Let's continue the story.
"Ozpin!"
"…Calm down, Glynda."
"But he crashed into several trees! He could be grievously injured!"
"He is not," Ozpin replied calmly. "Look closer, Glynda."
Ozpin showed her the display on the scroll.
The smoke cleared to reveal a small crater, in which laid Jaune, a white halo glowing around his body.
Glynda frowned. "But... Such a crash… Even with Aura…"
"Indeed." Ozpin smiled mysteriously.
The white glow around Jaune's body faded, having protected his body and even healed some scrape wounds.
"It would seem Mr. Arc has quite the large reserve of Aura," Ozpin commented.
"…You knew about this." Glynda stated.
"It was very easy to deduce," Ozpin said calmly, "considering the large number of accidents he was involved in in the past."
Of course... For people who unlocked Aura at such a young age, it becomes natural for them to use it in life or death situations. Especially if they encounter such situations frequently.
"…"
"Grrr!"
A pair of Beowolves appeared on the scroll's screen, surrendering the boy's unconscious body, no doubt attracted by his previous scream and terror.
"...There are Grimm." Glynda pointed out.
"I see that, Glynda," Ozpin said. "And like all the other students, he will have to destroy them if he wants to pass Initiation."
As Jaune was still unconscious, the two Grimm decided to attack.
Roaring wildly, the two Grimm raised their claw and stroke at the same time!
Crack!
The two Grimm's arms violently twisted backward, causing them to roar in pain.
Blown away against a nearby tree, one of them had his whole body break down like twigs by an unknown force until it died. The other whimpered in pain on the ground, its arm in such a poor state that it started to disappear in black smoke.
"…My goodness…" Glynda whispered, stunned. "But... He is not even conscious."
Ozpin smiled mysteriously and took another sip of his coffee.
With Ruby.
Gotta find Yang. Gotta find Yang gotta find Yang gotta fiiiiind…
"Yaaaang! Yaaaang! Where are youuuu!"
Ugh, this was bad, really bad! What if she couldn't find her?
What if someone found her first?
There's always Jaune! He's nice and awkward just like me!
He didn't seem to be very skilled though…
His gait, his stance, his movements, his everything, screamed untrained civilian to Ruby.
What about the cool, mysterious Blake that Ruby met last night?
Er… no, Ruby wouldn't be able to hold a conversation.
Suddenly, she heard a mighty roar to her right.
Was someone in danger? It was the typical roar of a Beowolf just before they attack!
Focusing on her aura, Ruby used her semblance to make a super-speed dash in the direction of the noise!
Crack!
"…?"
Hearing a weird cracking noise, Ruby arrived too late.
The body of a Grimm was disappearing in black smoke, while another was crawling in pain on the ground, one of his arms missing.
Ruby swiftly deployed her scythe and decapitated the remaining monster.
"Easy…" She whispered to herself before her eyes fell on an unconscious Jaune in a small crater.
Immediately, she switched into savior-mode!
"Jaune!" She dashed towards him and shook aking his shoulder. "Jaune! Are you okay?"
Screw the initiation! Screw the relics!
The worried Ruby was going to bring her friend back to Beacon, to safety!
"Jauuune!" Ruby whined and gave a little slap on his cheek. "Please wake up!"
"Grmbl… Eeeh?" Jaune groaned, blinking his eyes open.
Yes, yes! Thank god, he wasn't in a coma!
Had he blown away these two Grimm before going unconscious for a short time?
"Jaune, you doofus!" Ruby gave him a series of tiny punches on his chest. "Why couldn't you land properly!"
"A-aouch…" Jaune winced as he sat up.
"Ah, sorry! D-don't move too much…" Ruby advised, worried. "You had a really bad crash!"
"Y-yeah…" Jaune said, a white glow running around his body. "N-not as bad as yesterday..."
He has a lot of Aura, Ruby noted, seeing the scratches on his face heal rapidly. This is good. With this much Aura left, he can probably continue the Initiation.
Still, though…
"Your Aura must have taken a hit. You need to rest for a bit!" Ruby recommended.
"…"
Jaune moved his limbs for a bit as if he was stretching.
"I, um, I think I'm okay… somehow."
"Really? You were unconscious just a minute ago…"
"Hmm... I think... I think my semblance broke the ground to soften my landing." Jaune mused to himself, kneeling to examine the ground. He picked up the dirt, only for it to disperse between his fingers.
Almost like sand.
"Woah." Ruby's eyes widened.
"W-wow…" Jaune muttered, echoing her.
