Hi! Kaage here with a new chapter. Life is miserable right now since I'm hounded by flirts and their fangirls. This message was typed on Friday so expect the next one to be typed much later, maybe on Sunday or Monday. Till then, Bye Bye!
~Kaage
~Volume 1, Chapter 3: The First Step~
"Wake up, lazy bud!" Lie Ren, a male teenager with long black hair tied into a ponytail that ends midway down his back with a magenta streak on the left side of his hair, with his eyes that match the streak in his hair, gets up with a groan as Nora, an upbeat girl with short orange hair and turquoise eyes, hounds him.
"It's morning! It's morning! It's morning! It's morning!" she sings out loud.
Lie Ren sighs again as him brushes his teeth in the restroom while Nora continues to talk.
"I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full twenty-four hours! Not that I thought we'd get kicked out or anything, I mean, you're the perfect student and I'm... well, I'm me! But it's just crazy, you know?"
The two are now readying themselves. Nora is now brushing her hair and still chattering while Ren is tightening the strings on his sleeping bag.
"We've been friends for soooooooo long! What are the odds we'd still be together? Well, not 'together-together'... Not that I'm not saying that you're not handsome; you are handsome, but that'd just be weird, right?"
Now the two are in the middle of eating their breakfast, Nora having a pancake hanging from her mouth as she is still talking.
"Right! What was I thinking? But still, I hope we end up on the same team together!" Nora muffles through her food, after which she slurps up the rest of her pancake. "Oohhhh! We should come up with some sort of plan, to make sure we end up on the same team together! What if we bribe the headmaster? No, that won't work. He has the school"
Now the two are readying themselves in the locker room, Ren loading his weapon, Storm Flower and Nora still talking
"I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal! gasps A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?"
"Nora?" Ren said, finally answering.
"Yes, Ren?"
Sheathing his weapons in his sleeves, he explains, "I don't think sloths make a lot of noise"
Nora was silent as she thought about this for a moment. "That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!"
"Come on Nora, let's go"
"Not 'together-together'..." Nora giggles, as they walked away.
Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long were busy readying themselves as they saw Ren and Nora heading out.
"Wonder what those two are so worked up about?"
"Oh, who knows? So, you seem awfully chipper this morning!"
"Yep! No more awkward small talk or 'getting-to-know-you' stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking" Ruby chirped, stroking he Scythe, Crescent Rose, as she sighs happily.
"Well, remember, Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together" Yang retorted, Bursting her bubble.
"You sound like Dad!" Ruby sighs in frustration, shoving her weapon into the locker. "Okay, first of all: What does meeting new people have to do with fighting? And secondly: I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk!"
"But what about when we form teams?"
This suddenly made Ruby nervous. "Um, I don't know, I... I'll just be on your team or something..."
"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team?" Yang asked, Bringing her hair around her shoulder and stroking it.
"My dear sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?"
"What? No! Of course I do! I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... break out of your shell!"
"What the-?! I don't need to 'break out of my shell'! That's absolutely-"
"Ridiculous!" Jaune shouted, suddenly walking in between the sisters, holding a map and looking lost. "There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered having to count that high! Why does this have to happen today?" Jaune shouted, passing by Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos as they ready themselves at their lockers.
"So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself!" Weiss praises innocently.
"Hmm... I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may"
"Well... I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together"
"Well, that sounds grand!" Pyrrha answered. But I'd much rather be in Rain's team. Or the blond.
"Great!". This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class! Together we will be unstoppable! I can see it now! We'll be popular! We'll be celebrities! We'll get perfect grades! Nothing can come between us now! Weiss schemes a sinister look on her face and her hands rubbing each other.
"You know what else is great? Me. Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you" Jaune interjected, coming between them and interrupting Weiss evil train of thought.
This irritated Weiss. "You again?"
"Nice to meet you, Jaune!" Pyrrha said, hurriedly letting herself be seen.
