Yang Xiao Long had always loved the open road. The wind whipping through her long blonde hair and the feeling of that powerful motorcycle engine underneath her, sending tremors through her thighs and up into the tips of her fingers. And the speed. Seeing everything around her fly by in less than a second. There was no feeling quite like it.
She was just happy her father had agreed to allow her to not only take her bike with her to Beacon, but to also let her drive the five-and-a-half-hour highway road to the academy. But, since her father was a true worrywart, they had made sure she left with a few hours to spare. Yang was quite thankful that Beacon was so close to her home island of Patch. Relatively speaking, that was. Checking her watch on her left wrist, she shifted gears and puled ahead of the car in front of her, letting the thrum of the engine pull a smile from her lips.
Yang almost wished that her bike wasn't being weighed down by all her things. It slowed her down to the nth degree. But it did leave her eyes perpetually glowing with excitement. She was on her way to Beacon freaking Academy! Her entire family had gone there. The legendary Team STRQ! Known for kicking butt and taking names. Or at least getting into a buttload of trouble. From her father Taiyang, to her uncle Qrow, to her mother, who was either the 'S' or 'R' of the group. While most huntsmen students stuck to their pairs of two, STRQ had decided to stick together for all four years, racking up wins like crazy, both in class and out in the field. All the while being the best of friends. It was only slightly disappointing to hear how the team had essentially shattered. A failed mission, followed by plenty of bad blood boiling to the surface in one fell swoop.
Yang would make sure that didn't happen to her team. Not that she wanted to follow in her father's and uncle's footsteps. Obviously. But the thought of have three other kickass friends by her side instead of just one? Well, Yang always did claim to live by the philosophy of 'the more, the merrier'.
Shifting gears again, Yang's bike rocketed forward, slowing down only slightly to turn off onto a separate road, then gunning it once more, seeing as the one lane road was empty and miles long.
Beacon was going to be the next step for her, she just knew it. She had been the top of her class at Signal Academy; a training school for those hoping to get into the big huntsman academies. While she doubted she would keep her ranking atop the charts at Beacon, she was fairly confident in her combat abilities to at least stay in the top ten of the year.
And after school, it would be back on the road for her. Maybe for her and her partner, if she could convince them to go along with her. Travelling the world, fighting the biggest, bad-est Grimm they could get their hands on. And all the while, she would search for her mother. That fabled 'R' or 'S'. She knew they had to still be alive. Otherwise her father and Qrow wouldn't be so angry at the thought of them. Anger without sadness meant they had to be roaming around Remnant somewhere. And she was going to find her mother.
Did she truly want her mother back in her life? Did she even truly care if her mother wanted to be back in it? No, not really. For Yang, the search for her mother wasn't the means to an end. It was the method of achieving her real goal to see everything in this world. And her mother? Well, that was just a lofty goal to get her out of bed in the morning on those days that she just felt like sleeping in. And if and when she found the woman? Well, then it was time to pick something else to search for.
It didn't matter if the woman cared about her. She was just a random person that gave her half of her DNA, nothing more. If Yang told herself that enough time, maybe even she would believe it.
The tall clocktower which made up the central building of Beacon was the first she saw of the campus. A few minutes later, and she reached the front gate. She waved to the security guard, passing him her acceptance letter, in place of a Beacon ID, which she would surely get once she completed Initiation.
The guard looked over the letter, then typed a few things into his computer, before smiling and handing the document back to her. "Good luck with Initiation. I heard that it's going to be an exciting one this year."
"Thanks for the heads up," Yang replied with a grin, driving into the academy for the first time.
There were a few others who had arrived via car or motorcycle. The only real rule about coming to Beacon, was that the potential students had to arrive alone, without any parents accompanying them. A pretty basic rule, but an important one. How could people claim to be huntsmen-in-training if they were still relying on their parents to help them move in? That wasn't to say she knew of at least two someones who had used this rule to play pranks on newly arriving students when they were at Beacon.
Yang smiled at the thought. Maybe she would try her hand at pranking some freshmen, when she was in her second year and up. Grabbing her bags, she left her motorcycle, which she had delightfully christened 'Bumblebee', in Beacon's student parking lot, before following the many, many signs which led her to the bullhead docks. And that was when it fully hit her what she was about to attempt to do. There were over two hundred and fifty student hopefuls here, with more on their way. She would be competing with all of them for the hundred spots available. And with a different Initiation challenge every year, there was no way to properly prepare.