"It's like sand…" Ruby wondered, poking the ground with her boot. It left a deep footprint, just like sand would. "You can turn things into sand, Jaune?"
"U-um!" Jaune widened his eyes in panic. "Er… Well, um…"
"Eeeeh?" Ruby leaned forward, curious. "What is it, what is it!"
"Well, um… My semblance… Is…" He hesitated, before mumbling almost inaudibly, "To break things…" He looked down, and added rapidly, "I-is it okay if I tell you the details later, Ruby?"
Breaking things? Didn't that sound... awesome? Why was he hesitating?
"Aww, now I'm curious!" Ruby pouted as Jaune poked his fingers together uncomfortably.
Why was he so shy about it? It wasn't like the little small Ruby was going to eat him!
Oh well! All we come in due time.
"More importantly! Jaune!" Ruby grabbed his hand. "This makes us partners!"
"Eh?" He widened his eyes and broke into a grin. "Ah, you're right!"
This was good!
Because, it was better to be partnered with someone you were getting along with but was not very skilled, than the reverse.
They could work on his skills! Whereas, they couldn't have really worked on getting along if they hadn't… gotten along.
Ruby smirked, "We're gonna be best friends from now on, so you better keep up with me!"
"R-right!" Jaune nodded vigorously. "I'll try my best to be a good partner..."
"M-me too!" Ruby stuttered, surprised at his honesty. Yeah, thinking more about it, she was glad that her new partner was this awkward guy. "Man... I guess we were really lucky to find each other so soon, huh!"
"N-no, it wasn't luck… Um..." He scratched his head, embarrassed, "I-I was launched by the same platform as yours… So I landed in the same area, I guess!"
"Oooh? Why did you take the same platform as me?" Ruby leaned forward with a wide grin. She grabbed him by the shoulder in a friendly way. "You wanted to be my partner so bad, huh!" She nodded wisely, "I understand, I understand! I would make an awesome partner, after all!"
"N-no!" Jaune blushed, "I mean… It was an accident, I broke my platform, so they told me to stand on yours!"
"O_ooh, I see, *sniff*," Ruby faked a sniff and turned away, arms crossed. "S-so you don't care about me..."
"N-no! That's not true, I'm, um…" He clenched his eyes shut, as if gathering his courage, "I'm happy to be paired with you!"
Ruby giggled silently, blushing a little. She never met someone so eager to be her friend!
And this guy was so easy to tease! He was even more awkward as her. Usually Ruby was the one to get teased.
But now, Ruby was finally understanding how Yang felt when she teased Ruby! And she had to admit, it could become addictive.
And it was good for her ego, too...
"I'm just messing with you, Jaune!" She laughed, slapping his shoulder good-naturally.
"Oh…" Jaune blinked sheepishly.
"Now, let's not waste time, march on, partner!" She cheered, "Onward to victory!"
"Okay!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Um… Where are we going again?"
"Er… I don't remember." Jaune admitted bashfully. "I think it's... North…?"
"R-right!" Ruby stuttered awkwardly. "Let's go there!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Er… Where's North again?"
Jaune scratched his head. "…No idea."
With Weiss.
Weiss huffed as some brambles scraped her skirt.
"Ugh! Stupid plants…"
She was not used to forest environments. Therefore, she progressed much more slowly than usual.
"…!"
Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her.
Swiftly, she drew Myrtenaster, and raised her guard, looking around suspiciously.
"Hello? Anyone here?"
She was calling out because she felt that presence was human.
Yet that person wasn't showing himself.
Had Weiss been imagining things?
"…"
Cautiously, she continued to advance.
She was being watched… Weiss was certain of it.
These two eyes on her back. It was a familiar feeling, that she had felt quite a lot in the past. A dreaded feeling.
What am I thinking…. Weiss shook her head, trying to focus. 'They' can't be here. I'm being paranoid.
"…"
But the feeling didn't disappear.
"Grrr…"
"…!"
This time it was Grimm for sure!
Weiss readied herself, as red eyes appeared glowing from within the bushes all around her.
With Pyrrha.
Pyrrha was preoccupied.
She had been looking out for that blonde boy who had caught her eye, but apparently, he had not been launched off the Beacon cliffs with the rest of them immediately.
Why, Pyrrha had no idea, but as a consequence, she had not been able to pin him down against a tree.
…That sounded wrong… Ahem. She had just, really wanted to be partnered with him.
Well... There went her plans to find a partner that didn't know her.
She sighed as she finished off the Ursa she had been fighting.
She was wondering, what were the chances that she found him if she didn't know where he was?"
She didn't even know if he had been launched off the cliffs…
"...Haaa." She sighed again.
