The clifftop overseeing the Emerald Forest was filled to the brim with nervous youths, ready to take their first step towards huntsmanship through the Beacon initiation test.
First batch for the day already showed promise, even for the high standards of Beacon academy. Amongst them stood a tournament fighter, a privately tutored prodigy, the valedictorian of Signal academy, the youngest huntress ever admitted through sheer skill and a former operative of a faunus terrorist cell.
In any other year, Ozpin's attention would be solely focused on those exceptional individuals. This year, circumstances beyond his control had him take notice of a group which would have never warranted a second glance from the headmaster. All because of their apparent closeness to one individual.
Jaune Arc.
The files of Cardin Winchester read like the typical story of a slightly above average student in the making; an only child from a semi-wealthy family with vague military accolades dating back to the awar and the unfortunate lot of standing on the wrong side of history at its end.
The three young men surrounding him showed even less promise, consistently mediocre across the board during their whole development as far as credentials were concerned. All the more puzzling, how a household name like the Grimmhound approached the group like a guy being late to a friday night poker game.
There was laughter, pats on the back and exchange of smokes. Glynda beside him chastised them with a glare, but couldn't do more because the Emerald forest wasn't part of Beacon and the no smoking rule didn't apply here. A childish act of defiance against authority and further proof of Ozpin's lack of expectations.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors. Today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of teams." Glynda Goodwitch took over seamlessly from Ozpin and paused for dramatic effect. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today."
Ozpin let the sentence of his colleague linger just long enough to take root. They had done the same song and dance for so many years that both knew how to get the biggest effect. "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."
Now to follow up with the bombshell. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
Wide eyes of shock all around. Goodwitch stealthily made a picture with her tablet to gather the traditional yearbook photo from the shocked teenagers. Four years from now this would make a precious memory.
"After you 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."
With the stakes of the situation established, it was time to tell how to actually pass the exam. "You will be monitored and graded for 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."
He took a sip from his hot coffee. "Are there any questions?"
The smallest of Winchester's entourage, an instantly eye-catching young man due to his bright blonde mohawk, stepped forward with his right hand raised and left hand holding an opened candy bar.
"Where are the bathrooms?" he asked through a full mouth, chewing his little treat with visible satisfaction.
Ozpin was taken aback, as was his colleague and most of the students. The headmaster had grown accustomed to nervous applicants asking questions about the test, which he usually all ignored as part of the evaluation. Improvisation in the face of uncertain odds separated the wheat from the chaff.
He saw no harm in answering this nonsense after Goodwitch whispered the name to him. "This is a forest, Mr. Thrush."
"Good point." Every pair of eyes kept focused on Mr. Thrush for his last bite and usage of thumb to wipe brown residue from his lips. "Continue."
The gathered crowd stared intently at Ozpin. He sighed and drank from his coffee, stopping bewildered as he noticed the sudden drop in temperature of his beverage. "Glynda, would you be so kind and start the test?"
"Of course," the headmistress said and pushed the button to unlock the launchpads.
Only one plattform released.
Jaune was launched way harder than intended, the machine going up in smoke and sparking electricity as every moveable part shattered from force. Students would later argue if the loud bang had come from the equipment exploding or the Grimmhound breaking the sound barrier.
Four more plates were released in a similar, although slightly less violent fashion, launching Cardin and his three companions after Jaune. They flew in perfect formation, hooting and hollering as the rest stayed stuck awkwardly on their pressure plates as the seconds went by without anything happening. Some did hesitant steps with their feet while others threw glances towards the teaching staff, who looked equally puzzled by this development.
Then, the remaining pads released in a weak sputter with just enough energy to let the students make a small hop.
They had launched. Technically.
"Come on, you piece of junk!" Yang stomped and punched her pressure plate with unbridled rage, making the surrounding people step away from the furious blonde in fright.
Only Ruby stayed close, accustomed to her sister's mood swings and applying first aid against the rising tension by giving a calming backrub. She had learned to deal with the explosive personality of the Xiao Long part of her family.
"Don't look at me Ruby! I'm not getting a partner because of faulty equipment!" Yang blasted off into the sky, using her shotgun gauntlets like rocket thrusters to propel herself towards the forest.
"Yang, wait up!" Ruby yelled after the shrinking blonde dot and went into hot pursuit with her semblance as she turned into a red vortex of petals.
Pyrrha Nikos had the same idea and jumped off the cliff with closed eyes, her spear slammed into the earth to slide down.
Blake Belladonna vanished from sight by leaving a shadowy clone, which dissipated into black smoke.
Weiss Schnee watched the chaotic display of her peers with disdain, until her desire to excel and outdo them forced her hand into making Glyphs to launch herself and make platforms down to the ground.
The last to leave in a flashy way were a wild-looking orange haired girl and her silent companion, a lithe young man with black hair that held on tight onto his female partner as she spun her giant weapon like a propeller. She activated the rocket thrusters at the right moment to hammer throw herself and him into the horizon with an ear-shattering battlecry.
"SLOTH POWERS ACTIVATE!"
The other candidates didn't have the presence of mind to avoid looking at the person next to them. Finding partners turned out to be a quick and dull affair this year.
Glynda glared at the tablet in her hands with fury. "Somebody tempered with the controls."
"How do you figure?" Ozpin asked, lifting the coffee mug to his lips.
"I never leave sticky fingerprints on my equipment. Doubly so of the chocolate type."
