Hey, guys! Sorry to keep you waiting, but here is the next chapter! Thank you for the support and I promise to try to make these updates more frequent. Also, to Awesome Guy, no worries, some of my earlier stories weren't that good but I also don't even remember your comments. And I must apologize, but Neptune will NOT be hooking up with Weiss in this fic. A: they pretty much ditched him and the rest of team SSSN at this point. B: he doesn't really deserve her to begin with and C: I've pretty much already heavily set up White Rose for this. Without further ado, let's get into this!
Ryu woke up with a small groan as he saw Nora standing over him, zipping back and forth between him and Ren. "Wake up, lazy butts!" She said, popping up all around them. "It's morning! It's morning! It's morning! It's morning!" She sang, then popped up beside Ryu and held his arm. "And a VERY good morning to you, Ryu." She said.
"Yes, Nora. It is indeed a nice morning. But it's also a big one we should start preparing for." He said, getting up and helping Ren to his feet.
The scene changes to the bathroom, where Ren brushes his teeth, Ryu was rinsing with mouthwash and Nora was still talking, though she had toothpaste and a toothbrush, so she at least, planned to brush her teeth. "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 two are the perfect students and I'm... well, I'm me! But it's just crazy, you know?" She asked. The scene changes to the ballroom, where the three are readying themselves. Ryu is doing push-ups with Nora sitting on his back, 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?" She asked.
"We made a promise to protect each other as long as we needed each other. That hasn't changed any time soon." Ryu said.
"Right, but I NEVER would've guessed you and me would also get, like 'together-together'..." She started, before an idea popped into her head. "Ooh! Maybe while we're here we can find someone for Ren! You deserves a girlfriend, I mean, you're handsome and everything..." She said.
Ryu stopped his push-ups, looking at his girlfriend sitting on his back. "I don't think that's a good idea." He said.
Ren's eyes snapped open in surprise and fear of Nora's idea. "Uh... Let's not do that..." Ren said. Both boys knew absolute LAST thing Ren would want would be Nora picking his girlfriend. The bubbly girl had good intentions, but she was HORRIBLE at match-making. She had tried in one town in Mistral, which ended in the three of them being driven out of town by... less than satisfied customers.
The scene changes again as the three are in the middle of eating their breakfast... wait, they already brushed their teeth, do they not know the order of how this works?! You eat breakfast, THEN you brush your teeth. They're just dirtying their teeth all over again. That's like drying your hair, then taking a shower! Anyway, 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!" she said, somewhat muffled through the pancake, which she then somehow SLURPED up. "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." She said.
"It's also probably a good way to get us kicked out of the school." Ryu said.
"Indeed. You didn't think we'd get kicked out, but several of your plans most likely would." Ren agreed.
The scene changes again as the three are readying themselves in the locker room, Ryu checking his numerous weapons, Ren loading StormFlower and Nora still talking.
"I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal!" She said, before gasping. "A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can either of you imitate a sloth?"She asked.
"I've never heard a sloth make noise in my life." Ryu said. (Or the other one, for that matter.) He thought.
"Nora..." Ren said.
"Yes, Ren?" She asked, leaning in towards him.
He amazingly sheathed his guns up his sleeves before answering (seriously, I flipped out the first time I saw him do it and it's STILL cool!). "I don't think sloths make a lot of noise." He said.
She stopped and thought about it for a moment before answering. "That's why it's PERFECT! No one will suspect we're working together!" She said.
Ryu smiled and shook his head at his girlfriend's air-headed-ness, before closing his locker. "You ready?" He asked Ren, who closed his own locker and nodded. "Come on, Nora, let's go." He said, the two of them following him, passing Ruby, Yang and Bayonetta along the way as they, too, prepared themselves.
"Wonder what those three are so worked up about?" Ruby asked.
"Oh, who knows? So, you seem awfully chipper this morning!" Yang said happily at her sister's change in attitude.
