Chapter 3: Welcome to Beacon

"Russell Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forwards, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by Cardin Winchester."

As Professor Ozpin finished speaking, the audience burst out into applause, pride washing over the masses assorted into the auditorium, a mixture of the passing first year students, older students, and the gathered faculty of the academy. Four huntsmen ascended the stairs to the stage, shaking the Professor's hand as they marched towards the back of platform, lining up as a team alongside the other groups already gathered.

Lance tossed his chess piece in the air nervously, staring over its black surface with a more than a little anxiousness. Ulysses simply offered him a non-impressed side-eye.

"Kassandra Masthio. Regal Thesia. Atalanta Boringer. Teal Waxxon. You four retrieved the white pawn pieces. From this day forwards, you will be known as Team KRAT, led by Kassandra Masthio." Another group of students ascended to the stage, beaming under the bright lights as they talked to each other in feverish, excited whispers.

The crowd settled from its round of applause; all eyes locked onto the silver-haired professor stood high above. He took a drink from his mug, before clearing his throat, looking at the tablet in front of him. "Ulysses Ebony. Lance Zaffre-" The two partners shot to attention; blue gaze meeting black for a rare moment of mutuality. "Kyani Shinai. Oracle Carmine. The four of you retrieved the black knight pieces. From this day forwards you will be known as Team SOUL, led by Kyani Shinai."

Lance frowned as he and his partner began to amble through the crowd to the foot of the stairs, mulling the other members of his team's names' and the familiarity of them; until the aforementioned samurai and gunslinger stepped forwards to meet them. The swordsman's face dawned in understanding. "You two, huh? What's the odds of that?"

"Pretty low," Oracle muttered, expression pulled into one of distaste. "Pretty dang low."

"And the cowboy," The swordsman shot back. "I was kind of hoping not to have to see… that again." He waved his hand in her face, frowning. She quickly lashed out, slapping the offending limb away. He pulled back, wincing. "Come on, Carmine, come on!"

Shinai stepped between them, stony, cold eyes washing over his team. Without a word spoken, he began to ascend the steps. The two chippier members of the team stilled uncertainly, sharing a quick look as Ulysses marched passed them. The samurai shook Ozpin's outstretched hand, bowing lowly.

"Congratulation, Master Kyani," The professor said, offering a slight head nod of his own. "Your own master would be proud of you."

"…Thank you." Shinai said quietly as he walked evenly towards the back of the stage.

The other three members followed after their leader, the Professor giving Oracle a warm smile, handshake, and congratulations; opting to simply give Ulysses a respectful nod; and as he shook Lance's hand, his grip tightened slightly, staring over the spectacles perched onto his nose curiously. "I am excited to see what you do here, Mr. Zaffre."

The swordsman looked between their outstretched hands, then back to the Professor, beginning to slowly wander passed him. "…Thanks…" He began the march to join his teammates, giving Ozpin a confused look. The headmaster, for his part, had already turned away, looking back down to his tablet.

"And what was that?" Oracle muttered, giving him a suspicious side-eye.

"…It rhymes with shmone-ya-shmusiness." He shot back quietly.

"I severely dislike you, boy."

"It's alright, I only date sevens and up anyways."

Her hand tightened around the revolver at her hip, eyes narrowing, daring him to say another word.

"Carmine, Zaffre," Shinai cut in, voice clipped, his form stock-still, gaze forwards. "Be respectful." His tone left no room for argument, never offering his teammates a single glance.

Lance's eyes narrowed onto his leader, but he closed his mouth nonetheless, hands folding behind his head as he leaned backwards, chewing on the rapidly staling piece of gum in his mouth.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forwards, you will work together as Team JNPR," Ozpin continued.

The crowd applauded as the quartet picked their way through the crowd, the latter girl- a shorter, muscular ginger haired huntress, dressed heavily in pink and pastel blue- excitedly hugging the latter boy- a taller, thinner boy, dark haired, dressed in ornate green and gold, Jaune and Pyrrha bringing up the rear behind them.

