(N POV)
Whoa, some people are creative. I walked into the main campus of Beacon and the first thing to catch my attention are the weapons some people carry around. Twin gunblades, a retractable halberd, claw submachineguns, an electric chain sword, and… is that a machete with a scope? My eyes followed the weapon to see if I'd made an error in judgment, but sure enough, there it was. A scoped machete. How does that work? What purpose would a scope have on a blade so short? Does it serve some tactical purpose? Does it shoot out the blade? How would you get it back? Aghh, now my head hurts. Seeing all the crazy tricked-out weapons these people have is making me feel self-conscious about my own. My school was pretty old-fashioned and had a strict guideline for how we could forge our weapons. "True victory is obtained through skill, not through power", was the motto they preached. That didn't really stop students from designing some crazy weapons, but none of them even came close to some of these. My weapon, Zephyr, is just a folding recurve bow. She's an amazing one, sure, I designed her to be the perfect weapon for me and my fighting style; I even gave her a reinforced, lightweight frame, but she's still just a bow. I also have my daggers, but they really aren't special. Hell, I'd say they're pretty situational. Maybe I should look into modifying them here, there's probably a weapons workshop somewhere on campus.
I kept walking through the mass of students, eyeing their weapons for any ideas I could take, when I noticed a crowd forming around some guy. Wonder what he's got that so interesting? Slipping my way through the other students, I made it to the front. Maybe he's got some really insane weapon, like a baseball bat rocket launcher? Or a… no. The actual reason was far more disappointing than I imagined. It was just a black-haired guy performing street magic.
Goddammit.
Why are people so impressed by this stuff? It's all just a matter of watching the magician carefully to figure out how it works. I took a better look at the magician. He had a gelled-up fauxhawk with orange tips along the front, and he was wearing a blue button-up shirt with an orange undershirt, khakis, and tan worker boots.
"Hello, my lovelies! How are all of you doing today?" he asked us. The crowd erupts in cheer, a good portion of the cries belonging to girls. I sighed. Well, I might as well see what he's got.
"Alright, for my next trick, I will need a volunteer." He scanned through the crowd and pointed someone out, "You! Come over here, sweetie."
He pointed to a blonde girl with very long hair. She wore wear a pair of black short shorts, a brown belt with some sort of white cloth hanging from it, brown leather boots, and light brown vest covering a yellow tube top that really accentuates her… assets.
The guy gestured her over and pulled out a pack of cards. Card tricks? Really? Is that his plan? I considered leaving this terrible display of sleight of hand, but part of me wanted to see if he messed up in front of all these people. He pulled out the cards, shuffled them a bit and handed them to the girl.
"What's your name?"
"I'm Yang."
"Oooo, I like it. Well, Yang, I want you to pick any two cards you want and memorize them."
She searched through the deck, picked out the ace of hearts and the two of diamonds, and looked at the cards.
"Your eyes are really something," he said with a wink.
UGGGGGHHHH, COME THE FUCK ON DUDE. This guy is so bad. I could hear some girls in the crowd whispering and commenting on his looks and voice, calling it sexy and what not. Why do some girls just go gaga over this kind of guy? Is it instinctual?
The blonde, can't recall her name, scoffed and said, "Um, thank you." Well, at least she doesn't seem to be falling for his game. I'm pretty sure that's not the first time someone's complimented her "eyes". She put the two cards back in the deck and handed it back to him.
"Thanks, babe," he gave her a large grin and took the deck. Okay, time to see what "mind-blowing" and "amazing" trick this guy's gonna do. He rolled up his sleeves and started to shuffle the deck wildly and vigorously, going at a speed that was impressive on its own. Most people would've lost track of where the cards are, but I've seen my fair share of this kind of trick; the cards are marked from the start. You see the markings of the card the other person picks, and when you get the cards back just make sure you move the cards to where you are going to pull them out. He finished shuffling and then he began to cough. Loudly.
Is he okay?
He kept coughing for a bit, then covered his mouth with his hand and seemingly coughed up two cards. "Are these your cards?" he asked with a smug grin. The girl grabbed them out his hand; they were the ace of hearts and the two of diamonds.
What.
The crowd cheered at the sight and the blonde stood there in awe and confusion. How the hell did he do that? The cards were still in the deck, how did he pull them out without me noticing? Was it possible this guy was actually the real deal? Could I be in the presence of a true mage?!
