Before this chapter begins, let me make one thing clear.

Only the V1 characters are in Remnant.

The V2 and V3 characters are still on Earth.

Let me repeat that.

Only the V1 characters are in Remnant.

So any ships with Makoto featuring a non-V1 character is automatically rejected. The only choices are Mukuro, Sayaka, or both.

In other words, no Kaede Akamatsu, so stop asking.

Speaking of who, I'm making a poll to decide how the relationship will go. You'll see it real soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

With that out of the way, let's get to the chapter!

Chapter 3: Fortune Favors the Bold

"Why hurt someone who's only intention was to love you?"

-Unknown

The first thing the former Class 78 did when they stepped off the Bullhead was stare at the massive castle that was Beacon Academy. And who wouldn't? The Academy itself took up an entire cliffside overlooking the city, with an emerald spire in the very center of the campus. The Academy had four wings, each pointing towards a cardinal direction, with a large mechanical tower with an antenna sticking out of the top near the center of the campus. In addition to that, there were four monoliths built directly between the four wings, built at the northwest, northeast, south east, and southwest respectively, and each monolith had some sort of element coming out of the.

The northeast element had fire and smoke coming out of it, and there were the distant sounds of hammers hitting metal, suggesting that it was a forge. The northwest tower air billowing out of it in large gales, and students seemed to be heading in with supplies and their weapons, muttering something about 'landing strategies'. The southwest tower had earth and flowers running up the side, and if one looked closely, there were flowers and crops growing within the tower, suggesting that it was a garden. The southeast tower...was a giant swimming pool. It was pretty obvious, with students wearing bathing suits walking inside.

All in all, Beacon Academy was like a holy combination of a luxury resort, a castle, a private university, and a town.

"It...It's beautiful..." Celeste said, tears in her eyes as she fell to her knees, "And I'm gonna be living here..."

"Uh...Celeste?" Leon said.

"My dream has been fulfilled..." Celeste continued, ignoring Leon, "I can now die happily..." Junko perked up.

"Is that an offer I hear?" She asked, and Celeste momentarily broke out of her trance to glare at her before returning to staring at the campus.

"Uuuhhh...should we just leave her for now?" Yasuhiro asked, coughing into his fist awkwardly.

"...Yeah, she'll be fine. Come on, let's go."

"Headmaster, the Bullheads have docked and dropped off the last of the students." Glynda told Ozpin, as they briskly walked towards Beacon's amphitheater. It was almost time for the speech and both faculty members were extremely wary of the new freshmen. At least, they were wary of certain individuals amongst the freshmen. It was understandable, with the Queen suddenly beginning to mobilize.

"Excellent," Ozpin replied, in a tone that suggested it wasn't the least bit excellent, " And what of the 'surprises'?"

"Security cameras have caught them wandering the campus as soon the Bullhead opened it's doors. One of them seems to be reverently gazing at the academy, however..." Ozpin stopped, and cocked an eyebrow at this, "Yes, unbelievable as it may seem, she's been doing it for the last five minutes now. Another of the 'surprises' seems to be re-reading the Beacon rulebook, with two others. A pompadoured boy and a girl, by the looks of it."

"The majority of them are heading for—oh dear." Glynda couldn't keep the look of nervousness off her face, "It seems that the group is branching off to explore. There are currently a boy and two girls heading for Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc, two girls and a...man? They're heading for the swimming pool, while another boy and girl pair are headed towards Weiss Schnee. Other than that, the rest of the group seems to be continuing towards the amphitheater."

"Thank you, Glynda," Ozpin replied, "I suppose we can hold the speech off until they all arrive. Keep note of their movements. We have a silver-eyes warrior and half of the Fall Mantle on site. We cannot let them fall into enemy hands."

Ruby Rose whined as she laid on the ground, her eyes closed. Not even five minutes, and she had already managed to somehow cause a massive Dust explosion, make some princess angry, and she was still lost.

"Need a hand?" Ruby opened her eyes to see a blonde boy with a chestplate and a sword and sheath holding his hand out towards her. Graciously, she grabbed the hand and pulled herself up, dusting her skirt off. Turning to look at the boy who helped him, she looked a bit more closely.

