A/N: Hey everybody! I'm back, with the next chapter of JPLL! I hope y'all enjoy, I have great things planned out for this story, and I can't wait to share them with you!

Regardless, don't forget to follow, favorite, review, and most importantly, enjoy.

The next day in Beacon came slowly. The sun's light peered through the windows, and from her slumber Leila woke up, opening her eyes to another blessed day by the Lord. She rose up to sitting, opening her sleeping bag, yawning and stretching her arms wide. Leila got out of the bag, kneeling towards the sun, crossing her palms and closing her eyes, starting the day like she started any other day, with a prayer to the Lord and his many graces.

"I pray to thee, O Lord above, for granting thine humble servant the gift of breath this day." She continued her prayer through and through, going through the day's plasmas, and upon the conclusion, woke up, wearing a simple, yet moderate nightgown, covering most of her body quite well. She got up to her feet, taking the robes she folded neatly last night, as well as her toothbrush and toiletries before going to bed, and headed out to the showers, to have her morning bath, as well as dress up and prepare her weapon for the upcoming initiation. As she passed the many students, she made sure to greet each of them with a proper good morning, as well as a polite bow, as it was expected of her proper lady of House Heavenward to act. To add to this, she could not know who of those fine souls would be the ones she would end up on a team with, and thus, she made up her mind to be kind and gentle to all who crossed her path.

Some of the students she greeted her back, some even bowing like her. A radiant smile spread on her face, and her mood was uplifted compared to yesterday, in which she had to deal with that wicked and relentless sinner. Her mind twisted a bit at the thought of that girl. Such rude manners... Surely, the Lord would protect her from being on the same team with such a surly person. Regardless, she steeled herself for the very worst, taking another small prayer to calm her nerves, as she usually did, stepping into the showers at last.

About fifteen minutes later, and one very refreshing and much-needed shower, Leila felt herself primed and ready or whatever the Lord would throw at her as a trial. She quickly put on her robe, slipping it over her head and sliding her arms through the large, open-ended sleeves, spinning in place once to see everything was in order. Then, as she prepared to leave, she heard some of the students talking in the background.

"Did you hear? Pyrrha Nikos is here! THE Pyrrha Nikos!"

Of course, she knew about her, being from Mistral herself. Who wouldn't know about such a living legend, taking the regional tournament four times in a row? If there was anyone she would have loved being teamed up with, it would definitely be Pyrrha, this much she was certain with, or at the very least someone so good hearted and kind as her. Sighing as she let her hair flow, Leila found the nearest seat, sitting down and taking her hair over to her front, beginning the meticulous work of braiding herself. Overall, she could have handled it just fine, though she still would have liked someone to help her, as the task proved itself far more difficult than she bargained for.

"Excuse me, but... Do you need some help?" She heard a young, lively voice approach her, and as she turned her head, she saw a slim, slender blond make her approach. Her smile radiated warmth and acceptance, as the Lord sent her the assistance she needed so, and Leila quickly smiled back.

"It would be much appreciated, thank you kindly." She presented her brown hair with white tips to the girl, the locks flowing down all the way to her lower back. She felt the cool touch of smooth skin tend to her as the blonde sat behind her, reaching out and separating her hair to three locks, intertwining them through one another.

"So..." The girl started some small talk with her. "Are you nervous?" Her tone was filled with doubt, which Leila immediately saw upon herself to ease.

"yes... But worry not, friend. I am sure the Lord will guide us through this trial." She sounded sure of herself and confident, both admitting her own fault and trying to spare some words of reassurance to this friendly stranger. The blonde simply replied with a slightly nervous smile.

"God, huh?... I've never really prayed to God before. You think he'd still watch over me?"

Leila paused for a brief moment, considering her question. The answer was obvious to her, of course, but like many things in her life, this was a trial to her faith and her creed nonetheless. "Of course, friend. The Lord watches over us all, as we are all his dear children. You and I, the birds outside, the tree growing in the meadow, all are under his great eye and care." She gave a brief explanation of the Scriptures, the holy texts she followed, hoping this would help ease the girl's nerves, beaming a bit as she heard a sigh of relief.

