I don't know what a SYOC is, but sure, let's go with that, for now.
This chapter's has some insight of the village the Kouya grew up in, it also shows a bit of his personality. Not really much action until the next chapter, but it's still a good read to pass time.
"She left us." The Jaune muttered in dejection.
"Yeah, she did." Kouya agreed absently, panning his eyes around the auditorium of Beacon and pulling his hood up.
The place was filled with Hunter-hopefuls, gathering both the groupies and the loners. Ruby separated from them earlier when her blonde friend that ditched her called out for the girl. This left Jaune and Kouya to themselves once again. They moved over to the center of the room and close to the spot where Ruby and her blonde friend was. Jaune was a bit depressed that their new friend didn't think to take them with her.
"The least she could have done was introduce us to her friend." Jaune grumbled.
"Not a chance." Kouya replied, eyes still roaming around the room.
"I mean, did you see that blonde? She was pretty amazing!"
"Dazzling."
"Though I still think that Snow Angel was still pretty sweet…"
"Your taste buds need examining." Kouya spotted a Faunus stumbling in the crowd while she was on her way to the corner of the room where most of her kind took refuge in the sea of humans.
"But in terms of looks, they were both pretty high up there." The blond nodded to himself sagely.
"No doubt about that."
"It would have been awesome to be an acquaintance of her, at least."
"You dream pretty high." Kouya muttered.
"I mean for both of- are you even listening?" Jaune finally noticed that his friend hadn't been looking at him and was rather distracted every time he asked a question.
"Hmm-, I'm sorry, wha-?"
The blond's eyebrow twitched a bit. "Don't give perfect responses when you don't even know what I'm saying! It's just… freaky! What were you even doing?"
Kouya had been checking out the combat gears of every student that he could see, judging both their looks and practicality. He was sorely disappointed with some of them.
There are some who chose looks rather than usage, and more of them looked uncomfortable after a day of use. There was one that looked more like a model than a Hunter in training. He grimaced at that, hoping that their time here in Beacon would fix that wardrobe functionality soon. Their gears looked very likely to get grabbed by a clawed hand of a Grimm.
Their careers would end pretty quickly even before they start.
"I'm checking to see how the students here compare to my other peers back in the village."
"Well, what do you see?"
"Disappointment."
Jaune's eyebrows rose in surprise in the surety of the admittance. "Oh. Why do you say that?"
Kouya thought for a moment before remembering that Jaune wasn't from his village and that his home was pretty unknown to almost everyone that didn't have the Liens to hire them. The services that his father and mother's family provide weren't exactly cheap, but they do have a one hundred percent guarantee of success.
Collateral damage notwithstanding, of course.
The Amakusa family would go out of the village searching for clients to raise their village's funds, and the Mars, his mother's family, would get the job done. The Machina family would provide the weapons for the fighters of the village, and they are also in charge of the Dust storage, as well as the technology to keep up with the world outside.
The jobs provided in his village were mostly categorized into three groups: Fighters, Scholars, and Farmers.
Fighters mostly consist of the Amakusa and Mars, with the occasional Machina who wanted to travel the world and update their village to the world's current technology. The Scholars were mostly of the Machina family, with a few Mars who wanted to use their great strength to forge and create things rather than just break stuff with it. Farmers are the ones who keep the agriculture of their village, mixed with all of the three families most of the time. They are the ones who were never really suited for violence and chose to maintain the village's own food supply as their task.
Right now, Kouya was comparing the students to the young fighters of his village.
The Mars were pretty brash and confident, with both strength and skill to match their boasts. Their young adults could pound a Boarbatusk into submission, while their adults, who have trained their bodies to the peak of physical condition, could wrestle against an Ursa and win.
Kouya himself was an Amakusa, the family that mostly focuses on quick, efficient and decisive victories. In a match, he'd even kick his opponent's balls if it was allowed, just to move on and save himself the trouble thinking of another way to win. The Amakusa were like the Ninjas of the village, but instead of being secretive, they were more shy and awkward to public appearance, with the adults going so far as to wear masks when they find work. Even Kouya has a mild case of that shyness to strangers, but instead of a mask, he'd rather pull up his hood. It would have been worse of his Mars mother hadn't beaten most of it out of him.
