"Oh Gods, the blood is rushing to my head!"

Yumi watched helplessly as Jaune swung back and forth, trying to keep himself from blacking out. All I wanted to do was use my Semblance's ice to break his fall, but now he's stuck like this… While her ice had successfully managed to suspend Jaune above the ground between two trees, it had only managed to catch one of his legs, and he was left to dangle upside-down as Yumi frantically chipped away at her own work with her fans. If only I'd used a weaker blast, he wouldn't have gotten stuck like this!

"Please just hang in there a bit longer, Jaune!" Yumi tried to focus on getting him free, but was interrupted by the growls and roaring of a small pack of Beowolves emerging from the brush nearby. "Actually, you may need to wait even longer still."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" Jaune cried out in panic. "I'm a sitting duck here!"

"I'll dispose of them, so please be patient!" The young woman turned towards the approaching wave of Grimm, and leapt into the air, dive bombing toward the creatures. The impact as she struck soil sent a small blizzard of snow and ice outwards, freezing two beasts in place, and knocking back those behind it. The very ground itself near her had frozen in place, leaving a sheet of thick ice that she skated upon with finesse. One of the Beowolves tried to run at her, but slipped upon the frozen floor and tumbled over its own legs, helplessly rolling towards her as Yumi cleaved straight through it with her fans, splitting it in two.

Five of them remained, but rather than follow after their brethren, they stayed back, avoiding the ice and simply pacing around the outer edges where the grass hadn't frozen.

So they're no longer approaching? I've seen Grimm use group tactics to hunt people before, but I've never seen them act so cautiously. However…

With a flick of her wrists, an arrow of ice flew forth, piercing straight through the head of one of the Beowolves, and startling the others, who barked in anger at the death of another comrade.

I won't needlessly pursue them when I have the range advantage.

The pack seemed to realize that the fight was a losing battle, as they turned the other way, retreating into the forest.

Turning back to her teammate, Yumi saw the unfortunate boy hacking away at her ice with his sword. After a series of heavy swings, the ice finally cracked, giving way as Jaune tumbled down to the ground.

"Oh no!" Yumi rushed to his side, kneeling over as he rubbed the back of his head. "Please tell me you aren't hurt!"

Though visibly shook from the landing, Jaune just chuckled in response. "All things considered, that could've gone way worse. I guess I should thank you for freezing me so close to the ground!"

"Oh, well…" Yumi hesitated for a moment, still a bit upset with herself for going overboard with her Semblance output. "So long as we're both fine, I suppose… Although, I can't help but wonder…"

Jaune shakily rose back up to his feet, still nursing the back of his neck and shoulders. "What's up, Yumi? We should probably get moving soon, right? Teams are made up of four of us, after all."

"That may be true," Yumi tucked away her war fans in her yukata as she continued. "But I can't help but be concerned, Jaune."

"Concerned? About what?"

"About you, Jaune." She looked at him with a serious, almost deathly glare. "If you don't know how to utilize your Aura, you should've told someone quite some time ago. Don't you understand? Failing to utilize your Soul as a Huntsman will get you seriously hurt, or worse!"

Jaune just sighed, a pained look in his eyes. "Trust me, I've told plenty of others, friends and family alike. Even the family doctor had me checked out, but he just told me that conventional Aura-unlocking methods won't work. Apparently, there's something off with my brain… I don't really remember the details, though." He sheathed his blade as he began to walk deeper into the forest. "But according to him, the only way to unlock it now is the hard way."

"What exactly would that 'hard way' be, Jaune?"

Jaune didn't answer, but simply continued walking past her, avoiding further eye contact.


"Well, looks like today is my lucky day!" Yang carried a bundle of miscellaneous sticks and kindling in her arms as she approached her newfound teammates, who had set up small tents near a fire pit. "Between two celebrities and a girl who can literally fly, I'd say that I'm in luck!" She dropped the additional wood near their encampment, as a red-headed girl in light armor began to lay out various nuts and fruits that she had acquired on a small tarp.