"I see... It's nice to know..." The blonde paused a bit, her hands unmoving, seemingly thinking about something as she resumed her word shortly after. "By the way, my name is Melody. What's yours?"

"Leila Heavenward, but you can just call me Leila." The reply came, and with it, a genuine, happy smile. Melody gave her one back in kind, finally finishing her work, using a hand mirror to show Leila her handiwork, the latter nodding with approval.

"Thank you once again, Melody. May the Lord bless you for your kindness." She got up, bowing to the sweet girl, who nodded back, albeit awkwardly, before trailing off, to get herself fully prepared for the day to come. Leila went to her locker likewise, where her weapon laid waiting for her in its compact form, a greatsword her own height folded into itself to become no more than a blocky looking cube with a hilt. She took the blade, pressing it against her back, as it snapped to the back of her robe, nice and easy to carry. Then, while making her way outside towards the landing pad where the students were requested to show up, Leila came across another character, one that she wasn't very fond of. She turned her head, deciding to ignore the towel covered Perci as she walked past, though Leila couldn't help but notice that under the suit, the girl's body was covered head to toe with scars. So many, in fact, that she couldn't even spot a single spot of pure, untouched skin on her body beneath the suit.

"What? Somethin' you like?" Perci opened her mouth, stopping in place and turning towards the nun, a shit-eating grin on her face. Leila shook her head, turning to the girl for a brief moment.

"No. Now leave me be." She turned back, walking away, though getting on the nun's nerves was the best way for Perci to start her day so far.

From there, the rest of the students finally gathered in the courtyard, ready and primed to start the initiation. Each standing on their own pad, Professor Ozpin went across the many initiates, explaining to them how the process works. So far, for Hue, things seemed in line and order. She had already taken the time to listen to rumors around from the other students and had a rather clear picture of how the initiation works. However, one detail that made her scowl was the partner placement. The first person she would lay eyes on would be guaranteed to be on her team for the next four years.

And she would have thought about it some more, if the launch pad didn't spring up, sending her into the air and straight into the deepest confines of the Emerald Forest.

The view of the woods from above was breathtaking, if not brief. Considering her trajectory she had already planned out her descent, drawing out her katana and transforming it in hand, as a long bow was now held between her fingers. She quickly pulled an arrow from her quiver, glimmering purple, and aimed it at the tree she was speeding towards, letting the arrow fly straight. As it hit, the gravity dust inside it activated, forming a weak gravity field, allowing Hue's body to safely decelerate safely into the leaves of the tree, and from there, it was child's play jumping down, landing on the grass below. Above her, she heard a sudden whooshing sound, and looked up for a brief moment, noticing the nun in purple dash past, using her massive blade, now drawn out entirely, to guard her body as she crashed into one of the trees. The nun's landing was accompanied by a bombastic crashing sound from another area to the nun's south, most likely by someone reckless enough to just crash into a tree for a landing strategy. Regardless, she waved her head, disregarding the loud crashing noises, and made her way towards the center of the forest, where the relics they were meant to retrieve lied.

Perci landed, as one would expect, by simply relying on her massive bulk of stolen aura to shield her body from the impact. Earlier that day she made sure to prepare herself, moving amongst the students, brushing hands with them on 'complete accident', and nabbing bits of their aura with her semblance. While needing skin to skin contact was quite a bother to her, Perci was quite accustomed at this point to the ins and outs of her super unique power, easily gathering roughly an extra three hundred percent of her natural amount, which proved quite handy, all things considered.

"Good grief..." She muttered, getting up from the remains of what used to be a large, healthy tree, now reduced to bark and wood scattered all around her. She got to her feet, cleaning the dirt from her suit, looking around to make sure no one was around her, and started to walk towards the shrine. The last thing she needed was some moron catching her eyes, forcing Perci to work with someone until she could get out of this fucking mess called Beacon. If Ozpin thought he was funny with that partner bullshit, she sure wasn't laughing.