The best she could say, was that Initiation would be held in the forests surrounding Beacon. That was the one constant, true for every year that Initiation took place. The second, which she was fairly certain of, was that it would involve Grimm in some way, shape or form. Probably.
Waving to the few people she recognized from back home, she followed the crowds all heading towards the central plaza. "So many people," she said to herself, absentmindedly.
"It does make sense. Beacon Academy truly is the best in the world at what it does," came a reply from behind.
Turning, her mouth dropped as she stood face to face with the Invincible Girl herself. Pyrrha freaking Nikos. Coughing slightly to clear her throat and wipe away the excess celebrity-awe that she was sure clung to her, Yang shifted her bags to free a hand, holding it out. "Can't say I was truly expecting it. I do come from a small town, even if my school was pretty big, so this is something new. Anyways, hey. The name's Yang Xiao Long."
Pyrrha grasped Yang's hand, giving it a firm shake. "Pyrrha, but I guess you already knew that?"
"Ya, don't mind that. Not every day that you meet a four-time tournament winner. But I promise not to hold that against you when I take your spot at Beacon." Yang made sure to smile and wink so that the girl knew that she was only joking.
That brought a lovely giggle from the tall redhead. "Well, I've always loved a challenge, so I would be delighted to take you on. And if we both make it in…"
"You can count on me to give you a run for your money. Ain't no celebrity going to beat this Xiao Long."
"Did you say Xiao-"
"Yup. He's my dad," Yang quickly replied, knowing the question that Pyrrha was bound to ask. "He prefers it when people just call him Tai. Hasn't gone by Mr. Invincible since his own tournament fighting days. How about if we both make it in, I'll introduce you. I promise he didn't get too rusty in his old age."
The two laughed a little. "I would be honoured. It was amazing meeting you, Yang. I wasn't sure how my attending would be received."
Yang waved it off, "Psh, it's nothing. Always happy to help out a friend in need. Well, I'm going to drop off my stuff in the plaza and pick out a spot for tonight. Maybe say hi to a few people I know from back home. Want to come with?"
Pyrrha shook her head, "no that's alright. I think I will take some time to look around the Academy, then take a shower. It was a very long flight in from Mystral. I will need to get my sleep and get accustomed to the time change before Initiation, tomorrow."
Yang nodded, holding out her hand for a final handshake goodbye, which Pyrrha gladly accepted. The two finally having parted, Yang was feeling that much better about coming to Beacon. As soon as Pyrrha left her field of view, Yang let out a squeal. She had just met the Invincible Girl! The only person ever to tie her father's own tournament winning streak. Wow, that was incredible. She was star struck. And Pyrrha was also super nice! After hearing about what a right bastard her father was during his first year at Beacon from Uncle Qrow, she hadn't been expecting her to be as kind as she was. Or as friendly.
With a final huff, Yang continued her path forward, with a pleased smile. Initiation was going to start tomorrow. And Yang was sure she was ready for whatever this school threw at her.
Neat. A chapter without Ruby in it. Yang will most definitely be meeting Ruby soon, but it's nice to get some characterization in for others. And besides, it's almost late afternoon! That's little ruby's snack time!
chinaluv - Thank you!
Shazzellim - I can honestly promise you that I have no clue where this story is going, so I cannot confirm or deny that it is (or isn't) going to follow canon
IcyDoom - Thanks, I will have to check that author out.
TheLastBattalion - Tiny Rubes would be so adorable!
MighnightWolf64 - Nah, JNPR won't be involved in this fic... he said after a chapter heavily featuring Pyrrha. I think I'm going to have all of Team JNPR involved. Maybe not Jaune if I don't have Ruby as a student... I don't know, I need pairs and I don't want to stick in an OC. Daddy-Ozpin stories are few and far between. It could be interesting to see some more. I'm happy that this one is going to have Grandpa Ozpin at least.
TheShadow997 - That is true. Though this is a quarantine story, meaning it may go bottoms up at any point.
rbvictor - Thank you. Hopefully I can keep it just as interesting as it progresses.