Now, now, don't misunderstand.
From her thoughts, one could think she already harbored romantic feelings for that blonde boy, but that was not the case.
She was just looking for a partner that, when looked at Pyrrha… saw Pyrrha. And not the Invincible Girl.
She was not chasing after love. She was running away from fame.
That was the main difference.
"Ruby? Is that you?" A voice suddenly called.
A blonde girl came out of the bushes, and their eyes met.
"Oops, wrong redhead!" She grinned.
"Wrong blonde," Pyrrha echoed.
They shared a look.
The blonde girl snorted, her grin widening.
Pyrrha started to chuckle herself.
For some reason, the atmosphere had turned funny…
After a short moment, they both started laughing. For no particular reason...
As she laughed, Pyrrha's heart filled itself with renewed hope.
Maybe this one would see her as a friend and not a celebrity?
With Ren.
"Drrrraaa! Drrrrraa!"
"…I still think that's not what a sloth sounds like."
"Boop!"
...What a surprise, Ren and Nora got paired together.
With Jaune.
"R-ruby… I'm really not confident in my balance!"
"Don't worry, Crashing Boy!" Ruby giggled, "I believe in you!"
"…Please don't call me that…"
"But it's so fitting for you! Between today and yesterday, you crashed twice!"
"All accidents...!"
Jaune was nearly panicking as he was maintaining his poise, standing on the branch of a tree, with Ruby sat on his shoulders trying to get a good view of their surroundings.
"G-gah!" Jaune grabbed a branch and tightened his hold on Ruby's thigh, nearly losing balance again.
"H-hey!" Ruby protested, "I know we have to do this to get a better view, but you better watch where you put your hands, okay!"
"I-I'm not doing anything," Jaune replied, blushing bright red as he lowered his hand to her knee.
"Hah, I'm just messing with you!" Ruby laughed and gave him a friendly pat on the head. "Hold the tree! I'm gonna stand on your shoulders!"
"O-okay..."
This girl had sure gained a lot of confidence since she woke him up from his crater...
Jaune grabbed the tree with one hand and Ruby's foot with the other, while she adjusted her stance on his shoulders and stood up, her head finally popping out of the leaves.
"I see a Nevermore!" Ruby called. "We should grab a ride!"
"Wh-what?!" Jaune gasped.
"Pffft! Just kidding!" She giggled, falling back on his shoulders. "I've caught a glimpse of some ruins in the distance, let's go there!"
Jaune let out a breath of relief. This girl… She was joking around too much!
Wasn't this a serious test? What if they failed? How was she not scared?
"Come on, my loyal mount!" She claimed cheerfully, "Let us go!"
"Y-you're too heavy…" Jaune complained.
His weak body was already aching from carrying her on his shoulders. He had no strength!
"Heavy? Me? You gotta work up those muscles, Jaune!"
"B-but, um…" Jaune tried to answer but didn't find anything to say. "...I-I guess you're right..."
"I'm joking again, silly!" She giggled again and dropped off his shoulders to land back on the ground. "You're too easy to tease, Jaune~!" She chuckled, poking a finger in his chest, which made Jaune took a step back, embarrassed.
Losing to a girl that was two years younger than him! That was how socially inept Jaune was.
Jaune turned away to hide his face, troubled. "I think we should just focus on the Initiation…"
"All, right, all right," She rolled her eyes, clearly not as worried as he was. "Then let's go, Jaune," She gently nudged his arm, "Let's find these relics!"
"R-right!"
They set off towards the North, which let Jaune time to meditate on how lucky he had been.
Not only he had been partnered with his best friend Ruby,
But he had also survived that painful crash!
Jaune had been very surprised at his landing.
Not only had he broken the trees he had crashed into, but, turning dirt into a sand-like texture? That was completely new! He had never been able to do such a thing before.
In life and death situations, his semblance could prove very powerful. Most likely, he was never going to be able to do it again on purpose.
And his Aura had protected him as well. Like always, Jaune was able to rely on it. When his bullies tried to hit him in the past, his Aura protected his body, and then his semblance attacked the source of damage.
Yes, this landing really couldn't have gone any better, Jaune decided as he and Ruby continued their way towards the North.
Along the way, they met some Grimm, of course.
"Grrrr…"
Two Beowolves approached them cautiously.
"One each!" Ruby deployed her scythe and grinned, sending him a smirk.
"O-okay…" Jaune forced a smile on his face, secretly terrified.
Okay… All right… You got it, Jaune. Done this before…Done this before. Trust your semblance…
As Ruby bolted towards her enemy, Jaune faced his own.
