Today was a new day, the start of something big. This was the day that decided everything and Ruby was determined to take advantage of it and show Beacon what she was made of. After everyone had their breakfast, they gathered in the locker rooms to get ready into their combat gear. Ruby's consisted of a long-sleeved black dress, with a red corset, red fingerless gloves, bright red stockings and black combat boots with a red trim. Draped over her shoulders was a red, hooded cape. Yang's gear consisted of a bright orange, short puffy sleeved jacket, a yellow crop top, black fingerless gloves, ripped black shorts, orange stockings and a long, red scarf hanging from her neck. She looked over her shoulder to see Ruby with a bright smile on her face and humming to herself.
"You seem pretty chipper this morning." Yang commented, retrieving two golden bracelets from her locker.
"Yep!" Ruby chirped, taking out Crescent Rose's compacted form from her locker. "No more awkward small talk or stupid 'getting to know you' stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." She held her weapon like a mother held a baby, making Yang chuckle.
"Well, remember, Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together."
"Ugh, you sound like dad." Ruby groaned. "First of all, what does meeting people have to do with fighting? Second of all, I don't need people to help me grow up. I drink milk."
"Okay, but what about when we form teams?"
"Well, I mean, I could just be on your team or something." Yang hesitated after hearing that.
"I was thinking maybe you could be on someone else's team?" she suggested.
"My dear sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?" Ruby asked firmly.
"What? No! Of course I do! I just thought that maybe it would help you break out of your shell."
"What?! I don't need to 'break out of my shell! I don't even have a shell!'"
Over on the other side, Noctis and his friends were getting ready too. His gear consisted of a black vest jacket over a long-sleeved grey t-shirt, silver armoured pauldrons, grey jeans, black boots and a black waist cape clipped on his belt. Gladio wore a dark purple vest jacket that exposed his shirtless abs, matching purple jeans and thick black boots. On his back was his claymore, sheathed. Prompto wore a silver vest jacket, black vest and grey jeans, with black boots and elbow-long black, fingerless gloves. To his side was his revolver tucked into a holster. Ignis wore an orange jacket, with black gloves, black jeans and orange shoes, with black tips. His twin daggers were sheathed to his side.
"I'm telling you, Noct, Ruby is a total badass!" Prompto exclaimed. Noctis nodded in agreement.
"Given that she can wield a scythe, I have no doubt about that,"
"You've been talking about her scythe for god-knows-how-many-times already," Gladio chuckled. "I think someone's in love."
"Wha- hey?!" Prompto objected, his face turning red. "T-That's not true!"
"Sure it isn't."
"Anyway, why is it that we have to take part in initiation too? We're not students here."
"You are correct, Prompto," said Ignis. "However, we are taking part because it is the tradition of all Huntsmen Academies, not just Beacon, to form teams." Ignis answered.
"Teams?"
"Yes. Combat Schools teach you the basics of fighting and how to handle your weapons. However, once you reach the Academies, you are required to form teams with three other people."
"And while we are together," Gladio said. "We're technically not a team. Not until we've completed the initiation." Prompto nodded his head, now understanding the situation.
"Still, even if we do take part, there's no guarantee we'll end up on the same team together." Noctis commented.
"Which is why I've devised a plan that will make things much easier." Ignis said.
"Awesome!" Prompto cheered.
Meanwhile Jaune put a yellow chestplate over his black half-sleeved hoodie and on his shoulders were matching yellow pauldrons. The rest of his gear consisted of his torn jeans, black trainers and orange fingerless gloves. On his right, he could see two girls already decked out in their combat gear. He recognised Weiss, who wore a beautiful white dress with a matching white jacket and boots but the other girl was new to him. She had golden tanned skin, green eyes and silky red hair tied into a ponytail. She wore a small, golden circlet crown, golden armour, red skirt, long brown gloves and golden boots. He overheard all the students talking about forming teams at breakfast. If he could be on a team with Weiss, he'd be set.
"So, Pyrrha," Weiss started. "have you given any thought as to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with a star athlete?"
"I'm actually not sure," Pyrrha answered softly. "I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."
"Well I was hoping that we could be in a team together." the heiress said.
"That sounds grand!" Pyrrha replied gleefully. Weiss beamed with joy and was about to give herself a little cheer, only to be interrupted by Jaune.
"Count me in, too!" he bellowed.
"Um, who are you?" Weiss asked nonchalantly.
"Jaune Arc, Snow Angel." he said, winking. "I couldn't help but overhear your fondness for me yesterday and since you're picking teams, I think you and I would make a good one." Weiss rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Actually, the teams are formed of four students." Pyrrha said.
"You don't say," Jaune responded, turning to Pyrrha. "Well, play your cards right and you could end up on the winning team!"
"Listen, Jaune was it?" Weiss interrupted. "Do you know who you're speaking to? This is Pyrrha Nikos."
"Nice to meet you," she greeted. Jaune looked at Pyrrha from head to toe and his eyes widened in realisation.
"Wait a minute, I know who you are," he gasped.