No.
A real mage wouldn't waste their time performing cheap parlor tricks, especially such a seemingly simple one. Something's wrong with this, and I want to know what it is.
"Thank you, thank you, you're all too kind. And how about some love for my gorgeous assistant?" He put his arm around her and beckoned the crowd, which answered in full. The girl didn't look all that comfortable with his straightforwardness; real smooth there, Casanova. Alright, time to see what's really up his sleeve.
"Oh, my gosh, that was so awesome, how did you do that?!" I put on the best surprised face I could manage; hopefully he doesn't see through it.
"A true magician never reveals his secrets, kid." Well, he's convinced. His voice exuded cockiness, but it wasn't irritating; it was damn near pleasant. Maybe those girls weren't completely wrong about this guy's appeal. He turned to the blonde "So, Yang, if you aren't too busy I -"
"Can you do it again? Please."
He looked at me, annoyed with my insistence, "I don't think so." Shit. I'm losing him.
"C'mon, I'm sure we'd all love to see again." I turn to face the crowd, "Am I right? Who wants to see him do it again, huh?" Many students had already begun to leave, but luckily a group of girls agreed with me and started asking for an encore. He looked over towards the group and smirked. Got him.
"Well, guess I can't leave my fans wanting more, so, I'll do one real quick." He took his arm off of Yang and pulled out his cards. "And since you were the first to ask, kid, I'll let you experience Kenneth Kenway's magic first hand," he said as he handed me the deck.
"Oh, wow, thank you." Ugh, this adoring fan thing is really getting on my nerves, but I got what I need. Now, let's see what we're dealing with. I looked at the cards in my hand, and, sure enough, they were marked; that solves one mystery. I have to admit though, the technique these were marked with is very subtle and takes practice to use. This guy might not be smart, but he's a clever one. I sorted through the deck and picked out the king and the ace of spades; these two probably have a big enough tell.
And now for the more, unorthodox way of finding the truth. I adjusted my glasses and focused on the cards. My vision became black and white, except for the two cards, which glowed a bright blue color. This is probably a very bad use of my Semblance, but I need to be sure that my suspicions aren't wrong. I put the cards back in the deck and handed it back.
He took the cards and quickly began to shuffle them. It was slower than before, but that didn't mean it was a moderate pace. After a bit of shuffling, the cards were still in the deck; so far so good.
"Alright, now be amazed as I- A-Ah-" Ah?
"Achoo!" He sneezed into his free hand, and when he uncovered it, they were right there. The ace and king of spades. No way. But they didn't leave the deck! I double checked the cards and the deck; the ace and king were still in the deck. The glowing cards, the ones I had picked out, were still in the deck. Ohhhh, I get it.
"Are these your cards?"
"Nope," I said, as I snatched the deck from his hand and pulled out the exact same cards he held, "these are."
He froze.
I showed the cards to the remainder of the crowd, who's expressions ranged from confusion to disappointment. I put them back into the deck and placed it in his hand; my work here is done. Realization soon hit them, and they began to leave.
"Hey wait! C'mon, don't go!" He tried to get them to stop, but they ignored him and kept walking. The cards in his hands fell to the ground, the two he sneezed out disappearing before they even reached the floor. So, that's how he did it. Is that his Semblance? Oh, well, it doesn't matter.
I checked my watch; it was almost time for the introduction speech. I should head over there.
I patted the now exposed con artist on the back and said, "Sorry for blowing down your house of cards," before following the last couple of students towards one of the buildings, feeling extremely proud of my one liner. I'm sure he'll be alright.
…
I reached the amphitheater, which was already full of the other first year students. So, these are people who are willing to risk their lives to protect this world. Everyone has trained hard and persevered through a lot in the hopes of becoming a hunter or huntress, and here they are, ready to achieve their goal. I smiled; maybe we'll be able to make a difference.
"Ahem," a voice coughed from the stage. It was Professor Ozpin, the school's headmaster. Looks like it's starting.
"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people."
"But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction." Huh?
"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." With that, he stepped away from the microphone and a light-blonde woman walked up to the mic.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed!"
Well, that was demotivating. That wasn't exactly the kind of speech one would normally give to new students of a school; is he trying to psyche us out or something? The people around me began to move out towards the ballroom and I quickly followed suit. I'll think about the deeper meaning in Ozpin's words after a good shower.
