. "...do you know what your mother did to him?"
"No." Yang shook her head with a frown. "I haven't even found her yet!"
The cousin to the sisters gave them a deadly serious look. "For your sake, Yang, I hope you never do," he said, a glint crossing his eyes. "She's a nightmare...a nightmare I tell you!"
"Please, Cris," Ruby rolled her eyes with a giggle. "Your exaggerating. I'm sure Auntie isn't THAT bad."
"That's because you never met her..." He shuddered.
The three looked at him, ranging between varied emotions of confusion, amusement, and befuddlement. Just what exactly had Yang's mother had done to him? For as long as they've known Cris, he has always been terrified of Raven Branwen. Why, no one knew, however his fear was greatly rooted. None of the siblings were even aware that they even had a cousin until Qrow had introduced him to them when they were 13 and 15 respectively.
The first time Cris saw Yang, he screamed. Like, he REALLY screamed. His voice was so high pitched one would mistake it for a banshee's wail. He also fled and ran up a tree and held onto a hanging branch for dear life. It had taken at least an hour to get him down. Even then, he still tried to stay several feet away from the blonde brawler. The children couldn't understand why Cris seemed to be so terrified of Yang. They had never met, so why would he be so scared of her? Then Qrow explained it to them that due to a certain incident with his sister, Raven, Cris was absolutely terrified of the woman. Due to Yang's uncanny resemblance to her mother, the young Branwen had mistaken her for Raven, thus resulting in his natural reaction to her.
The children sweat dropped at his antics, wondering what Yang's mother did to result in such behavior from Cris. To this day, they were still unaware, but they had not pressed the issue. Regardless of their current relationship at the time, Cris still got along well with them. He would often send them messages about the places he had been to while traveling with his father. However, in his recent messages, he had said nothing about his placement here in Beacon, which said volumes about his statement about it being last second. Quite frankly, Nanashi wouldn't have been surprised if the old drunkard tossed Cris on the first flight out to the school without telling him anything.
"Well, dear auntie Raven aside," Nanashi decided to move the topic away, much to Cris' pleasure. "How about you? How have you been?"
"Eh, same old same old," Cris shrugged. "Traveling with dad, taking in the view, enjoying the cuisine..." he paused briefly as a wide smile formed on his face. "...and the beautiful Faunus locals~"
Nanashi groaned while Yang gave him a thumbs-up of approval. Ruby raised an eyebrow, but shrugged her shoulders before she noticed a familiar face sitting close to the wall. "Wait, is that...?" she muttered, earning the attention of her siblings and cousin. They turned, and saw the black-haired girl from before. "That's the girl from earlier..."
Cris tilted his head. "Someone you know?"
"Y-yeah, sort of...I ran into her after I blew up."
Yang then got an idea, the gears in her head turning. "That's perfect! Another potential friend for you!" She jumped up and grabbed Ruby by the arm.
"W-whoa!" Ruby yelped, being pulled. "Y-Yang, what are you doing?!"
"We're going to meet a new friend~" She said in a sing-song voice. It was too late. Yang shoved the poor girl in front of the black-haired girl, who noticed her as she was being dragged by the busty blonde. She raised an eyebrow, looking up from her book. "...can I help you?"
"Hello there!" Yang grinned.
"Uh, hi..." Ruby meekly waved.
The girl seemed to Ruby, as she raised a curious eyebrow. "...weren't you the girl that nearly blew up?"
"Y-Yeah that's me! My name is Ruby! But you can call me crater face-nevermind."
"And I'm Yang!" the brawler grinned. "I understand you two are acquainted?"
"You could say that..." The girl shrugged. Honestly, they only saw each other in passing at best. She chose to return her attention back to the book in her hands.
"So...what's your name?" Yang asked with a smile.
A soft sigh of annoyance passed her lips. She averted her amber eyes to look at them. "Blake."
"So, Blake...uh...I like your bow." Yang offered.
"Thank you."
"It looks great with your...robe."
Blake didn't even look up from her book. "...right..." she mumbled, turning the page.