"Yeah, yeah" Jaune said, pushing Pyrrha aside and talking to Weiss, posing slightly. "So, Weiss, couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day"
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"
"Don't worry! No need to be embarrassed! So, been hearing rumors about teams! I was thinking you and me would make a good one! What do you say?"
"Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so-" Pyrrha explains, getting Jaune's attention.
"You don't say" Jaune cuts her off, as he advances on his new target. "Well, hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team"
"Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Weiss asks, seperating the two.
"Not in the slightest, snow angel"
"This is Pyrrha"
"Hello again!" Pyrrha added.
"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum"
"Never heard of it"
"She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!" Weiss scoffs.
"The what?"
"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" She added, waving her arms rapidly in anger.
"That's you?!" Jaune gasps. "But they only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"
"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you"
"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?" Weiss asks, trying to crush his hopes.
"I guess not... Sorry..." he finally said, hanging his head.
"Actually, Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader!" Pyrrha said, trying to lift Jaune's spirits. And that seemed to do the trick.
"D'oh, stop it!" Jaune said, immediately brightening back up.
"Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!"
"Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?" Jaune asks, getting closer to Weiss.
"All right, that's a bit too close! Pyrrha, a little help, please?!"
Jaune looks back just in time to see Milo strike him, sending the young blonde flying off.
"I'm sorry!" was all Pyrrha could say.
Then, an announcement plays on the intercom system.
"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately" Glynda's voice played from the P.A. system.
Weiss passed Jaune as he hangs from the wall of a locker on her way out. Pyrrha follows her, grabbing her spear and dropping Jaune to the ground.
"It was nice meeting you!"
"Likewise..." Jaune dejectedly said, slumping against the locker.
"Having some trouble there, lady-killer?" Yang asked as she and Ruby approached the blonde.
"I don't understand. My dad said all women look for is confidence! Where did I go wrong?" Jaune asks, accepting Ruby's offered hand and uses her to lift himself back up.
"Snow Angel" probably wasn't the best start"
"Come on, Jaune, let's go."
Ruby then leads Jaune out of the locker room by supporting him and his damaged self-esteem.
Emerald woke up to see Cinder hugging her Grimm Plushie, smiling in her sleep, Mercury sprawled all around, snoring, and Rain absent. But something was amiss: Rain's sleeping bag was still there unpacked.
"Weird… Rain never leaves his stuff unpacked. What happened?"
Emerald went to the first place that popped in her mind: The roof.
When she got there, what she saw made her go silent: There was Rain, sleeping on the cold hard floor, his eyes puffy, which meant he was crying. His hair was disheveled, and she had to admit, Rain looked much more cuter.
"Rain, wake up. We have to go" Emerald said, shaking her Faunus friend.
"Russet, no..." Rain mumbled, reaching out and grabbing Emerald, bringing her down and hugging her, burying his face into her Mint-Green hair.
"Wha- R-Rain!" Emerald squeaked, taken completely by surprise. She felt his breath rushing against her scalp, sending shivering goosebumps down her spine. She tried to squirm out of his grasp, only for him to hug her tighter. She tried to turn so she could push herself off him, which only made it worse as she was now facing him, the fronts of their bodies now close, as his face was now buried onto the crook of her neck. Shivers went down her spine as his breaths now directly came into contact her skin, sending goosebumps all over her body. Her face was on the crook of his neck, and she could smell his hair, which smelled like fresh Spearmint.
This was bad. She had to get out of this mess. She kept shaking him, trying desperately to wake him up.
"Russet..."
"God, Rain don't do this to me" Emerald begged, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"Don't… leave… RUSSET!" Rain abruptly woke up, subconsciously pinning Emerald to the ground, Dark-Red eyes meeting Rose-Red ones. It took a minute to register what had happened, after which Emerald turned into a Tomato, steam blowing out of her ears.
"R- Rai- Wha- Wait- Please-" Emerald flustered out, her thoughts scrambled from the things that had just taken place. For once, the matured, headstrong girl was lost for words.