Those were the most awkward days of his childhood.
Machina were the scariest type of fighters, in Kouya's opinion. They would analyze and observe their opponents, then systematically tear them apart, piece by piece. Psychological warfare was their forte, picking at their opponent's brain until they get bored or the fight was over. Most of the village was quite relieved that there were only a few Machina that ever wanted to learn how to fight.
Comparing those types of fighters to the ones that he could see in the auditorium, he was a bit happy to say that he was disappointed with them, though their clothes gave him the bad kind of disappointment. There was none that he could see that had an over-the-top quirk. No over confidence backed up by super strength, no bipolar people that could go from shy to threatening, and no sadistic bastards that are too oblivious to realize that they are actually sadists.
Yes, the disappointment washed over Kouya like a relaxing breeze on a fresh spring morning.
"Jaune, let's just say that the people in my village aren't really what you call 'Normal' in current society."
"Are they Faunus?"
Kouya paused, considering his friend's statement. "… That's racist, Jaune."
"Wha-? No! No, no, that's not what I meant!" the blond waved his arms in front of him, denying the accusation of his friend.
"Do you have anything against Faunus?" Kouya asked carefully.
There were a few Faunus in his village, but all of them were living comfortably. Back after the war between the Faunus and the Humans, some of them wandered to his home, but most of the villagers considered them as assets rather than discriminating them. And new blood was always welcome to the village.
"Of course not! I just thought that you meant to say was that the people in your village weren't exactly human!"
"…" Kouya was considering those words.
"…" Jaune was silently pleading that he didn't offend his friend.
"That was actually pretty close to the truth, Jaune." Kouya muttered with a bit of shame and embarrassment.
The headmaster was really taking his time for the speech to the new students. Kouya looked over to the wall clock high above the stage and realized that they still had a few minutes. Maybe they should have taken their time exploring the campus for a bit?
He looked to where Ruby and her friend were and nudged Jaune with his elbow. "Hey look, its Snow Fairy."
The blond turned his head to where Kouya was pointing and, indeed, the girl in white from before was talking to Ruby again. Though she did still look miffed and was making Ruby take something from her hand.
"I think she looks more like a Snow Angel." Jaune rebutted.
"I see a dress, Jaune, not a robe or a piece of cloth covering her modesty. And besides, angels are kind, flawless, and well mannered. This one isn't. Right now she's being more like a bi-"
"-Don't say it." Jaune interrupted.
"Bipolar. I was going to say 'Bipolar'." Kouya deadpanned. "Come on; let's move over to their spot. It's better to be close to people you know than standing here looking lost."
Back to Ruby and the lady in white, Ruby had her hand out to her and was trying to start over her meeting with the grouchy Snow Fairy.
"Hello, Weiss, I'm Ruby. Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies." Ruby finished with a cheesy grin.
Weiss took a moment to look at the girl, it was clear that she really didn't want to associate herself with Ruby. "Yeah! And we can paint our nails, try on clothes and talk about cute boys." Weiss Schnee talked on in an excited tone, but it was rather coated with a heavy dose of sarcasm. "Like tall, blond and scraggly over here." She pointed behind her, where she noticed that Jaune and Kouya had walked up to them during Ruby's introduction.
"Hm?" Jaune reacted when his Snow Angel pointed her thumb at him.
Ruby finally realized who Weiss was pointing at and waved her hand at them in greeting. "Oh, hey guys!"
"Hey Ruby." Both Kouya and Jaune answered at the same time.
"Oh right. Yang, these are the two guys that helped me after you ditched me and I exploded. The guy in the armor is Jaune Arc and the one with the hood up is Amarkusa Kouya."
"Amakusa, actually." Kouya corrected.
"Oh, my baby sister made guy friends on her first day!" the blonde, Yang, went over to give her sister big squeeze when she introduced the two boys to her. "but couldn't you have left out the part where I ditched you?"
"No need. We saw you do it." Kouya interjected.
"Oh." Yang scratched her head in embarrassment.
