The First Step.
Lucina, Ruby and Jaune enters Beacon Academy's giant auditorium, filled to the brim with people. Ruby looks over when she hears Yang's voice.
"Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" The older girl called out as she waved for her sister.
"Oh! Hey, I-I gotta go! I'll see you two after the ceremony!" Ruby said before hurrying over to Yang.
"See you soon, Jaune" Lucina said as she walked away.
"Hey, wait! Ah, great. Where am I supposed to find more nice, quirky girls to talk to?!" Jaune said he moves on to reveal a girl with long red hair in a pony tail standing behind him, hand on her hips as she watches him walk away.
"Already having eyes on someone, Pyrrha?" Severa asked while standing next to her.
The girl named Pyrrha blinked "What?".
"Look Pyrrha, if you want to find love here, go ahead. But as your cousin, let me give you and advice" Severa said.
Pyrrha gave her a look "Severa, are you sure you are someone who should be giving advice on romance? You scared away everyone who wanted to date you".
"That is the point, Pyrrha. If you want to find love, try finding someone who won't hold you back. Anyone who runs away from a simple glare is way to weak for me" Severa said "Besides, romance will not help me surpass my mom".
"I don't know, Severa. Wasn't it Aunt Cordelia's love for your father that lead to you being born?" Pyrrha reminded with a knowing smile.
"True. But my dad was strong enough to be mom's lover. When I reach my goal of surpassing my mom... well, my options in love will be limited" Severa said.
Pyrrha put a hand on her shoulder "Severa, as you cousin, I really want you to be happy. So don't judge love by the strength of the individual, you should judge them by what kind of person. Someone can be strong but horrible, while one can be weak but wonderful. Besides, I am sure there will be someone around here that is both strong and kind".
Severa looked around at the others, many looked weak, but some showed some potential "Maybe".
The girls' attention is drawn to the stage, where Professor Ozpin is readying the microphone, with Glynda beside him "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. 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".
"I wouldn't call that brief" Severa mumbled, earning a chuckle from Pyrrha.
Glynda steps up to talk as Ozpin leaves "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed".
"Huh, she actually did keep it brief" Severa said.
"Come on Severa" Pyrrha said as she grabbed her cousin's arm and pulled her along.
Severa noticed something "Hold on a sec, I will be with you soon".
Pyrrha looked curious as Severa freed har arm and walked away.
"He seemed kind of... off" Yang commented on Ozpin's speech.
"It's almost like he wasn't even there" Ruby agreed.
Jaune approached Weiss from the side "I'm a natural blond, you know!".
Weiss puts her hand to her face in exasperation. Suddenly Jaune was bluntly pushed out of the way by Severa "Hey, blond chick".
"You're talking to me?" Yang asked.
"You see any other blond girls around? I noticed you from where I was standing. I need to know something: Are you strong?" Severa asked.
Yang blinked but gained a confident smile "I say I am more than a little strong. Ask anyone who's met me and they would tell you the same".
"That so? Well I believe it when I see it" Severa said.
"That sounds like a chalange" Yang said.
Severa smirked "You bet it is. I aim to become stronger than even my legendary mother. Best way to reach that goal is to become the strongest student at Beacon. And you look like someone who can be a proper test for my abilities".
"I'm flattered. Well don't worry, after the initiation, I am sure we will get the chance to prove our strength" Yang said with a smirk of her own.
"Then you better not fail. I hate getting my hopes up for nothing. See ya around" Severa said before walking away.
Ruby blinked a few times "Uh, what just happened?".
"I will tell you what happened, my dear sister. I just gained a rival" Yang said, still smirking.
"Did she have to push me down like that...?" Jaune wondered as he stood up, brushing himself of.
"Hmm, there is something familiar about her" Weiss mused to herself.
"Hey Ruby" Everyone looked and saw Lucina.
"Oh hi Lucina" Ruby said with a friendly smile.
"You two know each other?" Yang asked.
"We met earlier. I am Lucina, Lucina Lowell" Lucina introduced herself.
"Lowell... wait, you are the daughter of Chrom Lowell?!" Weiss stated more than asked.
Lucina looked at her "I am, and you are Weiss Schnee right? Daughter of-".
"Don't say his name! All you need to know is just because your company can somewhat rival mine, it don't mean I will lose to you!" Weiss declared.
"I don't care about company matters. I am here to become a huntress, nothing else" Lucina said, mildly annoyed by Weiss' attitude.
"Good, glad we're clear on that" Weiss said before walking away.
Lucina sighed, this wasn't the best start.
The first night at Beacon, students are splayed out in sleeping bags. Ruby, in her pajamas and with a sleeping mask around her head, is writing in a journal when Yang crashes next to her, similarly dressed.
"It's like a big slumber party!" She said happily.
Ruby did not look up "I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though".
"I know I do!" Yang purrs as she watches several muscular, shirtless guys, but then she noticed a little girl sitting in the corner "Hmm... the guys are hot and all, but that girl over there looks rather cute".