"...Aren't you the guy who threw up on the Bullhead?" The boy's expression immediately fell, and he hung his head. Before he could reply, they heard laughter from nearby, and turned, where a pair of girls were bent over laughing, and a brown-haired boy was trying to get them to stop.

"C-Come on, you two. Imagine if that had happened to you! Leave the poor guy alone..." He tried, vainly.

"B-But he...vomited on...Junko's-Hhahahaha!" One of the girls cut herself off, laughing hysterically. The other was too busy gasping for air to say anything.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up...It's motion sickness, OK?" The blonde boy tried to reason, only reinvigorating the laughter, as he sighed.

"And remind me why I have to go with you two again?" Junko sneered as she was herded towards the swimming pool by Aoi and Sakura. Makoto had tasked the two with supervising her if case she tried anything, which, in fact...she was kind of thinking.

What? She wanted to test the campus'...er, durability! Yeah. Durability. That was definitely what she wanted to test.

Quickly moving away from that train of thought, she entered the monolith, to the biggest swimming pool she had ever seen, and that was including Hope's Peak Academy's pool, which took up at least 3 acres of land alone. Junko still wondered how the hell the architects had managed to build that monstrosity in one month. Now, she was openly staring at the building-sized manmade lake, while Aoi had switched from a stern glare at Junko to a childish squeal of pure joy. She had been about to leap into the pool when Sakura had grabbed a handful of her shirt, dragging her away.

"Not yet, Aoi. After we become students first. Then we can swim." She said. Aoi whined, but nodded, turning away. Junko began to scoff, before something caught her eye.

"Is that..." She began to ask, and both Aoi and Sakura turned to look at her, before following her gaze.

At first, they saw nothing but the still surface of the pool water. They stared for a few more seconds, before growing impatient. Just when they were about to turn away, however, something burst from the water, taking large gulps of air in as they floated. After stretching in the water, they began to swim, and holy shit they were fast.

In the blink of an eye, the figure had swam 5 feet to the side of the pool and pulled themselves out. At first, they seemed to a regular human, but their skin seemed to glint in the light, and they were dressed in swimming shorts. It was when Junko waved at the figure, who perked up and waved back, walking over to them, was when they got a good look at them. They had golden scales running down their sides and up parts of their upper arms, and they seemed...fairly androgynous. Quite feminine, actually. Which didn't help the fact that they were topless and many people, boys and girls were staring at them.

"Heeey~! Kin~! Over here~" Aoi and Sakura gawked at the sudden change of tone Junko had went through. Even in the killing game, they had never seen Junko use that kind of voice, "I managed to get in after all!~"

"Oh my God, yes! I knew you could do it!" The figure, Kin, crowed, high-fiving Junko as they (seriously, what gender were they?!) stopped , drying their golden-blonde hair with a towel, "Just thought I'd get a little swimming in before the speech. People kept talking about the pool and I got curious."

"Really?~ My friends had actually wanted to check out the pool, too, so I came with them~" Aoi looked at her incredulously, but a quick glare shut her up fast, "Wanna walk with us? Once you've changed, of course."

"Yeah, sure, I'll be right back." With that, Kin walked off, humming to himself, happy about something. As soon as he, if she was guessing right, and that was the 'prince' Junko had found (but good God, was he feminine as hell), was out of earshot, she whirled around.

"What the hell was that?!" She asked.

"What the hell was what?"

"Don't play dumb with us, Junko. That, that cutesy happy voice you had when you talking to them! You never did stuff like that! Hell, you never do anything without a purpose, and usually that purpose is to destroy everything for suffering or cause yourself to suffer. Give me one good reason why I should leave what happened alone right now!"

"I can't analyze him."

"...What?" Aoi gasped out.

"I can't analyze him, or that girl right there, or that boy sitting by the water, or any Hunter or Hunter-in-training there is." Junko continued, a dead serious expression on her face, "Maybe it's Aura, or the fact that I'm virtually an alien here, or some other convoluted reason I can't think of, but somehow, Kin's weirder than the rest. Whenever I look at him with my Semblance on full blast, he only has this sort of odd rippling distortion around him. I think it's related to his Semblance." Her grin turned positively feral, and her eyes seemed to darken, "He interests me. So leave him alone, and let me handle him, OK?~" Even Sakura shivered at the barely concealed malice underneath the sugary sweet words, and nodded. Knowing Junko, she probably already had at least fifteen different backup plans in effect if she refused. At least like this, she wouldn't go on a rampage around Beacon, and Kin did seem to enjoy being around her.

