Chapter 5: New Friends
Kaede and Aiko were the first on the platforms...but they weren't alone.
"Ah, you must be Takada sisters." Headmaster Ozpin said as they took their positions on the platforms that they realized were meant to catapult them into the waiting forest below.
"There's no reason to stand there for an hour, and it will be so long before everyone is ready." Ozpin pointed out, taking another sip from his coffee mug.
"Uh, with all due respect sir, we want to hold our spots." Kaede said, trying to avoid conversation.
"I'll keep your positions reserved, please." Ozpin pressed on until, feeling defeated, Kaede stepped off the platform followed by a less reluctant Aiko who stepped between the inquisitive Headmaster and her close friend who masqueraded as her sister.
"Greetings Headmaster Ozpin, I'm Aiko Takada and this is my sister, Kaede, we're grateful for your accepting us into your academy." Aiko said, bowing respectfully.
"My my, rather formal aren't you, I assure you that your capabilities have far more to do with you being here than my opinion of you." Ozpin replied, Kaede didn't quite believe that.
"Oh, of course, I apologize, it's just how I was raised." Aiko replied while rubbing the back of her head, two years in Remnant may have done away with Japanese suffixes, but the way she addresses her Sensei remain the same, old habits die hard.
"It's quite all right, and please, just call me Ozpin." The Headmaster smiled genuinely enough.
The two of them went back and forth for awhile, Kaede kept to herself, and every time someone looked to take their spots, the Headmaster dissuaded them.
50 minutes later, Ozpin's Right Hand, Glynda Goodwitch, informed Ozpin that it was time to begin and the girls took their places.
"...For years, you have trained to become warriors, today your abilities will be tested in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin began a speech to the assembled students.
"Now, I'm sure many of you had heard rumors regarding teams.." Miss Goodwitch took over.
"Well, allow me to end your confusion, each of you will be given teammates, Today." She continued before Ozpin took over.
"These teammates will be working with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well..." Kaede gulped at that, she knew it would be a team of four, and she hoped beyond hope that nothing would separate her from Aiko.
"...That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing shall be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin concluded, to several people exclaiming in shock, and while Kaede didn't join them verbally, she joined them in spirit.
"After you've partnered up, make your to the Northern end of the forest..." Ozpin continued.
"...You will meet opposition along the way, do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path...or you will die." At Ozpin's final words, Kaede felt something stir inside, the whisper of her other self, reveling in the coming slaughter, Kaede herself despised how she instinctively enjoyed such horrible things, but couldn't deny the fact that tearing living beings limb from bloody limb made her feel alive, and she guiltily missed it during her two years of training.
"Now, are there any questions?" Ozpin inquired, someone tried to ask something but Ozpin didn't seem to hear. "Good, now, take your positions."
If anything else happened, Kaede and Aiko were left out, as they were the first ones to be launched into the Emerald Forest by the catapulting platforms.
Kaede kept a close eye on where Aiko flew off and saw her release the ice Dust in her Naginata to activate her Semblance as she crashed into several trees, shattering them into saw dust.
Kaede waited until she was in reach of the treetops and grabbed them with her vectors, she grabbed a second tree across from her, halting her descent completely, and then started transitioning from treetop to treetop in Aiko's direction as fast as she could.
She could see the start of her crash line from her vantage point, when she heard someone scream "LOOK OUT!!"
She turned to the scream just in time for another student who had been launched into the forest to crash right into her, sending them both tumbling down to the ground below.
Kaede saw the ground rising fast to meet her and threw her vectors down to break her fall.
The attempt was successful...until the other student fell on her back.
The other student quickly scrambled off of the diclonius and grabbed her arm to pull her up. "OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODIMSORRYSOSOSORRYITRIEDTOWARNYOUBUTITWASTOOLATEOHMYGODIMSOSORRY..." The student, a young boy with tan skin and short red hair and golden eyes apologized frantically, until Kaede cupped her hand over his mouth to silence him.
Kaede inhaled and exhaled, taking in her situation, before finally speaking. "It would appear...that we are teammates."
Kaede removed her hand, and the boy looked down shamefully, Kaede sized him up, he was shorter than her by half a foot, dressed in armor that looked like it could expand for some reason and had a symbol on the breastplate that looked like a roaring lion, weapons wise, he had golden gauntlets with twin gun barrels atop the wrists.
The boy looked up at her, no longer muttering apologies but still blushing in embarrassment. "I, uh guess we should look for the temple now, huh?"
Kaede pondered this for a moment. "...Not yet, I need to find my..sister first."
"Oh, okay, lead the way um... what's your name?" The boy asked.
"Kaede, and what's yours?"
"Simba."
Elsewhere
Aiko twirled her Naginata over her head and cut down another Beowolf, taking a brief moment to curse her luck for landing right in the middle of a pack before impaling the next Grimm that charged her.
She pulled her weapon back and poised it to turn in any direction as the remaining seven Beowolves circled her, looking for an opportunity.
The largest of them, an alpha, roared and charged, Aiko turned to meet it, only for a second one to lunge at her back.
Aiko shrank her Naginata to a short sword and turned and beheaded the Grimm, but was too slow to meet the alpha, who knocked her weapon from her hand.
Aiko fell backwards to the ground, crawling away as the Grimm advanced, it was over, she was going to die on her first day, the only thing keeping her from feeling shame was the terror that constricted her as the alpha raised its claws.
It's attention was stolen by hoots and hollers of a...tribal nature.
Jumping from behind Aiko was another student dressed in black with two tomahawks who landed between the two and rolled into the alpha's guard with his weapons ready.
The newcomer slashed his axes across the beasts stomach and, as it recoiled, leapt to his feet from the kneeling position he landed in and brought his weapons down on the alpha's head.
Two gunshots erupted where the axes struck and the alpha fell dead, the pack surged.
Aiko rolled out of the way of an attacking Beowolf and reclaimed her weapon still in it's sword form, she elongated it and beheaded the Beowolf with an overhead spin.
The last four dog piled on the other student who fended them off with turning hacks and spin kicks, hooting all the while.
Two Beowolves died and two survived, backing off to escape death, or so they thought.
The student's tomahawks compacted into boxy revolvers and he aimed one each at the last two Beowolves, shooting them both in the head simultaneously.
He then turned to Aiko and, in one fluid motion, aimed a pistol and fired.
Aiko barely realized what just happened before she heard a thump behind her, a Beowolf she hadn't seen coming at her exposed back lied dead, a hole right between it's eyes.
The student twirled his pistols a few times before holstering them at his side, he then pulled up a hat that hung his neck and put it on his head.
His hat was pitch black, as was pretty much all of his clothes, he wore a vest and pants that looked like colored deer hide, but his boots and belt seemed less tribal but not quite modern.
"Howdy." He said, tipping his hat to Aiko. "Looks like you and me are partners now little lady, name's Oliver."
Author's Note:
And there it is, the Disney character is Simba, and the two American warrior types is Cowboys and Indians (figured that one would be obvious)
I'm a little disappointed that no one tried to guess, but maybe you'd all care to take a jab at what their team name would be?
You'll find out in a chapter or two, as well as see their Semblances in action, that's all I got for y'all this time, enjoy.