Neia was standing nervously; she was standing alone but the place was full of young people around her age. Many of them were saying their goodbyes to their parents, making her remember hers. She remembered the last time they saw them off.
It was a good memory she had, but then she realized another thing that was like at that moment. Mainly the people clearly avoiding her. Her gaze has always had that reaction from people, which is why she used to be alone almost all the time.
The girl then put a hand to her back and felt a bow, and she couldn't do anything else but smile. The reason was because that time of loneliness was in the past, thanks to the same person who gave her the bow.
She gave another look at the people around, and she couldn't think of another word but weird, as the way some of the people dressed. Still, she was amazed that she could blend in with no real change to her clothing. She wore black trousers and the green Buser armor plate over a white shirt. She also wears kneel-high brown leather boots with metal reinforcements. Her quiver was on the back of her waist, with new and unique arrows. And on the left side of her waist was a sword with the crest of the Knight Order of the Holy Kingdom, and on her hands, brown leather gauntlets.
She was amazed once the airbus arrived. It was amazing for her that a vehicle that big could fly. When she finally stepped in, she stood close to the window, wondering how far she was from her kingdom.
The girl was amazed by the floating image giving information inside the airship. At first she got suspicious, but she quickly turned around and saw that the people didn't react to it. Some were looking at the image and others were not paying attention.
After a few moments on the ship, she felt a murderous aura. She looked around and found the source. A black-cloaked figure that she recognized, so she got closer. Her gaze penetrated the cloak, and then she whispered, "Control yourself. His Majesty wouldn't be happy if you do a stupidity".
A small chuckle came from the hooded person and replied, "yes yes, faceless-chan".
If the blonde's gaze was already something people got scared of, her current gaze would make the bravest man soil their pants.
Suddenly, the floating image disappeared, and now, where it was, the image of a blonde woman appeared. She was wearing weird clothing from Neia's perspective but seemed to be expected by the standards of the people around her. Then, the image started to talk.
"Hello and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among the privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future huntsmen and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the …"
Neia stopped paying full attention as she recognized it as just a welcome. She kept looking through the window and saw the multiple airships with similar shapes as the one she was riding; all of them were parking on what Neia could describe as a port for these airships.
She let people get out of the ship before leaving the ship herself. And always with an eye on where the black hooded person went. But then she saw what would be her school, a castle similar to how it used to be in the north of the Holy Kingdom. Neia sighed a little and continued walking. After a few minutes, she arrived at a hall full of students.
She went to one side of the hall and watched the people already there and those who were arriving, waiting to see a familiar face. And after a while, that face appeared, and Neia's face brightened. And although the girl she was looking at was expressionless, it was perceptible that her mood had improved.
The girl she was looking at was a little shorter than Neia; she had red-gold long hair and a patch on her left eye. She was wearing a fitted black jacket with a hoodie incorporated; it had a line of green in the middle, a line of white at the bottom of the jacket, and some lines in red. The jacket extended down to her hips, and beneath the jacket, she had a dark blue form-fitting blouse. She also wore a black miniskirt, black pantyhose, and black sneakers with some green and red. She had a backpack on her back in the shape of a simple black box with the legend 'CZ2128' on it, and on both of her tights were drop-leg holsters. (an1)
"Hi, Neia-chan," said the newcomer.
"Hello, Chizu-san," Neia replied happily.
"Osu!" said a third voice. The other person was a brown-skinned beauty. Her red hair was tied in two long braids. She had an athletic body and was wearing a red and white short-sleeved top with diamond-shaped cleavage above and under the breasts. She also wore red and white plump shorts and red tights on her legs. On her feet were white boots with red and golden decorations. Her forearms also had a protection with the same design as the boots. On her head, she was wearing a red cap with two protuberances in the form of ears or horns. And on her back was a gigantic crosier. (an2)
The new girl smirked and got extremely close to Neia's face, with their lips almost touching. Neia had to step back, and the girl spoke again, "So you are faceless-chan. Your eyes are really small."
Suddenly, Chizu hit the girl's head with the handle of her weapon, "Leave her alone."
"Sorry, sorry," said the girl with a smile.
Neia nodded, "Don't worry. I get that you are the other demon maid rescued by Ainz-sama?"
The brown-skinned girl smiled, "that's right. Lupusregina, Nice to meet ya~!"
Neia nodded again, "likewise." And then she turned to see the black hooded person again.
Lupusregina started to mimic as if looking far away, "So where is the other?"
