A/N: Hey y'all, Arch here with the first chapter of JPLL! The trailers are finished, and time to actually get this show on the road! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, as we meet our crew on their very first day in Beacon.
The opening day for new first-year students in Beacon finally arrived, and the airships carrying the new initiates slowly descended, one by one, landing at the school courtyard. Out of the opening doors, freshmen flooded out in droves, each of them unique in their own special little way. Weapons of all sizes were on wide display, as well as rather overly complicated outfits, further showcasing the aspect of freedom of expression in the current generation, and a wide array of hopes and dreams accompanied each of them. Spirits were sky high, and chatter was commonplace, many people joking with one another, friends from similar combat schools meeting up and reuniting with one another in this fresh new environment. The spires of the Academy welcomed all, some already walking inside to explore the inner halls of this magnificent structure, while others opted to get some fresh air, the view from the cliffs at the end of the school's domain being quite a sight to behold.
A sight that a certain girl wearing a suit, a single briefcase, a rather gruff expression, and a cane couldn't care less for.
Perci took one glance at the people around her to know she was going to hate this. She knew that she was going to be here for her parole or whatever, but she never expected all of them to be prissy, annoying teens. Hell, if anyone was qualified to be a proper huntress out of all of those morons it was HER. At least SHE had some actual combat experience against something that was a blood hungry grimm, as those were quite easy to beat up, when you know where to hit them right. Either way, entitlement aside or what have you, she couldn't care less for this school. The only reason she was even there was that it was infinitely better than to rot in a jail cell for some totally innocent drunk fueled tantrum. She didn't even break anyone, so honestly, she deserved to be free, or, at the very least, she convinced herself as such.
Hardened leather boots clicked across the metal of the bullhead carrying her, alongside the tapping of her cane, as Perci stepped out to the open courtyard. The sun was blocked quite efficiently under her large, round and mostly dark gray hat, keeping her short and peach colored hair mostly hidden, aside for several locks that managed to pop from the sides. On top of it, to her body, she had her usual suit, something she actually took great pride in, consisting of matching colors alongside white stripes of light gray. She took great care not to step in anything, as the shoes were probably more expensive than any of those poser's weapons, making sure to be rather secluded on her path towards the insides of the school. The view didn't matter to her, and at that point, all she wanted was to get some sleep after being given about a day tops to prepare for the next four years of her life. She grumbled internally, hating every moment of it, as the mere thought of someone telling her what to do made her skin crawl. She was the mistress of her own fate, and she would never let ANYONE decide anything for her.
As she walked, looking down at her scroll, reading something online out of boredom, she felt something press against her front, and before Perci knew it, she was pushed back lightly, having bumped into one of the other freshmen. She already pictured some generic asshole trying to act all high and mighty, thinking they're some kind of main character or some shit, when instead she was greeted with a soft hand under a purple robe, and a rather calm gaze of silver eyes behind a pair of large, round glasses.
"Excuse me... But are you alright? I'm terribly sorry for bumping into you." Her voice came out, neutral and balanced. Perci shrugged her off, and after noticing the cross pendant on her chest, she realized what kind of person she was talking to.
She couldn't ask for anything worse.
"Yeah, yeah... Whatever." She staggered up, brushing the dirt off her suit. Wanting to get out with this conversation as quickly as possible, she came to leave, but not before pulling a cigar out of her suit, putting it in her mouth and realizing she forgot the lighter. She figured the nun wouldn't probably smoke, but there was no harm in asking for a light regardless. Hell, she saw some religious folk who smoked in her past. "Hey uh... Got a light?" She turned to the nun again, who noticed the cigar in her mouth, her face twisting in slight disgust.
"No, I do not. And I would suggest you do not poison your body with such filth in the first place. The Lord didn't give us a body of flesh for us to taint it." She replied swiftly and vindictively. While she didn't expect to have the best response ever from someone like her, the minute lecture, coupled with the bad day overall, still managed to piss Perci off.
"Oh yeah? And who the fuck do you think you are, eh? Some nun bitch thinking she can tell ME what to do?" Perci started to lash out, already at the end of her patience, only matched by the nun's sheer zealous righteousness.