She continued to make her way through the forest, breaking everything in her way with her cane, and overflowing aura, empowering her every strike and swing. Even without a sharp edge to her weapon, foliage proved hopeless against her merciless assault on nature, and Perci actually dared to feel like things started to go her way, making decent progress.

If only out of a bush she was approaching came out Leila, their gaze crossing.

At first, Perci just stood there, blinking to make sure she wasn't hallucinating or anything of the sort. When she tried pinching her cheek, only to find the scenery unchanging, she realized the fate that just befell her, and remained speechless for a few minutes, jaw dropped, as she saw Leila's face twist from shock to anger to seemingly calm. The nun took a deep breath, to ease herself and rationalize this situation, before finally daring to open her mouth.

"...Alright, then. It would seem that the Lord has made his decision. Now... Perci, was it? Shall we?" She came to ask her, only to see Perci already walking away with her back turned towards her. "H-Hey! Get back here!" She ran after the delinquent, catching up to her, and standing in front of Perci again.

"Oi. Nun. Piss it before the grimm get a free meal." Perci threatened her with a grim look, having zero patience for this sort of bullshit. Leila, on the other hand, stood defiant, not showing fear against her attempt to scare her away.

"I will not. The rules state that upon eye contact with the first person you see, you and that person shall be partners. And as much as I do not approve of this... It would seem this is our fate. Now, let us go and find the relic, if that is not too much of a bother." She offered, speaking sternly and dry. From what she knew Perci's type wasn't the one to handle graces and articulated speech well. Getting through to her would take a more direct approach.

"Nope. Fuck this shit, I'm out." Perci concluded and tried to get past the nun, who stood still, blocking her path.

"Look... This is just as unpleasant to me as it is for you." Leila tried one more time. "However, from what I recall, you are on parole, correct? Would it truly be wise to abandon your designated teammate before the initiation had finished and go on your own? I am sure Professor Ozpin has cameras around here, and he is watching. Just consider the full implications of your actions."

Perci bit her lip. As much as she hated to admit it, the nun did have a point, and for now, it WOULD be wiser following the rules, rather than going off on her own. She ceased her attempts to go off on her own, finally walking back closer to Leila.

"Alright, Nun. Lead the way then. Might as well get over with this shit fest as soon as possible..." She grumbled, Leila nodding her head, despite the foul language leaving her mildly uneasy.

"Oh hey, lookie here songbird. Looks like we found ourselves another pair." The two of them heard a rather faint voice rear itself from the tree line around them, as two figures stepped out, one being Melody and one being a taller, complacent looking girl with a trench coat.

"Oh, hey Leila!" Melody cheered, Leila beckoning her presence with a smile.

"Well helloooooooo, nurse!" Before Leila could reply, Perci interjected, walking past her and approaching Melody with a rather pleasant looking smile. All Melody could do was step back, distrust in her eyes at the sight of the delinquent. "Ah come on, Love. Can't ya give a gal a second chance?" She tried acting cocky, though it didn't get her far, Ash stepping in between the two and turning her head to Melody.

"She botherin' ya?" She turned her head back to Perci, eyeing the other girl and

"N-No... I-I'll be fine." Melody gazed to the side, slightly unsure of herself. All Perci could do now was step back herself, giving the blonde some space.

"Alright, I'll back it up... For now~" She chuckled, pointing in a random direction. "Now, how about we all head to that temple and get those relics, eh? Shouldn't be too hard now, right?" Her true intentions to impress were quite obvious, especially to Leila, and took her hand and moved it about thirty degrees to her left.

"It's actually over there. Now come along, we haven't all day." Leila started walking, Ash and Melody following her soon after. Perci was left behind, seething with anger, and as a beowulf ran towards her, attracted to her anger, she grabbed it by the mask, breaking it to pieces in her bare hand, letting the lifeless corpse fall to the ground while she took her legs and started to walk.