The Beowolf continued to approach him cautiously, groaning lowly.
Jaune flexed his legs and adopted a profile stance while raising his right hand in front of him, giving him slightly more reach.
Then, Jaune did something he didn't do often.
He channeled his semblance.
I'm in danger, protect me!
His semblance eagerly responded, and spread through his entire body, searching for a target.
Crack!
Immediately, the ground below his feet broke apart, fissures spreading like a web and shaking the ground all around Jaune.
This was completely unplanned. He had not intended to break the ground. His semblance had just naturally latched on the only thing it could find, which was the dirt below his feet.
However, it was quite lucky, as it caused the Beowolf to stumble and lose balance!
Jaune seized the opportunity and grabbed one of its paw, shutting his eyes close.
The power instantly latched again, not only into Jaune's feet, but also into his arm, and poured itself into the Grimm's body!
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Like a storm of firecrackers had erupted inside its body, all the Grimm's bones broke apart, and his flesh twisted in unnatural ways, leaking black blood. Its fangs and claws shattered, and his eyeballs exploded!
A disgusting sight!
With a roar of pain, the Grimm fell backward and vanished in dark fumes.
"Woaaaaah!" Ruby gaped, having already finished hers a long time ago. "A-awesooome!"
"Sorry... I took a bit longer," Jaune apologized bashfully.
"Heh, it's fine, Jaune." She grinned, and they continued their walk. "Really, don't sweat it!"
And so they set off again.
Between Ruby and her giant scythe exterminating Grimm at incredible speed,
And Jaune's semblance fracturing whatever Grimm tried to attack him,
They were able to quickly dispatch whatever Grimm they met in brutal fashion.
Some Grimm had their whole body broken up, while others only got a broken limb.
It was probably a matter of how much Aura he used, Jaune supposed. But he didn't know how to quantify such things. He only knew how to call his semblance, and let it do its thing.
He had absolutely no control over the 'valve' of his semblance, he could just open it. And when he opened that 'valve', he didn't know how wide. On the other hand, closing the valve always required effort from him, and was even impossible in some extreme cases.
And sometimes, the semblance even broke the valve open on its own! Jaune had no control over it.
"I love it when you do that," Ruby grinned when he killed another Grimm. "It's so satisfying to see these Grimm's limbs break and twist until it dies, muahahaha!" She laughed evilly.
Th-that was rather dark… Jaune didn't really like all the sickening violence, honestly. The sound of fracturing bones gave him chills and reminded him all too much of past mistakes.
"…How you move your scythe, is pretty cool too." Jaune replied.
It was true. When wielding her scythe, Ruby looked like she was dancing. It was quite a beautiful sight, especially with her skirt and cape, very graceful.
"Thanks!" Ruby grinned widely, "You know what, we should come up with some moves!"
"Moves?" Jaune tilted his head to the side.
Ruby started imagining new moves as they were making their way through the forest. She seemed very excited.
"How about a move that combines the two of us: I make us go fast and you touch them and break their bones with your semblance! How awesome is that!"
"That sounds great," Jaune admitted, although he was a bit nervous at the idea of moving at such speed. Also, he would probably break Ruby's body if they ever tried something like that... It made his stomach twist painfully, scared of the very idea. "But, um, I think we should focus on Initiation, though."
Jaune was serious! He really didn't want to fail Initiation, it was his last chance at a decent life after all. Beacon had been very kind and understanding with him, he didn't want to leave this school.
Also, since it was his first time in 'Grimm territory', Jaune was a bit too nervous to hold a casual conversation with Ruby.
He was constantly checking his surroundings, scared that a monster sneaked up on him!
"R-right, right!" Ruby chuckled, embarrassed. "I get excited! Sorry."
"It's... It's just that we need to complete the mission first... But I'm excited too!" Jaune assured.
They exchanged a grin.
A warm feeling spread from Jaune's heart.
So that's what it's like to have a friend? This is awesome!
With Yang.
…Am I in the twilight zone?
Yang was floating on a little cloud of happiness, right now.
Why? Because…
"…So I am guessing you had quite a lot of Pyrrhic victories!" She winked at Pyrrha, nudging her shoulder. "Eh? Eh? Get it?"
Pyrrha laughed.
She laughed!
It was a wonderful laugh, music to Yang's ears.
"S-stop, Yang…" She giggled fondly, wiping a tear in her eye, "I'm getting tired of laughing!"
Yang grinned proudly.
She sure was on fire today! She kept making funny jokes, and Pyrrha kept laughing wholesomely, she genuinely found them funny!
