Remember when I said that I'm nervous when I'm around people? Well, walking into a room filled with people with little space makes me truly terrified. My breathing was beginning to become uneasy, and the thought of being humiliated was starting to overwhelm me. I mean, everywhere I looked I saw people talking with one another; and if my lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll- I was hallucinating a group of deformed people, far ahead from where I was standing, were glaring daggers at me. I needed to calm down; otherwise I might attract attention from others.
Aero seemed to notice my discomfort and placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Hey man, if you're worried about getting attention from that awesome hair of yours, we could always move over to that corner over there," Aero whispered while pointing over to a fairy isolated corner.
I sighed in approval, and we strolled over there. Aero was right, the lack of invisible eyes on me seemed to have slow down my raising pulse of insecurities. Granted, there were other people who seemed to have the same idea of not being noticed and they were all just standing there, some being silent while others making idle small-talk.
Great, it's elementary school all over again.
So far, after meeting Aero, I've come to the conclusion that he was a "people person"; not that it really bothered me aside from the weird looks that people gave us when were walking here. He seemed to be the type of guy who would go with the flow and attempt to strike up a conversation with the nearest person beside him.
And as if the over-worldly forces were trying to prove my point, Aero quickly looked over to a short girl standing to his right side, and repeatedly tapped her shoulder.
She was a fairly short girl, about 5'1, though I'm only 5'8, and I think Aero is about 5'6. She had gold hair that ran down to her back, and on the top of her head was a small piece of hair that was sticking up. Around her neck was a tainted green scarf that looked so torn, that it looked as if it went through the a chainsaw demonstration. She wore a plain white short-sleeve shirt, followed with a sleeveless black unzipped jacket, fingerless black gloves, black jeans, and a pair of old looking running shoes.
She ignored him at first; her red eyes locked in what was in front of her - the crowds of teenagers amassed together, socializing. Eventually, she seemed to have gotten annoyed with my new friend's repeated poking, and the small lock of her blonde hair that seemed to defy gravity twitched ever so slightly.
"What?! What do you want?!" the mystery girl hissed as she turned to face him "Can't you use that dense wolf-brain of yours and actually try to notice that the headmaster of Beacon is about start the introduction ceremony?!"
Aero turned his head into the direction the girl had been looking before he "interacted" with her. I turned my head into the same direction as well to try and see the person who invited me to this social prison. Needless to say, I was shocked.
That's Ozpin?! He looks like nothing like the time we met!
In front of the large group to soon-to-be students, stood a man who famous huntsmen and huntresses labeled as the strongest huntsman to have ever live in our generation, "Supreme Overlord" Ozpin. However, unlike the professional attire he wore when we "met", standing in-front of the future huntsmen and huntresses was an ill-looking man with terrible bed hair, wearing nothing but a pair of white pajamas; and it was only the pair of distinctive black sunglasses, and his signature cane that he gripped so ever dependently, that allowed me to recognize him.
Beside him was a middle-aged woman with short light blonde hair, wearing a white blouse where the sleeves extended to the arms, with a purple cape hanging on her back, followed by a black skirt. She was probably there be there to help the ill-man if he collapses.
"That's the guy that people call The Supreme Overlord?" Aero asked the short girl in shock.
"Jus-just shut up!" she yelled with a hint of embarrassment on her cheeks. She probably didn't even notice it until now. I pulled my hood down even further to show my empathy for her.
She must have seen me do that, since her face got slightly redder, and she threw Aero aside as she stomped angrily towards me.
"What? You think this is some kind of sadistic joke?!" she threatened as suddenly grabbed me by the collar of my hood and pulled me towards eye level. "Well, c'mon funny guy! C'mon laugh again, I dare you! And then we'll see how big your balls are after I rip them off and shove the-"
"N-N-No, y-you go-t t-the wrong idea!" I managed to say as the fear in my eyes lit up like a flash bang, "I p- pu -pulled my hood d-down si-"
Ah stuttering, one of the many gifts of the socially awkward...
"Hey, hey, hey!" Aero said quickly as he got in-between us, fortunately forcing the angry demon to let go of me. "Let's just put this flood behind a dam, ok? How about we become friends? The name's Aero and the poor fellow you're scaring is Red, so wh- "
A loud screech was heard over the speaker boxes.