"...Fine," Aoi sighed, and turned, "We'll leave him alone, and keep what we saw from Makoto. Now come on, we gotta go to the opening ceremony."

Weiss Schnee was furious.

After that red-hooded dunce had crashed into her luggage and nearly blew her sky-high, she had been called out by a completely random stranger on her father's despicable methods, and stormed off in fury.

How dare those commoners attempt to degrade her that way?!

"It seems you are angry, miss. What is the matter?" A voice she knew dripped subtle arrogance came from behind her, and she whirled around, to the sight of a blonde boy dressed in designer clothes, with his arms crossed as he sneered at her. The clothes he wore were that of casual clothes, in the form of a green t-shirt, a black vest, and corduroys, yet she could tell that they were high-quality, and probably more expensive then a plot of land based on the material it was made of. Behind him, a girl with glasses and two long braids trailed behind the boy. She wore a light-green strapless dress, made of common cotton, and her mousiness and anxiety seemed to make her seem more awkward an out-of-place, but years of training to be Father's perfect heiress had allowed Weiss to see that the girl was like a willing servant to the boy.

"Why does it matter to you? Who are you, anyways?" She sneered in response. Normally, she would have remembered her formal training, but she was currently too angry to be cordial to a complete stranger. She didn't want to deal with any common rabble at the moment.

"Hmph. I knew you would ask that." The boy pulled out a business card from his right pocket, handing it to her, "I am Byakuya Togami, the Chief Financial Officer of Manning Steelworks, and Mr. Greyson Manning's direct right-hand man. I'm sure your father has spoken of me, Ms. Weiss Schnee of the Schnee Dust Company." She hated how Byakuya spoke at her condescendingly, and how the girl behind him seemed to to swoon at his words.

She also hated how her jaw dropped at the revelation.

Of course her father had spoken of Byakuya Togami. In three months, he had joined near-deficit company Manning Steelworks, quickly climbed the ranks, and secured a high-ranking position, the trust of CEO Greyson Manning, and saved the company from bankruptcy. In the corporate world, he was a living legend. A prodigy capable of managing the finances of a company, no matter how deficit, alone, and triumphing over an impossible financial crisis, despite being only 17 years old. The 'Almighty Treasurer', they called him!

And he was speaking to her right now.

"Oh God." She blurted out.

"Hmph. Now, do you regret talking down so brazenly to Master Byakuya?" The girl said, staring at Weiss with burning eyes.

"Toko," Byakuya said, and the girl's mouth instantly snapped shut, though she still glared at Weiss. Nodding, Byakuya turned back to Weiss, with a stormy frown, "Normally, I would have extended an olive branch in the form of some financial tips for you, but it seems that you do not need my help after all. I will take my leave now." Without waiting for a response, he briskly turned around and walked away, 'Toko' following him.

"Wait!" She called, but he was already out of earshot, and Weiss groaned to herself. Today was just not her day...

"All I'm trying to say is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" Jaune said, trying to gather any remnants of his dignity in an attempt to make himself seem not pathetic. His only response was the would-be students around him laughing even more, and sighed, realizing how futile it was.

"Look, I'm sorry! Vomit By was the first thing that came to mind!" Ruby said, still chuckling.

"Oh yeah? What if I called you Crater Face?"

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!"

Makoto smiled at the playful banter between his new friends, Ruby and Jaune. This was what they should have had for their school year, instead of Junko's machinations. A peaceful school life, filled with laughter and joy. He only hoped everyone would be able to recover and live peacefully in this new world. At the thought, his expression flickered to a frown, before both Mukuro and Sayaka hugged him.

"Don't worry, Makoto. We'll all heal. You can count on it." Sayaka muttered, Mukuro nodding to her words. Makoto closed his eyes and smiled, missing the glare the two girls sent each other.