Daria gave a small, but supportive smile as she watched her old classmate go, clapping as the redhead ascended the steps.

"Led by Jaune Arc." Ozpin finished.

Daria's smile slowly fell, replaced by one of confusion; a sentiment shared by the crowd, the raucous applause- mostly aimed towards Pyrrha- quieting slightly. Jaune himself froze in his tracks, blinking owlishly as he pointed to himself, staring at the Professor with a blank stare.

Pyrrha though, good-naturedly bumped her shoulder into his; and sent him stumbling, nearly to the ground, the crowd taking the opportunity to laugh at his expense, the mood in the room returning to its congratulatory air. The four huntsmen marched to join their fellow students in the back, the elite huntress giving her new leader some reassuring words.

"That's weird." Nash mumbled quietly, leaning against his partner, arms crossed over his chest.

Daria snorted, shaking her head. "Yeah. Yeah it is."

"I mean, i's Pyrrha fricking Nikos."

"Yep."

"She's, like, the best huntress of all time."

"Uh huh."

"She's even on cereal boxes! Now I want some Pumpkin Pete's."

"We'll get you some Pumpkin Pete's, Nash."

"Hehe, yay."

Ozpin turned back forwards, looking back down to his tablet. "Rainier Platina. Nash Aspis. Daria Copper. Gale Cerulean. You all retrieved the white queen pieces. From this day forwards, you will work as Team DRGN,"

Daria, her partner in step, began to push their way through the crowd to join their new teammates at the foot of the stage- she, though, slowed, face falling into one of contemplation, eyebrows furrowing. "…D-R-G-N?"

"Led by Daria Copper."

She froze in her tracks entirely, mouth falling agape.

Nash blinked, doing a double take behind him at his leader. "…Wait… you're Daria Copper!" He let out an over-dramatic gasp, hands flying to his cheeks, eyes snapping wide open.

She wasn't given a chance to recover, as gut-busting, cackling laughter called out from the side; Rainier had stepped into view, tears welling in his eyes, doubled over in genuine hysterics. He raised a hand and pointed to her, disbelievingly, his laughter trailing off into small chuckles and giggles.

"You?!"

His laughter came anew as he began to walk passed her, making his way up the steps. Daria simply continued to stand and blink, Gail passing her, giving her a small, supportive smile. Her partner began to walk backwards, shocked gaze still locked onto her, awkwardly finding his way up the stairs.

The newly minted leader of DRGN shakily began to walk forwards to join her teammates, dragging herself forwards, warm gaze locked onto the ground, a machine-gun fire of questions whispered under her breath in disbelief. When her eyes met the well-shined black shoes of the headmaster, she slowly brought her attention back up to his face, her expression and body-language asking her pressing question silently.

He extended his hand to hers- reaching down to take it when she didn't immediately react- shaking it. "Congratulations, Miss Copper. You may have several questions-"

"Why."

"-But my decision is final. I picked you for a reason," He gave her a wink. "Don't let me down."

And without another word, Ozpin turned back forwards, beginning to list off another group of names. She continued to stare at him, until Nash latched onto her, bodily dragging her away.

"This is gonna be amazing!" He squeaked out excitedly. "You're going to be the bestest leader ever, aaah!"

Her shell-shocked gaze finally turned to him, then to the other members of her team, Rainier finally managing to wipe the tears from his eyes, taking a deep breath in.

He smirked down at her. "He is correct about one thing- this is going to be beyond amazing."

She said nothing, taking her place at the front of her team, looking down lines and huddles of over huntsmen, taking each group- and their leaders- in. Her gaze met Pyrrha's, and the redheaded huntress smiled brightly, giving her old classmate double thumbs up, mouthing 'congrats!'. Jaune, similarly, leaned off, giving her an understanding, flat stare of his own, nodding solemnly.