"Okay. Okay. Let's change the subject! Did you go see the movie Thor?"
"Hm?" Pyrrha blinked, before shrugging, "Oh, yes, but I didn't really enjoy it. I'm not really into these action movies…"
"I see." Yang grinned in anticipation, "Did it leave a Thor spot on you? Huh?"
"W-well… N-no…" Pyrrha's mouth twitched, breaking into a smile. "Pffft hahahaha!"
Yang sniffed quietly, watching her beautiful partner laugh.
Finally. I have found someone. My soulmate!
"N-no, seriously." Pyrrha tried to calm down, some giggles still escaping her mouth. "I'm not into these movies…"
"No? What else did you watch then?"
"Well, I watched Akira, for example, but didn't really care for it…"
"Didn't really Akira for it?"
"Pppffffft hehehahahahahaha!"
Pyrrha grabbed Yang shoulder and held her sizes, laughing her ass off.
"I swear… Fuhu... Yang… If you don't stop… You'll get a Pun-ishment!"
They stared at each other for a second.
And then the two of them broke into a loud laugh again, holding each other.
"..."
Meanwhile, Ren and Nora, who they had met up with, could only stare at them with horrified expressions on their faces.
With Weiss.
"Haaa!"
Challenging fire dust in her rapier, Weiss waved her weapon and produced a cone of fire, burning several Beowolves.
She had been ambushed, the pack had hidden in bushes and quietly surrounded her without noticing.
There were quite a lot of these monsters…
Hmph… If these beasts thought they caught an easy target, she would show them!
Ducking under a strike, she tightened her grip on Myrtenaster and executed a flurry of rapid stabs into the beast's body.
The body fell back and instantly disappeared in black smoke.
"Grrrr!"
Weiss panted as she looked around her.
Dozens of Beowolves were still surrounding her.
She grit her teeth, panting. She was starting to get tired. It had been thirty minutes since she started killing these beasts, yet they kept coming at her.
The Beowolves charged, roaring wildly.
"Haaaa!" Weiss raised her sword vertically and brought her down, striking the ground.
Ice materialized around her sword, and spread in a rose shape, creating stingers of ice that stabbed six of the Beowolves attacking her.
A Grimm appeared behind her. Weiss dashed forward, feeling the claw brush against the back of her dress. Weiss executed a perfect backward somersault, materialized a Glyph in the air above the Grimm to get a footing, flexed her legs and stroked down, piercing the back of the Grimm's neck.
Another two Grimm attacked, from her left and right. The young heiress was quick to jump towards one the one on the right, side-steeping its claw with a well-placed glyph, and stabbing it in the chest. Setting her foot on its belly, she flexed her legs and launched herself off the body, in order to strike the other Beowolf that had been on the left. With three rapid, precise strikes, she pierced its eyes and stabbed it through its mouth.
"Haaa… Haaa…"
Weiss panted as she narrowly evaded an attack again. Casting a quick glance around her, she got a vague idea that there were still plenty of Grimm to harass her.
I have to escape. She realized, perhaps a bit too late, I can't kill them all!
Weiss widened her eyes, suddenly realizing that five other Grimm were jumping on her from different directions at the same time.
She raised her sword, channeling her fire dust in a spherical shape around herself, and pouring a large quantity of Aura into it.
A large shield of flames was raised around her.
Like one single entity, the Grimm all stroke at the same time.
Booom!
The shield exploded around her, spreading deadly flames through the dozens of Grimm and disintegrating the monsters.
"Urgh!" Weiss winced at the impact that had consumed a giant chunk of her Aura.
"Haa…" She panted as she looked at the devastated area around her. The wasteland around her was releasing fire smoke and Grimm fumes, causing a sort of fog to appear in the area. Through the fog, Weiss could barely see the other trees' shapes along with the crackling flames that were burning them.
Two giant shadows stepped into sight, having survived the fire blast.
Ursas... She had to escape!
"Ugh…" She tried to move, only for her to gasp in panic.
Her legs… She couldn't move them anymore…! They were shaking too much.
A memory flashed in her mind.
"I'm not always going to be around to save you, Weiss."
"I'm sorry. I'll get better."
"You'll have to if you want to leave."
Weiss snapped her eyes open.
This couldn't be!
The meaning of the strength that Weiss had sought, and the meaning of Winter's training…
All to fail here?
The two Ursas roared, charging her.
Weiss channeled once again her semblance, creating a gravity glyph below her to lighten her weight so that her legs could manage to support her body.
