Big sis is really gonna miss you, Hyde…
Taking his first steps off the airship, Hyde held his hand over his eyes to block out the overbearing rays of the harsh summer sun. Despite things being awkward between him and his childhood friend after the incident, Yuzuriha's last words to him still felt genuine. He wished that he didn't have to leave home under these circumstances, but a letter of acceptance in Beacon Academy is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Besides, I can still message her, right? Plus, we supposedly get a big break at the start of winter. I'm totally just overthinking things…
A young woman in a brown blouse and skirt approached him. Her dark hair was tied up in a bun, and she wore a red tag on her chest that simply read "INTERN". Holding a large scroll in one hand, and some sort of stylus in the other, she approached Hyde with a smile. "Name, age, and place of birth please!"
"I'm Hyde Kido," he responded, trying his best to appear approachable. "I'm seventeen, from East Kanzakai."
The woman rapidly typed something into her scroll, then reached over to a makeshift stall behind her, grabbing a small card. "Here's your First-Year Student ID! Also, there's a note attached to your student file stating that you won't be needing a weapons locker combination. Did you already receive one in advance?"
Awkwardly scratching at the back of his neck, Hyde decided just to run with that idea. "Uh, yeah. Something like that…"
The notice I got from the school told me only to talk about Insulator with staff and my future team… are interns even exempt from that rule? Eh… better to play it safe, at least for now.
"Okay then," the woman grabbed Hyde's bags from him. "Please make your way to the auditorium for orientation. Your belongings will be transported separately after your room has been assigned. Have a nice day!"
Relinquishing his bags, Hyde gave a half-hearted "You too," and made his way along the concrete path toward what he assumed was the auditorium, based on the direction that all the other students were heading. The size of the Academy only became more apparent the closer he came to the entrance. The size of it absolutely dwarfed him by comparison.
"Well if it isn't the fuckin' clownfish!" A voice suddenly emerged from behind Hyde. An all-too-familiar voice. A voice he prayed that he'd never have to hear again.
You've got to be fucking kidding me. Hyde wanted so badly to just keep walking and ignore the voice behind him. But, I know all too well what'll happen if I try to ignore him…
Taking a deep breath, Hyde collected himself, and spun around to face the inevitable. As he expected, two boys stood before him, both with equally smug expressions on their respective faces. One was a tall guy with short, brown hair. The other, a lanky guy with long, eggshell white hair, dressed in the same gaudy, red leather outfit that he'd become notorious for wearing during his high school years.
"Wow Carmine," Hyde said, making sure his dry sarcasm came through as clear as he could make it, "still sticking with the 'Malnourished Lobster' look, huh? I can almost respect that kind of blind self-confidence."
Scoffing in response, Carmine's hair began to turn a deep red. "What the fuck did you just say, bitch? All I heard was 'please beat the shit out of me, Carmine!'"
The other boy laughed in response. "Dude, Hyde looks even shorter than he did last year! I bet I could sit on the loser and he'd snap in half!"
Snickering in response, Carmine calmed down a bit, his hair returning to its typical white color. "Ah hell, you're probably right about that." He lowered his guard, opting to walk past Hyde toward the auditorium. "C'mon Cardin, let's ditch this clownfish fiesta and grab a seat before all the backrow spots get taken! If I get stuck in the middle of all these weaklings, I'm gonna lose my damn mind!"
Watching the two jerks push their way past them, Hyde grit his teeth, fuming at the reality of his situation. Carmine Crimson and Cardin Winchester. Textbook bullies and total asshats; those two have been causing issues ever since their freshman year of high school. Now, I have to put up with them all over again.
"E-e-excuse me, are you o-o-o-okay?"
Hyde looked back to see a blonde girl in a light-blue blouse and miniskirt approach, flanked by a group of five other students. She spoke up again. "Sorry, I don't mean to b-b-b-bother you, but those two looked like they might try and hurt you, so we were all k-k-kind of worried…"
Hyde did his best to wave off her concerns. "Oh, those two are all bark and no bite. No need to get worked up over a couple of clowns like them."
In truth, that claim was a far cry from reality, and he knew it all too well. Still, Hyde didn't want to see other students get targeted by those two. Cardin is a slimy prick alright, but if Carmine sets his sights on someone… Hyde decided to table that thought, given the circumstance. "Putting those pricks aside, it's nice to meet people that at least come across as well-adjusted human beings—." Hyde stopped himself, noting that one of the people with her was clearly a faunus. "Uh, actually, scratch that last part. My bad."
The same faunus couldn't seem to help but chuckle. "No need to walk on eggshells! I can see that you're a decent guy, and we already have a couple shy one's in our group, so no worries!"
"Yah dude, it's literally day one for all of us!" Another blonde, this one in sportier wear than the shy girl, perked up. "Let's just relax and take things as they come!"
Hyde lit up a bit after hearing that. "Sounds like a good plan to me!"
Jaune was running late. Real late. Glancing at his scroll, he realized that he had only a couple of minutes to make it to the auditorium before orientation was scheduled to begin. "Oh man, what was I thinking, eating that free meal before takeoff?!" Jaune tried to haul himself toward the building entrance as fast as possible, clutching his weary stomach in discomfort as he tried to switch his focus towards positive thoughts.
It's going to work out, Jaune! You're an Arc, after all! You can make it, just do like your dad said, and have confidence—."
Unfortunately, he was too caught up in his attempt at reassuring himself that he'd failed to notice the student right in front of him. Before he could even think to put on the brakes, he'd already slammed into them, knocking them both down to the ground.
Well, I really screwed that one up… Despite hitting someone so hard, the landing actually ended without much impact. Wherever his face had landed, it ended up being a rather soft surface.