…
Okay… this is definitely not something I expected.
When they told us we would be gathering in the ballroom, I expected for us to be separated there and then be sent to some sort of newbie barrack. But actually, we're all just going to sleep in the ballroom.
Uh-huh.
What's the point of this again? Is meeting people in pajamas supposed to help form strong relationships with others? Or is this the school's form of hazing? I sighed and put on a green hoodie over my black shirt and olive green pajama shorts. Let's hope the night is short. Heading into to the ballroom, I began to scan the room for a place to set up, eventually deciding on a corner in the far end of the room. As I walked over, a couple of guys began to flex and playfully roughhouse with each other, all while being shirtless. Is this what guys normally do in sleepovers? Or are they doing this for a reason? I looked over to where they were facing and saw the girl from earlier today, Yang, very openly checking out the topless boys. Well, she sure is honest; I wonder if any other girls are staring? I absent-mindedly opened up my jacket, only to see her face change to one of disgust.
Ow. I quickly zipped up and looked back towards where I was headed and saw Jaune, in a onesie. Oh. My. God. So, that's what she saw. Not sure if I should feel good that it wasn't me that turned her off or feel bad for her having to witness this. I made a mental note to not talk to him until tomorrow and continued towards the corner. I set up the sleeping bag I was given and gave the room another once-over. I had a pretty good view of the entire ballroom from here; not bad, good choice, me. I spotted Rory pretty close by; she was wearing a yellow button-up shirt with small grey cat faces all over and matching pants.
So cute.
…
I should stop staring before she sees me.
Not too far from where she was, the guy from earlier today, Ken or something, was chatting up some girl. Glad to see I didn't destroy his confidence. I crawled into my bag and began to think about Ozpin's speech from earlier.
Knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step.
I smiled; I made it. I actually made it into Beacon. Tomorrow marks the first day towards achieving my dream. Time to leave my mark on this world. With that I took off my glasses and fell asleep.
…
Alarms. Now I remember why I didn't use them. I woke up to a huge cacophony of different alarms students had set up. I desperately tried to drown them out with my pillow, but the sound only grew louder as other alarms went off. Maybe if I don't move, they'll go away. Sadly, that wasn't the case, as when someone turned off their alarms others went off and people began to move around, creating even more noise.
"Ugh."
I groaned in defeat as I forced my body to leave its comfort. Why is it that any bed, no matter how uncomfortable at first, always feel like heaven when you have to get out of it? I got changed, ran through the morning routine, this time putting on my contacts, and went to have breakfast. The dining hall had a huge spread of food, ranging from simple cereals to pastries, from eggs to meats; there's even a juice bar. It felt more like a fancy hotel buffet than a school breakfast. I grabbed some fruit with a bowl of cereal and sat down to eat; I want to try more food, but going through initiation stuffed doesn't sound like a smart move. I should also make sure my equipment is at peak performance, I haven't changed my bow's string in a while or checked to see if my blades have dulled.
After finishing my breakfast, I headed towards the locker room where we put our equipment yesterday. Reaching my locker, I opened it and started gearing up. I pulled out my daggers and checked their blades for any damage. My main one was a straight, 11 inch, double-edged dagger with a black leather handle; nothing really out of the ordinary and pretty standard for a dagger. On my off-hand I used a blade of similar size and shape as my other one, but one of its sides was segmented, kind of like a comb, making it more of a sword-breaker. Their blades are pretty equal in length, roughly 6 inches, so the range on them is pretty bad. Of course, I really don't plan to let my enemies get so close easily. No, they'll have to get past the barrage of arrows I'll be shooting their way. My lips tugged into a grin as I sheathed the daggers on my hips and pulled out my quivers.
One of them was a large green ranger-style quiver with a long pocket on its right side. It holds twenty 3-blade broadhead arrows, all arranged around a jet black centerpiece. The other quiver was a smaller brown bandit-style leather quiver which was divided into three segments that held 3 arrows each. They were standard flat broadheads but unlike those in the larger quiver, these were Dust-tipped: three fire, three ice, and three lightning. Not exactly the cheapest form of ammunition, but pretty damn useful for when I need that extra kick. All arrows were slotted inside the quivers and the quivers themselves had a cover for the arrows not to fall out. I sat down on a bench and started checking the fletches of each arrow, replacing any that were damaged or bent, slowly tuning out of my surroundings.