"Soooo..." Ruby began, before pulling out what looked like the world's coolest lunchbox, and pressing a button on it. The 'lunchbox' unfurled, revealing a mechanical red scythe with a scope and a gun muzzle sticking out of the shaft, "I got this thing!"

Makoto choked on air at the sight of what was basically the Grim Reaper's newest scythe. Judging by the shocked looks Mukuro and Sayaka had, they were thinking the same thing.

"Whoa! Is...that a scythe?!" Jaune asked, his voice tinged with awe.

"Yep~" Ruby chirped, "It's also a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle!"

"A-wha?"

"It's also a really powerful gun," Mukuro answered for Ruby, who grinned happily and cocked the gun, "It can hit people from at least 300 meters away, but the recoil is hell on your body. I'm surprised you can handle using a weapon like that, Ruby."

"No one can handle using Crescent Rose except me~" Ruby hugged Crescent Rose to her like a teddy bear, before looking at them with eager eyes, "So what've you guys got?"

"I have this combat knife that shifts into a handgun." Mukuro said, unsheathing Wolf Fang and twirling it, causing it to shift into it's pistol form, "It's versatile, easy to use, and I really like the design. I call it Wolf Fang after..." She paused, looking forlorn, and seeing this, Sayaka decided to spare her for once and jump in.

"W-Well, I have This rapier-slash-revolver!" She proclaimed, drawing Orchard Blade and holding it up in the air, "It can shoot Dust rounds and the blade is imbued with Fire Dust, so it cauterizes any wound I make! I call it Orchard Blade, and it's super cool~" She turned to Jaune, who looked back.

"W-Wait, me?" He asked after a few seconds, before sighing and drawing weapon after everyone else nodded, "I, uh, I got this sword!"

"Oooh!"

"Yeah, and I've got a shield, too!" Jaune raised his left arm, where the scabbard was, and it suddenly expanded into a shield, causing sparkles to appear in Ruby's eyes.

"So, what do they do?" She asked, poking the shield.

"Well, the shield gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it around, I can just put...it...away..."

"But doesn't it weigh the same?"

"Yeah, it does..." Jaune sighed dejectedly, causing Makoto to pat his back.

"Cheer up, man, you're luckier than me. I have a sword and shield too, but they can't shift because I can't risk activating the Dust Crystals here." He drew Jeweled General, showing it off to Ruby and Jaune, who both gasped in awe at the bejeweled blade shining before them, "The sword and shield have Dust crystals embedded into them, and if I I push my Aura in either of them, I can activate one of these crystals randomly. I couldn't find any room to put a shifting mechanism anywhere, so I just left it like this. I call it Jeweled General."

"Ooooh!~ Gimmegimmegimme!" Ruby chirped, her hands eagerly reaching towards the sword as her eyes sparkled. Chuckling, Makoto handed her the sword and shield, and she quickly took them, retreating into her cloak, which actually seemed bigger than it looked, and giggling to herself.

"Dude, I honestly know how you feel. Before I found out about the shield mechanism, I just walked around with the shield out all the time. It looked super weird." Jaune told Makoto, who nodded in thanks.

"Wow, Ruby, you seem really interested in weapons." Mukuro said, and Ruby poked her head out of her cloak

"Weeeell~ I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons. I went a little overboard designing Crescent Rose, after all..." Ruby laughed nervously and scratched the back of the head, while Jaune and Makoto gaped at her.

"Wait, you made Crescent Rose?!" Jaune exclaimed, staring at Ruby like she was a prodigal blacksmith.

"Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons! Didn't you make yours?"

"Not really...It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war..." Jaune looked dejected, staring at his feet, and Ruby cringed a little at her words.

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me!" She tried, laughing a bit, "Well, I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days! Seeing you and Makoto with swords and shields really makes you gotta think of the old days, you know?~" Jaune smiled at her words.

"Yeah, gotta appreciate the classics every now and then." Makoto piped up, Ruby having given him Jeweled General back after she was done marveling at it.

"Thanks, guys...So, you have any idea where we're going?" Jaune asked, looking around the completely unfamiliar area they were now in.

"I was actually following you..."