Just as the two Ursas were approaching, she jumped high in the air. This was possible because she had made her body extremely light with gravity manipulation!
Looking down, Weiss pointed her hand at the Gravity Glyph she had previously made, turning it into a Fire Glyph and channeling a large quantity of Aura into it. One of the Ursas, caught in its charge, stepped on it like the dumb beast it was.
With a snap of her fingers, the Glyph exploded, throwing the massive Ursa's body into the air towards her. Summoning a normal Glyph above her for footing, Weiss restored her weight to normal and kicked herself off her Glyph, diving at high speed towards the Ursa!
"Haaaa!" Weiss roared, her Myrtenaster pointed down.
She impacted the huge body violently, her rapier thrusting deeply into the flesh, and bending the Ursa in two as they dived towards the ground.
"Aaaaah!" Weiss screamed as the two of them impacted the ground.
She quickly sat up on the Ursa's body as it roared in pain, raising her weapon and bringing it down once again.
"Die!"
Weiss stabbed the Ursa again. Using both hands to bring the weapon down.
And again, and again!
"Die! Die! Diiiie!"
During an intense life-or-death battle, a person's personality gets transformed.
Only the fighting spirit and the urge to survive remained.
Kill or get killed!
That was Weiss' raw thought process right now, as she was too exhausted from the fight to think straight!
"Diiiiie!" She repeated savagely.
How dare these dumb beasts tried to get the better of her, the heiress of the SDC!
Eventually, the Ursa below her finally died and started evaporating in black smoke.
However… There was the other one!
"Grrrroooaaar!"
The Ursa roared at Weiss and stroke the weapon off her hands, making her stumble backward.
Weiss panted, crouching away from the monster!
She heard large footsteps closing in behind her…
"S-someone help!" She screamed desperately.
Tchk!
The Ursa froze.
And fell down, the weight of its body blowing some of the smoke away.
A dark blade was embedded into its back.
A black haired girl stood over the Ursa's dead body, her amber eyes glowing down at Weiss.
The heiress sighed and sat up, panting, as the black haired girl walked over to her.
She instantly recognized her. It was the same girl who had made snarky comments towards her father's company just after that Ruby girl exploded on Weiss.
"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces, and questionable business partners."
"…"
"…"
"Thank you… You saved me." Weiss admitted reluctantly, as, despite their differents, she still felt grateful towards her savior.
"…"
The black haired girl walked past her.
Weiss' heart clenched. She'd been ignored.
No… She hadn't been ignored.
That girl had looked at Weiss, for just half a second.
And her eyes had been… full of contempt.
"…"
Though Weiss' heart was in turmoil, she schooled her expression and built her countenance back up. She stood up on her shaky legs, brushed her dress, fetched her weapon.
Her body was tired. Her muscles ached and she was sweating a lot. She had just narrowly escaped death.
"…"
"…"
Saying nothing, she followed after the black-haired girl who was waiting for her, yet still ignoring her, even though Weiss was limping and panting, slowly recovering from her intense fight.
"…"
Weiss, the famous heiress of the SDC, was being looked down upon by this random black-haired girl.
The way she had shown up instantly right after Weiss called for help…
And the familiar human presence that Weiss had felt before the fight…
Could it be…?
No way…?!
Had this girl been watching the whole fight?!
She had watched Weiss fight these Grimm and fail miserably?
And she had done nothing until Weiss finally admitted needing help and desperately screamed for someone?
"…"
A dark pit opened in Weiss' heart, and she gritted her teeth, her eyes narrowing on her… new partner's back.
…
What Weiss was feeling was…
Humiliation.
With Jaune.
"Haaa… Haaa…"
Jaune was panting.
After making their way through the forest, and killing many Grimm, he was exhausted.
It couldn't be helped. Jaune was an untrained civilian with no stamina or strength. His body was weak; that was all there was to it. It had been bound to happen sooner or later.
"Come on, Jaune!" Ruby encouraged him, "You can do it!"
"Haaa… haaa…!" Jaune was panting. His legs had started hurting, and he had trouble breathing. He also had a little headache that was slowly increasing in pain.
His weak body couldn't hold up!
"We're nearly there!"
Though Ruby was encouraging him, it looked like she had finally figured out how unprepared Jaune really was to being a Huntsman and how weak his body truly was.
At some point during their walk, she had probably realized how untrained Jaune was, and how much of a weight he was going to be for her.
And so, there had been a short period, when she had been a little upset about it and had stayed quiet for some time.
During that time, sometimes, Ruby had given a little sigh of disappointment, when she thought he couldn't hear.