"Ahem...now that I...have -*cough -your attention- *cough* - I would begin by - *cough* - sincerely apologizing for my cur - *cough* - entappearance. You see -*cough - one of the fourth year students decided it would be a -*cough - funny idea to spike my co -*cough - ffee with corgi urine..." Ozpin managed as the crowd began to question the health, and possibly the sanity, of this great huntsman. "You don't need to worry -*cough - children, I've already cleaned the vile venom -*cough - with my aura and no-*cough -w I'm only suffering t-*cough -he after effects..."
There was a brief silence as he explained this, shortly after, he put took a small canister which was probably his medicine. Out of thin air. And downed the whole thing.
What is this? I don't even...
"Ahem, I'll keep this brief before I lose conscience..." Ozpin started as he cleared his throat, his voice sounding slightly stronger than before. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energ- "
Ozpin suddenly collapsed on the stand, but before his body could crash onto the ground, a magic glyph suddenly appeared and stopped the unconscious headmaster in mid-air. The woman beside him had used her crop to enable some sort of spell. She then casually moved to the mic-stand and began in a sharp tone:
"My name is Glynda Goodwitch and I am a professor here at Beacon Academy. Therefore you, as the future students attending this prestigious school, must and always show respect to me and the faculty here. Headmaster Ozpin has made a great deal of getting of bed to greet each and every one of you here, so I highly recommend that if you wish to stay here, you pretend that this little incident has never happen."
With a flick of her crop, Ozpin's body suddenly ignited a bright purple, and with a flash, he vanished out of thin air.
"Now do I make myself clear?" the stern woman asked rhetorically. "Good, you will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
And with same trick she did to the headmaster, she vanished as well.
After a brief moment, the people in the auditorium began to leave, either to explore the school grounds or to take an airship and relax in the city of Vale for awhile.
As the room began to empty, I noticed the girl who threatened to tear my testicles off, begin to leave. I needed to make things right with her; I didn't want to make an enemy with her or her possible friends in my future here at Beacon. I knew that if I talked to her, it might make things worse due to my lack of ability to properly maintain a proper conversation, so I quickly nudged Aero with my elbow and shifted my head over to her.
He seemed to have gotten the wrong idea, because as soon as he saw who I was referring to, he quickly gave me a mischievous grin.
"Wow Red", Aero chuckled, "I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff with women."
You have got to be kidding me.
"Never mind, I'll do it myself..." I grumbled to him as I slowly made my way to her.
"You go get her, tiger!" he joked as he gave me a thumb up for good luck.
Time seemed to slow down as I got closer to her. All I needed to do was to apologize to her, and maybe, just maybe, I could get off the hook with one of my testicles still hanging. It sounded simple enough, well the testicle part anyways...
"Um...hey," I started as I lightly tapped her shoulder, "about earlier..."
You know what one of the greatest struggles when it comes to socializing with other people as a socially-poor person? Being the one to start the conversation; well in my case, talking to people the same gender is easier than having to talk to people of the opposite gender, especially when the opposite gender wants to kill you.
She quickly turned her head to me and gave me the most terrifying, soul-crushing glares I could have ever seen in my life.
"Here lies Red, the Virgin huntsman-in-training; he got his balls ripped off by a little girl"
"What?" the short girl asked in an annoyed tone, "you got some macho issue or something? Can't face getting your manly pride getting curb stomped on by a little girl? And where's that annoying friend of yours? Ha, I bet he's too terrified to even be in my shado-"
"I'm sorry..." I managed in a soft whisper, "...about...uh...offending you...e-earlier. I-it was an accident, I...pulled my hood down to avoid a-attention, I w-wasn't laughing at you o-or anything..."
She continued to death glare at me for a good solid minute.
After feeling like an eternity of awkward silence, the girl's face suddenly turned red.
"Great Monty, please don't tear off my balls!" I flinched in fear.
"N-No, I should be the one apologizing!" she said as she bowed her head which I can only assume was a show of respect. Wait, is that normal modern society?