"Amakusa?" Weiss repeated the word, looking at the hooded Kouya, with most of his face covered. "By chance, do you know a group of people wearing masks and calling themselves Amakusa as well?"
"That depends." He raised a curious brow. "Who's asking?"
Weiss stood up straight and faced the hooded teen with her Flat Chest of Justice out and her chin up. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."
"Ah, my family's new client." Kouya nodded, recalling the last name of the girl.
"You two know each other?" Jaune asked.
"Not personally." Kouya admitted, crossing his arm. "My family's recently been employed by the Schnee Company after a recent attack of their cargo."
"And they weren't cheap." The Schnee heiress muttered bitterly.
Kouya shrugged helplessly. It's not like he could do anything about the price of their contracts. "We have a perfect record and no failures for the last century. We always offer the best people for the task if they are available. Really, you shouldn't complain, everyone in the Amakusa line up are all professionals."
"I still could not believe that my father would hire mercenaries to escort our next shipment." The Snow Fairy grumbled.
"Hey, it's not like we're the only choice you had. There are other groups out there who do the same jobs that we do." Kouya's village wasn't the only place where people could hire mercenaries. They could have even hired Hunters to guard their cargos. But they didn't for some reason. "You're family even has those new Combat Bots that are just coming out, right?"
The heiress continued to grumble irritably before Yang walked up to him and Jaune. "Hi. Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's sister." She introduced, holding out her hand.
"Jaune Arc." The blond shook her hand before remembering that she was the one that Ruby was with on the airship. "Sorry about your shoe."
"Don't sweat it, Vomit Boy." Though her tone was forgiving, her grip on the boy's hand was anything but gentle.
Jaune took his hand back and blew on it, walking up to slump close to the Heiress. Kouya was next to shaking the blonde's hand. "Amakusa Kouya. And for the record, my families are contractors, not mercenaries."
"Gotcha."
Their attentions were brought to the stage, along with the rest of the students, when a man with grey hair walked up to the microphone. Apparently this was the headmaster of Beacon.
"I'll… keep this brief."
Kouya stood up straight, crossing his arms on reflex again as he did. This was a Huntsman, a man who has seen the world and protected it from the Grimm. He wanted to see what they were like, and what they would pass on words of wisdom to the students here in Beacon.
"You have travelled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you finish, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people."
Ruby smiled, looking beside her to her sister in excitement. She had been dreaming of this day, to go to Beacon and become a Huntress when the time comes. Kouya and the rest shared the feeling; they wanted to be a Hunter for their own reasons.
"But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction."
The smile on Kouya vanished.
"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."
Just like that, reality came back once more to the hopeful students. Being a Hunter wasn't fun and games. They would fight and kill, both Grimm and humans alike. Kouya had only ever fought Grimm, never humans. But the stories that his parents told him showed that not all people were good, and that there would come a time where he would have to take a life. It wasn't a question of 'If it would happen' but 'When it happens'.
With the life of his village, it's only inevitable.
Stepping away from the microphone, Headmaster Ozpin walked off the stage and allowed Ms. Glynda Goodwitch to give the instructions to the students.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed"
Little by little the students began to exit the auditorium, with the heiress of the Schnee following them.
"He seems kind of… off." Yang muttered as she and the others also got ready to leave, letting the crowd thin out before moving.
"Yeah, it's almost like he wasn't even there." Ruby agreed.
"It was a reality check."
The two girls, Jaune and even the retreating heiress turned to Kouya, his hood still up and his arms still crossed.
"The students were blinded by the glamour of attending Beacon, to be actually chosen to go to this school and all of its fame."
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"Professor Ozpin was saying that hopes and dreams can only take you so far, with nothing behind it, you're surely to fail."
The group's backs straightened as they recalled the words of the headmaster, but the teen continued.
"It's either rise or fall from here on out. Will you rise to become a Hunter or will you fall from the cliffs of Beacon? I'm starting to see that coming here might not have been a mistake."
The group's faces all turned to determined, with Jaune faltering a bit. Kouya couldn't help but turn to him, his eyebrow raised behind his hood. His friend noticed him turning, but Jaune faced away instead.
It seems that Beacon wasn't for everyone.