Honestly, these little sighs of disappointment, they had nearly broken Jaune's heart.
Hearing these sighs, he had been unable to meet her eyes for some time. And how could he? He was weighing her down, this fifteen-year-old genius girl.
But… she hadn't called him out for it.
And now, she wasn't sighing anymore, instead, she was encouraging him.
It looked like she had resolved herself, and moved passed it already.
Perhaps she was just focusing on the Initiation, as Jaune had asked her earlier.
He just hoped he wasn't too heavy a burden, slowing her down like that.
I'm a burden. I don't deserve such a good partner like her... And she certainly doesn't deserve a bad partner like me. I'll have to work hard for her.
"There's the edge of the forest!" Ruby called excitedly. "We've made it, Jaune!"
"R-really!" Jaune gasped, panting.
"Yeah! I can see the ruins!" Ruby said, "There are chess pieces over there!"
This reignited Jaune's spirit, and he forced his body to push forward.
Indeed, some ruins were there, and the two of them walked over.
When they arrived, there were already two people there.
A black-haired girl that Jaune didn't know, and the girl named Weiss that had shouted at him right before Initiation in the lockers room.
They were both very quiet.
"Hey, Blake!" Ruby waved, smiling. "You're here already!"
"…" The girl named Blake just gave Ruby a sassy smirk, as if to say 'but of course, what did you expect.'.
Meanwhile, Jaune looked over at Weiss, who seemed to be very exhausted. Her body was covered in scratches and soot. The back of her dress had been torn apart, revealing skin, and her skirt had been partially ripped up too.
"U-um, are you okay?" Jaune frowned, a little worried.
"Yes!" She seethed through her teeth. "L-leave me alone…"
Her voice was shaking…
"Okay…" Jaune nodded and backed away respectfully.
Jaune was all too familiar with her expression.
Her clenched fists. Her eyes looking down, hurt. Her mouth stiff, clearly mortified.
Jaune had been like this quite a lot, in the past. During the moments after his bullies had done something especially mean, back when he had been ridiculed.
It was a state where you held your anger and humiliation inside.
For Jaune, it had been necessary to hold it inside, because if he let the rage out, his semblance would wreak havoc on his surroundings.
What was it for Weiss? What made her keep it all inside, he wondered.
"All right! Let's take this cute little poney!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Okay," Jaune smiled.
Meanwhile, Blake took the other Knight piece, without even asking Weiss.
Weiss did react, her eyes narrowed and focused on Blake for a short moment.
Blake merely raised an eyebrow.
Weiss looked away. Her eyes were... ashamed?
"…"
"…"
Jaune widened his eyes, and he immediately realized what was going on.
This was bad… Jaune instantly recognized it!
That raise of eyebrow. That look on Weiss' face. Her appearance. Blake's smirk and sassy attitude.
Weiss was basically getting... bullied! Right? Even if it was just soft bullying.
Hmm, perhaps it was not the right word for it... But Blake definitely did have a 'passive-aggressive' attitude.
Jaune knew, because he had lived through this kind of thing for a long time! Even though he had never even heard Blake's voice, he was able to immediately put the pieces together from just a couple of glances.
Ruby probably didn't realize it, but it was very obvious for Jaune, and as he observed them, he grew more and more certain.
However, Jaune couldn't really say anything to these two. He was way too socially awkward himself, and these two girls were way too beautiful for him to properly hold a conversation about this stuff!
Also, he might have been a bit scared of Weiss snapping at him again…
And from what he understood, Blake and Ruby were friends. If possible, Jaune didn't want to have any conflict with Ruby, who he was already weighing down…
Aaah… This was too complicated for Jaune.
Let's not get involved...
Back at Beacon.
"...you will work together as... team CRDL [Cardinal]. Led by... Cardin Winchester."
Blake applauded politely, along with the crowd.
"…So how did it go on your side?" Blake heard Ruby ask Yang.
"We met with these two lovebirds," The blonde girl grinned, pointing at Ren and Nora, "And then the four of us took out a Deathstalker. Nothing much, really."
"You took out a Deathstalker?" Ruby gaped. "Oh maaaan, we only had Beowolves to kill… Right, Jaune?"
"Y-yeah..." The blonde guy replied shyly. It seemed he was uncomfortable around so many people.
"We had a couple Ursas," Blake remarked, sending a mocking smirk to Weiss.
"..." The heiress didn't answer, narrowing her eyes and looking down.
The Schnee couldn't really comment. The little miss perfect had failed to hold her own against a little pack of Grimm, as expected of a spoiled rich girl who had spent her life sheltered in the Schnee manor.