'I know,' he mouthed. 'I know.'

The world came crashing back to Daria, and her shoulders slumped, a heavy, disappointed groan escaping her lips, her face buried into her hands.

Rainier clapped a hand onto her shoulder, nodding as he stared out at the auditorium. "Cheer up, Dearest Daria, it could be worse… you could be that Arc boy."

Another groan spilled out from her, the girl dropping into a crouch, dwelling in her own misery, even as the faunus beside her grinned broadly.

"And finally; Blake Belladonna," Ozpin began. "Weiss Schnee. Ruby Rose. Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forwards, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by Ruby Rose."

Oracle's eyes went wide, stiffening like she was struck by lightning. Without much ceremony, she began to push her way passed her team and the other assorted students around, trying desperately to reach the front of the crowd now gathered onto the stage, peering anxiously over and around anyone in her way.

Her eyes caught a flash of bright yellow, a buzzing streak of red.

"Git- get outta the way!" She snapped, trying to muscle her way forwards.

"That will be all, students," Ozpin called, shifting his attention back and forth between the remnants of the crowd below, and the huntsmen behind him. "For you first-year students, the location and keycards for your dorms will be given to you on your exit. For all second to fourth year students, you will be returning to your previous dorms. I wish you all good luck for this term; your first sessions will begin tomorrow morning. This promises to be an interesting year."

Oracle let out a growl of frustration as the assorted teams began to file away, the auditorium ceasing its respectful silence, a loud hubbub rolling across the stage as the large hall began to empty out.

"Cowboy," Lance called out, getting her attention to turn back to him. "Get a move on, I wanna see what kinda seventh heaven of a room these people set us up with!"

Her gaze turned back to the whirring crowd around her, the brief flashes of familiarity lost among the sea of excited faces. Finally, she slumped in resignation, turning to follow the rest of her team out into the cool night air, the pillar of black that signified Ulysses already well ahead of her other teammates.

Shinai extended a hand to her as she joined him and the swordsman outside, an electronic keycard and a small piece of paper held between his fingers. She took it with a cocked eyebrow, looking over the slip, neat, printed letters inked against its surface.

"Our dorm room, academic, and weapon locker numbers," He clarified stiffly. "You will be meeting Ebony at the room." He turned to march onwards, his pace even and formal.

Oracle and Lance exchanged a quick glance, before the latter stopped in his tracks, folding his arms across his chest. "And where are you going?"

The samurai stopped, turning to give his teammates a quick, flat stare. "…I'm going for a walk."

He left without another word, both hands resting peacefully on the hilt of his katana.

The two remaining members of the newly minted SOUL watched him go for a moment. Lance rolled his eyes, taking off after Ulysses. "You do what you want, I'm going to bed."

Oracle stared after him quietly, idly reaching into her pocket, fishing out her own electronic Scroll, green eyes staring down at its screen debatingly. Finally, she let out a sigh, pocketing it, following her other teammates away, hands buried in her pockets, gaze turned upwards to the shattered moon hanging high above.

"Sword guy!" Nash called out, his teammates jumping at the random outburst from the young huntsman.

Similarly, Lance also jolted, turning on his heel in surprise, hands raised in a fighting stance. His shock faded, eyes looking over Team DRGN, settling onto Nash. "…Do I know you?"

"I was the suit boy! When we were fighting the monkey-ape-gorilla-thing!" The smaller blonde said, rushing over to the swordsman's side, Oracle catching up to them.

"…Honestly, you weren't what I was expecting," He looked the boy up and down again, before a smirk crawled across his face. "…But I think I will call you mini-me."

Nash let out a gasp, eyes twinkling as he stared up at Lance.

"Zaffre," Oracle muttered. "Don't be an ass to him, he's a cinnamon roll."

"My mama always said I was sweet." The boy said, his attention turning quickly to the gunslinger, shifting bashfully under the attention.

