Chapter 2


A/N: ...wow...I actually updated something for once...maybe I really am getting my mojo back! Probably not, but one can hope!

Anyway, as for today's chapter, here's some tidbits and a bit of silliness for anyone who reads it! And shout outs to Aku-Tan, Ookami-san, and Bell-Tan for willingly falling into my trap!

And on another note, I do not own anything belonging the the RWBY-Verse except for any original content be they characters or story...except for the three that belong to my pals!

Hope you like the chapter!


Sneaking a peak into the ballroom, brown eyes fidgeted nervously at the people roaming within. A majority of the boys bare-chested and flexing, and the girls wearing tank tops and pajama bottoms. Some outfits looked cute though.

Like that kimono…thing, that the girl in the back was wearing. Too revealing around the thighs for her liking, though. But still cute.

After a moment of deliberation, she mustered up the courage and walked on in, albeit quickly as to not attract attention to her brown pajama pants and shirt, a white camellia blossom clear over her chest.

Luckily, it was nearly full now, so there'd no doubt be other people for everyone to gawk at much less her.

Unluckily, it also gave her full view of the bare-chested boys flexing their muscles. No doubt trying to get female attention…that, or just out of machismo. The thought didn't brush away the flush that dusted her cheeks though, so she sought out a secluded spot. Hopefully away from anything related to hormones.

She did manage to spot a familiar face though, among everyone. But he seemed to be in the middle of…something, students crowding around him whispering to each other in an exited manner.

For a moment, Willow thought she saw a flash of green exchanging hands, and a devious grin playing on Dwayne's lips.

"Don't want to know," she muttered. "I do not want to know."


Thumb flicking through Lien, Dwayne pocketed the bills into his new wallet, grinning as the losers walked off with half of what they came with. He lost a couple times, of course, to keep the game going. And while he wasn't an expert at it, gambling isn't about winning.

It's about making sure you don't lose.

Didn't understand what that meant the first time around, and really, it still nags at him even now. But as his wallet felt slightly bigger within his pouch, he couldn't help but feel that he knew a bit better than back then.

Not much though.

So with that thought in mind, his nose twitched as he stifled a yawn, raccoon ears curling up-top his crown.

Rubbing his eyes, he took one last look at the other students, and closed his eyes, back firmly against the wall as soft snores soon came with the rising and falling of his chest.


"...why?" Eyes twitching, clad in her pajamas, Seren was really wishing she had Corona with her. And ghost or not, that creepy cackle Grauer let loose every couple seconds didn't ease her nerves.

...ironic, seeing as ghosts were supposed to be creepy to begin with.

"Why what?" The object of her ire snickered. And to think she'd thought of him as enlightened.

Looking over his shoulder, she simply watched as he continued taking pictures of nearby students. "Why the picture taking?" Isn't this a serious breach of privacy? "Didn't take you one for photography."

"...and you'd be right." Was it just her, or did he sound a bit stiff. "Just going through the merchandise."

"...hah?"

"You'd be surprised at what a good photo would catch." He grinned cattily. "Especially among a walking mass of teenage hormones."

"I repeat...hah?"

Turning his head with a raised brow, dark eyes froze underneath Grauer's hood, before quickly turning away, much to Seren's confusion. "Dear lord your vulnerable." He muttered, before shrugging it off. "What I'm doing involves taking pictures of these would be Hunters and Huntresses before Initiation starts. Because just the night before is when things line up."

Line up? "Why would you say that?" She asked.

"Because not everyone's going to pass the Initiation." His words made her stiffen a bit with worry. "And with a Combat School like Beacon, there's no doubt going to be variety among the students." With a click of a button, he strolled down the Gallery of his Scroll with a curious hum, before stopping at a few. "And because it's Beacon, there's going to be those who make it, and those who don't. So I'm simply taking in the merchandise before they get away." Vacuo, Vale, Atlas, and Mistral.

"...what'll happen to those who fail?" If she fails.

"They go home and try again next time," he replied, "either at Beacon, or one of the other Academies." Flickering through a couple photos, he brought a few up to screen. "This year brought out some fresh crops. A couple coming from the East of Mistral, from South-East Menagerie to the West of Vacuo, as well as a few from Atlas. Not many come from there, sadly."

Staring blankly at the photos, Seren could only shake her head in recognition. A couple of them being people she's seen passing by, or had been too noticeable to ignore. The guy in the Bunny Footie Pajamas being an example. Couldn't forget something that adorable...wonder if she could get a kitty version?

But still, among everything, one question came to mind. "Why are you doing this?" Doesn't seem like much fun to her.

"Because I'm a Pimp Shipper." He replied shamelessly. "And as a Shipper, I make cash by pimping out photos of other people to those who want them, thus leading to romantic adventures for all parties, ad hilarious moments for me to record and later blackmail them with for my own amusement. It says so on my shirt." And he pulled up his sweater to empathies his point, revealing a red letters on blue.