I was down to the last arrow, when something bumped into my back, making me drop the arrow, and a familiar voice snapped me out of my daze.
"What the!? I don't need to break out of my shell, that's absolutely-"
"Ridiculous!" another voice interrupted, or completed, the girl's sentence. I knew that voice; it belonged to Jaune. I turned around to see Jaune walking away and Yang standing next to a short redhead in a red hood. Wait, isn't that the same red-hooded girl from the courtyard yesterday? I think her name was Ruby. Now that I think about it, weren't these two together last night? Maybe they know each other...
Yang looked towards me. "Sorry about that."
"Hm? Oh, no harm done." I replied, picking up the arrow from the ground and putting in its quiver.
"Hey, you're Nathan right?" the redhead asked.
"Yes?" She remembered my name? I never told her it; but Jaune did say it once when I left. Did they talk about me?
"You know him, Ruby?" Yang turned her attention towards the redhead. So, I did remember her name, that's good.
"Yeah. He was with Jaune before he helped me out and then left. He gave Jaune some medicine for his motion sickness that really helped him out." Hey, two for two. I am on a roll today! She turned her attention to me and said, "You look different without your glasses."
"I get that a lot." I said, adjusting my glasses with left index finger. The glasses I am not wearing. So, I basically just pushed on my nose bridge with my finger for no reason. Thanks, muscle memory. The two girls snickered at the sight. I rolled my eyes at them and closed my quivers.
"Well, I'm Ruby, it's nice to meet you! And this is my sister, Yang."
"Oh, we've met," I responded, as I strapped on the green quiver over my left shoulder. After I put on the second one, I need to restring my bow and give it a few test pulls.
"Yeah, he's the guy that called out that magic dude I told you about."
"Wow, really? How'd you do it?" Ruby asked me excitedly.
I finished setting the quiver on my lower back and replied, "Once you've seen tricks like that, you know what to look for." I walked towards my locker and pulled out my bow, "and I got pretty good eyes." I pressed a button on the grip and the top limb shot up, opening the large black bow.
The young girl's eye sparkled as she saw the weapon. "Whooooa, that's so cool! What's the range on it? How much is the draw weight? How does it open it up? Is it spring-loaded or is it magnetic-propelled? What does it transform into? Is it a-"
"Easy there, sis, don't forget to breath," Yang said as she pulled Ruby's hood over her face. They seem really close; reminds me of my relationship with my little sister.
I smiled as I eyed the bow's string. It's a bit worn out, but other than that it still looks pretty good. I'll still replace it, there's no need to tempt fate, but there's no sense in throwing it away when I can keep it for practice. "Well, first off, Zephyr doesn't really transform into anything, she's just a bow." I said as I stepped through the bow and began unstringing it, "That being said, she's damn good bow. Sixty-eight inches long, high performance limbs, retractable center stabilizer, accurate for up to 100 yards, and, with a 70 pound draw weight, she's fast, strong, stable, accurate, and most importantly, deadly." After taking off the bowstring, I opened the side pocket on the back quiver and pulled out another string, putting the old one in the same pocket.
"Wow, that's a lot for a bow. But aren't some of those things you mentioned only important in competitive shooting?" Ruby asked. This girl knows her stuff.
"Yes and no. Sure, stability and long range are more important in target shooting, but that doesn't mean they have no place in hunting. I designed Zephyr to be the perfect bow, something that excels in both combat as well as in competitions."
"You do archery competitions?" Yang asked, rejoining the conversation.
"Yep, I was in an archery team back in Atlas. I was actually one of the top shooters there, 'til I got banned from competing that is."
"Why'd you get banned?"
"Something about Zephyr being "illegal" and giving me an "unfair advantage" above the other shooters. Personally, I don't think they liked me very much. Maybe I just was too cool for them." I replied with a shrug. Ruby snorted at the comment and both girls shared a small laugh. It's been a while since I've talked about Zephyr with anyone. I grinned and went back to restringing my weapon.
"What about you girls? What are your weapons?" I asked them while setting up the string. After this I'll give her a few test pulls, slip on my shooting glove, and I'm good to go.