"I am Leila Heavenward, if you must know. And I simply speak the truth." She replied with a cold, vindictive tone.
"Well, I got your truth right here!" Perci readied a fist, sending it towards the unsuspecting nun's face, and while regularly she couldn't see it coming, for Leila's fortune, she didn't need to. Quickly enough, Perci's hand was met with another's, an older woman with blonde hair and crop in her free palm.
"Ms. Valiére..." The woman started, and Perci shook her off, taking her fist back to her side and letting her arm drop.
"What, you gonna send me back to jail?" She taunted the headmistress with a mocking face, showing her less and less respect every time they met.
"That is what will happen if you do not behave yourself. Remember, you are here on parole, and one of the conditions for your stay here is to avoid physical violence against any of the students, at least outside of combat class. Now, shall I have to repeat myself or do you understand?"
Perci wanted to lash out at her as well. She wanted to grab that fucking bitch, drain her aura, and then smack her across the face with the force of a sledgehammer. But, at the end of the day, and as much as she hated it... Glynda was right. She tried to calm herself, reminding herself that it was worth the wait, rather than spend her days in a single, solitary cell.
"Whatever." She shrugged, walking away slowly. She glanced back at the nun for a quick second. Hopefully, this would be the last time those two meet. The LAST thing she needed on a team, if she understood how those work right, was a bitch like her being all goody two shoes day in and day out.
From the sideline, a quiet figure watched the almost fight breaking out. She was sitting silently, pen in hand, scribbling down mathematical equations and solving them just as quickly. Oryx horns adorned the top of her head as she took a glance upwards from her ever so important research, noting how chaotic and violent some of the students could get. In a way, she knew her way around such boorish types, her siblings being the perfect example of such an archetype of personality. She expected them to meet sooner or later, on the battlefield or in class, though the thought of actually having to deal with them bothered her to a degree. The last thing she needed was for her research to be impeded by chaos occurring all around her, and obstructing her from her actual goal. It was something that she could not abide by, and thus, opted to stay out of the line of sight, for now, holing herself up in her book and remaining as quiet as her body would let her, even her breaths making not a sound.
"Boy... Did you see those two? Wouldn't want to get myself on THEIR bad side, eh?" She heard a voice close by, and looked up again, as a girl in a trench coat and a fedora approached her, a sly smile accompanied by brown eyes and a groggy, rather unenergized aura coming from her. Her light gray hair pressed against the wall as she took a seat next to the quiet faunus, staring at the other students, and after a short, awkward silence, couldn't help but question this person's motivations.
"What are you after?" The faunus asked her, cutting the chase and getting straight to the point. The other girl raised both her hands in surrender, trying to calm the spirits down.
"Whoa there, I ain't after anythin'. Just trying to start a friendly conversation." She stared at her for a quick second, before sighing, and cocking her head to the side a bit. "Tell you what, how about we try this: Hi, my name's Ash. Ash Noir. How bout you?" She asked, and the faunus decided it wouldn't hinder her down the line to introduce herself to said person.
"Hue Luminous." She said in a short breath, and expecting the conversation to be over, returned her eyes to her book, writing and rereading sections she made there in the past. Ash sat by her, looking a bit bored as she watched the students walk by, noting the many colorful personalities and so on.
"Well, nice to meet ya, Hue." Spoke Ash, her smile faded and tired. Overall she didn't have much to say to her, but regardless kept sitting there, closing her eyes and nodding off for a bit, though still being aware of her surroundings to a degree, closing her eyes and letting a nap take hold of her.
"Why are you still here?" Hue's voice cut through the darkness, and Ash slowly opened her eyes, looking at her again. "In case it was not clear, I have no intention of speak to someone else at the moment." She continued, boldly expressing herself.
"Why, am I botherin' ya?" Ash asked her, sawing in hints of venom into her voice, which Hue noticed but decided not to act upon. She didn't particularly care being there or any other place, but Hue's direct and clear approach to asking for information came off as a bit mocking, to her opinion.
"Not particularly. I did not, however, expect to be in anyone's sight for the first day. I was just wondering as to your true intentions." Hue interjected, explaining her thought process, and Ash took a sigh of relief. Regardless of her tones, Hue couldn't get the best read on her, and thus, decided within herself to keep her guard up, at least to a degree.