"I'm a Pimp Shipper. So just let yourself get pimped for my ships!"

A giggle escaped her lips before Seren knew it, and she could only swat Grauer over the head as he cackled diabolically, taking more pictures in the process. "You're so bad!"

"It's the bad boy that girls find sexy!" He snickered. "Though if you prefer cute, I could be a good boy too! Which do you prefer?"

He got another swat on the head for his efforts. "Bad. Bad boy. Heel." She laughed when he barked a whimpered. "Weirdo."

"And you know it!"

Lips twitching in exasperation, Seren shook her head and slowly stood up, feeling more relaxed than she did moments before. "That I do, Grauer the Shipping Pimp."

Turning his attention away from his scroll, said Ghost simply blinked, frown dropping for a moment. "You going to bed?"

"Yep. Gotta be ready for tomorrow." She nodded. "Wouldn't want to fail due to oversleeping now. See you tomorrow." And with that, Seren waved goodbye.


Watching as Seren walked off, he tugged his hood further down, hiding his eyes. Fingers scrolling down his gallery, momentarily stopping at one in particular. Of a girl clad in pink, figure hugging pajamas, a white camellia design present on her back.

"...That girl is seriously too open." He muttered, clicking his scroll shut.

The warmth of her breath when she leaned over his shoulder still tingled his skin. Just as the smell of flowers still remained around him, a reminder of who was just here.

...it was annoying. Girls shouldn't be that forward...or dense. Embarrassed flush dying down, he simply leaned back against the wall, eyes locked on the ceiling in thought. "..so many people indeed." Recalling his earlier conversation, a frown tugged at his lips. "..."

(Emerald Forest: Cliffside)

Staring over the cliff with a curious gaze, he nudged a small pebble over the side, and watched as it tumbled down before vanishing into the oceans of green below.

"...That's a long drop." He muttered, taking several quick steps back, standing upon the metal platforms in the ground. "And I can just see how this is going to go." And as he turned his head left and right, eyeing those on either side, he grinned.

"Not sure how legal it is to fling kids off a cliff, but at least it'll be a fun ride." Dwayne murmured, inspecting his platform.


Staring at the far off forest, one thought came to mind as he tapped the metal plate before. "I wanna fling students off a cliff and into a deadly forest too," Grauer muttered petulantly. "But..."

As he took in the sight of the forest, the sound of the waterfalls and the breadth of wind that brushed gently pass his cheeks, a grin couldn't help but stretch his cheeks. "It is a beautiful sight." But the moment was quickly ruined by his neighbors groans.


"I-I think...I'm going to throw up," she sputtered, hands rubbing her stomach. Now probably wasn't a good time to mention her fear of heights...or of falling off said heights, and splattering on the ground in a gory puddle.

If she had known that getting tossed off a cliff was going to be part of the initiation, she'd have tossed herself out of Bullhead on the way here. "Wouldn't be bothered by a measly cliff if I ever did that too."

Then she blinked, as a glass of water was held up in front of her eyes. "Want a glass?" And turning to her left, she blinked again as she stared at the hooded figure staring right at her.

Maybe it was just her, but there was something...ominous about his eyes. A dark brown...or was it a pitch black? She couldn't tell with the hood, but Willow did know that the guy was creepy. "Um...no thank you," smiling nervously, she shook her head no. "I think I'll take my chances."

And then, right before her eyes, the glass vanished. "Fair enough." And with a hum, he turned back to face the forest.

'...okay...if that wasn't creepy, then I must be going insane.' Semblance maybe?


"Oh-ho, boy..." Resisting the urge to peer over the cliff, Seren had long since presumed what was going to happen, with the metal platforms and all. The Cliffside simply strengthened that point, being beside a deadly forest adding more to it. And as a uncomfortable tightness took her breath, the familiar pressure of her weapon calmed her nerves. "This should be fun."

"For years, you have trained to become warrior," breaking out of her stupor, Seren turned as the Headmaster began to speak, "and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

It wasn't until Ms. Goodwitch began speaking that she truly started feeling regretful. Her partner was to be the first one she made eye contact with? A bit...unprofessional, isn't it?

Wouldn't pairing those with compatible abilities make more sense? Then again, this could have been something to test their adaptability. After all, as Huntsman, you can never really pick your partners at times.

Even though, growing point aside, she was still apprehensive about it. What if she was paired with someone less than cordial? Would she need to force him/her into submission just to get them to listen? Is she even allowed to do that? Could she even do that?

And as her thoughts began to take a wild turn, she groaned pitifully, hoping that her partner would be someone nice. Maybe Bunny Boy? She still had to shake him down for the location of his Footie Pajamas.