"A definite improvement over yesterday." Bayonetta agreed with her twin.
"Yep! No more awkward small talk or 'getting-to-know-you' stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." Ruby said, stroking Crescent Rose as she sighed happily.
"Yes, I'm quite looking forward to giving my new weapons a proper test run. And large group of Grimm should be a better test than that barefooted bitch at the Dust Shop." Bayonetta said.
"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 said.
Ruby sighed in frustration, shoving Crescent Rose back in the locker. "You sound like DAD! 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!" She said confidently.
"Not THAT kind of growing. Maturing, growing as a person." Bayonetta said.
"But what about when we form teams?" Yang asked.
Ruby became slightly nervous at this. Um, I don't know, I... I'll just be on your team or Bayonetta's, or something." She said.
"I'm sure the two of us, plus two other would make a great team, sis." Bayonetta said, nodding in approval of Ruby's plan. If she was on her team, with two more, since she heard there would be teams of 4, that would be a good way to ease Ruby into making friends and she'd gradually make a large group of friends like she did in Signal.
"Thanks, sis!" Ruby said, hugging her middle sister, before the two looked back at Yang.
Yang brings her hair around her shoulder and strokes it nervously, nervous about Ruby's reaction to the idea she was about to suggest. "Maybe you should try being on someone else's team?" Yang suggested.
"You really do try to weasel your way out of everything." Bayonetta said, shaking her head in disapproval.
Ruby clearly wasn't a fan of the idea, either. "My dear sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?" She demanded.
"What? No! Of course I do! I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... break out of your shell!" Yang suggested.
"Bad call." Bayonetta said, knowing how Ruby would react.
"What the-?! I don't need to 'break out of my shell'! That's absolutely-" Ruby started.
Suddenly, Jaune walked by with a map, looking completely lost. "Ridiculous! 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" He groaned, walking by Pyrrha, Weiss, Dante and Kratos, the girls having the lockers on the wall while their brothers had the lockers behind them in the middle of the room.
"Pathetic. How could he have POSSIBLY made it into this school?" Kratos asked, shaking his head, placing his swords on his back and slipping on his bracers.
"No clue, man. I don't see him lasting too long, though, if he can't even find his gear." Dante agreed, pulling out his modest arsenal. The two looked at the number of weapons the other carried and nodded in silent approval.
Meanwhile, Weiss had a plan in mind for Kratos' sister. "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!" She said, clearly brown-nosing the taller girl.
"Hmm... I'm not quite sure. I'd like to be on the same team as my brother, but I've heard the teams are comprised of 4 members, so beyond Kratos, I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may." She said.
Weiss looked back at Kratos, and smirked when she saw him interacting with Dante, turning back to Pyrrha with a bright smile. "It seems our brothers are getting along quite well. Perhaps both of them could join us on a team!" She suggested eagerly.
"Well, that sounds grand!" Pyrrha said. Truth be told, she was quite eager to see what Dante was capable.
"Great!" Weiss said happily. Suddenly, she turned her back to the champion girl behind her, the background disappears into a thundercloud as Weiss adopts a scheming pose and manic smile in her head. (This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl and two strongest boys 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!) She thought evilly.
Dante noticed the scheming look on his sister's face and sighed, shaking his head. "She's coming up with some crazy plan again." He said, rolling his eyes, before thinking of something. "Hey, Jaune." He called, the blonde boy hearing his name and walking over.
"Oh. Y-yeah, what's up?" He asked.
"Hey, listen, don't tell her I told you this, but my sister over there has a bit of a crush on you. Why don't you go over and try your luck." He suggested, flicking his head back towards Weiss.
"Really?" He said in as good of a suave tone as he could, walking over and leaning against the lockers, trying to get Weiss' attention. "You know what else is great? Me. Jaune Arc." He said.
"I don't approve of this plan." Kratos said.
"Eh. Sometimes Weiss needs to be put in check. You let her get too out of control, there's no reigning her in. Trust me, I found that out the hard way." Dante explained.