"I honestly have no idea where this is. Thought I saw the brochure, too..." Makoto trailed off, looking around, "Uuuuhh...guys? Which path leads to the amphitheater?"

Everyone just looked at each other, before they took off in different directions, hoping to finding the amphitheater quickly.

"Where are they? They should have arrived by now..." Hifumi murmured, anxiously fidgeting and occasionally grabbing Wishmaker and inspecting it while it was in compact form. While a good chunk of Class 78 had gone off to do their own thing, the rest had agreed to regroup with them in the amphitheater, and left. They were currently waiting for the Headmaster to appear and make his speech, but he seemed to be running late, judging by the empty stage and concerned whispering.

"Ah, don't worry about it! They're probably running late or doing whatever they want!" Leon replied, before his expression turned nervous, "Though that's not a good thing when it comes to Junko..." Everyone collectively shuddered.

"Hhhhhhmmmm...My psychic senses...they're telling me that Asahina-san, Sakura-san, Junko, and someone we don't know will walk through the door very soon!" Hagakure declared dramatically, pointing at the exit.

"Don't be ridiculous, Hagakure! There's no way they-"

"There is no way you can beat me when it comes to swimming!" Asahina's angry voice came from the doorway, and they turned to see her angrily arguing with a smug girl while Junko and Sakura watched from the sidelines, with Sakura shaking her head in exasperation, and Junko snickering at the sight.

"Hmph. You may have a crazy amount of talent when it comes to swimming, but swimming is literally in my genetics, Asahina. You'll never beat me in swimming, end of story." The girl replied, covering her mouth with one hand and doing an 'ooooohohohohohohohooo~~' laugh. Asahina looked angrier at the girl's statement if anything.

"I-you-how did you do that?!" Leon exclaimed, while Hagakure, who just stared at his hands as Asahin and the girl bantered back and forth.

"I...I don't know. I just had this feeling that it would happen!" He looked around in confusion, "The feeling's gone, but I feel like there's something lingering there. Guys, please tell me I just unlocked my Semblance, because if I did, I am so holding this over your heads."

"Oh, please. Maybe if you do it three times in a row, then it could be a Semblance." Celeste muttered, looking jealous for some reason, "I don't think there's any possible-"

"Makoto, Sayaka and Mukuro are going to come though that door with two people we don't know, some chick in white is going to come in muttering to herself, and Byakuya and Toko are are going to come in looking smug for some reason," Hagakure rattled off, looking confused. Before Celeste could reply, the events happened in order, while Hagakure just stared incredulously.

"...Fine. You unlocked your Semblance! Goddammit, where's my Semblance?!" Celeste shrieked, fuming and unintentionally shedding the mask of a calm and collected woman.

"...Dude, I think you can actually see the future now." Leon grumbled out, "That is pure bullshit, man."

"...So my Semblance is Clairvoyance? Niiiiiiice."

"Ignoring Hagakure's newfound Semblance," Celeste gritted out, "Perhaps we could call the others here?"

"I'm on it," Mondo, who had been the first person here, with Chihiro and Ishimaru following behind, muttered, "HEY, GUYS! WE'RE OVER HERE!" Evidently, they heard his voice, if Makoto perking up, and Junko turning to glare at him was any indication. Makoto seemed to say something to a red-cloaked girl and a boy wearing a chestplate before he, Mukuro, and Sayaka walked over to them. Similarly, Junko, Sakura, and Asahina also headed towards them...but, for some reason, with the girl in tow.

'Act normally', Junko mouthed, before she turned to the girl, "And this is the graduating class I was in! It's still kinda hard to believe everyone managed to make it in!"

"Wow, everyone must have been pretty good if they made it into Beacon together!" The girl chirped, grinning as she looked at the group of Ultimates, "I'm Kin Sakana. It's nice to meet you all!"

"I ran into Kin at the Drunk Elephant back in summer. You should have seen him, he managed to stop a bar fight with a pair of thimbles and his words!" Oh, so Junko had known-

Wait.

Did she just say 'him'?

The group, as one, mechanically turned towards the undoubtedly feminine figure grinning at them, then back towards Junko.

"What."