"Well, I got this thing." Ruby put her hand in her locker and pulled out a strange red and black rectangle. The object in question soon opened up into a scythe, doubling in size, the blade hitting the ground with a loud thud. I stood there, frozen in shock, jaw dropped in awe. That's a big-ass scythe; how can someone so little manage a weapon so big?! I wanted to react, say something in response to what was front of me, but all I could manage were short, inconsistent gasps of breath.
"This is Crescent Rose," she said with a smile.
Still unable to speak, I began to take in the details of the weapon. Its curve blade was almost as long as Ruby was and had a hook on the back end. The handle of the blade was mostly a black rod with a small blade on its end, with the exception of its middle which had a red scoped rifle design with a matching red magazine.
"Why does it have a scope?" I asked weakly, finally able to make words.
"That's because it's also a high-impact sniper rifle," she responds as the blade retracts into itself, folding into a large barrel and the end of the handle folds into a stock. She gives the rifle a quick cock to validate her claim.
"That's… awesome!" I put my bow on the bench and walked over to Ruby. "A scythe and a sniper rifle as weapons are already cool on their own, but a sniper-scythe? That's insane! It sounds so ridiculous and impractical, like it'll fall apart before you can even shoot it. But, here it is, and holy shit does it look cool! Who designed it?"
"This girl right here," she replied with a big grin on her face.
"Seriously? You designed this beauty all by yourself?"
"Yup! I got a little help from my Uncle but other than that it was all me."
"Amazing. You got a hell of a creative mind, Ruby. If I need any help with my weapons, I'll come to you." I grinned and extended my fist toward her.
"Sure thing, Nathan, I'm always up to tinkering with weapons."
We bumped fists and I turned to Yang, who seemed to have been listening in on another conversation.
"So, what about you, Yang? What's your weapon?"
She turned back towards where we were, hands on her hips. "Hm? Oh, I got these puppies." She brought her hands up to her chest and formed them into fists, the yellow bracelets on her wrists expanding into metal gauntlets.
A bombshell blonde who punches monsters for a living. "Nice," I said while nodding.
"They're also shotguns!" Ruby added.
A bombshell blonde who punches monsters for a living with shotgun fists. "Hot."
Yang opened her mouth as if to say something when a voice from the PA drew our attention:
"Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."
"Crap, I haven't finished gearing up. You two go on ahead, I'll see you later." I rushed over to my locker, put on the glove and grabbed Zephyr, her string hanging from the bottom limb. Are you kidding me?! I don't have time for this! I closed the bow and hastily slipped the string on the top groove; hopefully this works. After doing one last pat down to see if everything was where it was supposed to be, I headed out towards the cliff.
...
We were met by the headmaster and the lady from yesterday, and once all the students arrived at the top, they organized us into a single line along the edge. I got placed on the far end, the furthest point away from the instructors. Even here I get the short end of the stick, lovely. Everyone stood on metal tiles, one under every person's feet. They bounced a bit when stepped on, kind of like a spring; I made small jumps to see if I wasn't just imagining it and, sure enough, the tile did bounce. Spring-loaded tiles? Looks like we are literally being thrown into the action. Great. And, judging from where I'm standing, I'll probably be the last one. Great. Ozpin cleared his throat and began to speak.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
The woman next to him spoke up, "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." Whoa, what? Well, I hope I get someone I know.
"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." Of course, a team should be able compensate for each other's weaknesses.
"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
"Excuse me?!" I screamed. The first person I see is gonna be my partner the whole time I'm here?! What kind of pairing process is that?! I looked down the line of people; Jaune, Ruby and Yang were together on the opposite side of where I was. Rory was more or less in the middle.
"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," Ozpin said. "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. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
"Yeah, um, sir-" Jaune spoke up.
Ozpin cut him off, "Good! Now, take your positions."
Okay, so, what I'm gonna do is watch where the people I know fly off to and once I'm out, I'll head there. That way I can-
Before I could finish the thought, the tile at my feet shot up and hurled me into the forest. And thus began my journey, flying out of control into a forest full of monsters.
This took a lot longer than I thought it would. Next chapter might take a bit to write as midterms are coming up. Will Nathan be able to land unscathed? Who will be his partner? Will it be Rory? Will it be Kenneth? Why am I asking these questions instead of writing the next chapter? Most of these questions will be answered in the next chapter, This Can (Not) Happen. Until then, thanks for reading; take care guys.