"You again" Weiss asked, irritated, as Jaune had tried last night to get her attention while in his feetie pajamas.
Pyrrha quickly jumped in at this moment. She was interested in Dante on a combat level, but something about Jaune intrigued her on a personal level. "Nice to meet you, Jaune!" She said.
"Yeah, yeah." He said indifferently, pushing Pyrrha aside to talk to Weiss, posing slightly.
"Now he dies!" Kratos snapped, about to storm up to Jaune, but Dante struggled to hold him back.
"No! No, not yet! No need to kill him! It's not like he punched her or anything!" Dante said, pulling him back.
"So, Weiss, I've been told that you were pretty fond of me. Not surprised, really." He said, sounding incredibly full of himself.
"Maybe this was a mistake." Dante said.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" She said, glaring at Dante, who shrugged.
"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?" He asked.
"Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so-" Pyrrha started after getting his attention.
Playing the field WAY too hard, Jaune jumped from hitting on Weiss to trying to hit on Pyrrha. "You don't say. Well, hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team." He said.
"I will murder you if you touch my sister!" Kratos roared, trying once again to destroy the scrawny blonde, but Dante once again held him back.
Still, it was more than enough to scare Jaune. "Okay, okay! I'll leave her alone!" He said, taking a few steps away from her.
"You weren't qualified to be her teammate, anyway. Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"Weiss asked.
Jaune's suave persona came rushing back as he returned his attention to Weiss. "Not in the slightest, Snow Angel." Jaune said.
"This is Pyrrha." Weiss introduced the Spartan-looking girl.
"Hello again!" Pyrrha said with a wave.
"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum!" Weiss explained.
"How... does she know that?" Kratos asked awkwardly.
"Yeah, my sister's getting a little stalk-y here." Dante said, equally uncomfortable.
"Never heard of it." Jaune said.
"For real?" Both reincarnated warriors said with deadpanned expressions. Sanctum was a fairly well known beginner school. It's like the Beacon of starter combat school.
Weiss scoffed at this. "She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!" Weiss continued.
"Well, my brother was a big help with that." Pyrrha said modestly.
"The what?" Jaune asked again.
"I'm going to murder him. I'm going to rip his head off like I did to Helios." Kratos said.
Weiss was furious at this, flailing her arms angrily. "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" She snapped.
FINALLY, Jaune undestood, gasping in shock. "That's you?! But they only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!" He said in shock and excitement as the design of the cereal box in question is seen with Pyrrha's smiling face on it to the left, Kratos to the right with his back to the front, but he turned his head enough to see most of his face.
"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you." Pyrrha said.
"Tastes terrible. I had to drop the sponsorship, I couldn't stomach it in the commercials." Kratos explained to Dante.
"Oh, trust me, I know." Dante said. In the past with his father's... less than reliable business deals, Dante had to associate with a number of people and things he would otherwise never want to be anywhere near.
Weiss reappeared as the box design crumbled behind them. "So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?" She asked.
"I guess not... Sorry..." Jaune said deflatedly.
"At least he knows when he's not good enough." Kratos said, flicking his head back arrogantly.
Pyrrha gave her brother a small glare, before looking back at the depressed blonde in front of her. "Actually, Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader!" She said supportively.
Jaune immediately brightened back up. "D'oh, stop it!" He said girlishly, to which Kratos and Dante face-palmed.
"Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!" Weiss scolded.
"It really shouldn't, I regret my decision." Dante said.
"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 asked, leaning in towards Weiss.
"Okay, now I'm gonna kill him." Dante said, reaching for Rebellion.
Weiss backed away at this. "All right, that's a bit too close! Pyrrha, a little help, please?!" She asked, looking back at Jaune.
Jaune looks back just in time to see Milo strike him, sending the would-be leader flying off the screen. "I'm sorry." Pyrrha called after him.
"I'm not." Dante said.