"Exactly," Weiss said. "So you should know that you have absolutely no chance of-"
"You're the girl on Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes!" Pyrrha couldn't help but giggle, she found him quite amusing. Weiss stared in shock.
"THAT'S WHERE YOU RECOGNISE HER FROM?!" she screeched. "From some dumb cereal?!"
"Dumb?!" Jaune offendedly huffed. "That's my favourite cereal, and besides, being a mascot must've been cool!"
"Yeah, it was pretty cool," Pyrrha admitted. "Though to be honest, I'm not fond of the cereal myself." Weiss began to feel frustrated. Clearly this boy was dense.
"Here is a list of all of Pyrrha's accomplishments; she graduated at the top of her class in Sanctum Combat School and was the youngest Mistral Regions Champion for four years! With all of that in mind, do you honestly think you have a chance at being on a team with her?"
"I guess not," Jaune lamented, head to the ground.
"Well I think you'd for a fine teammate," Pyrrha reassured him, causing Jaune to blush slightly.
"Oh, stop it!" he said giddily.
"Yes, please stop it!" Weiss told Pyrrha. "This kind of silliness should not be encouraged!"
"Sounds like Pyrrha is on board for Team Jaune, so how about it Snow Angel?" Weiss's patience had finally worn thin. Taking out a vial of Ice Dust, she slammed it on the ground near Jaune's legs, freezing him in place.
"Hey! Woah!" Jaune was struggling to keep balance until he finally fell to the floor, breaking the ice as he did so. Weiss huffed and stormed off, while Pyrrha apologetically waved.
"It was nice meeting you, Jaune." she said.
"Likewise," he slurred in pain. Yang and Ruby arrived to help him back up.
"Having some trouble there, Ladykiller?" Yang teased.
"I don't get it," Jaune groaned. "My Uncle Johnny said that all girls look for is confidence, where did I go wrong?"
"Snow Angel probably wasn't the best start."
"Come on, Jaune. Let's go." Ruby sighed, walking with Jaune to the door.
At the cliffs, many students gathered together. Some had already formed some groups while others arrived solo. Two in particular seemed inseparable: an orange-haired girl with a black vest, white sleeveless jacket, pink skirt with a few rips, black boots and pink fingerless gloves. Next to her was a taller boy with medium black hair, with a single pink highlight, dark green tailcoat trimmed with black and gold, white trousers and simple black shoes. The girl was talking about a mile a minute while the boy said nothing, as if he was trying to ignore her.
"I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full twenty-four hours!" she chirped. "Not that I thought we'd get kicked out or anything, I mean, you're the perfect student and I'm, well, I'm me! But it's just crazy, you know? We've been friends for so long! What are the odds we'd still be together? Well, not 'together-together'. Not that I'm not saying that you're not handsome; you are handsome, but that'd just be weird, right? Right! What was I thinking? But still, I hope we end up on the same team together! Oh, we should come up with some sort of plan, to make sure we end up on the same team together! How about we make a signal? A secret signal that no one will be able to find! How about a sloth? I like sloths! Can you imitate a sloth?"
"Nora," the boy finally replied.
"Yes, Ren?"
"...I don't think sloths make a lot of noise."
"...That's why it's perfect!" she bellowed. "No one will ever suspect that we're working together! Well, not 'together-together'.
Ruby and Yang watched over the cliff. The view of the green trees was absolutely gorgeous. However, Ruby couldn't help but feel nervous. She didn't give the idea of teams much thought, assuming that she'd just end up with Yang. But what if that wasn't the case? What if she ended up with someone she didn't like?
"Ruby, are you okay?" Yang asked, concerned.
"Y-Yeah," Ruby stuttered. "T-Top of the world."
"Are you sure?" Ruby nodded her head in response, despite the tingling feeling in her stomach.
"Hey Ruby." Noctis greeted, with Prompto right behind him. Ruby's mood brightened. At least there was another friendly face here.
"Oh, hey Noctis," Ruby waved. Yang gulped at the sight of the Prince, still mortified by the events of yesterday.
"Uh… hey," she muttered. "Listen, I'm really sorry about yesterday at the amphitheatre.
Noctis simply shrugged. "It's okay, I was bound to get recognised eventually. Though it was one hell of a way to get noticed."
"I guess. I'm Yang, by the way." she introduced herself, bowing her head. "It's an honour to meet you, Your Highness."
"Nice to meet you, and you can just call me Noctis."
"Really?" Yang was confused. Noctis was nothing like she imagined him to be. She thought he'd be all fancy and uptight. But from the way he looked and spoke, he seemed pretty normal.
"Yeah," The young Prince replied. "Trust me, formalities get way too exhausting."
"I can imagine. So, you're really taking part in initiation?" Yang eyed him from head to toe. "No offence, but you don't look like the fighting type."
"How do you mean?" Noctis asked
"Well, you are pretty scrawny." Yang said bluntly.