She wants her Kitty Pajamas!

Really though, Seren only listened numbly to the rest of the briefing; something about an abandoned temple and some relics. That sounded simple enough, even if getting through a Grimm infested forest sounded anything but.

She was really regretting not getting her coffee in the morning.

Suddenly a steady succession of clicks and whooshes were heard. And glancing down the line of students, she got into possession, seeing as some had already been launched to their untimely dooms. "Three..."

Click, whoosh.

"Two..."

Click, whoosh!

"Aaaaand-" was abruptly cut off as she was launched into the air.


"Woohooo!" Dwayne cheered as he was launched into the air, before beginning his inevitable decline. Once he did, however, Dwayne flipped open one of the pouches on his utility belt and took out a deck of cards; throwing an Ace, Jack, and Queen of Hearts at a tree as he dived in headfirst.

And in but a moment, a powerful burst of wind erupted from the cards ahead, slowing his decent considerably, allowing him to stab a Ten of Clubs into the tree without hesitation, halting his movement entirely. At least, before Dwayne decided to abuse the remaining momentum, grabbing a nearby branch and swinging around it again, and again...and again, cheering as he spun along, seemingly forgetting about the task at hand completely.

"Woohoo!" he cheered again.


Screaming her lungs off as she was launched into the air mercilessly, Willow fought to keep her eyes open as the wind forcefully brushed along her body, making it hard to keep straight and focus on not...well...dying!

But as she began her descent into the forest, her hand snapped forward, luckily grabbing a strong enough branch to stop her fall. Only to slip by due to sheer momentum, tumbling along the ground with a thud.

Grabbing the branch, in conjunction with Aura managed to break her fall though, thankfully enough. "Owwie..." Mostly.


Squinting as the air rushed past her, Seren took out her shield, tucked in her legs, and slowly positioned herself shield first for impact. And as she descended, she could feel herself crash into a tree, or at the very least, a thick branch that would have been just as hard to snap. Thankfully though, it slowed her momentum considerably, allowing a shimmering silver glyph to appear afterwards, rebounding Seren in the opposite direction once it impacted with her shield.

Twisting her body around, she released her hold on Corona almost immediately, leaning back, hooking her feet on its handle as she slid across the forest floor, shifting left and right to dodge the trees before slowly coming to a stop.

"Nice." Picking up her weapon, Seren began to walk.


"Partners..." ah...that was how Beacon operated.

Wind brushing against his cheeks, Grauer scanned through the passing trees below as he soared through the air. "Once Initiation's over, I'll have to spend the majority of my time with another person." Bothersome, but doable.

At least he'd get more chances to restock on merchandise.

But for the moment, he should probably focus on the fact that he's currently dropping in altitude. Something that would most likely end with more than a few broken trees. "I bet he's enjoying this, being the troll I know he is."


"Yes...why yes I am." Ozpin murmured, taking a sip from coffee-chan.

Goodwitch simply pulled up another window on her scroll, mentally calculating the future damages cause by the Headmasters antics.


"None the less, time for a cannonball!" And with that, he curled into a ball, arms wrapped around his head. "BANZAI!" Vanishing into the Emerald Forest, snapping wood and crumbling trees tumbling down one after another.


"AH!" Dwayne screamed, tumbling to the ground surprise. And considering that the tree he was swinging on had suddenly been cleared through by what looked like a monochromatic cannonball, it certainly was an acceptable excuse!

And as he sat back up, Dwayne was just in time to see whatever it was crash, tearing through the earth, kicking up dirt and foliage as it pierced through the forest floor like a knife through butter. Slowly coming to a grueling stop, dust and grass falling from the sky all around, silence returned to the now destroyed clearing.

A silence that was soon broken as a hand propped out of the trench, another following behind just as quickly, revealing the monochromic cannonball to be a human being. A human who was surprisingly unharmed, if a bit dirty, sluggishly crawling out as he was. Then, swaying back and forth, he exploded in a sudden fit of mad giggles.

Scratch his earlier comment. Brain damage had been dealt.

"Um...hello?" Dwayne asked Grauer stiffly. Who wouldn't, seeing what just happened.

Head snapping to the sudden voice, Grauer laughed. "Envoy of the Pancake Queen, are you not?!" Hopping to his feet, his grin gained an innocent gleam. "Or are you an ally of the Maple Kingdom?"

...dear god, the damage was worse than he'd thought, as and as Dwayne saw the man's smile brighten, he tensed

"Which?" Grauer asked.

...if he wasn't a Faunus, Dwayne would still bet his gambling career that he'd sense the psycho's animalistic bloodlust hidden under that smile.

Ironic phrasing though. "I wonder if it still counts as eye contact if I poked out my eyes now," Dwayne mumbled sarcastically.