"I'll admit that Rise has garnered quite a following with her own career," the armored student began arranging the food she had gathered into equal shares for each member. "However, it feels a bit odd to call myself a celebrity by comparison…"

The girl she had referred to as Rise was in the midst of dusting herself off after finishing up the last tent, her white blouse and miniskirt doing little to conceal the dirt. Despite the unfortunate state of her attire, she still smirked in response to her teammates' commentary. "Trying to stay humble, Pyrrha? I've seen those crazy cereal commercials of yours, and you best believe I know a star in the making when I see one!"

Pyrrha couldn't help but cover her face in embarrassment. "Please don't bring those commercials up… Those shoots lasted for hours, and most of those brands are far too unhealthy..."

"Ooooh, I think I've seen the Pumpkin Pete commercials with you in it!" A pink-haired girl called down to them from above. The flying student wore a pink knee-length skirt and an orange sleeveless t-shirt with the name PARTINIAS written on the front. "I love that cereal! So tasty!"

"But Heart, Pumpkin Pete is easily the least healthy choice!" Pyrrha responded. "That much sugar is definitely not part of a balanced breakfast!"

Yang nodded in agreement. "Yep, you'll put on some serious pounds eating that stuff all the time."

Heart pouted as she floated back down to the ground. "That's mean, Ya-ya! I won't get fat just from eating tasty food!"

Chuckling in response, Yang shrugged as she threw more fuel down for their fire. "Well, so long as you hit the gym every now and then, I guess it won't be all that bad."

"Perhaps a light snack with natural foods would be a good alternative while we're here?" Pyrrha finished getting the food rationed out to each member. "Rise, do you mind scanning for Grimm once more? I'd like to know if any more packs are nearby before we eat."

"Sure thing, just give me a sec'." Rise clasped both of her hands together, as light-blue energy started to coalesce around her. "Come here, Himiko!"

Behind her, a tall, feminine Persona appeared, draped in a white dress, with a head shaped like some sort of satellite. It placed a device over Rise's eyes, scanning around as it did so.

"So, how's it lookin', Rise?" Yang nibbled on a few of the mixed berries that her teammate had set aside.

"Everything's clear within half a kilometer's radius of us, though there are other students further off that seem to be busy with packs of Ursa and Beowolves." Rise seemed to shudder for a moment, then continued. "I'm also picking up three larger signals as well."

"Woah, are there a buncha big Grimm around, too?!" Heart crunched down on what appeared to be a bundle of almonds.

"According to Himiko, there's a Nevermore nesting a few miles up the hill to the north, as well as a Nightmare nearby it."

This grabbed Pyrrha's attention. "Now that's concerning… Though weak by itself, if a Nightmare were to use the Nevermore as a distraction, it could take that opportunity to infect a student here without them even realizing."

Heart spoke up in response, still halfway through chewing her food. "-fbut wah happunz- to inmfecteh- studensh?!"

Pyrrha grimaced as the thought entered her mind. "They're briefly put into a dreamlike trance where Grimm are born from an influx of negativity within the victims' dream. If a specialist isn't able to extract the Nightmare within a 48 hour period, the victim in question becomes a Void… a former human or faunus, changed into an unrecognizable beast."

Swallowing her food, Heart's attitude dropped for a moment, though she seemed to pick back up as a thought occurred. "Well, if all that negativity is what makes more Grimm, then all they'd really need is a big helping of love to cure them, right?"

This brought out both giggling and groans from her team in equal measure.

"Well anyways," Yang segued to the other topic at hand. "Rise, you forgot to mention the third big guy for us to look out for!"

"That's just the thing," Rise answered. "I've never heard of this type of Grimm before…"

"Oooh…" Yang cracked her knuckles, clearly excited. "Sounds like we've got something rare on our hands!"

"What is it called?" Pyrrha stood up, her interest piqued.

Rise responded with a heavy, uncertain breath: "Primordial Chaos."


"I'm finding this all dreadfully boring, to be perfectly honest."

Having set up a table and chairs, the vampire had a grand view of the Initiation Grounds, sipping away at hot tea as she surveyed the various new students as they fought to earn their place at Beacon Academy.