"Wha-! Hey!" Noctis objected, blushing slightly. "I've got muscles... you just can't see them." Yang snorted with laughter, causing the Prince to facepalm in embarrassment. Even Prompto and Ruby joined in the fun. At that moment, Ozpin and Glynda both arrived. The headmaster faced the students and directed to stand over metallic slabs.
"Good morning, everyone. For years, you have trained on the path to becoming warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
"Now I'm sure many of you have researched or at least heard about the assignment of teams," Glynda spoke. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today. " Many of the students were excited or scared. It was the end of the line.
"These teammates will be with you for the next four years here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to find people who you can work well with. After you've met up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die." The tension increased tenfold, with Jaune being the most worried.
"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation," Ozpin continued. "But our instructor will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each team must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" Jaune raised his hand to speak, but Ozpin ignored it. "Good! Now take your positions for the landing strategy.
"Landing strategy?!" Jaune shouted. All of the students drew their weapons to assist them. Seeing this, Jaune frantically got his sword and shield at the ready. Immediately, he realised what Ozpin meant when he said 'landing strategy', as he and the others were promptly flung into the air. Ozpin stared delightfully.
"This should be fun," he muttered.
Jaune flailed his arms wildly as he zoomed through the air. What kind of a crazy headmaster flings his students up in the sky on the first day? Fearing for his life, he held his shield up close and crashed into a nearby tree. Fortunately, he was alive. Unfortunately, he was dropping to the ground. Or rather he would be, if it wasn't for the fact that he felt something jam into his hood. He opened his eyes and found himself stuck up a tree. To make matters worse, his sword was on the ground.
"Great," he moaned. "Just my luck."
"Jaune!" called a friendly voice. He looked down and noticed Pyrrha walking over to him. "I was wondering if you had any spots left on your team? If the answer is yes, I'd like to join." Jaune couldn't help but smile. Maybe his luck wasn't so bad after all.
Noctis darted his eyes around in order to find the safest landing spot. Luckily for him, he had training from the Kingsglaive and falling from great heights was their speciality. Spotting the nearest tree he could find, he threw his sword and warped over in the direction. He hung onto his sword and observed the rest of the area. He wasn't that far off the ground and promptly jumped off.
"Alright then," he said to himself. "Let's see if I can find the guys." From above the branches, he could see a small light blinking. There was no doubt that it was the signal Ignis had set up. "Okay, that's either Prompto, Gladio or Ignis." With a tight grip on his sword, he walked over and pushed through the dense branches. Up in one of the trees, he saw Prompto flicking the switch of his flashlight. Noctis gave a whistle, altering the messy blonde towards him.
"Hey Noct!" Prompto said happily.
"So are you gonna be in there all day or?" The Prince asked jokingly. Prompto chuckled and jumped down. Suddenly, there was a rustling in the branches and the sound of wings flapping filled the air. Both boys looked around, weapons at the ready. From the trees they spotted several, large, jet-black birds, with the same bone-white masks as the beowolves. There was no mistaking it, these were Grimm.
"Wow, talk about an unkindness, huh?" Prompto snickered.
"Enough with the puns," Noctis groaned. "Let's get to work."
Ruby shifted Crescent Rose into its scythe form and used to catch a nearby branch. She swung around it until she slowly dropped to the ground. This was it; the start of her Huntress journey. Taking a deep breath, she sped through the forest with only one thought on her mind.
Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang! Despite how deep she was venturing into the forest, there was no sign of her sister anywhere. Oh, this is bad, this is really bad... What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first? Well, there's always Jaune. He's nice. He's funny! But, I don't think he's very good in a fight, though. Ooh! What about Blake?! So mysterious, so calm. Plus she likes books! Then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her. Oh! There's Noctis! He can summon swords like a badass! Maybe he can teach it to me? But then again, he seems to already have his friends. Ugh! Who else do I know at this school? Yang, Jaune, Blake, Noctis and…
Her thoughts were interrupted when she caught a glimpse of a white blur in front of her. Ruby managed to stop just in time, skidding along the ground. She opened her eyes to see the grumpy face of Weiss Schnee, shaking her head in disappointment.
"You're the last person I'd ever team up with," the heiress hissed. "However, it looks like I'm going to have to make do. I only ask that you don't slow us down." Though not fond of her comments, the task was to form a team and it looked like Ruby found her first teammate. Remembering what Yang said, she decided to take this opportunity to impress Weiss.
Zoom!
In a flash, Ruby appeared right in front of her, with a silly smile on her face.
"I'm not slow, see? You don't have to worry about me."
"Wha-? How did-?" Weiss looked back to where Ruby was originally, only to find nothing but a trail of rose petals.
"Weiss," Ruby began, "Just because I may not know about people, that doesn't mean I don't know about monsters. Today, you're about to see a whole new side of me that'll make you say 'Wow! That Ruby girl is really, really cool!'" Before Weiss could respond, Ruby once zoomed through the forests. Weiss was admittedly impressed by the girl's speed, but she wasn't fond of her playing around. This wasn't a game.
"You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time!" she called. There was no answer but instead the foul snarl of Grimm. From the shrubs emerged a pack of beowolves, howling with hunger.