Rain, on the other hand, had other things in his head. Literally. In Emerald's place, he saw his 4-year-old sister, Russet. Blink once, blink twice, and he saw Emerald, flustered and sputtering words out. He immediately got off her, taking a breath of fresh air.
Silence filled the air as the two friends sat on the roof, an awkward air surrounding the both. Even Rain, who was never known to show his embarrassment, was blushing.
"So… Rain" Emerald asked, glancing at Rain. "Who's Russet?"
"She's… I can't tell you who she is" Rain hesitated in his answer.
This made Emerald even more curious. Rain was never one for secrets. So why couldn't he tell her who this 'Russet' was?
Sighing, Rain continued, "I'm sorry Emerald, but it's… it's… just something I can't share"
This was a new side to Rain. He was usually positive and level-headed. A leader, like Cinder. But this Rain… he was a lump of sadness. She decided to leave it at that, for his sake.
"Ok Rain, I'll drop it. Sorry" Emerald ended, wrapping her arms around Rain to comfort him.
And it was at this moment that Mercury decided to butt in.
"Rain you player… that's my bro!"
At first, there was silence.
Then, in a flash, Emerald was on Mercury, beating him up with a flustered face.
Then the intercom activated.
"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately" Glynda's voice played from the P.A. system.
And so Rain and Emerald began making their way to the lockers, a beaten-up Mercury being dragged.
The students were now along the cliff, overlooking a forest, where several students — some old, some new, and some unseen — are standing on silver tiles in front of a mug-holding Professor Ozpin and Glynda with her tablet.
"For years" Ozpin started, "you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest"
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today" Glynda spoke.
"What? Ohhh..."
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well" Ozpin said, which earned a groan from Ruby.
"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years"
"Whaaaat?!" Ruby shrieked, as her world cracked like glass and falling apart.
"See? I told you~!" Nora spoke gleefully.
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die"
All Jaune could do was laugh nervously and then gulp loudly.
"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
"Yeah, um, sir?" Jaune asks.
"Good! Now, take your positions"
Everyone strikes a pose on their tile. Nora crouches low, Ren wields his weapons, Yang raises her fists, Ruby readies her body, and Jaune is still raising his hand.
"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question. So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?"
"No. You will be falling"
"Oh, uh, I see... So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?"
"No. You will be using your own 'landing strategy'" Ozpin answered.
"Uh-huh... Yeah"
At her turn, Yang winks at her younger sister, puts on a pair of aviators, and flies off with a "Woo-hoooooooo!" a second before Ruby joins her.
"So, what exactly is a landing strategYYY!..."
Jaune asks just when he gets hurled with the cloud of students now making their way down into the forest below under the eyes of the teachers. Ozpin, for his part, simply takes a sip of his drink.
"Welp, let's do this guys" Rain spoke, getting ready to launch.
Cinder went first, using her flames to boost herself. Next was Mercury, who used his boots, Hermes's Flight, to boost himself higher in the air. Emerald got her weapons, Jeweler's Engravers, ready, planning to use them to swing from tree to tree.
"Rain"
"Yes Mr. Ozpin?" Rain said, deploying Caliburn in it's War Scythe form.
"Remember what I said"
"… Yes sir"
And he flew off, using Caliburn's High-Caliber rounds to push himself further.
"He's forgiven you Ozpin. Let it rest. Let Luna rest" Glynda said, trying to console Ozpin.
"He may have, but I haven't"
~Ozpin's memory No. 1: Gray Hairs and White Ears~
It had been two weeks since the initiation. Ozpin was now in the courtyard, trying to hide from Glynda after he made a mistake of ruining her hair by running past her too far.
"How do I get out of this one..."
"How about apologizing?"
Ozpin was taken by surprise, quickly standing out and brandishing his cane. Out of nowhere, half a figure popped out from the tree. A young, White-Haired, female Wolf Faunus was hanging upside down, her wide Baby Blue eyes staring at him curiously.
"I saw what happened. You ran SO fast! And it was SO cool! Is that your natural speed, or is that your Semblance?" she asked, eyes sparkling.