Ruby finally looked "Oh, I remember her. I met her during the robbery. I don't think I caught her name though. She fainted when the fight was over".
"Fainted?" Yang asked and Ruby just nodded "Wow, she sounds fragile... which makes her even cuter. By the way what's that?".
"A letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going" Ruby answered.
"Aw, that's so cuuuute!" Yang sang before she was knocked back as a pillow is launched at her face.
"Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here!" Ruby said
"What about Jaune? He's... nice! And you met Lucina too, and she looked really nice. There you go! Plus two friends! That's a two hundred percent increase!" Yang said.
Ruby turned to lay on her back "Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to square one...".
"There's no such things as negative friends! You just made two friends and one enemy!" Yang said before she was hit with another pillow, this time looking like a dog, to the face "Look, it's only been one day. Trust me; you've got friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet!".
The two sisters notice a candle being lit nearby, and the black haired girl from is seen leaning against a wall, reading her book.
"That girl..." Ruby said.
"You know her?" Blake asked.
"Not really. She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything" Ruby explained..
"Well, now's your chance!" Yang said before she grabs Ruby's arm and lifts her up.
"Wait! What are you doing?!" Ruby asked a little flustered.
As the two sisters went to talk to the girl, who's name was Blake. Bernadetta was finishing setting up her sleeping bag in the corner. She smiled a little, satisfied with her work. It was nicely set up and far enough away from the scary strangers.
"Alright, this should be enough for a good night sleep for little Bernie" Bernadetta said to herself.
Suddenly Lyre showed up "Excuse me".
"Ah! Sorry! Was this your spot!? It was your spot! Sorry! Just give me some time to pack up and I will leave!" Bernadetta said while having a small panic attack.
"No no! That is not it at all I swear! I am just having a hard time finding spots near people who... don't mind me being near them. But I guess you don't want a Faunus anywhere near you either... I will just sleep somwhere else" Lyre said with a sigh.
"What? Wait, no... you can stay..." Bernadetta said shyly.
"Really? Thank you. I was worried I would need to sleep outside... wouldn't be the first time..." Lyre mumbled.
"Huh?" Bernadetta asked.
"Never mind, thank you and goodnight" Lyre said as she laid dwon in her sleeping bag.
Bernadetta wanted to know what she meant by what she said, but was to shy to ask. So she just decided to get some sleep... while doing her best to ignore a rather heated argument between Yang and Weiss.
"Wake up, lazy butt!" Lucina woke up when she heard a voice. She sat up and saw a high energy girl moving around a boy while singing "It's morning! It's morning! It's morning! It's morning!".
Lucina sighs as she gets up and began getting ready for the day. She got dressed in her normal clothing and headed to the dining hall for some breakfast. She was eating some pancakes by herself, but that didn't last long as Ruby and Yang approached.
"Hel-looo!" Yang said happily "Morning Lucina! Sleep well?".
"Other than the argument you had with Weiss? Sure" Lucina said.
"Sorry about that. But when you mess with my sister, you mess with me" Yang declared.
"I understand" Lucina said before she noticed Ruby's breakfast which was made entirely of cookies and Lucina couldn't help but to stare at them.
Yang looked between Lucina and the cookies before she smirked "Hey Ruby, didn't you say you picked so many cookies so you could share them with Lucina?".
Ruby blinked "Huh? What? I-".
"Really!?" Lucina asked, sounding like a child.
Ruby looked at her face and couldn't say no, so she put on the most forced smile she could muster as she held out one of her cookies "Y-yes... H-here you go!".
"Thank you!" Lucina said before the cookie vanished in to her mouth.
Yang giggled "Good job, sis!".
"I hate you..." Ruby said with tears in her eyes at the cruel sacrifice of her cookie.
"Thank you Ruby. I am almost never allowed to eat sweets, so when I see them it's hard to resist" Lucina said.
"Oh, it's ok" Ruby said, sounding more understanding now. Going to long without cookies can make anyone crazy.
Yang smiled proudly. Perfect, now that Ruby is distracted with her new friend, it was time for Yang to talk to the cute girl she saw last night. After talking to Blake, Ruby's social awkwardness should've gone down a little. With that, Yang snuck away to Bernadetta, determined to get to know the shy little girl. She didn't even notice Yang until her plate was put down in front of her.
"Hello there!" Yang said happily.
"Ah! Sorry! Am I in you seat!? I will move, just please don't kill me!" Bernadetta yelled.
"Kill you? Who would want to kill a cute little girl like you?" Yang asked a little confused.
"C-cute?" Bernadetta asked with a surprised blush.
"Yes, I only wanted to sit here because you looked lonely and could use some company" Yang said.
"Cute... you wanted to keep me company... Oh no, I know what you are trying to do. You are trying to get me to lower my guard so you can catch me by surprise! Aren't you!?" Bernadetta demanded in an accusing tone.
"Nothing you said made any sense" Yang said, not even sure how to respond to such wild accusations "I just wanted to be your friend. My name is Yang".