She reached out, grabbing his face playfully. "Boy, you are just too pure for this world."

He giggled, shimmying gleefully. Like a switch, however, his gaze turned to the retreating back to Ulysses, another gasp escaping him. "Big angry guy! You were great! You were like phwoah! I wanna fight more stuff with you!"

The hulking huntsman stopped in his place, looking at Nash out of the corner of his eye, dark gaze far from impressed. Wordlessly, he continued to stalk away from the group, steadfastly heading towards the dormitories.

"What kinda soulless being could resist this cutie?" Oracle muttered, reaching out to hug the boy against her.

Lance shook his head, his gaze turning to the rest of DRGN. "I dunno who rigged this chit, but I kinda find it hard to believe we all made the same teams."

"Well," Rainier said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I had suggested to our dear Daria here what piece to choose from the temple-"

"And what a great idea that was." His leader mumbled, irritated gaze turning to the side.

"-But yes, I agree. Rather… providential, no?"

"Whatever you say, wolf," Lance said, turning his gaze away. "I still want that match with you."

"Just say when." Rainier said, smile twisting, voice lowering.

"You'll know when."

The duo stared off for a long moment, Daria looking back and forth between them, face slowly twisting into a frown. "I… uh… I don't… know what's going on here."

The stare-off continued for another beat- before Rainier's face brightened again. "Oh, do not worry about it, dearest Daria, simply… making new friends."

"Heh… yeah… friends." Lance managed to chuckle out between grit teeth.

Oracle rolled her eyes, releasing her grip on Nash, beginning to march away from the other students. "Yeah, aight. You do whatever you want, little weirdo. Nice seein' y'all again. We'll do lunch some time." With a wave, she began to meander after Ulysses.

The swordsman rolled his eyes, combing his hair back before folding his hands behind his head. "Well… both duty and hicks call. Catch ya later, DRGN."

"Until next time." Rainier said, bowing slightly.

"Deuces." With that, he left, leaving the four remaining students alone in the dark, a breeze washing over them.

"I'm going," Daria muttered. "Uh… we're going. If you want. To the dorm."

The faunus gave a chortle, looking out over the well-lit campus. "I would rather go for a walk- and that is exactly what I'm going to do. I pray you find our room in a timely manner. Hasta la proxima, mis amigos." The wolf sashayed away- with Nash in tow, the boy's blue eyes locked onto his teammates leg and tail, wide with fascination.

"Oh, cool!" Daria called out after them. "Just leave us to find it, by ourselves, whatever!" She shook her head as the duo disappeared into the night. She turned her gaze to Gail, an eyebrow cocked- the archer flinched reflexively at the sudden attention. "You're… Gail?"

"Uh- y-yeah. Gail. Cerulean."

"…Daria."

"N-nice to, um… meet you."

The huntresses stood awkwardly for a moment. The leader of DRGN groaned quietly, taking off towards the dormitories. "You ever feel like you made a big mistake, Gail?"

"Uh… y-yes?"

"Cool… glad we're on the same page."

"And then I then I was like 'try me' and then I slammed 'im into the ground, like, a dozen times, and yeah, it was great!"

Rainier let out a chuckle at the boy beside him, Nash bouncing around his teammate, bursting with energy. "How fascinating, my little friend. And this… Phalanx, was it?"

"Yeah! Watch!"

"…Watch?"

With one swift motion, Nash ripped his Scroll free from his pocket, a flurry of buttons being pushed. The faunus stared at him in confusion for a long moment.

The confusion faded as the distant sounds of roaring fire became apparent… then became increasingly louder. With a roar of jet-fire and shifting metal, Phalanx came crashing down beside the two huntsmen, shattering the concrete tile below, and getting Rainier to jump in shock.

"Aha!" He laughed out, slightly nervously, looking the mech up and down. "Yes! Phalanx."

"Uh huh!" Nash called, scaling the machine quickly. "He's great!"

"Yes, I can-" Rainier began.