Annoyed by her commentary, Glynda retorted through grit teeth. "Well Rachel, I don't recall either myself or the Headmaster inviting you today, so by all means, feel free to leave at any time."

A smug look crept onto Rachel's face, betraying not even the slightest hint of her satisfaction at this reply. "Oh, my dear Goodwitch, if I were to be absent at such a time, who else here could possibly be of the qualification necessary to call out your unmatched incompetence?"

"Are you trying to pick fights with me, Alucard?!" Glynda's teeth were practically grinding as her frustration with the vampire grew.

"Why, I would never dream of such a thing! Perish the thought," Rachel responded, the sarcasm in her voice as clear as day.

Likely unwilling to allow their bickering to continue further, Ozpin interrupted whilst pouring himself a fresh cup of tea. Though tea was rarely his first choice, Rachel would seldom be accepting of any alternative beverage. "Shion is currently resting at the moment, so I may request that you both keep your eyes peeled in case that Nightmare decides to make any sudden movements while we're distracted."

Scoffing as if she'd merely heard further nonsense, Rachel put down her tea to address her longtime friend and confidant. "That cowardly little thing? No, our immediate concerns are far removed from any perceived danger towards these students. They may be inexperienced, naive, and crude beyond measure, but their power alone is more than enough to ward off that disgusting little leech." Frankly, the students themselves are the ones that could cause the most potential damage to one another.

Though she had been quiet up until that point, the Princess of the Night Blade spoke up, pulling back her hood to reveal her messy, brown hair. "I disagree, Rachel. That thing is likely nearing the end of its lifespan. I wouldn't underestimate any enemy, especially not a desperate one." She looked up at Ozpin, who sipped less-than-eagerly at his tea. "Osiris, it may not be ideal, but I can have Seth pull away from the other students to hunt down—."

Before she could finish, Ozpin cut her off. "Linne, we've been over this. If Seth is to be a student here, then he'll be treated as such, not as a Night Blade Assassin. You may believe him to be capable, but Huntsmen and Huntresses don't fight alone. I wouldn't ask that of anyone here."

"...I guess it can't be helped, then." Linne stood up, apparently sick of overseeing the students. "My people have their orders, and I have a meeting with the Kirijo Group to attend tonight, so I'll be getting some rest in the meantime."

"Very well, but do be careful." Ozpin nodded to his colleague. "That part of the city has seen some rather… unsavory activity as of late."

Rachel followed up on his warning. "Between Torchwick, Paradox, and those bloody cultists, there's danger enough for anyone braving that city at night. Now, we have followers of the Dark Mother running amok, and a certain Axiom Emissary sticking his nose in our affairs. Knowing this, you seriously think it wise to be having such meetings at this time?"

"Osiris and I are Re-Birth's, Rachel. Whatever danger's await us are temporary in the grand scheme of things, and I'm not going to shirk my duties simply because things are somewhat dangerous downtown." Linne looked away as she walked down a trail leading towards the Academy. "I swear, you've both gone soft. This world hasn't seen real danger in years…"

As the Princess left, Rachel sighed in annoyance. That's the kind of world we aim to avoid, Linne. Honestly, do the rampant hormones in that immature body of yours directly affect your judgment as well? The Dark Days and Great War weren't as far back as some people like to think, and we're still seeing adverse effects to this very day.


"...and that'll wrap up these assholes." Ragna pulled his blade out of the pool of evaporating sludge that was formerly leading a pack of Ursa. "Let's get moving. The sooner we find two others and set up camp, the sooner we can get out of this damn forest."

"I suppose that's true enough." Yu sheathed Wild Card, though his eyes seemed to look over the larger heap of metal in his partner's hands. "You know, that's quite some weapon you've got there. Did you make it yourself?"

Here he goes with the fuckin' questions again. Ragna had made it a point to keep his responses brief and straight to the point, but either the guy wasn't picking up on his cues, or simply had no intention of backing down. Regardless of Yu's intent, the young man had only managed to pester his recent acquaintance into begrudging responses.

"No, I didn't make the damn thing, it was a gift." The heft of Ragna's blade was hardly of any concern to the initiate, as he casually rested it through the makeshift sling across his back.. "Anything else you're looking to ask, or can we wrap this shit up?"