"N-nice night, don't you think?" she asked, her grin turning shaky. Obviously, she was starting to realize that this was a bad idea.
The girl shrugged. "It's lovely." she said. "Almost as lovely as this book." She looked up at the two, amber meeting silver and lilac. "Which I will continue to read." They narrowed, almost threateningly so. From where he stood, Nanashi could have sworn he saw her bow twitch. "As soon as you leave." With that, she turned back to her book, clearly going to ignore them for the rest of the night.
Yang sighed. "Yeah, this gal's a lost cause." she decided as she turned around. "C'mon, Ruby. Let's-"
"What's it about?" The question caught the girl off guard. She blinked, looking up at Ruby, who looked genuinely curious. "Your book." she clarified. "What's it about?"
"Um..." Blake paused for a moment, setting her book down. "It's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body."
Strangely, when Nanashi heard that, he couldn't help but recall his situation with Navarre. While his life wasn't exactly what the book was like, nor the struggle, he did have to deal with a green poltergeist hanging around him 24/7 almost daily.
Ruby smiled widely. "I practically grew up on books," she recalled fondly, remembering her time with Yang back when they were younger. "Yang used to read to us every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters; they're one of the reasons why I want to be a Huntress."
"Why's that?" Blake smirked wryly. "Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"
"I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I want to be just like those heroes in the books. Someone who fought for what's right, and who protected the people who couldn't defend themselves."
Blake, now truly interested, bookmarked her book, and closed it, setting it down beside her. "That's very ambitious for a child," she said with a tone of approval. "Unfortunetly, the real world isn't a fairy tail."
"Isn't that why we're here?" Ruby asked, still smiling. "To make it better?"
Dagda scoffed from inside Nanashi's smartphone. "Peace, huh?" he muttered. "And how exactly is one supposed to bring peace? What a naive little girl...it isn't just the monsters outside these comforting walls you live behind. It's also the monsters inside the walls you have to be careful of..."
"Indeed..." Nanashi muttered in agreement. The Demons he fought were not the only monsters he's slain. A good amount of humans fit the bill as well. Despite what people will believe...humans can be worse than the most despicable of Demons...
After all, one need not look any further than those who persecuted the Faunus, and likewise, the White Fang. Both sides best represented just how ugly humans, demi or not, could be. He had heard a few rumors of how bad things were like in Tokyo prior to his birth. Half of the destroyed cities inside the country weren't simply just from battles against demons. The damage was caused by human nature, the desire to forfeit morality in order to survive by any means possible. Ruby failed to understand it, but he did, and so did a few other people within this world called Remnant. Fact was, the Grimm were hardly the only monsters in this world. No, the worst of the monsters were humans, and Faunus, themselves.
Regardless, Blake appeared to be pleased by her answer, giving her an affirmative nod. However, before she could say anything, Yang wrapped her arms around her sister, and hoisted her up, spinning her around. "Oh, I'm so proud of you!"
"Y-yang!" Ruby blushed as she flailed. "Cut it out!"
As result of Yang's actions, the two were thrown straight into a scuffle, creating a small cloud of dust around them. He heard all sorts of noises; crashing, banging, cracking...they were going at it fiercely, though he knew that it was hardly anything serious-wait, was that a piece of debris flying out from the cloud? "What are you doing?!" A familiar, shrill voice cried.
Yang turned, and found herself glaring back at the familiar, and annoyed face of Weiss Schnee. As soon as the two saw each other, their eyes widened, and pointed accusing fingers at one another.
"OH, NOT YOU AGAIN!"
Nanashi sighed, face-palming. Meanwhile, Cris frowned. "...you ever get the feeling we're being treated like the third wheel here?"
"...eeeen? Reeeeeeeen! Wakeupwakeupwakeupwakeup!"
Lie Ren was anything but a morning person. He turned over in his sleeping back, trying his best to tune out the rousing words. The source of said words huffed in frustration. The individual then jumped up and landed on the sleeping teen. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! It's morning Ren!" She hopped up and down on his chest as she straddled him. He groaned in discomfort, opening of his eyes to see an ever-familiar face. It was hard not to recognize her green eyes and orange hair, as well as that damned grin that he was convinced was permanently glued to her face.