"And just what is the meaning of this?!" A voice cried out, filled with indignation.

Both members of DRGN turned their heads curiously, picking out the source of the call; four huntresses were walking up to them, the source of the fury storming ahead of her teammates; short and slight, skin, eyes, and fashionable clothes all incredibly pale, her hair an even lighter color than Rainier's own, a splash of red the only color marking her.

"I'm not quite certain what you mean." Rainier said, crossing his arms, leaning against Phalanx.

"You two Neanderthals nearly gave us a heart attack!" She spat back, marching up directly into the faunus' face.

"'M sorry," Nash muttered abashedly, head bowed. "I didn' mean to."

"Aw," One of the other huntresses cooed; taller and more muscular than the rest, dressed in brown leathers, her hair long and blonde. "Look at him! How could you be mad at that!"

"Cute or not, it is a breach in both protocol and professionalism!"

"May I ask who exactly you are?" Rainier said, tilting his head to the side.

The shortest of the quartet rolled her eyes with a sigh, gleaming silver in color- her hair dark, matching the majority black of her clothes, highlighted in red. "Oh, here we go."

"Who am I?" The pale girl snapped. "You don't know who I am?"

The faunus shrugged. "As well as you know not who I am."

Her gaze shifted down to the tail hanging behind him, eyes narrowing as her arms crossed over her chest. "Oh. I know exactly what you are."

Rainier stiffened- matching the reaction of the huntress bringing up the rear of the quartet, her own golden eyes shooting to the forerunner of the confrontation; she was similarly dressed in black, skin a shade darker than her teammates, hair long, black and wavy, a like-wise shaded bowtie sitting perched on her head, almost comically large.

The faunus looked the huntress before him up and down, recognition slowly filling his face. "Well- if you are aware of what I am, you may as well be aware of who I am," He took a step back, bowing lowly with a flourish. "You may call me Rainier Platina of Vacuo, formerly of Oasis Academy, son of Leonardo and Camilla Platina, brother to the White Wolf of Vacuo. How do you do?"

The pale huntress' scowl slowly faded as he prattled on, leaning back again, looking his form up and down with newfound interest, almost reassessing him. "Oh. Well," She cleared her throat, straightening up formally. "I am Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy repellant on Remnant." She gave him a slight curtsy back.

"Oh, I know," He smiled at her. "My family bought Dust from yours, once upon a time."

She blinked in surprise. "Oh! Well- of course, if your family had the sense to do so."

His smile didn't fade. "Once upon a time. Unfortunately, as the heralded Schnee Dust Company experienced a change in… management, shall we say, and the knowledge of both your family's mistreatment of my kind as well as the sudden loss of your backbone became common knowledge, the Platinas of Vacuo, as well as most of Vacuo in particular, ceased to have… well, anything to do with you and yours. Oh, yes, Miss Schnee. I am well aware of your family."

The pale huntress' face slowly reddened, hands tightening into fists at her side, fury filling her expression. She took a hard step forwards, leaning up into his face- his expression still cool as ever- preparing to retort, before the blonde stepped between them, pushing Weiss back.

"Aaand that's enough of that. You two fight whenever you want, but right now- I really wanna go to bed." She said, looking back and forth between the two scions.

Rainier shrugged, peering around the huntress. "I meant no offense, of course, Miss Schnee; I saw an opportunity to educate you on matters outside your purview and took it. No harm intended, and no offense taken, yes?"

"Do not talk to me." The heiress hissed back, stepping away from him, withdrawing from the conversation.

The blonde watched her go, leaning into Rainier conspiratorially. "…That was pretty awesome," She muttered quietly, before taking a step back, extending her hand. "Yang Xiao Long. Nice to meet ya."

"You already heard the spiel," The faunus said, taking the hand; lifting it to his mouth to plant a kiss on the back. "You, however, may call me Rainier. That is one Nash Aspis, and that-" He turned to the mech. "Is Phalanx."