"Hey guys, what's going-" Makoto began as he walked over, before noticing Kin. He choked on air, and Mukuro and Sayaka worriedly patting his back when he started coughing. When he stopped, he opened his mouth to say something, right when the microphone, and everyone turned towards the stage, where he and Glynda Goodwitch stood.

"I will...keep this brief," Ozpin began, "You have traveled here in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills humans could only have dreamed of. You have traveled to become finer Hunters, to save others, to gain fame and glory beyond your imagination.

"But I look upon you, and I see nothing but wasted talent, energy thrown away, in need of direction, of purpose. I see children who are carrying toy weapons and shields, preparing to charge into the unknown wilderness and fight the Grimm with naught but your bare hands and sheer dumb luck.

"You have come here assuming knowledge will free you of such arrogance, but you must learn that knowledge will only carry you so far. Because there will be a time where your knowledge runs out, and you will have to discover what to do on your own," He paused at his, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, "In the end, it is up to you to take the first step. Whatever you choose to or not...will be the deciding factor. Thank you, everyone."

He walked away briskly, to the murmurs of confused students, before Goodwitch cleared her throat.

"You will all gather in the ballroom tonight. Bring supplies, clothes, and necessities with you. Tomorrow, your initiation begins at 9AM sharp. Be ready. You are all dismissed." She walked out as well, following the Headmaster, and Class 78 stared at where they had been, Junko looking oddly pensive.

"Well, I should probably go unpack. See you guys later!" Before anyone could reply, Kin had ran off towards the ballroom, and Junko pouted at the sight, before turning back towards the stage, looking confused.

"The Headmaster...it was like he wasn't there. Like he was extremely distracted with something, but what?" She asked herself, and Mukuro shivered at the intrigue slowly leaking into her voice.

For fuck's sake, couldn't her sister just try not to disturb any semblance of peace anywhere she was?!

It was 9 PM, and Class 78 was currently bunched together, discussing what the initiation was.

"It could be a combat trial. Seeing as this is a combat school, they could have us fight one of the professors or other students. Perhaps even some simulations of Grimm," Ishimaru reasoned, wearing white pajama pants and slippers. He had forgone wearing a shirt, as did a few of the males.

"Nah, I'm thinking we'll do some sort of field test. Like surveying the land and stuff. I'm pretty sure Hunters have a bunch of long-term missions, so they have to make use of resources and what not." Leon replied, dressed in the most cliché baseball-print pajamas known to man. Even Junko gawked at it, before laughing out loud.

"I have a feeling we'll be doing some sort of survival test. They'll put us in a completely random area to test our skills, and see how we lead, how we fight, et cetera." Mukuro suggested, wearing a loose fitting t-shirt and combat slacks as she casually checked Wolf Fang over, "Heck, with Aura, they'll probably throw us off a cliff and tell us to survive."

"I just hope I can use Acheron." Mondo just said, laying down in his sleeping bad, and massaging his eyes. He wore a black tank top and grey sweatpants, scratching the back of his head as he talked, "Ozpin's initiation might put me in a pickle if I can't use my weapon."

It had become common for Class 78 to discuss strategies, what with any doubts and paranoia due to some working with their killers, having been dispelled over the course of the 3 months they spent together. All except for Junko, of course. They were still paranoid that she would find a way to screw them over somehow.

"Regardless of what the test is, we must look out for each other. I saw a few celebrities roaming the campus as I explored, and some of them are already seeing who is most compatible with them in terms of skill. We need to stick close if we want to be on the same teams," Byakuya supplied, dressed in pajamas made from silk and gold thread. It seemed that even in another world, his tendencies as a Scion seemed to shine through.

"Togami-san's right. Earlier, I overheard people discussing who they were going to partner with at the amphitheater. Chances are that somehow, our partners will end up being random. We need some way to ensure we end up with each other..."

"...Mukuro, that sounded far more emotional then what I thought you were capable of being." Togami muttered, causing Mukuro to cough nervously and looked away, blushing.

"Ahem...anyways, we should get some rest. I'll see where Junko's run off to, can you see where Makoto's gone?"

"I'll do it~~" Sayaka replied, grinning smugly at Mukuro, who had instantly glared at her before grumbling.