"In the far end corner on the right, wearing a black cloak," Neia replied.
"Oh. Good eyes! As expected from the face-ouch". Chizu interrupted Lupusregina with another hit.
Suddenly, the other people's voices died down, and a man and a woman approached the stage. The woman there was Ms Glynda Goodwitch, the same woman whose image appeared in the airship. The man was Headmaster Ozpin, and he was the one who approached the microphone.
"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."
After the speech, the Headmaster left the stage, and Glynda took over the microphone, "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Please save your weapons in the lockers provided. You are dismissed."
"Do you hear that? Pijama party! I'll need to keep an eye on Chizu. I don't want you to go out and find a boy and then-ouch", again Lupusregina was stopped by a punch from Chizu. But this time, a group of people saw them and flinched for the hit.
After that, the people were directed to a room to save their weapons, something Neia was reluctant to do. She has no problem with the small sword, but the bow and the arrows were given to her by the great King of Justice, Ainz Ooal Gown.
Lupusregina dashed and took locker number two, while Chizu took the fourth. Neia stood behind, still eyeing where the black-cloaked person was. And ended up with the eleventh locker.
Once their weapons were saved, the trio walked together and found a place to sleep while always watching where the black-cloaked was.
The next day, the trio went to have breakfast and, soon enough, were accompanied by other students. While alone, Neia got close to the demon maids, "could any of you get a close eye on her. I have a feeling that if we left her alone, she would do something very bad."
"Leagh eet tho mehm", said Lupusregina while still eating pancakes.
"Please, do not spray your food while eating," said CZ2128 in a monotone voice.
"Let's just eat and go for our weapons. I still can't believe that I needed to leave the ultimate shooting star without protection", said Neia while standing up.
Neia's enthusiasm for getting her weapon may be matched by a red-cloaked girl, but she gave no importance to it and walked to her locker, retrieved her weapon, quickly put it on her back, and then equipped the quiver with its arrows on the back of her hip. And finally, she equipped her sword on the left of her waist. Then she also took a visor and wore it. When she was finally done, she walked calmly to the other two maids with more confidence now that she was wearing and protecting the items bestowed to her by Ainz-sama.
Her appearance changed completely once her eyes were covered. Many turned their head on her, either because she looked heroic or others because she looked strong and big, even though her height was below average.
Then, a voice sounded, "Would all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."
Neia, CZ2128, and Lupusregina went to the cliff, but Lupusregina detached from the other two to get closer to where the black-cloaked person was.
The Headmaster was the first to talk, calmly drinking something warm from his mug. Neia saw it and suddenly thought that it would be really calming to drink some warm tea in that weather, a commodity for the upper class.
"... today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest", heard Neia once she woke up from her imagination.
Behind the Headmaster was Glynda with a big crystal in her hands, which seemed to be used to write, "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."
Neia nodded. She was waiting for this, 'Maybe they will want to balance the teams with the stronger and the weakest. I just hope I am not the weakest. That would be bad for his majesty's items'.
The Headmaster continued, "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."
A smile appeared on Neia's face. She knew who she would choose if there was a way for her to choose her partners".
"That being said..." continued the Headmaster, "the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
Neil did not know whether to be happy that the way to be paired was that easy or to doubt the leadership of the Headmaster.
Ozpin then continued the instructions, asking them that after they found a partner, they needed to make their way to the northern end of the forest. He advised them about the Grimm in the area, but Neia relaxed and caressed her sword, close to where the emblem of her kingdom was.
"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?" concluded the Headmaster.
Neia was a little confused about the 'landing.' A blonde boy raised his hand to ask that, but before the Professor could answer, a person at the far end was catapulted from the cliff to the forest, making it clear how it was going to work.
Neia got prepared for the push, and suddenly, she felt the force of the catapult under her feet. The next second, she was in the sky, and for a brief moment, she felt in heaven, like flying, but then she remembered her current predicament, took the bow, and searched for one particular arrow. When she finally found it, she did not waste time and used it. She aimed at the strongest branch she could find. The arrow had a rope attached to it, and she used it to swing and land gently.
Once on land, she began to rewind the rope so that she could put it away. Her head was still in the sky, and she could detect any of her comrades in mission pass. Then she saw multiple explosions and a black shadow over her, getting slower with each explosion. Then she realized that it was Chizu who was using her weapon to slow herself. Chizu landed not far from her, and Neia went to her.