"Waaaaake up lazy butt!" she declared as she darted off. Much to his displeasure, he rose up from his sleeping bag. He was a young male around the same age as the girl, with long black hair with a pink streak on the side. He blinked away the drowsiness in his eyes, revealing pink irises. '...it's way too early in the morning for this.' he thought tiredly. "It's morning, it's morning, it's morning! It's mooooorning!" He let out a tired sigh. Somehow, he knew that this was already going to turn out to be a long day. As usual, per the morning ritual everyone went through, he went to the bathroom to wash his teeth. "I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full 24 hours!" Nora gushed in excitement as she waved her hand around, toothpaste flying everywhere as she did so. "Not that I'd thought we'd get kicked out or anything!"
'I wouldn't be surprised if we had...'
"I mean, you're the perfect student and I'm, well, me!"
'Precisely the reason why we would have been kicked out...'
Next, he returned to the ballroom, and began packing up his things. This was required for all students, as to be prepared for whether or not you would be staying or sent home, should you not make the cut at Initiation. He focused on tying up his sleeping bag while Nora continued to speak at rapid pace, brushing her hair. "But it's craaazy, you know? We've been friends for sooo long! What were the odds that we'd still be together?"
She paused.
"Well, not TOGETHER, together. I mean, not saying that you're not handsome! You are handsome, but that'd just be weird...right?"
'Not really...'
After packing up, he then made his way to the mess hall. Perhaps the most vital of the morning ritual when starting combat school early; sustenance. After all, one could never fight on an empty stomach. However, slightly to his displeasure, he learned that breakfast consisted of pancakes. It wasn't that he disliked pancakes, don't get him wrong, it was just...he had grown tired of it. The reason was still talking. "Right, what was I thinking?" Nora said, her mouth full of a as-of-yet eaten pancake. "But still, I hope we end up on the same team together!" With a loud slurp, and in a single gulp, Nora gobbled down the pancake whole. "Ooh, we should come up with some sort of plan! To make sure we end up on the same team!" The girl tilted her head, a hand on her chin. "What if we bribe the headmaster? No, wait, that won't work! He has the school."
'If anyone did end up with you on their team, they'd go nuts...'
Finally, after an hour or so, Ren had arrived at the locker room, gathering his equipment, and making sure everything was in place. Nora had followed along, as he had fully expected...and still talking lightning quick. "I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal!" she declared, finger pointed straight at the sky. Then, she gasped, darting to his right. "A secret signal we can use to find each other in the forest!"
'Wait for it...'
Nora popped up to his left, looking genuinely curious as he pulled Storm Flower out from his locker, slipping it into his sleeves. "Can you imitate a sloth?"
"...Nora?" Ren said in a tired tone.
"Yes, Ren?"
"...I don't think sloths make a lot of noise."
The girl's face fell, as if in disappointment. However, it vanished not even a second later and was replaced by a grin of jubilation. "That's perfect! No one would even know it's us! It will be the perfect signal!"
Ren, without responding to that, closed his locker. "C'mon Nora," he told the girl as he walked away. "Let's go."
"Aye aye, sir~!"
With that, the pair walked away, passing by Yang, Ruby, and Nanashi as they did. "I wonder what's got them worked up?" Ruby wondered as she gathered her stuff.
"Who knows?" the blonde brawler shurgged as she turned to face the two. "So, boys and girls," Yang grinned as she slipped on a pair of familiar yellow gauntlets. "You ready to raise some hell?"
Rouge shook his head, amused while Ruby smiled. "Yep. After all, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking~" She said giddily as she whipped out Crescent Rose. "How about you, Nanashi?" she asked, turning to the Godslayer. "You going to show everyone Kamikira?"
"Of course." The green eyed teen replied with a smirk as he grabbed his weapon from his locker, twirled it in his hand before sheathing it in one fluid motion. "Let the carnage fest begin."