"Thanks, Sayaka..." She gritted out. Sayaka just smiled at her. That in itself somehow scared anyone watching the two more than Mukuro's killing intent being physically projected at Sayaka. It stayed like this for a bit, before Sayaka abruptly turned away and walked off, Mukuro grinning triumphantly as she turned and walked in the opposite direction.

It was slent for a few seconds.

"...Makoto's screwed, isn't he?" There was scattered murmurs of agreement, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

It hadn't taken long for Sayaka to find Makoto. He had been sitting on the floor, speaking to a blonde boy wearing the most cringe-inducing blue bunny footsies she had ever seen. She had actually needed to pause and turn away to keep from vomiting at the sight, a feat that had not gone unnoticed by many a student-to-be. Some had shot her thumbs-up when she managed to steel herself, impressed by her bravery.

"Hey, Sayaka!" Makoto called, waving at her as she walked over. Blushing, she hurried over and plopped down besides him, "Jaune, this is Sayaka Maizono. She's a childhood friend of mine, and helped design Jeweled General. She's helped me a lot." The blonde boy, Jaune, grinned andstuck out a hand.

"Pleased to meet you! Jaune Arc. Short sweet, ladies love it." He said, and Sayaka couldn't help but chuckle.

"Do they?" She asked, and he visibly wilted.

"It's the second time today..." Makoto patted Jaune's back, trying to hold in his snickers.

"There, there. Sooner or later, we'll find a better intro for you." Jaune seemed happy at first, smiling, before he noticed Makoto's hand slightly shaking.

"Dude, seriously?"

"I can't help it! It's hilarious!" Makoto wheezed out, giving up on hiding his laughter, much to Jaune's chagrin. Sayaka took a moment to see how much Makoto looked like his age, instead of when he seemed to age a decade whenever he took command of the group, before clearing her throat.

"I, uh, hate to break up the conversation, but everyone's looking for you, Makoto..." She said sheepishly, laughing nervously, "They kinda sent me here to get you."

"Really? Man, I didn't notice the time. I'll see you tomorrow, Jaune" He smiled as he began to head back, Sayaka smiling at Jaune before turning around to follow him.

"Huh. She looks familiar..." Jaune mused, before shrugging, "Meh. I'm sure it's not that important."

Mukuro snuck around the empty hallways near the ballroom, looking for his sister. It was almost curfew, and soon, the teachers would come by to watch over the future students.

Students...

Mukro's mind began to wander, thinking about her previous life back on Earth. Everyone at Hope's Peak had welcomed her, made her feel human. Even after they had learned what she had done, how many she killed on the battlefield, they had acted like nothing was wrong, declaring her to still be their friend.

And she had repaid them by ending the world and trapping them in a killing game that drove most of them over the edge. And even then, her own sister had betrayed her just to sate her despair addiction momentarily. Life sucked for her. It really did.

Shaking her head, to clear her thoughts, she turned the corner...and paused.

Because there, chatting with that girl Mukuro had seen her with, was Junko Enoshima, genuinely smiling for the first time since she was five. She seemed so relaxed, like she could truly act like she wasn't broken or insane. Probably because anything with Aura made it impossible for her to read. Heck, that girl was the one who had run into her at the bar, if she remembered correctly. Mukuro never did get all the details from Makoto.

"...And then Makoto slipped on some water and just fell headfirst into the pool!" Junko was saying, causing the girl to chuckle as they walked towards the corner, "He was OK afterwards, but his eyes were legitimately spinning, and Sayaka and Mukuro had rushed over, looking him over. Let me tell you, Leon looked so jealous of Makoto that day. He didn't let up until 2 weeks later."

"Damn, Enoshima. Your school life must have been awesome. Where I went, the staff were pretty nice, but we didn't have nearly as much stuff as you." The girl replied, before stretching and yawning, "Well, it's almost curfew. I'll see you tomorrow. Good luck at initiation."

"Thanks. See you tomorrow~," Junko replied, as the girl walked around the corner and nearly bumped into Mukuro.

"Oh! Sorry." She quickly apologized, before running off. Mukuro looked at the girl's retreating figure, before shrugging and turning back around.

Only to find Junko staring at her, 2 inches away from her face.