"F-Friend? Well... my name is Bernadetta... but you can call me Bernie" Bernadetta said, slowly calming down.
"Bernie? Well that is a cute name for a cute girl" Yang said with a smile.
"S-stop calling me that!" Bernadetta said with a big blush.
Yang only laughed a little "Just speaking the truth. You are like a cute little bunny. I could just eat you up!".
"Eat me up! AH! I knew you wanted to kill me! I am to you to die! AHHH!" Bernadetta yelled before running away.
Yang watched her run "No wait! I... and she's gone... maybe I came on to hard".
Later in the locker rooms, Pyrrha and Weiss were getting ready.
"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 said.
"Hmm... Well I would prefer to be with Severa since she is my cousin. But I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may Pyrrha.
"Well... I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together" Weiss aid hopefully.
"Well, that sounds grand!" Pyrrha said with a friendly smile.
"Great!" Weiss said before looking away with an very evil look on her face... before she was suddenly brought back to a reality by a smack to the head, courtesy of Severa.
"Don't you dare believe you can manipulate my cousin to further your own agenda!" Severa warned with a glare that even made the icy girl shiver a little.
Jaune suddenly shows up "You know what else is great? Me. Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you".
Weiss looked irritated "You again?".
Pyrrha hurriedly let herself be seen "Nice to meet you, Jaune!".
"Yeah, yeah" Jaune pushes Pyrrha aside, much to Severa's surprised and small anger, and talks 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!" Weiss said, unable to believe Jaune completely missed that she wasn't complimenting him.
"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?" Jaune asked.
Pyrrha finally got Jaune's attention "Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so-".
"You don't say" Jaune said as he advances on his new target "Well, hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you and your friend there could join up with the winning team".
"We are cousins" Severa corrected.
Weiss quickly separates the two, right in time to save Jaune from a potential punch from Severa "Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?".
"Not in the slightest, snow angel" Jaune said.
"This is Pyrrha" Weiss said.
Pyrrha smiles "Hello again!".
"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum!" Weiss informed him.
"Never heard of it" Jaune said bluntly.
Weiss scoffs "She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!".
"The what?" Jaune said, still clueless.
Weiss waves her arms rapidly in anger "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!".
Jaune gasps suddenly "That's you?! 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" Pyrrha said.
"I was stuck in the bathroom for an hour..." Severa said with a shudder.
Weiss suddenly looked at her "Now I remember you! You are the daughter of Cordelia!".
"Who?" Jaune asked, earning a look of utter disbelief.
"You don't even know Cordelia?! One of the most legendary Huntresses that has ever lived?! Known for wiping out entire Grimm hordes on her own?!" Weiss asked.
"Oh... that's... impressive" Jaune admitted.
"Yeah, she sure is a genius." Severa said with a sigh.
"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask these two to be on your team?" Weiss asked.
"I guess not... Sorry..." Jaune said, hanging his head.
Pyrrha put a hand on his shoulder "Actually, Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader!"
Jaune immediately brightens back up "D'oh, stop it!".
"Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!" Weiss said.
Jaune got close to her again "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?".
"All right, that's a bit too close! Pyrrha, a little help, please?!" Weiss begged.
Jaune looks back just in time to see Pyrrha's weapon, Miló, strike him, sending the would-be leader flying and pinning him against a wall.
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologized.
"No need to be Pyrrha, he asked for it" Severa said.
"Glad someone agrees" Weiss said.
An announcement plays on the intercom system, and Glynda's voice was heard "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately".
Weiss passes Jaune as he still hangs from the locker. Pyrrha follows her, grabbing her spear and dropping Jaune to the ground "It was nice meeting you!".
Jaune slumps against the locker "Likewise...".
"And don't flirt with my cousin like that again!" Severa warned.
"Severa!" Pyrrha said harshly as she grabbed Severa's ear and dragged her away.
"Ow ow ow! Alright I got it, I got it!" Severa said as she was dragged of.
At the Beacon Cliff, overlooking a forest, several students 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" Ozpin said.
"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 said.
"What? Ohhh..." Ruby said nervously.
"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 "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years".
"Whaaaat?!" Ruby said in despair.
"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 warned makinf Jaune laugh nervously and then gulps 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. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?".
Jaune raised his hand "Yeah, um, sir?",
"Good! Now, take your positions" Ozpin instructed and every student got ready as one by one they were catapulted towards the forest.
Lucina took a breath as she got ready and was then launched. Severa smirked and was launched as well. Bernadetta barely managed to stay put long enough for be launched. And Lyre let out a happy cheer as she was lauched.
As everyone were being launched, Jaune spoke "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" Ozpin answered simply.
"Oh, uh, I see... So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?" Jaune asked.
"No. You will be using your own landing strategy" Ozpin asnwered.
"Uh-huh... Yeah. So, what exactly is a landing strategYYY!..." Jaune asks just when he finally has to get 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 with a smile.
.
Tell me what you think.