Yang leaned away from him, looking between him and her hand in slight impressment. "Mr. Old School over here. That's Ruby and Blake." She said, gesturing to the red-clad and black-clad huntresses in turn.

"Hi." Ruby managed, giving him a small, nervous wave.

"That was quite the speech," Blake added, smiling to him. "I've actually heard of the Platinas. You have a very respected family."

"To some," Rainier said, smile thinning slightly. "Nevertheless, you-" He pointed to Ruby. "I recognize!"

"Oh! You- you, uh, do?" She asked, frowning in confusion.

"You were hanging from that Nevermore today, in the forest! You and Miss Schnee."

"Oh," She rubbed the back of her neck, laughing nervously, eyes shifting over to the confused face of Yang. "You, uh… saw that."

"It was quite a sight. I'm impressed with the audacity."

"It was, uh… not really a choice we... intentionally made."

"Is your friend alright?" Blake cut in, gesturing towards the other side of Phalanx; Nash was leaning against his mech, his body limp, head dropped backwards, snoring loudly.

"I…" Rainier kicked the boy, getting him to jolt awake.

"'M UP, 'm awa…" His head began to lean to the side again, quickly drifting off back to sleep.

"I… he is still a puzzle to me," The faunus muttered. "I believe that that is my cue to be off," He bowed lowly to the trio of huntresses. "Goodnight, Team RWBY. And do tell Miss Schnee that it was a pleasure to make her acquaintance."

"Oh, sure, that'll go over well. Nice meetin' ya, Rainier." Yang muttered, the huntresses beginning to march off after their departing teammate.

"Goodnight." Ruby muttered quietly.

"It was good to meet you." Blake said with a small smile- and the trio were gone.

Rainier watched them leave for a quiet moment, before nudging Nash. "Come then, my friend. Let us depart for our room."

He nodded sleepily, barely registering the words spoken. Sluggishly, he began to climb Phalanx, dropping like dead weight into the opening at the top. After a moment, the mech began marching, the distinct sound of Nash snoring loudly emanating from its core.

The faunus shook his head, hands burying into his pockets as the duo began to make their way to their dorm room, the shattered moon shining brightly high above them.

The teammates marched along quietly for a few moments, the night silent outside of the loud, rhythmic sounds of Phalanx's movements. Rainier's gaze dropped from the starry sky above, his gaze scanning over the campus around them- before settling on something in the distance, his gait slowing.

His yellow gaze turned to Phalanx- and he began to peel away from his teammate, turning to walk away from the massive dormitories looming ahead of them.

Shinai stepped forwards silently, his eyes closed as he walked onwards, breathing the cool spring air in soothingly, his boots clacking against the concrete tiles beneath him. His non sword hand rested on his katana's hilt, idly sliding it in and out of its sheathe comfortingly.

Reality whirred back to him as he suddenly stopped in place, teetering forwards slightly as a shocked gasp greeted him. His eyes snapped open as he looked to the person he'd been moments away from crashing into.

Pyrrha backstepped quickly, her hand to her chest as she looked him over. "Ah, I'm so sorry, I hadn't seen you there!"

He bowed his head slightly. "No, I was the one not looking. I apologize."

They locked gazes for a moment, and quickly, recognition flooded through them. Pyrrha's face lit up in shock. "Kyani!"

"Pyrrha Nikos." He returned, bowing lowly to her.

"It's been some time!"

"It has."

"Not since-"

"Our finalist fight, no."

"The Mistral Regionals, yes. How have you been?"

"I've… I have been alright. Thank you." He said as they began to walk alongside each other, heading towards one of the railings that overlooked the lower level of the campus, an ornate fountain trickling calmly down below.

"I… hadn't expected you of all people would come to Beacon," She said, looking him over. "At all, actually."

"It… circumstances change."

Her face split into a warm smile. "Well, it's good to see you, Mr. Kyani. You look..." She trailed off, unsure of her words. "Better! Healthier."