"It's just that, where I come from...", she explained as she rose her from her bow, "...the guys there were very sexist and ridiculed me for wanting to become a huntress, so I thought that you and that wolf faunus over there were going to start making fun of me an-"
"W-wait," I interrupted, "my...er..friend over there was b-bothering you because I think he likes i-interacting with o-others, and since y-you were the closest one in his vicinity, I guess h-he wanted to try and be f-friends with you..."
She tilted her head to the left to catch a glimpse of Aero, and then back to me.
"Well, I guess it would be nice to have some friends for a change..." she mumbled to herself. Actually, I never understood why people think out loud. Is it because they think that no one can hear them, or that she doesn't even acknowledge my existance?
She extended her hand for me and said "My name is Gherasia, but please, if we're going to be friends, call me Ghras, Gherasia feels way too girly for me."
Friends?! I think Aero's big enough for my social circle. I don't need a girl with a short fuse to be part of my life! Life, when are you going to give me a break after 17 years of social torture?!
"It's n-nice to m-meet you, Gheras- er...Ghras" I stuttered as I shook her hand. I really needed to fix this habit if I'm going to be here for four years.
"Nice to meet you too, um...what was your name again..." she thought to herself out loud, "Oh yeah, it was Aero! It's nice to meet you too, Aero!"
...The girl who threatened to tear off my testicles... doesn't even remember my name. Should I test my luck and correct her? Well, I might as well give it a shot.
"Um, Ghras...?"
"Hm?"
"...the wolf-faunus over there is Aero, I'm R-"
"Red!" Aero interrupted in an eager voice as he came out of nowhere and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, "How long is it going to take you to get her number already man?! I wanna' check out the cafeteria here, ya' know?"
"W-what?!" a suddenly blushing Ghras exclaimed, "Y-you want to go out with me? B-b-but, w-we just met a-and, an-"
"NO, YOU GOT THE WRONG IDEA AGAIN!" I raised my voice, which surprised me more than the two of them. "Aero was just being joking! I don't want to go out with you!"
I thought that I had cleared things up with her, but I was so ever wrong. Life was done with its coffee break and was now going to make up for lost time, and its first client was poor me.
"W-what? You think that I'm not attractive or something?!" Ghras said; her annoyed and angry tone returning to her. "Is it because I'm flat-chested!?"
"Yes! Wait...NO! Nothing like that! Nothing like that at all!" I nervously countered with no confidence what so ever in my tone. I glanced over at her chest, and she was right: she was flat ch- wait...what the dust am I doing?!
She must have noticed me looking at her non-existent breasts, because her face became a furious shade of red.
"I can't believe I wanted to be friends with you! Y-YOU PERVERT!" Gras angrily screamed as pulled her right arm back to prepare for an uppercut.
Wait...where does she plan on hitting m-
I didn't see it coming. A very angry Gras punched me with the force of a thousand suns in my crotch.
(MEANWHILE, AT OZPIN'S CLOCK TOWER)
"Honestly Ozpin..." Glynda sighed, while looking at the ill-headmaster lying on a bed. "You didn't have to get out of bed today; Bart would have willingly done the presentation for you"
"Not attending the introduction ceremony for our future generation is like not being there to witness one's child being born..." the headmaster managed in a tired voice, "besides; I highly doubt that the future huntsmen and huntresses would be able to keep up with Oobleck's rate of -"
Before the sick man could finish, a loud high pitched scream was heard from a distant auditorium where the introduction ceremony was held.
"Glynda..."
"...Yes, Ozpin?"
"Please bring that poor fellow to the school's infirmary..."
"Very well", Glynda sighed, marking this as the 5th incident this year. With a flick of her crop, she disappeared in a purple flash.
(BACK AT THE AUDITORIUM)
I don't remember a time when I raised my voice so loud.
All it took was one punch, one very powerful punch, and now my numb legs were beginning buckle, my vision hazy, and my conscience beginning to fade. I got a quick glimpse of Aero; with both of his arms raised in the air as if he was surrendering, trying to sort things out with a very angry Ghras.
I wouldn't be able to witness the whole thing though, as I began to collapse headfirst onto the floor.
And then, everything went black.