"Sounds like you two are ready and roaring to go." Yang nodded in approval. "So, how do you think teams are going to go?"
"Well, they're probably going to be decided during Initiation." Nanashi answered. "The teachers have been rather tight-lipped about it, and the second-year students have been instructed not to say anything, so the only real, actual question is who are partners will be." He then gave a shrug. "Perosnally, I couldn't care who's team I'm on, so long as they're tolerable."
Ruby then grinned in elation. "That's perfect! Then we can be on the same team, Nanashi!"
Yang raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, Ruby?" she asked. "C'mon, we've been over this. You need to start opening up, meet new people!"
"I agree." Nanashi nodded. "You can't be around us for the rest of your life."
Ruby groaned. "Oh, come on you guys!"
"You have to remember, Ruby." he said in an admonished tone. "We're not the only ones going through Initiation. If you want to grow up, you're going to have to meet new people and learn to work together."
At this, his twin groaned. "Ugh, you sound like dad!" she complained. "Okay, first of all, what does meeting people have to do with fighting? And secondly, I don't need people to help me grow up." She folded her arms, and nodded strongly. "I drink milk."
"Alright, then..." Yang huffed. "Say you don't wind up on the same team as Nanashi? What then?"
Ruby frowned, and looked away, tapping her index fingers together. "I'll just be on your team or something..."
"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team." the brawler suggested. "You know, like Vomit boy!"
At this, Ruby frowned heavily as she waltzed up to the two, pointing an accusing finger at them. "My dearest sister and adopted brother," she said with a glare, hands on her hips. Nanashi smiled thinly. It was rather cute how tough she was looking. "Are you implying that you don't wish to be on the same team as me?"
"W-what?" Yang chuckled nervously. In truth, she was hoping that Ruby would be able to fit in with other people on another team, though she was still perfectly fine with the idea of her sister joining her team, but she still wished for her to connect with others. After all, they wouldn't be together forever. "No! Of course I do, it's just... I dunno, maybe it would help you break out of your shell."
"What the?!" Ruby gawked. "I don't need to break out of my shell, that's absolutely-!"
"Ridiculous!" The three blinked, their conversation halting as Jaune strolled past them, a piece of paper in his hand. "There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday!" A tired, worn chuckle escaped him. "I would've remembered if I had to count that high!" he groaned. "Ugh, why does this have to happen to me today?!"
He was unaware that he strolled past the red-haired girl from the auditorium, as well as Weiss, the two currently engaged in conversation. "So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to who's team you'd like to be on?" she asked curiously. The girl standing beside her was none other than Pyrrha Nikos, the undisputed, undefeated Champion of Mistral, three years running. It had come as quite a shocker when the heiress had learned that she would be attending Beacon, but it only came to show just how prestigous Beacon was. It was perhaps on par with Atlas Academy, if what her sister told her was to be believed, in spite of the military standing. "I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual, such as yourself."
"Hmm..." Pyrrha cocked her head to the side, hands on her hips, deep in thought. "I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may." Inwardly though...she was lamenting. She came to Beacon in order to get away from her reputation. For the past few years, people only got to know her as Pyrrha Nikos, the Champion. Not Pyrrha Nikos, the person. Her parents were there for her, of course, but she really wished she to make actual friends.
Weiss was unaware of this fact, as she smiled. "Well, I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together." she offered. Inside of her mind, a chibi version of her was grinning like mad as thunder boomed around her, hands clenched around her fists as she giggled madly at her own dastardly thoughts. 'This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class, combined with the strongest girl in class! Together we will be unstoppable! I can see it now: We'll be popular, we'll be celebrities, we'll get perfect grades! Nothing could come between us!'
"...my word, Pyrrha?" a gentle voice called out. "Pyrrha Nikos, is that you?"
Weiss blinked as she looked over her shoulder, and felt her face promptly heat up. Approaching them was a well-dressed young man with black hair that fell to his shoulders, done in a curly fashion, and possessed orange eyes. He had a yellow ascot, followed by a dark navy blue jacket with white trims, along with a bracer on his left arm, accompanied by a black fingerless glove on his right hand, and had on black trousers, complete with black boots that had dark blue accents and white soles, reaching up to his knees. Attached to the belt on his hip was a long sword, easily as long as his arm by the blade alone, held in place with a black sheathe.