Suddenly, Glynda's voice came over the PA system. "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately.
Weiss, Dante and Kratos pass Jaune as he hangs from the wall of a locker on her way out. "Yeah... I lied about that, sorry." Dante said.
"Stay away from my sister." Kratos warned, doing a mock lunge at Jaune, who flinched.
Pyrrha followed them, grabbing her spear and dropping Jaune to the ground. "It was nice meeting you!" She said brightly, before leaving.
"Likewise..." He said sadly as he slumped down against the wall.
"Having some trouble there, lover boy?" Yang asked as the 3 sisters walked up.
"I certainly hope your initial approach doesn't always end with a weapon being drawn." Bayonetta said.
"I don't understand. My dad said all women look for is confidence! Where did I go wrong?" He asked, taking Ruby's hand so she could help him up.
"Snow angel probably wasn't the best start." Yang said.
"Getting in her face, flirting with another girl at the same time and acting like you were the greatest thing since Dust likely didn't help your cause, either." Bayonetta said.
"Come on, Jaune, let's go." Ruby said, helping to support the blonde and his damaged pride.
The scene opens to the Beacon 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, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." He explained, stepping back and allowing Glynda to take over.
"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." She said, to which Ruby groaned.
"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 continued, to which Ruby groaned even more. " That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." He finished.
Ruby had an absolutely shocked expression on her face, her world shattering like glass. "WHAT?!" She said in disbelief. (It worked out in the end, but I kind of agree. How do you know if you can work well with someone if your stuck together from the moment of eye contact? The first person I ever made eye contact in school gave me a bloody nose on the first day! And I gave him 2 black eyes).
"How is that going to work?" Kratos asked, confused.
Dante simply shrugged and chuckled. "I'm up for the mystery element. Sounds fun." He said.
"See? I told you!" Nora said to Ryu.
"It seems like a long-shot, but not impossible." He said.
"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 continued, Jaune laughing nervously as Bayonetta licked her lips. "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?" He finished.
"Uh, Yeah, I-" Jaune started.
"No! No questions." Kratos said over Jaune.
"Good! Now take your positions." Ozpin said.
Everyone strikes a pose on their tile. Kratos takes his classic fighting stance, Dante reaching back with his right hand to grab Rebellion's hilt and holding Ivory in his left hand, Nora crouches low, Ren wields his weapons, Ryu take the traditional "nin" pose (one or (in this case) both hands together in front of him, middle and pointer finger extended, eyes closed) Yang raises her fists, Ruby readies her body, Bayonetta takes her Smash Bros. victory pose and Jaune is still raising his hand.
"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question." Jaune said, missing the tile under Weiss rising up into a springboard, rocketing into the air and over the forest, as the platforms activate down the line. "So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something" He asked
"No. You will be falling." Ozpin answered.
Jaune still missed several other students being launched as he looks at Ozpin, both confused and nervous. "Oh, uh, I see... So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?" Jaune asked.
Dante dropped his stance and looked at Jaune with an "are you stupid?!" look on his face. "Come on, man! Even you would have noticed if they handed out para-" He started, before his tile launched him into the forest.
"No. You will be using your own 'landing strategy.'" Ozpin said.
Jaune is still confused and STILL doesn't notice as Nora, Ren and Ryu are launched into the forest. "U-uh... Yeah..." He said nervously.
At her turn, Yang winked at her younger sisters, putting on a pair of aviators, and flew off with a "Woo-hoooooooo!". Bayonetta also blew Ruby a kiss before she was launched a second before Ruby joined her.
"So, what exactly is a landing strategYYY!" He started to ask, before screaming as he was finally launched into the forest. Ozpin, for his part, simply takes a sip of his drink before the scene goes black.
And there you have it, folks! Sorry this chapter might be on the short side, but the next chapter will have plenty of action and excitement! And the results of the poll are in. It was VERY close at the end, but he results will speak for themselves... in the next chapter! Enjoy the suspense!