"hello?... Anyone?..." Undine walked alone, in the forest, still searching for a partner. If only she could find someone to be with her, maybe the crippling loneliness wouldn't be so obvious, but for the time being, she couldn't do anything about it, and was forced to keep looking. She figured most of the students probably found a pair by now, and she desperately hoped she wouldn't be alone for much longer. Honestly, being alone, in such an unknown environment scared her to her bone, and every single rustle in the bushes managed to make Undine flinch with fear.

Suddenly, she heard a rustle coming from behind one of the trees. Needing something to distract herself from being on her own, and hoping it was another human or faunus like herself, she made her way around the tree, peeking at the other end. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw three beowulves surrounding one of the other students, who had a large backpack on her rump, with several metallic looking appendages and bronze colored hair. She was currently fending off the grimm, but it was obvious that this number, coupled with the several decaying bodies on the floor, was starting to strain her.

She had to do something!

Undine jumped right into the action, pulling out her trident with a battle cry and skewering one of the grimm straight through the head. Using it's still decaying body as a platform, she jumped into the air, throwing her weapon at another one of them hitting it dead on, landing on its fur and picking up her weapon, Oceanline, and preparing herself to take care of the last grimm. However, to her surprise, it was already laying dead on the floor, with the quiet girl standing closer to it, one of the blades at the end of her appendages covered with black ichor. Glancing at Undine, she nodded as all six of the metallic tentacles slid back into her backpack, which seemed to be pressed quite firmly to her back.

"You're... Welcome!" Undine tried breaking the ice, smiling awkwardly at the bronze-haired girl. "So, uh... Do you have a partner?" She had to ask, to make sure.

"No. I do not." Her reply was short and direct, but regardless, it made Undine's heart skip a beat. She finally found a partner to be with!

"Oh! So I guess it means we're partners now, huh?" She tried talking to her, but the only significant response she got was a single nod.

"Yes. Now, let us head to the temple. One relic has to be retrieved by the two of us." She swiftly finished up the conversation, walking away in what looked to Undine in a random direction.

"W-Wait a minute! Do you even know where to go?" Undine ran after her. "What's your name anyway?"

"My name is Copper Pirouette." The girl FINALLY introduced herself, giving a curt bow, and continuing onward. "As for your earlier question, the temple is located approximately one hundred meters southwest of us." She explained, Undine nodding. Honestly, she had no idea how this Copper knew all of this, but who cared, she had a partner!

At this point, Hue was getting rather close to the temple, though still without a partner. She had encountered some grimm along the way, though none of them proved much of a challenge to her, leaving a trail of black smoke and ichor in her wake. She just finished cutting down a small nevermore, no bigger than her head, as it fell to the floor motionless, and she sheathed her sword back inside, looking back at it for nothing more than a split second, pushing onward regardless. Another sound pierced her ears, of something walking from behind her, and she put her hand on the hilt of her blade, prepared for anything, though a happy, friendly sounding voice was the last of them.

"Hi!"

She turned around, and for the first time in her life, Hue found herself at a loss for words. The being that stood before her, a giant if nothing else to describe her, was far beyond anything she had seen on other students. Her seven-foot frame, almost unnaturally long hair, not to mention the dust growing out of it immediately caught her attention. Indeed, she did not get the time to go over every freshman, so the chance she did not encounter this girl just yet was an entirely plausible scenario. Nevertheless, having such a fascinating specimen for a partner would not be wasted on any of those other cretins.

"I... Am Hue. Hue Luminos. What is your name?" She asked the giant, who's radiant, cheerful smile did not fail her, grinning all the while. To add to this, she kept looking directly at Hue with bright, golden eyes, and while the glaring unnerved her to a degree, she could not turn down this person, and thus, figured she would do with what the hand she was dealt.

"I'm Jin!" The giant spoke, though briefly. Hue circled her a bit, the eyes following her about as she walked, and her amazement only grew with each passing moment. Not only did this person have dust in their hair, but it also seemed her very skin was entwined with the energy propellant, as if it was a living part of their body. She heard rumors, about such methods of dust utilization, though from her brief look into the matter the only records she could find were warnings and old legends, each of which could be summarized in one simple sentence:

Do not, under any circumstance, infuse dust into your body directly.