"Well, Hue... What can I say, for a freshman in Beacon, you're not really out there making friends are ya? Kind of making me question your intentions, wouldn't you say?" She made her comeback, grinning. While there were many things Ash couldn't do well, reading people wasn't part of them, and having a detective for a father taught her a lot about people and how to read them. Even the quiet, subtle types weren't a match to her perfect detective instincts and analysis skills, both of which she prided herself on.
"My intentions are my own, and you may question them as much as you please. Now, if you will excuse me, I have more pressing matters to attend to." She returned to her book, reading slowly, before footsteps, obviously of something originating in timber. She groaned internally again. One person she could handle and manage quite well, even if their behavior was an enigma to her eyes. Two people surrounding her would only break her concentration.
"E-Excuse me..." A shy voice finally came through, and a small looking redhead stood before them, looking rather timid and nervous around the larger groups of people around the main area of the school. Hue sighed, again. From her looks, she wouldn't be much of a bother to her, and she resumed her reading. Ash gave her a friendly, if not weary smile.
"What's up, small fry? Too scared to swim in the bigger pond?" The smell of the ocean from her clothing and the gills on the sides of her neck made it quite clear as to what she was. The small fish faunus blushed, her cheeks becoming a healthy shade of red, just like her hair, and she nodded.
"I-I... Thought this was a quiet place? S-So... Can I stay around?" She asked, her tone sincere and honest, and Ash nodded in agreement, Hue sighing and nodding once as well. The girl didn't seem to be hostile or malicious, though the moment she heard she was accepted, a large smile drew on her face, and she sat down next to the two of them.
"Thanks! My name's Undine, by the way!" She exclaimed, and happily sat next to the two girls, talking to Ash who was actually willing to spend some effort keeping a conversation up. For the most part, Hue was just surprised to see her go from zero to full social flower so quickly, contemplating her decision to dub the little faunus a non-issue.
"So, what's up with you, seeing a fish out of sea like that?" Ash asked, making another quip, though Undine only managed to cringe slightly from all the sea-based humor.
"Well... I wanted to be strong enough to be able to go anywhere I wanted, so... Yeah. I came to Beacon to study." She replied gingerly, making Ash chuckled silently at her words. A trivial motive, from what Hue could gather. Many were like this Undine character, from a first glance, though at the end of the day her own goals held much higher priority to her attention.
"Freedom, eh?... Can't say I haven't heard that before. Plenty here want freedom, you know." She mentioned, noting her as words down carefully.
"Oh. That's cool I guess. But what matters here is what I want!" Undine called out again, puffing her chest a little, and feeling a bit proud of herself for being so sure of her life goals. All Hue could do is roll her eyes at the genericness of the moment.
"Well Undine, here's to hopin' we'd get to be on the same team, eh?" Ash raised a knuckle, and Undine, staring at her for a brief moment, bumped it back, smiling.
"Yeah! Sounds like lots of fun!" Undine's tone shifted vastly, compared to her former introduction, to a much more energetic one, as she exclaimed to Ash in her not so subtle indoor voice, or lack thereof. At this point, Hue couldn't bear to be forced to this go on and on and finally opened her mouth.
"Regardless, I would appreciate some peace and quiet, if that is not a bother, Undine." Hue's voice came out of nowhere again, making the two girls turn their attention to her. Ash sighed again, and got up, signaling for Undine to come with her.
"Alright, alright... I gotcha. Come on Lil' fishy, I guess we can find some other quiet corner to chat in. Should be about four of those, at least."
"Alright. Sounds good." Undine smiled, getting up and walking away with Ash, the two of them talking to one another and making small talk. Another skill Hue surprisingly had a severe lack in. She honestly didn't find the point in making small talk, it was just a waste of time with no purpose to it whatsoever. Regardless to the two girls keeping her company for a short while, she soon enough returned to her studies. Research about the moon wasn't going to be done by itself, and so, without a glance, she resumed delving back into the wells of knowledge, hoping to extract another concrete piece of information about the celestial object in the skies she adored so.