"It is you!" the boy smiled widely. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Pyrrha smiled back at the newcomer. "Long time no see, Jonathan," she greeted. "So, you've decided to attend Beacon as well?"
"Along with Walter," Jonathan replied with a chuckle. "You know how he can be." He then noticed Weiss' presence, and promptly apologized. "Ah, forgive me...it appears I was in the middle of something."
"No no, it's quite alright..." Weiss reassured him, snapping out of her moment. 'What a gentleman, though...' She thought in approval. It was quite rare to see such manners in a young man nowadays...wait...dark hair, orange eyes, yellow ascot, the name Johnathan...she could've sworn she knew a person by that description before.
"Allow me to introduce myself properly," the boy bowed politely. "My name is Jonathan Arc. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss...?"
"Weiss," the girl returned the courtesy with a bow of her own. "Weiss Schnee." She paused briefly. Jonathan Arc...ah, now she remembered! "Wait, I know you...you place second in last year's Mistral Tournament!"
"Why yes." The man nodded. "I am honored you remembered me. In most cases, people tend not to focus on people who scored second place. Regardless, it was a rather educating experience back then. It was an honor being able to fight against Miss Nikos. She truly earned her right as "The Invincible Girl".
Pyrrha giggled. "You were no slouch either, Jonathan," she said with praise. "Truth be told, I honestly felt that you were more deserving to win."
"Haha, you flatter me, Pyrrha."
"Hoy, Jonathan!" another voice shouted from behind. "What's the hold up?!" Weiss peered behind the gentleman. In contrast to Jonathan Arc, the one approaching them had a wild look to him, possessing spiky black hair, wearing a blue choker around his neck. His buttoned shirt was left nearly undone, sans the last couple of buttons near the hem, and wore worn out and faded jeans with several tears, complete with mud-splattered boots. Strapped to his waist was a large scimitar, made of black steel with a dark red edge. Strangely, she felt as if she had seen him before, though unlike Jonathan, this feeling was more of the disgruntled kind.
"Sorry, Walter," Jonathan apologized, turning to the teen. "I was catching up with an old friend of mine, and making a new acquaintance."
The boy, Walter, raised an eyebrow, but then a wide grin formed upon seeing the three-time Mistral Tournament Champion. "Well, if it isn't the Amazon Girl," he greeted with a wave. "What's up?"
"Heh," the girl grinned back. "As casual as always, eh Walter?"
"Sadly, his manners haven't improved at all, I'm afraid."
"Ah, shut up," Walter retorted. "Not everyone can be as kind-mannered as you." He then turned his attention to Weiss. "So, who's the princess here?"
'...I don't like him,' Weiss immediately thought with a scowl.
"This is Weiss Schnee," Jonathan introduced. "She's apparently a friend of Pyr-"
"Wait, Schnee?!" Walter shouted in shock. "You mean this is the Ice Queen's kid sister?!"
"Ice Queen?" Weiss raised a brow.
"Must you always refer to Miss Winter in such a manner?" Johnathan shook his head while sighing.
"Please! That's exactly what she is, Jonathan!" the fierce-looking boy argued. "All she does is constantly nag and gripe on me like she's my damned mother!"
Weiss was even more confused. From the sound of it, he and Winter shared a history...but how was that even possible? How could he even know her? Was he perhaps from Atlas? She didn't recall anyone in the military, much less anyone associated with Winter, by the name of...
Realization struck her, and her eyes widened. "Wait a second!" she shouted, pointing a finger at him. "I recognize you! You're Walter Ironwood! General Ironwood's son!"
"Tch." Walter clicked his tongue as he looked away. "I was really hoping you wouldn't know me because of that. Dammit...I hate it when people keep associating me with my old man..."
"Oh, come now, Walter..." Jonathan sighed again. "I understand you don't agree with the General, but he is your father, you know."