"You as well. I... am, better. Thank you. Your record is still undefeated?"

"I-" Her face began to redden. "I had-"

He shook his head. "I'm not bitter about our match. You were the better huntress. I acknowledge that. At the time, I acted unbecomingly. I apologize for that. I was just… curious."

She let out a small sound of understanding, head falling. "Well… yes. I am… still undefeated!" Her tone came across strained. He nodded in understanding of his own, gaze turning out towards the horizon. "…Trouble sleeping?"

Shinai sighed. "No, I…" He trailed off as distant whistling began to cut through the air like a song. After a moment, the sound was joined by the uneven clatter of steel on concrete interspersed with the familiar padding of sneakers. The two warriors turned curiously, watching as Rainier walked up to them, his eyes turning from the night sky to their faces.

A smile split his face, bright with recognition. "Ah!" He called out. "Pyrrha Nikos and Shinai Kyani."

"Kyani Shinai." The samurai shot back evenly.

"Of course, of course."

"I'm… sorry," Pyrrha said, tone thick with embarrassment. "You know who I am, but… I don't know who you are."

He cleared his throat, bowing with a flourish. "Rainier Platina, son of Leonardo and Camilla Platina, brother to the White Wolf of Vacuo, son of the house of Platina, and favorite son of Vacuo. It's a pleasure."

Pyrrha looked over to Shinai with an unsure smile, the samurai shaking his head. "It's… a pleasure to meet you too, Rainier."

He rose back to his feet, looking back and forth between them. "I knew I recognized you in the forest, Mr. Kyani! It was a privilege to fight alongside you," The samurai's gaze fell to him, offering a small nod, but otherwise quiet. "Even I, a… backwoods Vacuoan know of your legends. Your records speak for themselves, of course."

"You know quite a lot about professional fighting then?" Pyrrha said, leaning against the railing.

"Of course! My name may be buried in the far reaches of the desert, but I'm far from ignorant when it comes to individuals who rival my prowess, such as yourselves. Yet, here we stand; a Mistrali, a Vacuoan, and a samurai. Three of the most talented fighters in our generation."

That drew a small, surprised laugh from Pyrrha. "You're very modest, Rainier!"

"Don't be naïve, my dear Miss Nikos," The Vacuoan said. "You two speak for yourselves, of course, you need not a poor faunus to tell you of your own skill. Myself, however…" His expression turned smug. "You will have to excuse my own braggadocio, but I would comfortably place myself amongst you two- no disrespect to either of you, of course. We may well be alone as the top students in this school."

Pyrrha shook her head, the warmth slightly fading from her face, gaze quickly shooting to Shinai, then back to Rainier. "Braggadocio is a… good word for it. What... do you mean by 'top students'?"

"We are being assessed at all times, don't misunderstand that. Most of the faculty here would more than likely admit to it, if you simply asked. Are we being ranked? Most likely. I'm not sure of you, but I more than intend to keep a top position, no?"

The lone huntress among the trio sighed, giving him a small smile. "I hadn't expected you to be quite so… cynical."

He shrugged, straightening back up. "It's quite a good approach to staying alive, I admit. I would recommend you both make that decision as well. It would go a long way in getting us through these next four years, and onwards," He looked between the two huntsmen, before beginning to turn away. "Ah, but it is far late, and I should make sure my… 'competent' teammates haven't gotten lost. Miss Nikos; Mr. Shinai. I bid you goodnight." He bowed again, before turning sharply on his heel, a satisfied smile planted on his face as he made his way back into the night.

"I should be going as well," Pyrrha said, looking to her old rival. "Don't stay up too late, Shinai."

"Of course." The samurai muttered.

"Goodnight. It's good to see you again."

He gave her a nod as she turned to follow after the faunus. His gaze turned back to the horizon, not moving an inch. "Likewise, Nikos. Likewise."