Yu paused, apparently caught in a thought, but was cut off by the sound of gunshots in the distance. "We can hold off for now. Let's see if those shots came from anyone in need of help. Besides, the person shooting could be just what we need to move forward."

"...Fine." Ragna led the way, heading towards a thick enclosure of trees and shrubbery. For fuck's sake, why the hell am I even going along with this? The foliage and treeline seemed to cut off a great deal of light as the two boys dived into the unknown.


The crack of constant gunshots continued, growing sharper and more erratic as they neared the source of the fighting. As the brush began to clear, they caught a glimpse of a spikey-haired boy plunging a red blade through the gut of a squirming Boarbatusk. Its body quickly began to vanish as sparks of energy flowed from the blade's edge into the beast's vulnerable belly.

"How'd you like that, you piece of—huh?!" The boy quickly jumped back as his eyes glimpsed the two figures flying out of the woods, though he breathed a sigh of relief as he realized that they were other student initiates. "Oh shit, it's just you, Narukami!" He then turned toward Ragna. "Looks like you brought some back-up, too!"

Yu gave a quick thumbs up, but didn't linger on it for long. "Great seeing you again, Hyde. Say, we heard shots nearby and came running to see if anyone needed help! Any idea where they came from?"

"That's all Ruby's handiwork!" Hyde pointed towards the branches overhead. Just as he indicated, a girl in a frilly, red and black outfit had been scoped in the whole time, firing at targets outside her partners' line of sight. Completely oblivious to everything beneath her, it seemed as though she was fully absorbed in taking out some Grimm a significant distance from where they were located.

Huh, looks like Yang's sister is doing alright for herself, all things considered. Yu pondered their circumstances for a moment, then reached into his pocket to check his scroll. As he suspected, the front homepage showed an update message in all caps.

CONFIRMATION OF TEAM ASSIGNMENT RECEIVED

HYDE KIDO / RUBY ROSE / RAGNA MASAKADO / YU NARUKAMI

SUPPLY DROP WILL ARRIVE IN 00:28:23 AT CURRENT COORDINATES

HOLD POSITION. MISSION COMPLETION IN 05:58:19

"Well, I guess that settles it!" Yu nudged Hyde as he pointed to the countdown on his screen. "We're a bonafide team, now!"

Ragna rolled his eyes, making his annoyance with the notion of assigned teams perfectly clear. "Whatever, I'm gonna go look for some firewood or something. Keep an eye out for that supply thing while I'm out."

"Woah, hold on, man!" Hyde grabbed his teammate by the shoulder. "Shouldn't we decide what to gather after the supplies get here? It'd be a waste to search for stuff if we already have—."

"Back the fuck off!" Ragna spun around, knocking Hyde backwards with the back of his fist. Yu watched in shock as the young man flew backwards into the tree that Ruby had been perched upon, dropping his blade upon impact. The force of him slamming into said tree was also enough to cause the unaware girl to lose her footing, slipping off the branch and tumbling once more towards the ground below.

"Izanagi, catch her!" Yu's Persona flew off towards the girl, just barely catching her before impact. It gently set the bewildered teen down on the grass, then disappeared before her eyes.

"W-w-w-what's going on?! Hyde, did you see that thing just now?!" Ruby frantically looked around, trying to wrap her head around what was happening around her. As she looked around, a red blade caught her eye. It reminded her of Hyde's sword, but for some reason it had begun to evaporate away, similar to the carcasses of fallen Grimm.

However, Hyde hardly noticed the Persona or his teammate's questions. Slowly rising to his feet, he called out the white-haired brute before him.

"Just what the hell is your problem, psycho?! That could've killed me!"

Ragna said nothing in response, simply turning away and walking off.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, jackass!" Hyde limped after the young man that had pushed him back with enough force to send him careening into the trunk of a tree.

Seeing this, Yu rushed over, letting Hyde lean against his shoulder. "Just leave him for now, Hyde. There's no point chasing after Ragna in your condition."

"Damn it," Hyde said through grit teeth, "that guy hits like a damn truck."