The answer made the headmaster pause mid-sip. "Are you telling me, a student surrounded by dozens of people managed to manually manipulate the launchpads on this device while it was in your hand and you directly looked at the screen?"
"Yes?"
"Huh." Ozpin finished the sip from his lukewarm cup. "Impressive."
RWBY
Jaune Arc didn't have much time to think while flying through the air at mach speed, just enough to get a pretty good idea who was responsible for his predicament and the inevitable destination of his journey. As such, it didn't surprise him to land pinpoint in front of the old shrine.
A test intended to prove his potential as a huntsman and last for the whole day, finished in the matter of seconds.
Stepping out of the crater from his impact, he found himself surrounded by several empty pedestals, but his attention was drawn to the five lawn chairs under a big parasol and two ice chests full of drinks. On top of one box, Jaune saw an open scroll with a single video tab paused at the beginning. He took the small device and sat down, pressing his thumb on the play button.
"Hey Jauney boy, I guess when you see this you won't be very happy about our decision to change the initiation test."
Cardin's face appeared in a close-up, the constant shaking indicating he was moving while filming.
"We all saw it as pure formality at this point and know you feel the same way deep down."
Jaune had to agree, although he didn't like to admit it out loud. It made him feel conceited.
"To make this whole operation worthwhile, we will conduct our test among the candidates with one goal in mind; finding the best partner for you. The criteria for success is very simple. First person to get past us and reach you, will become your partner at Beacon."
Cardin from the recording gave the biggest grin possible, showing without a doubt his confidence nobody would be able to manage this goal. He finished by holding up a bottle to the screen, toasting to the camera before taking a big gulp and gasping from the coldness.
"Until then, have a drink and relax. Let us take care of everything. Cheers to four wonderful years at Beacon, buddy!"
The screen turned off and the temple grounds became silent.
For five seconds.
"The bastard is as obnoxious as ever."
Jaune looked up from the scroll to see who had spoken. Between the trees, a tall man with blood red hair and bull horns walked into Jaune's field of vision, wearing all black and a bone white grimm mask to obfuscate his face. The newcomer struck an imposing figure, commanding respect by how he walked with confidence and purpose.
"Are you still cosplaying as a grimm?"
The cool stride faltered, Adam Taurus sitting down opposite of him in another lawn chair and had a cold bottle handed to him before his butt hit the cushion. "I don't want to hear any criticism from the Grimmhound about being edgy, thank you very much."
Two beers clanked against each other for a toast.
They drank in silence as Adam felt awkwardness gnawing on his insides. The two hadn't talked or otherwise interacted for a long time and none of that was Jaune's fault. Between steering the White Fang into the right direction and the developing relationship with Blake, he's been too busy for other things and left everything else on the backburner.
"I transferred from Mistral to Vale, taking over the management of the local White Fang branch."
"Sounds stressful," Jaune said before taking a sip from his beer.
"It is," Adam sighed, mirroring Jaune's sip with a lot more enthusiasm towards the cold beverage. "You can't imagine how much effort it takes to keep all the hotheads in check. Seventeen brawls in public with four of them against other Faunus because their traits weren't obvious enough!"
Every superior would have his head, if they've ever found out he shared sensitive information with a human. Ironically, those same superiors would spill the beans far more likely than Jaune. Adam trusted him more than most in his own organization, a regrettable circumstance he desperately worked towards fixing from within.
"Do you need my help?" Jaune asked with a glint in his eyes.
A shudder ran down Adam's spine. "I've got things under control."
"Alright then," Jaune frowned. "Don't hesitate to contact me if you change your mind. I'm still not too sure about becoming a huntsman."
It beat Jaune Arc's current lifestyle in Adam's humble opinion. "Give it a chance. Blake seems to like it here and she's also not very good with people."
"Who's Blake?"
Adam bit his tongue with a silent curse.
"No seriously, who's Blake?" Jaune noticed the small blush on his friend's cheeks and then remembered Ruby calling somebody by that name yesterday.
The White Fang Commander was glad that the talk had turned away from the subject of his employment at a terrorist organization, although speaking about his love life held other difficulties. "We know each other through the White Fang. Our relationship is a more recent thing."
As an early adopter to the cause of faunus equality, he'd been a member pretty much since childhood and had known Blake only as the daughter of their leader Ghira. A few protests together as kids made them familiar with each other in the early days, until something more formed during puberty. The age gap made things difficult, him having four years on Blake, but they've weathered any hardships and stayed patient until Blake turned seventeen last year.
Then the floodgates opened and best friends became lovers almost overnight.
"You're here because of her, don't you?" Jaune sounded happy, not accusatory or disgruntled for playing second fiddle.
"I know how capable she is firsthand, but my logical reasoning goes out the window when it concerns Blake."
It was her decision to become a famous huntress and use that influence as a platform for faunus rights. He decided to worry about all the dangers she would put herself in to achieve this goal as fast as possible. He almost tried to enroll at Beacon as well. Blake fought tooth and nail to keep him away, saying she needed to accomplish this on her own.
Simply put, Adam couldn't be there with Blake without looking like some overprotective boyfriend breathing down her neck.
But nobody said it had to be him. "Jaune, would you keep an eye on Blake for me?"
The two engaged in a long staring contest, wordlessly communicating what this question meant for both of them. Through all of their years of friendship, they had kept certain parts of their respective lives private.
This simple request changed their dynamic forever.
"Sure, sounds like fun."