That night, after the two boys asked about the cafeteria, every first year was gathered in the school's ballroom. Though the place was huge, some of the students weren't comfortable sleeping close to strangers. The Faunus especially were leery of all the humans.
"You'd think that huddling in one corner of the room would make them realize that they're just garnering attention." Jaune whispered to Kouya. The blond was wearing a blue feetie pajama, with a bunny heads as feet.
"Can you blame them, Jaune?" Kouya said back in reply. The dark haired teen was also wearing a feetie pajama, with him having its hood up. His feetie was black and had a ridiculous hood with ears sewn on top of them, his hands and feet were white and resembled paws instead, no opposable thumbs at all. He even has a bushy fox tail with a white tip in his arms, hugging it as he and Jaune walked back to their sleeping bags. "I'd approach them myself, but with the way I look, they'd just think I'm making fun of them."
"Yeah…" the blond agreed, re-examining his friend's choice of sleep wear. "Out of curiosity, did you choose that?"
Kouya reached up with one paw to pat the fake ears on the hood. "My mother did, for my last birthday. She got the Machina family make it for her."
"Do you hate it?"
"I love it actually." Kouya said proudly. He gesture to the tail that he was holding, showing that there was a zipper hidden under the bushy black fur. "It has a space inside where I can put a pillow in to keep me comfortable when I sleep."
"But why a fox?" Jaune asked curiously.
"It's my dad's favorite animal. My mom wanted to humiliate me with it, but when I actually loved it, she asked the Machina family to customize it. "
"Um, who are the Machina anyway and what did they do?"
Kouya forgot that he hasn't explained to the blond his village yet. Maybe later he might just do.
"The Machina are the smartest family of my village. They're the ones who made my shin guards, Piercing Veil. As for what they did-" Kouya activated his Aura and let go of his tail. His blond friend watched in shock as the tail rose up and began swaying behind the teen lazily like it was alive. "They attached an Aura Conversion Device on the tailbone with a flexible, multi jointed, rudder along the shape of the tail. The device powers the rudder, which makes the tail move."
"That's so cool!" Jaune gushed as the tail swayed from side to side and increased in speed when Kouya boasted it proudly.
The two hadn't realize that the other students had stopped what they were all doing in order to look the pajama/costume/suit that the dark haired teen was wearing. It was ridiculous, childish, and absurd. Who wears those kinds of pajamas after reaching thirteen? But when the tail began to move on its own, everyone became intrigued.
Opinions varied from 'What the fucks' and 'Cools' of the guys to the 'That's so cute!' and 'How is it doing that' of the girls. Still, both Jaune and Kouya were oblivious of it all. The blond had his attention glued to the tail, while Kouya was busy in his moment of boasting.
Over to Ruby and Yang, the younger girl was gushing at the pajama while her sister was looking at it oddly. "What a ridiculous thing to wear."
Ruby heard her sister and glared at her, the eye wear on her head seemingly coming alive and doing it to the blonde as well. "You're just jealous that you don't have one." Ruby chastised her sister.
Yang sat on her sleeping bag for a moment and thought of her in an animal themed costume, with a swaying tail as well. It didn't have a hood cause it messes with her hair, so it was a headband instead. Maybe a lion? Or a tiger? A very sexy lion/tiger costume? A one piece bikini-like costume that exposes her back, shoulders and belly, thigh high leggings and paw mittens.
Yes, she could definitely make that work.
She smiled. "Me like. Rawr…"
Ruby looked at Yang, already figuring out her sister's thoughts. It wasn't that hard when you notice her lips curled in a sly smile and her eyes narrowed into a leer. "You know, sis, you could just ask him where he got that."
The blond perked up at the thought. Her imagination might not just be an imagination after all. "Great idea!"
"Wait, what?" Ruby's questioning look was replaced by surprise when her sister stood up and grabbed her hand, dragging her to where their new friends were standing. "Wait, Yang! I wasn't being serious about that!"
"Too late, little sis." Yang's face warped into an excited mask as she locked on to the Amakusa boy's swinging tail. It was quite hypnotic, the way it moves so realistically.
The two boys were already on their way back to their sleeping bags again, with Kouya telling Jaune some of the families of his village. They didn't notice Yang dragging her sister over to them until the energetic of the two called out to them.