A bit of time passed, and Glynda finally made the official announcement, alongside Ozpin, to all the new freshmen in the school. And while Leila and Hue paid attention to their words from their own respective spots, Perci couldn't care less, opting to slouch around on one of the mattresses handed to the students and pick her nose nonchalantly. Unfortunately for her, the nun was still close enough to her to note her behavior, and so, decided to pay the delinquent another visit, looking gruff at the girl as she raised her head at the approach of a visitor to her small domain.
"What? Got another lecture to tell me?" Asked the grinning Perci, a smirk spreading on her face. Leila's eyebrow twitched, though her expression, for the most part, didn't change.
"Did you even listen to Headmaster Ozpin and Glynda? They just gave us some very crucial information about our stay here, you know. Ignoring them would be a grave mistake."
"Oh yeah? Let me guess, he made some bullshit speech about having to carry your own damn weight and la di da di da." Her finger twirled as she spoke, clearly having no heart or care put into her words. Leila sighed, trying to calm herself down, sitting next to the girl.
"That is true... But he is right, after all. The Lord has given you, me, all of us this trial to overcome. I truly hope that you would take that to heart."
"Well, let me tell you a little something, you stuck up cunt:" Perci leaned in a little, or at least, as much as laying on her side would let her. "I've been pullin' my own fucking weight for long enough to know what it's like. So trust me, out of everyone here, a fucking nun is the LAST person who has the right to tell ME that."
"E-Excuse me?!" Leila finally raised her voice, her anger growing out of bounds, and out of her control. "And who are YOU to pertain as to my private life? A sinner like yourself could never understand the agency of my mission of the power in my faith!" She called, her zealous tendencies showing again. Perci merely rolled her eyes.
"And THERE we have it. You think you're SO much better than me, eh? If I weren't on parole, I'd teach ya a lesson, but I suppose you get a free pass... For now." She gruffed, turning to the side. Leila could only stare at her with a slight shock on her face, trying to contain herself from bursting right there and then.
"Ohh!... I'm not better than everyone! I never said that!" She tried to defend herself, playing right into Perci's hands, who grinned with her back turned to the nun. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down once more. "All I said, is that Ozpin's words hold a lot of weight to them, agree or not."
"Well, I don't. Now, YOU have two choices nun: Leave it at that, or try and make an idiot out of yourself even more." Perci turned to her again, with a large, comically cynical, and condescending smile. "So, what'll be?" She asked, voice drenched in venom. This was Leila's last straw.
"Hmph!" She turned her head, walking away, thinking herself the bigger person. In all her years... She had never met such a heinous sinner such as this Perci girl. The Lord must have put her through many trials that she never succeeded to become such a rotten person. Her steps away were followed with the echoes of a laugh from her aggressor, following her a bit until they were drowned out completely by the voices of other students surrounding her.
As she paced about, currently in deep thought and searching for a quiet place to pray and ease her mind, Leila bumped into someone herself, not noticing as she staggered back a meter or so. She looked up, seeing a girl, with short copper-colored hair, a floor length dress, a tight looking top, and an entirely blank face, not showing a hint of emotion.
"O-Oh... I apologize." She strived to be better than that cretin she had to deal with earlier, bowing to the girl apologetically. The girl turned to her, seemingly blank as ever. Opening her mouth and speaking with a voice not going over a whisper.
"It is fine. With your current trajectory and velocity, it was bound to happen." She spoke in a calm, quick pace, no stutters nor pauses in her speech at all. Leila couldn't help but find her behavior a bit odd, but regardless, she would never impede on the privacy of another.
"I see. I apologize regardless." She came to turn away, before feeling a hand from the short figure tug at her robe, getting her attention again. Leila herself wasn't the tallest out there, but despite that this person seemed to be a few inches shorter.
"Excuse me, but where are you from? Your accent is a bit different than citizens Sanus." She seemed interested, or at least her question implied as much, and Leila figured her slight accent gave the fact she was not from Vale away.
"Well, I hail from a small village called Hopestead, around Anima." She answered the little girl's question.
"I see. Thank you very much." She bowed as well, almost one to one like Leila herself, turning and walking away, leaving a confused nun in her wake. Leila shook her head shortly after.