"Uh..." Ozpin was seriously weirded out by her enthusiasm. Suddenly, she seemed to have let go of the tree branch and was now floating mid-air, a blue light surrounding her.
"Oh, it's my Semblance! I can levitate in the air and stay there. I'm trying to learn to fly, then I'd be able to fight aerial Grim easier!" She spoke, doing back-flips mid-air.
Ozpin found it hard to speak to her due to the level of enthusiasm and energy she was showing.
"Oh, sorry for that. I just keep rambling sometimes. Is it weird? Am I weird? Are you weird? Oh, what am I saying? Of course you're not weird, Glyn wouldn't talk to you if you were weird. That means I'm not weird! Yay me! Wait, I'm rambling again. Sorry about that. Should I stop? I should stop. I'll stop now. Sorry"
"It's fine. You say I should apologize?" Ozpin asked, finally getting a chance to speak.
"Of course! But you have to make it up to her. Maybe buy Glyn some Dust crystals, she loves them!"
"You know Glynda?"
"Of course I know her! We grew up together! And on that note, Yahallo! how're doing Glyn!"
Ozpin immediately felt chills down his spine, as he turned around, he saw Glynda Goodwitch, her look disheveled and the scowl on her face clearly apparent.
"Hello Luna, I'm doing fine, now that I've found my teammate" Glynda spoke, a glint of murder in her eyes.
The young Faunus must have seen it too. Because soon, she jumped in front of Ozpin, arms open. "Glyn, wait! Don't hurt him. It was a mistake! Anyway, it's only happened once. I've done it COUNTLESS times! And you forgave me!"
"That's because you fix my hair Luna. Ozpin, on the other hand, turned tail and ran"
"He'll make it up for you, I promise! If he doesn't, I'll- I'll… I'll get you a case of Dust crystals!" she blurted out.
"Oh, really? Then I'll accept it, then" and with that, Glynda left, a smirk on her face.
The girl's knees finally collapsed, a teardrop at the corners of her eyes.
"Glyn's still so scary..."
"I apologize for that. Are you okey?"
She turned to Ozpin, her face turning into a bashful smile.
"I'm ok! Okay, maybe not. But I delayed a problem, right? That's what matters!"
"You realize we'll both be in trouble if I mess up, right?"
"… You'll do fine!" was all she answered, waving it off.
"Anyways… Name's Luna! Luna Gleave!" she said, raising her hand and holding it out to him, offering a handshake.
"My name is Ozpin. Nice to meet you" Ozpin spoke, accepting the handshake.
"Love your Gray hair!"
"Thank you. Your White ears suit you as well"
And that's a wrap! With a sprinkle of Emerald fluff in it! I love Cinder. She would be my best friend. Just love her confident, sassy and mysterious attitude! But Emerald, to me, was a ball of cute! She's the kind of person I'd want to protect from the world. I mean look at her! And her chibi version in 'RWBY: Chibi' was my favorite!
So anyways, here are the names of the ex-criminal trio's weapons:
Cinder: Peacekeepers
Emerald: Jeweler's Engravers
Mercury: Hermes's Flight
Thanks to bankerrtx01 and DreawWeaverGod for the names! Love the name 'Peacekeepers'! Probably because that's my main class in For Honor.
This note's written on Monday, so MANY things have happened. I hurt my wrist further whlie on the train cuz' I whacked a pervert in the face, and I got into a forced 'date' with a flirt, which I skipped (thankfully) due to my hurt wrist and sprained ankle. I mean the fangirls are still going on a Witch-Hunt for me, but other than that, I'm okay.
I'm sorry if this chapter came out a little late! I'm writing with one hand right now and my small hands can't seem to type fast enough. My wrist and ankle are STILL killing me, BUT my new Club is now officially active since 5 people have joined the to-be club!
Right now, I'm back in school with a cast and bandage. So I'll heal.
Thanks for the faves and follows and see you in the next chapter!
~Kaage