"Hey you two!" the blonde cheered happily.
Both boys turned to her and were about to say their hellos when their eyes were suddenly caught in a gravitational pull by Yang's shirt. More specifically the two things that were trying so hard to rip said shirt apart.
Both males gulped audibly.
Of course Yang caught them staring. It was good to know that she could get that kind of reaction to any boy she wanted. She was rather proud of her body, and she wasn't afraid to flaunt it in public.
Within reasonable exposure, of course.
"Nice jammies Kouya." Her eyes were still on the tail, but the paw hands and feet also garnered her attention. "You too Jaune." She said flatly. The guy didn't miss the tone, making the boy slump his shoulder at the dismissal.
"There there." Ruby had moved over to the male blond's side and patted him on the back. It wasn't his fault that his parent's didn't want to humiliate him by making him look like a pet with moving animal parts.
"You too, Yang." Kouya stepped back a bit to look at the blonde girl fully. The snug shirt and high cut shorts were really emphasizing her chest and long silky legs. Though those really didn't stop anyone from noticing her other great features. Yang was definitely a very beautiful woman. "Very nice indeed."
"Why thank you." Yang struck a sheepish pose that lacked any sincerity in it. Even so, it still made the teen tilt his head a bit to look at her in a different angle, his hood and sewn on animal ears following the motion. Both their smiles widened with what they saw.
"Uh… Kouya, you do know that's my sister, right?" Ruby had successfully consoled Jaune over and both were looking at the blatant flirting with uneasy stares.
"Your sister started it." Kouya said. The teen earned a playful smack on the shoulder from said sister.
Ruby couldn't believe how close the two were acting. Didn't she just introduce them earlier today? "How come you're so friendly with my sister already?"
Kouya looked at Yang, who shrugged, before looking back at Ruby. "She makes it hard to dislike her." Yang was a little too easy going. Her flirty and lively attitude makes it easy for his detached outlook and calm approach. She was the first to act, and he just had to react in return. It was that simple.
Yang puffed out her impressive chest, gaining the eyes of most of the guys close to their spot. "Thanks, Kouya. You're not bad yourself."
Kouya smiled in return.
"Anyway, we just came here to ask about that." The blonde girl said, pointing to the tail behind the Amakusa teen. "Where did you get that and where can I get one?"
"Blunt." Kouya deadpanned. "You kind of remind me of my mother, only with blond hair."
"She must be a great woman." Yang sagely nodded. Anyone resembling her must be a great person. She has many friends and everyone likes her.
"Right." Kouya said. Just agree and move on. Don't rebut it or you'll get mauled. "The pajama's a common buy, but the addition to the tail is a personal custom."
"It's a custom?" Yang blinked. Ruby was now looking the tail differently.
The girl in red and black motif went over to Kouya's other side and crouched down, looking at the joint that connected the tail to the body. Jaune and Yang noticed the girl's intense stare, unaware that it was making the one wearing the pajama nervous.
"Ruby?"
"Yes, Kouya?"
"Stop staring at my butt." Kouya was pulling his hood down with his paw-hands and hiding his face. His Amakusa shyness was showing again. With all the people that he now noticed that were looking at him, he was really starting to get uncomfortable.
"Eep!" Ruby jumped back, her face burning red. Her head turned side to side and realized that everyone was staring. She wished that she had her cloak right now and was doing the same thing that Kouya was doing. Stupid Aura Conversion Device curiosity.
It was a few minutes later when Jaune and Kouya took their sleeping bags and put them close to where Ruby and Yang had taken space. Kouya had his hood pulled up, the hem going over his nose and was back to hugging his tail again. Ruby had taken her cloak from her bag and was using it to cover her face as well. Yang was looking amused to all of this while Jaune just didn't know what to do in this situation.
"Come on you two, it wasn't that bad." Yang started.
"Easy for you to say." Ruby muttered.
"Unlike you, Yang, not everyone can take all of that attention." Kouya muttered. He really wanted this day to end already. The pajamas didn't bother him that much, but the stares were just too... distracting.