For now, at the very least, the question of what this being was had been answered. Now, came the far more intriguing query to Hue: How did she survive? According to any scientific paper she could find, the merging of dust and flesh should have caused her slow, and inevitable death, by means that were conveniently left redacted. But there this Jin person stood, living and breathing, and still staring at her with a warm, lovely smile.

"Very well. Then, it would seem we are to be partners. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She raised a hand, and Jin just stared at her, slightly confused.

"Aqua-... Aque... Uh... Aqutace?" Jin asked, and Hue couldn't help but stare at her dumbfounded, as the girl didn't even seem to understand the finer nuances of the language.

"Nice to meet you." She tried again, raising her hand anew, getting a firm, and rather crushing handshake from her new partner.

"Yaaaaay!" Jin cheered, jumping in place, her well-endowed body jumping about with her movements. Hue moved her away, deciding it was beneath her to watch this shameless display.

"Alright, shall we then?" Hue came to walk away, expecting her partner to follow her, though to her surprise Jin just walked away in the opposite direction. This was the breaking point, and Hue had to turn back, and run towards the giant again.

"What are you doing?" She confronted the girl, who was looking at her just like before, smiling innocently.

"Walking, like Mama told me to!" She replied, and immediately came to move towards the tree line, only to be stopped by Hue, who's patience was running quite thin, all things considered.

"Alright, I think there was some sort of misunderstanding here. When we started this initiation, it wasn't up to us to choose who would be our partner. Now, I need you to come with me to the temple, so we could get our relic, and move on back to Beacon, okay?" Internally, Hue was surprised Jin didn't know all of this. Indeed, the girl didn't have the brightest of minds, but there was no way she could not grasp the basic concept behind the initiation process of Beacon.

As Jin heard her request, she turned in her place again, facing Hue. "Okay!" She jumped in place, excited as ever, enjoying her time with her new friend. Hue stared at her, contemplating how easy it was to convince her to come with, and pointed her finger in the right direction.

"Then let us head off, Jin." She began to walk in the shrine's direction, Jin following suit soon after.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the cliff...

Glynda was already walking in circles, muttering to herself about the current situation. In all their years running the academy... This was a first time, to be sure.

"Who IS she, Ozpin?! We have an unrecognized person, strolling about in the Emerald Forest, and worst of all, one of OUR students just paired up with her!" She still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that some girl managed to stroll into the forest mid initiation. They always made sure to announce it on time and clear out the area from any travelers or Huntsman before sending their initiates out.

"Now now, Glynda." Ozpin remained calm as ever, staring through his scroll as Hue led the giant dust infused girl with her. "So far she seems harmless and friendly enough." His voice had an aura of interest in the girl, to which Glynda could only respond with even more stress.

"Friendly?! Ozpin, she is dust infused! Where do you even think she managed to become something like that?! How long do you think she even has?!" She voiced her concerns again. Seeing a pariah like this walk about without a care in the world only made her question the girl's mental state even further.

"Hmm..." Ozpin closed his eyes, contemplating quietly, only furthering Glynda's distress, who came back to look at the screen with him, her eyebrow raising with a burning question.

"Hold on... Something about her doesn't feel right..." She took a second look, running some numbers in her head, recalling research she was privy to, thanks to Ozpin. "With this much dust covering her skin... Shouldn't she be dead by now?"

"That she would, Glynda." Ozpin nodded in agreement.

"Then how?..."

"That, Glynda, is something I cannot answer to you as well. I have my theories, though they are farfetched until we meet this Jin girl in person." Ozpin stopped momentarily, deeply pondering the girl's existence himself. He had seen many things in his time. He had committed many mistakes, and repented for just as much. The notion of seeing something new was not that obvious to him

Yet there she was, staring him in the face.

"Then you're not seriously planning on letting her..."

"Stay?" Ozpin's grin came back to his face.

"I think she should have a chance to prove herself just like the rest." he resumed his careful watch, wondering just what she had in store...