"...wait...that's right..." Grauer blinked curiously. "Pancake Minion or not, since eye contact has been made, we have thus been bonded together as partners per the official rules of Initiation..." Staring blankly at Dwayne's twitching Raccoon ears, he grinned. "Okay! Emonuki! From now on, you are under the forced conscription of the Maple Kingdom! Prepare to be worked to the bone as we wipe out the Pancake Insurgence!"

Straightening his back, bones popping, Grauer laughed both heartily and mischievously. "Conquer and Devour!" Pointing at a seemingly random direction, he marched on without a care. "Onwards Emonuki!"

Is it too late to just walk away? "I think we need to go this way," Dwayne stating, pointing to the opposite direction.

And seeing him come to an abrupt halt, a sense of dread began to pile.

Turning towards where Dwayne pointed, Grauer tilted his head to the side, a considering hum escaping his lips. "...over there is..." Eyes widening after a couple seconds, his grin turned absolutely vicious. "Congratulations Emonuki! Today you shall have your first conquest over the Pancake Insurgence!" He cackled maniacally, charging on. "Prepare to meet your maker Pancake Queen!"

Never moving an inch though, Dwayne watched as his 'partner' just wandered off to who knows where. But after a couple moments, he held two fingers to his temple, and stuck his thumb out, imitating a gun. Pulling the imaginary trigger without hesitation, head tilting to the side as if he had actually been shot, before following on after Insanity Incarnate.


Groaning, Willow slowly, but surely got to her feet. Picking up her staff on the way, which had landed a few feet ahead, she cautiously looked around the forest as she started her way through.

Paranoia seeping into her veins in fear of running into a Grimm before she had found a partner. But just as she thought that, Willow caught someone out of the corner of her eye, but quickly lost sight of whoever it was in this dense forest. "H-Hey! Wait up!" She called out.

She hadn't been wandering for long-maybe for ten minutes or less, but when she heard someone call out "Hello", Seren slowly turned around. Listening to the voice-females, if she wasn't mistaken, call as she made her way closer.

And just as minutes passed, Willow herself emerged from the trees, panting slightly, before looking up to the girl, only to realize her lack of conversational skills. "Err...hi?" She smiled, nervously playing with her braid. "I guess this makes us partners."

"Huh, I guess so." Far easier than she expected, when finding one herself. But as she thought about it, Seren realized that they were all pretty much launched in the same direction. "Awesome!" Smiling, she held out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Smiling in return, Willow nodded. "Thank you," she murmured absent-mindedly shaking her hand. It took her a moment to realize her error. "I mean, you too!" she squeaked, mentally face palming herself.

"Nervous? I don't blame you," she chuckled. "I feel the same. It's Seren, by the way. My name that is. Err, yeah. It's probably not a good idea to stay in one place for long, so let's just walk and talk on the way."

"Right. I'm Willow, by the way." She said, following right after Seren.

Nodding in acknowledgment, Seren made no further motion to converse. What else could she say? It wouldn't be a good idea to become distracted, especially in such a dangerous environment. At the same time though, she didn't want to be rude.

What to do...


Tapping the ground with his knuckles, blinking thoughtfully at the hollow echo, he knocked a couple more times just to be sure. Why? Because when you see a solid stone floor in the middle of a demon infested forest, it's obvious that it's a clue to some grand, forgotten civilization that go their asses whipped by Father Time.

Minstralian Bones told him so in all those movies.

So with that in mind, he continued knocking on the ground in hopes of locating the obviously hidden switch, Initiation all but forgotten.

"How long are you going to keep doing that?" His partner, Emonuki asked dryly. Though maybe it should be Sarunuki, considering the fact that the Faunus was hanging off of a low-leveled branch.

"Until I find the secret switch." Was all he said, as he began to rap against the ground harder with each one that failed. After a moment though, Grauer grinned.

Grinned, pulled out his gun, and began to fill it with holes.

Ear's twitching in annoyance, Emonuki(Dwayne) dropped from the branch, and rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna scout ahead!" Maybe he'd find something to relieve his boredom with.

But just as he was about to leave, a click sounded right after, followed by the grinding of churning gears. "Found it!" And with one more bang, Dwayne turned to see the ground beneath Grauer crumble away. "BANZAIIIIIIIiiiiiiiii!" And seeing him drop below with an exited squeal, Dwayne ran towards the hole only to see a faint glimmer of light shining within.

"Oooohh...great," he muttered in annoyance.

Turning to the sky, Dwayne sighed. "What did I ever do to deserve this?" And then he jumped on down, intent on passing the Initiation.

...sadly, this means the crazy one must come with.


A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! And sorry if it seemed a bit rushed, buy I was in a rush myself...to sleep that is. Cackle! See you next week!

Maybe...who knows!