Before Walter could retort to that, the PA system cackled online. "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for Initiation?" the voice of Glynda Goodwitch asked of them. "Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."
"Seems like it's time to go," Pyrrha noted. As she made her leave, she flashed a smile to the two. "I hope you two find a good team."
Jonathan smiled back. "You as well, Pyrrha."
Walter remained silent, still rather displeased by the fact that someone recognized him. Meanwhile, Weiss was confused. Going by his reaction, it was clear that he didn't like being reminded that he was related to James Ironwood...but why? The man was responsible for revolutionizing most of Atlas' military, even merging the academy within the army itself. Because of that, it's effectiveness in training new recruits had skyrocketed. Instead of Huntsman and Huntress tasked with eliminating Grimm, Atlas produced powerful soldiers of incredible caliber. In a way, there was hardly anyone who didn't know the name.
In which case...why did his son seem to be hating that fact?
"...for years you have trained to become warriors." Ozpin began, once he observed the crowd to see if everyone was present. They were all lined up, single file, placed into a row. Nanashi was among the first to notice that they were all placed on small platforms. He shrugged it off, thinking that it would perhaps have something to do with how they would be conducting the Initiation, and remained silent. "And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
"Now," Glynda took over the explanation, her Scroll held in her hand. "I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion." She pushed up her glasses, creating a glare. "Each of you will be given teammates... TODAY."
Ruby's face dropped. "W-what?" she mumbled, no suddenly scared. They were going to get teammates today?! B-but it was the first day! Why so suddenly?! Ooooh, she wasn't ready for this!
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon." Ozpin stated. "So it is within your best interest to be paired with someone whom you work well with." Ruby whined further as she cast a glance at Nanashi, who looked eager to begin, and her older sister, who was cracking her knuckles, a wry grin on her face, definitely anticipating action. Okay, she had given some thought to joining another team, provided they seemed nice... but after hearing that? It was official, she was DEFINITELY going to be on the same team as either Rouge or Yang, or maybe Cris. Speaking of which, she found her cousin standing not far from where she was, his weapon still in it's sheathe, looking rather jittery, as if waiting for battle to begin. They were the only ones she knew here (besides Jaune) and was aware of their fighting capabilities, whereas everyone else was a complete unknown.
"That said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
With those words, Ruby felt her world shatter apart. "What?!"
Nora grinned jubilantly as she shook Ren by the shoulders. "See?! I told you!"
"Ah, so that's how they play it," Dagda mused before he laughed. "Sounds like one giant chemistry experiment ready to blow up."
"Yeah. It's crazy...we won't know if we will be paired with someone who's capable, an amateur, or a complete douche bag." He shook his head before letting out a small grin. "Then again...that kind of surprise is interesting."
"Whatever you say, kid..."
"After you've partnered up, make your way up to the northern end of the forest." he instructed them. "You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy anything in your path, or you will die." Walter smirked. That should have been a given, but it worked in his favor just fine. He had no intention showing any mercy to anything or anyone that stood in his path. After all, where would be the fun in running away from a fight?
Jaune laughed nervously at this, and gulped down a nervous lump in his throat. "...I am so screwed." he whimpered to himself. Ruby nodded strong in agreement, but her despair was in regards to the partnership system that was just revealed to her.
"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your Initiation." Ozpin said as he looked to Glynda. "But our instructors will not intervene." He then turned back to the Initiates. "You will then find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one relic, and then return to the Cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately." He took a drink of his coffee before continuing. "Are there any questions?"
Jaune raised his hand. "Yeah, um, sir-"
"Good! Now, take your positions."
Ozpin outright ignored Jaune, and allowed the students to take their stances. Ruby slipped herself into a running stance, while Yang rubbed her wrists, ready to begin as she slipped on a pair of aviators. Nanashi fell into a stance, his feet spaced apart and his body left at an angle, his hand wrapped around the hilt of his blade. Jaune still held up his hand. "Uh, sir? I've got a question." He failed to notice Weiss being launched into the air, her form turning into a white streak across the blue backdrop above them. Now, Nanashi realized the importance of the stones. "So, this landing strategy thing, uh, w-what is it? Are you...are you like, dropping us off?"