"Now now, Leila. Digging into other's matters is unbecoming of you." She spoke to herself, a habit she tried to rid herself off, but still managed to rear itself in her actions periodically, shaking her head a bit to clear it and returning to her pacing about, searching for something to distract her from the current flow of events.
After putting her things in the ballroom, and setting everything for the night, Perci decided to go out for a stroll, and get her mind in order. So far, the only thing she's seen around her was teens being teens, and while she couldn't really call herself any better than those idiots, at least age-wise, she knew deep down that she was, in fact, better. Hell, as far as she knew she could take on their collective asses and beat the ever loving crap out of them with one hand tied behind her back. Taking the fresh air of the outside to her lungs, she mused over the fact that in the deepest reaches of the city she wouldn't find such clean air. At least there was one good thing to being in Beacon, and she'd admit that much.
While Perci was walking about, a lit cigar in her mouth with a pick pocketed match she lifted off some bloke earlier at the day, she suddenly heard a soft, echoing voice, singing purely and with conviction. Drawn to the heavenly voice she heard, she turned around, starting to walk towards it, passing and completely ignoring a very focused Hue, with a small telescope to her side, striding towards it until she found the source of the voice at last in the main courtyard of the school.
The girl that appeared before her was rather short, but not too much. Long, blonde locks of hair fell from her head, curling a bit at the bottom, reaching her back. To her top, she had a tank-top, combined with a simple frilly dress to her bottom, making her appearance rather charming to any onlooker, and thankfully for Perci, she was alone as well, singing with that angelic voice she was sure many were drawn to. She stood behind one of the pillars, closing her eyes and grinning as the girl sang her song, enjoying every minute of it before finally hearing the muse's song come to a close, and while she could gladly pay for more, she decided instead to unveil herself.
"That's a nice voice you got there, Love." Perci said, turning from behind a pillar and facing this mystery girl directly, making her jump a bit in surprise and step back a bit.
"W-Who are you?!" She called, still very much flustered. Even her regular voice was adorable, and Perci started to pace slowly towards her.
"Name's Perci. What's yours, angel?" Perci's tone was cocky and overly confident as ever. She figured girls like that like the "bad boy" attitude, which she had in spades, and so decided to just act naturally and see where this goes.
"M-Melody..." She said, blushing, and stepping back as the rather intimidating looking person walked towards her, still dressed in a day to day uniform.
"Well, Melody." Perci approached her a bit more, the girl stepping back with each step forward. At some point, she stopped, to try and not scare her away. "Did anyone ever tell ya your voice is amazing?"
"I-I'm not interested." Melody managed to utter, seeing right through Perci's attitude. Perci 'tsked' internally, but not being one to give up on her goals, pressed on regardless, dropping the act.
"Oh come on... You know you want this. I may not be a guy, but trust me, those pussies in their ain't got NOTHING on me." She cooed, flexing a muscle to show off, years of physical labor and training toning her body significantly, and making Perci rather muscular and well built. However, unlike the reaction she excepted from the girl, Melody only stepped back further.
"I said I'm not interested! Keep away from me you creep!" She turned around, running back inside. Perci cackled as she ran.
"Then I'll talk to ya later!" She laughed, not bothering to chase her. If there was something good about Perci that she could admit, was that whatever she wanted, she GOT. For her, this was more of a minor setback than a total rejection, as this was not the first innocent, pure girl she managed to woo. Granted, none of them looked as hot as Melody in her eyes, but she disregarded the thought, instead resuming her earlier train of thought. She looked back, seeing Hue on the way, who was staring at her direction quietly.
"What're you lookin' at?" Perci gruffed, and Hue waved her head.
"Nothing whatsoever." She concluded swiftly and packed up her telescope, having no interest in speaking to such a rude, mannerless girl and heading back inside to write down some of her thoughts. All Perci could do after that was look up at the night's sky herself.
"Ah man..." She sighed to herself, speaking in a rather neutral, joking tone. "This is gonna be such a bother, isn't it?..." She laughed to herself, puffing on her cigar as she stared upwards, thinking about the chaos that was initiation that would fall upon her tomorrow.
A/N: And... That's a wrap! I hope you all enjoyed it, and don't forget to review, follow and favorite as we continue with the adventures of JPLL.