"But you have to admit, it was pretty funny." Said Yang. It was always fun to her sister so flustered. Her new friend was just an added bonus. Just looking at him acting like a shy fox was really entertaining. She really wanted to crush him in a hug. A friendly, crushing hug.
But a crushing hug, still.
"For you maybe." Ruby said, chucking one of her extra pillows at her sister's face. It was already awkward being the youngest here in Beacon, she didn't need people calling her a perv for checking out a guy's bum...
Wait! That wasn't what she meant!
Ruby buried her head deeper under her hood, the thought of looking at a guy's rear was really embarrassing!
Jaune was off to the side with a placating arm gesture. "Come on guys, no harm done, right?"
He got two hooded glares for his trouble.
Jaune slumped in his spot on his sleeping bag. Nobody really reacted to his feetie pajama now that there was something there that was of more interest. He was happy that no one was making fun of him anymore, but he did feel bad for his friends.
Ruby went back to writing her letter earlier before Kouya showed off his tail. She wanted her friends in her previous school to know her experience here in Beacon. Already, she has a topic to write about. She made sure that there wasn't anything incriminating in her letter or anything that might confuse them with her words. The embarrassment from earlier was still fresh in her mind.
Kouya was lying on his side, making his mind wander to tire himself out until he fell asleep. Sometimes having a lot of stamina didn't help him at night. It would have been easier if he had a grueling day, but he really didn't move that much in the morning. He hoped that mental fatigue would help knock him out.
Yang was back to her observation to the hot hunks that were sleeping with no tops on. She very much approved of them. Being a hunter in training really did wonders for their bodies. She should know herself. Still, it made her wonder of her new friends. The slim fit of the pajamas were enough to get the imagination going, but that really didn't compare to the real thing.
Her eyes moved back to the two guys. Jaune was on his back an was already covered in his blacket, while Kouya had curled himself to the side and away from them.
Jaune, she could tell, had a really good physique but was still lacking a bit, Kouya on the other hand... she didn't know.
His earlier clothes were covering almost all of his skin, with only his head and fingers being exposed. Now his pajamas were baggy, really loose, there wasn't a hint that it gave away of his body. It's really frustrating. She wanted to at least be able to picture the Amakusa's physique, but the jammies were really getting in the way. Was he lean? Was he bulky? Does he still have a bit of soft muscles here and there? Maybe tomorrow she can get a peek. Her sister's tastes in friends weren't bad, if only Vomit Boy would straighten up, she might even be willing to give him a chance.
She noticed Kouya stand up.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Bathroom." he waved over his shoulder and walked towards the door leading to the halls. He was actually waiting for everyone else to finish using it before he went himself. He really didn't trust the strangers around him to not do something to his pajamas when he wasn't looking.
"You didn't go before?"
"Nope."
It was minutes later that Kouya walked out of the bathroom, taking his time to dry his hands before he re-zipped the upper part of his sleepwear and distracting himself with the swaying of his tail. As much as he liked the paws on his fox themed suit, it was rather troublesome when he really needed to use the toilet. But it was just so fluffy and comfy that he ignored that problem.
With the pillow filled tail in his arms once again, he made his way back to the ballroom. His eyes absently sought the sight of the moon outside the windows as he noticed the light coming from the glass windows. With most of the dust lights already turned off for the sake of the students' comfort, the castle-like interior of the school made a horror film-esque atmosphere as he walked deeper into the darkness. Either the school was really old or the person that designed the school made it that way.
But... even with the eerie feeling, the person who made the structures of the school might actually have been a romantic. They may have designed it for chance encounters of teens who would most likely venture the halls at night. Either from dares or other various reasons that teenagers would likely do in their young age. But what they didn't account for was the meeting to happen in a place where embarrassment would likely ensue.
Like the bathrooms.
Kouya turned around when he heard a squeak behind him. There, one of the Fauna was making her way out of the female restroom, her eyes tracking the black colors of his pajamas. She must have been startled. The suit was made the same shades of the Grimm, so her reaction was a given in the dark hall.
They stood there for a moment, eyes looking at each other. One set was of curiosity while the other was of uncertainty.
And that was when the Country Fox met the City Hare.