Soft.
Oh no.
Desperately pushing himself up, he looked down to see a gray-haired girl in a white kimono. Her facial expression a mixture of panic and confusion, she spoke up in a surprisingly quiet voice. "What on Remnant are you doing?!"
"Sorry, it was an accident—!"
"Like hell it was!" Two figures approached them, one of which a white-haired girl in an equally white dress. Her expression was just shy of what one would call pure rage. "Play it off as an innocent mistake all you want, but it's obvious that you're just another perverted creep trying to take advantage of Yumi!"
Waving his hands in protest, Jaune tried to explain his position. "No, I swear it was just a mistake! You've gotta believe me!"
The boy next to the white-haired girl clenched his fist in response. His outfit shared the same white color as his peers, though it contrasted with his jet-black hair. "Not only did you besmirch Miss Kuraokami's honor, but you'd dare to continue making excuses!" The boy pulled back his fist, his intent clear as day. "Face the consequences of your actions, you lecherous scum!"
"Wait, wait, wai—!"
Yet, before he could even finish his third "wait," Jaune could already feel himself flying backward from the impact of the boy's punch. With a heavy thud, Jaune landed back onto the concrete path, almost a full 55 meters from where the punch was thrown.
…ow…
…and with that, Jaune blacked out.
By the time that they'd all made it inside and found their seats, Hyde had managed to get at least a surface-level understanding of his peers. He first glanced at the two sisters to his far left.
So there's Yang and Ruby, from Patch. You'd hardly think they were related, not just from appearance, but how different their personalities and interests are. One's a hot-headed fighter, and the other a nerdy weapons fanatic. Seriously, you'd think someone so young wouldn't be that knee deep into mechanical stuff, yet there Ruby was, a complete 180 from her sister.
He then turned to the two girls beside him. Speaking of sporty, there's Makoto to consider as well. He couldn't help but glance downward at her attire, even if only for a fraction of second, before looking back to the center stage, where a particularly portly staff member was giving a long winded opening monologue. Okay, seriously! What does that chick think she's doing, coming to school in those skimpy clothes?! Does that even COUNT as clothing?!
After a brief trip down his mind's gutter, he stopped himself.
Damn it, Hyde! Just move on already. He considered the girl in the seat just to his left. Noel Vermillion, huh? She's so timid, I'm surprised that she'd be the first of their group to approach me… it's nice to see caring people like her these days. It kinda reminds me of how Orie was in high school. Hell, her face is just as cute, now that I think about it.
The other two to his right were a couple of Yasoinaba boys. Two Persona users from out in the sticks. The big guy— Kanji, was it? He certainly looks like a country boy, but I'm not too sure what to think about Yu. He doesn't seem to carry that kind of vibe…
"...and now, to introduce to you, our esteemed founder: Professor Ozpin!" There was a light applause as a well-dressed man with gray hair made his way onstage.
"Greetings, students." The professor spoke with a soft, yet assured voice that seemed to come naturally, as if any rehearsal beforehand would've been entirely unnecessary. "I'm sure you've all noticed yourselves, but we've quite a diverse cast of first-years this time around, it seems." He looked around as if to confirm his own comment, before continuing. "That's good, I'd be rather disappointed otherwise."
Well, this guy is straight to the point, Hyde thought to himself. I hope he doesn't end up eating those words later, given who he might have to deal with. Of course, if Carmine and Cardin end up being too bad, maybe he'll just have them expelled.
Hyde knew it was wishful thinking, but it still brought him some comfort.
"Regardless, you're all probably wondering about this years' Initiation." Ozpin chuckled lightly, as if it were some sort of joke that only he understood. "Well, I'm afraid that I'm not quite ready to spoil the surprise. Rather, you'll be finding out bright and early tomorrow morning." He then motioned in the direction of a monitor above him, which flickered on to reveal an image of the school's courtyard, where various sets of hammocks and futons had been set up, with each students' luggage set out by a corresponding resting accommodation. "Initiation will be the factor that determines both your assigned teams, and your permanent room assignment as well." Ozpin pointed up at the screen to drive the point home. "Until then, your first night at Beacon will be shared underneath the stars."
The response to this news was mostly collective groans, to which Ozpin grinned in return. "Oh my, if that's the attitude shared by our future Huntsmen and Huntresses, then perhaps I ought to be worried after all."
Watching the students file out onto the courtyard from a private room multiple stories above, Frederick and Shion unpacked their own respective equipment, from various tools and observation gear, to an oversized sword and a chest filled with specialized Anti-Nightmare weapons.
"I can't believe that we've gotta watch over the damn sprouts this year," Frederick grumbled, while skimming over notes left by Ozpin. "The Hollow Night ain't coming back until next year, and he still has us all stressed out over the slightest possibility of a Nightmare showing up."
Shion shook their head while setting up various strange tools, from steaks and incense, to something vaguely resembling an insect net. "The Nightmare I was hunting three months ago escaped. There's no way to say for certain that it isn't still hiding somewhere on these grounds." They looked downwards at the waves of students getting ready for bed as the sun began to set. "The second and third year students have already been checked for irregularities, but the new students are potentially at risk. As a Nightmare Hunter, I cannot afford to gamble with the lives of children."
Frederick simply shrugged, as he opened a small mini fridge that had been provided for them. "Well, if I'm going to waste my evening on this shit, I may as well enjoy a cold drink." He grabbed two cans from the fridge, handing one to his unexpecting partner. "This one's on the house, pal."
Shion was clearly unamused by the offer. "Alcohol? During observation? What kind of fool do you take me for?"
Smirking in response, Frederick cracked his can open. "Fool enough to work at this fine establishment."