"No. You will be falling." Ozpin answered bluntly.
Unknown to the blonde knight, Jonathan was thrown into the air, followed by Walter, who let out a whoop.
"Oh...I see...So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?" Jaune was getting more antsy by the second.
"Woohoo!" Nora was launched next.
"No. You will be using your own landing strategy."
"Uh...huh..." Jaune was still uncertain. Meanwhile, Yang looked over to her siblings and winked before slipping on a pair of aviators. Ruby gave a determined grin as she was launched next. Nanashi narrowed his eyes and smirked before he too was launched. Now it was only Jaune left with Ozpin and Glynda.
"So, uh...what exactly is a landing strataGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY...?!" The blonde could barely finish his question before he was launched and sent tumbling into the air, heels over head.
Ozpin turned to face the airborne initiates...and took a sip of coffee from his mug. "Well...this should prove to be an interesting year..." he commented. Glynda on the other hand shook her head.
"You take far too much pleasure in this job..."
Nanashi had to admit, flying through the sky like this was quite fun. The feeling of weightlessness, the sound of wind rushing past him, the adrenaline pumping through his veins from the sheer excitement of it...it was amazing. Now he understood why aerial demons liked to fly so much. Although, personally...Ursa surfing was more fun than flying.
When he landed in the forest, he literally landed right on an Ursa's back. Not quite the landing strategy he had in mind...but it worked. The creature was practically being hogged as he rode atop it before he rode it straight into a tree. "Hey, watch it!" Nanashi snapped as he had to turn away to avoid crashing into a tree. Geez. Riding these things was harder than he thought. The Grimm was not taking kindly to being ridden, and tried to throw him off, but it was not doing a good job. Every time it would try and crash into something to throw him off, he was forced to steer it away before the point of impact.
He managed to avoid crashing into trees and boulders, but the Ursa still tried to shake him off. "Dammit!" He cursed as he brushed up against a tree, nearly knocking him off. He was getting nowhere like this. For all he knew, his Ursa was carrying him back toward the cliffs. Disappointed that he has to end his fun so soon, Nanashi unsheathed his sword and stabbed it through the Ursa's neck.
The creature let out a howl, it's functions ceasing the moment the sword severed it's life. It stopped it's advance, and slid through the ground, leaving behind a trail of upturned earth. Soon, it reached it's end, allowing him to jump off. A sigh escaped him. "Well...that was fun for a while."
"Yeah, a blast." Dagda drawled. "Well, at least it wasn't a total loss. At least riding on that thing managed to get you closer to the temple."
Nanashi gave a look at the god, who's face was reflected on the device on his arm. "...you mean you know where it is?"
"Kid, I'm the god of knowledge," Dagda reminded him. "Finding something old is a simple task. Anyway...don't look now, but it seems you have company."
Nanashi raised his eyebrow at this, but then felt a presence enter his immediate viscinity. Cautiously, he looked over his shoulder, gripping his sword tightly. "...I have to admit, it's not everyday you see a guy riding an Ursa," a voice said with amusement. Strangely, he felt as if he had heard the voice before. "Hah, then again, I suppose it's also not everyday you see a kid here at Beacon either."
The owner of the voice stepped into view. Nanashi's eyes widened in absolute shock, nearly losing his grip on his sword. The grinning face of Walter greeted him as he raised his hand. "Hoy there!" he said jovially. "I guess we're partners now. I'm Walter Ironwood."
His grin grew wider, completely oblivious to the bewildered and shocked face of the Godslayer.
"Good to meet you!"
-Initiation and Revelation: END-
Preview:
"Looks like you could use some help."
"Jonathan, huh? The name's Nightingale, but just call me Cris."
"...I could have taken it."
"How is it that someone as immature and childish as you even made it here in the first place?!"
"Enough of this pathetic farce, kid...show them. Show them what it means to be a Godslayer!"
Next Time: You Say God, I Say Bow Down