"Hey, sis~"

Oh shit.

"I couldn't help but notice you spying on me~"

Oh shit.

"So tell me, dear sister...what were you thinking, spying on the great Junko-sama?~"

Oh shit-eating son of a bitch, Sayaka probably knew this would happen.

"Oh, uh, h-hi, Junko!" She sputtered, mentally cursing herself. Dammit, she thought she had gotten over her inferiority complex with Junko! "I, uh, I was looking for you! The others were...hoping you...would...come back."

It was at this moment that Mukuro noticed that even with her 'crown' on, Junko had this cold, empty glare as she spoke. She hadn't even bothered acting as her 'royal personality', but instead just stared at her, with those cold, dead, yet somehow angry eyes.

Mukuro was the Former Ultimate Soldier, an unparalleled child soldier regarded as the greatest mercenary back on Earth. A powerhouse compared to be a modern Benkei, the pinnacle of human combat ability and machine-like military obedience. She could utterly decimate three platoons with a single machine gun, a combat knife, and a camouflage outfit. She could kill her own sister a hundred times over before Junko could even scratch her if she wanted.

She was currently very close to pissing her pants at the sight of her sister seething at her.

"I, uh, well, you see..." With every mess up she made, Junko's expression seemed to darken, "...I'm sorry, sis?"

The way she said it just seemed so pathetic.

Junko kept glaring for a bit, then sighed and turned away, "Let's go, sis. Normally, I would punish you for this, but now's not the time."

Mukuro was too busy gasping in relief to question the sudden change in attitude.

"All students are accounted for, Headmaster. There are no students roaming the campus," Glynda said, checking her Scroll for any stragglers. There had been a pair of girls wandering the hallways near the ballroom, but they had long since returned.

"Thank you, Glynda. Have you sent out the messages to Qrow and General Ironwood?" Ozpin asked, his tone clipped and far more grim than Glynda felt comfortable.

"I have, sir. They are en route towards Vale as we speak. I have...also sent a message to Raven...as a precaution." She could feel the air around Ozpin grow somber, and winced. She probably should not have brought the extra message up.

"...Thank you. We should return to the Tower. Have all cameras activated within the ballroom, and have Professors Port and Oobleck guard the doors. At this rate, we can no longer risk any of the students being spies for her." He glanced at Glynda, and she nodded, already typing Ozpin's orders to send to Port and Oobleck.

"Ozpin..." Glynda couldn't keep the concern from leaking into her voice. At that moment, the Headmaster of Beacon seemed to age a decade, his features growing tired and broken, a glazed look appearing in his eyes.

"I have made far too many mistakes in my lifetime, Glynda," He replied, sounding so old, and weary, "Not this time. I swear it."

Far away from any of the Four Kingdoms, in a castle black and twisted and somehow alive, in a grim wasteland none would dare travel to, black eyes with red irises narrowed in intrigue.

A/N: Shorter chapter this time, mainly because there isn't really much to cover. It's really only Class 78 and their reactions to arriving at Beacon, then little parts about the night before Initiation. Really not a lot.

On the other hand, Yandere!Junko is possibly the only way I can write Junko at this point. Welp, looks like Kin's screwed, amirite lads or amirite lads?

'You are right, lad!'

Thanks, lad.

Anyways, With Class 78's arrival at Beacon, Ozpin and Glynda are already suspicious, due to Salem's machinations. Not like they wouldn't, really. I mean, if sixteen people spontaneously did something like sending in applications despite their records appearing after only 3 months ago, anyone would be suspicious...or, if you're an idiot, oblivious.

But besides that, it seems that some of the former Ultimates have already begun building a reputation (cough cough Sayaka and Byakuya cough). Yeah, this is probably going to come back to bite them in the ass.

And...uh...that's it, I guess. Not much to say this time.

But with that out of the way, you know the drill. If you have any questions or suggestions, PM me or put them in the reviews. Still looking for a beta reader, BTW. If you have a beta profile and literally any sense of good English skills, let me know. In the meantime, send me any mistakes you find, and I'll be sure to fix them.

With all that done, this is Gold Magikarp, signing out! Peace, and happy Memorial Day!

Edit: Poll is now open! Start voting, people!