"We nearly died!" An orange-haired girl exclaimed dramatically. "Those puns... They were destroying our will to live! It was horrible!"
"It wasn't that bad..." Pyrrha Nykos blushed.
"It was pretty bad." A guy with black hair and pink eyes stated.
"Hey, hey, now, Ren, listen to my dear partner, she knows what she's talking about!" Yang laughed, holding Nykos close to her with an arm around her shoulder. "You guys just don't understand true humor!"
"Hahaha..." Nykos laughed awkwardly, scratching her head embarrassingly.
"Well, we're getting called on stage." The pink-eyed guy said. "We should go."
They hurried on stage and stood in front of the headmaster.
"Pyrrha Nikos, Yang Xiao-Long, Lie Ren, and Nora Valyrie. The four of you retrieved the Tower pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team PYRN (Pyrène), led by... Pyrrha Nikos."
Clap Clap Clap.
"As expected of Pyrrha," Weiss muttered, obviously envious.
"Hmph." Blake snorted. "She is competent, I suppose."
'Unlike you.' went unsaid, but the Schnee understood the message nonetheless, as her eyes darkened.
"It's our turn, guys!" Ruby called excitedly, unaware of her teammates' conflict.
The four of them walked on stage and stopped in front of the headmaster.
"Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc, Blake Belladonna, and Weiss Schnee. The four of you retrieved the Knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team RABW (Rainbow), led by...
...Ruby Rose."
Blake saw the Schnee widen her eyes in consternation.
Blake glared at the spoiled heiress meaningfully, narrowing her eyes.
The Schnee caught her stare.
You failed to defend yourself against some weak Grimm, and even needed my help. Do you have anything to say? Surely you don't think you would make a better leader?
The heiress of Schnee Dust Company looked down, exhausted and mortified.
Hmph… That's what I thought. Blake snorted.
Communicating through glares! A famous ability that was unique to Cat-Faunus.
Blake turned her eyes to Ruby, who was now her new leader.
She was sharing a high-five with her blonde idiot of a partner, the two of them grinning happily.
Then Ruby's sister went on stage to hug her.
How cute... It put a smile on Blake's face.
"…?"
Blake's eyes narrowed as she caught Jaune Arc staring at her with eyes full of disapproval.
But he quickly looked away, clearly uncomfortable.
"…"
That kind of guy won't have the guts to stand up for his princess. Probably just a Schnee fanboy.
Oh, well… Blake shrugged to herself, looking at Ruby. She remembered her conversation the evening before initiation.
"Unfortunately the world isn't like a fairy tale."
"That's why we're here. To make it better!"
Blake may have gotten the worst partner that she could have wished for, Weiss Schnee, but at the very least, Ruby Rose showed potential to be a fine leader.
Still... Ugh. Just thinking that she was going to share a dorm with that Schnee made her consider quitting Beacon right away.
…
…
…
But how?
Why?
Why was Blake like this?
You might ask.
Because!
Because this heiress!
This Schnee had said only ONE line, this morning before Initiation, a line that Blake had overheard by accident!
"I need a safe place to store it otherwise some Faunus thief is going to steal it! "
Faunus thief!
Faunus!
Thief!
…
…
…
At the time, these words had resonated within Blake's mind, painting a clear picture of the heiress' personality.
"As expected from a Schnee…" Was Blake's natural reaction.
At that moment, she had given up any hope of Weiss being different from her father.
Despite having wanted to reserve her judgment, Blake had instantly drawn conclusions in her head!
Despite the fact that the only thing Weiss did was to mention 'Faunus thieves'. Only one time was enough for Blake to put Weiss in the same box as her father.
First impressions were everything!
…
However… Blake had still saved Weiss.
Even if Blake had unconsciously waited for Weiss to call for help desperately, to satisfy her ego... In the end, she had still saved Weiss.
After leaving the White-Fang, it would be hypocritical of her to let the Schnee heiress die just because she could.
She hadn't left Adam and the White-Fang to perpetuate their hateful methods!
No… Blake had come to Beacon in search of a new start. A new life. To forget her past.
…
And yet…
Yet, Blake couldn't help the way she felt, either.
She couldn't help the looks of contempt she was throwing at Weiss.
She couldn't help the passive-aggressive attitude.
She couldn't help but associate Weiss with her father's company after that one racist comment.
She just couldn't help it.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Now that the first three chapters are out, tell me what you think, where I can improve. Feedback is essential.
Usually, I hate Initiation. Always the same goddamn fight with the Deathstalker and Nevermore. Screw that.
See you next time.