Once they were in front of each other, Chizu removed her eye patch momentarily, "visual contact confirmed," she said and put the eye patch again.
The black-cloaked person was catapulted and detected the best tree for landing while in the air. Then, from its cloak came a pair of hands using gloves with metal claws, which were used to grab the trunk of a tree and, with it, have a safe landing.
Once on land, the black-cloaked person had a small idea of escape, but then a noise in the trees appeared. And then the figure of a woman was seen. Jumping from branch to branch, landing in front of the cloaked person.
"Oha! Clementine-chan!" said playfully Lupusregina.
Clementine tsked and removed the cloak from her head. "Let's get this over with," said Clementine, then started running. Lupusregina chuckled a little and then followed her.
It took them only a few minutes to locate the abandoned temple. By the time LupusRegina and Clementine arrived, the temple was alone, and chess pieces were in the center of the temple. Before they could grab one another, a pair appeared. Neia appeared with Chizu behind her.
"You need to exercise more; we were not the first," said Chizu monotonously.
"The mission is to retrieve whatever is here and back. It has nothing to do with who's first," replied Neia. Then she realized the other two individuals.
She got close to them, and then she saw the chess pieces. "I guess they want us to choose the same piece to complete the teams."
Neia knew too little about how to play chess. She grew up with almost no friends and never had someone to play with. So, she only took the first piece she saw, and Lupusregina took a similar one.
The faceless preacher nodded, "Very well, let's go back."
"What? So soon? We can wait for the other participants," said Lupusregina, the only one who did not move.
"Remember that we are being monitored and graded. Our mission is to bring the 'relic' back, and that is what we are going to do.", said Neia.
"But I want to fight one of those Grimm. That was the point of this initiation!" said Lupusregina.
"The point of this initiation is to carry out a mission. An infiltration mission", the faceless preacher replied.
"But we could do both, right?" asked the brown-skinned pleiade
"We could, but we are representatives of the Supreme One. And as such, we should do our work as perfectly as possible", concluded Neia.
"We will able to fight them later, and probably we can fight those who pass at school," said emotionless Chizu to console Lupusregina. Meanwhile, Clementine tsked at the word 'school'.
Neia took the front and guided them back to the cliff. Her keen senses were tested while in this foreign environment. Fortunately, their return had no problems or attacks by any Grimm. The brown-skinned Pleiade wanted to fight, and every time she smelled a Grimm, she wanted to go and fight one, but Chizu always stopped her.
They were the first students to return from the initiation, followed by a group of men who eyed them.
While waiting, they could see a screen when some of the current participants were still on the initiation.
A few men got close to Lupusregina and tried to talk with her, but she was looking at the screen. "Oooh! I want to fight one of those next!" said enthusiastic Lupusregina when she saw the giant scorpion-like Grimm. An awkward laugh sounded from the guys around her.
That night, in the same hall as yesterday, the students were gathered. The students who passed the initiation were gathered. Their number was reduced drastically.
"Our Headmaster will be calling your names; once you hear yours, walk to the stage. He will then proceed to name all the members of your team, the team leader, and how it will be known from now on", announced Glynda and then left the stage.
Close to the stage were all the participants anticipating their names to be called.
Headmaster Ozpin then walked up the stage, "Neia Baraja, Chizu Delta, Clementine... Branwen, Lupusregina Beta. A great performance from you, being the first students to return with the black bishop pieces."
All the students clapped at them. The Headmaster then continued, "From this day forward, you will be together as Team NCCL (Nickel). Led by Neia Baraja".
Another round of applause from all the students happened. All the students clapped except for one. Yang Xiao Long, a long blonde-haired girl, was looking at Clementine, and suddenly, Clementine looked back at her. Then Ruby Rose, a girl with short black hair in a black dress and a red cloak, whispered to the long-haired blonde, "Do you think that Uncle Qrow...?"
The long blonde-haired girl turned to the black-haired girl, "You know, after all his stories of his adventures and 'conquers,' I wouldn't be surprised." Then, Weiss Schnee, a white-haired girl in a white/light blue combat dress, elbowed the black-haired one, "Quiet both of you!"
The next day, team NCCL woke up in their new room. To Neia's surprise, the facility for the students allowed them to have a full bathroom for each team. She was waiting for another and remembered the time back in the barracks in the holy kingdom where there were only public baths.
She sighed, and again, she felt uneasy. Unfortunately for them, they asked them to leave their weapons behind inside a locker.
She took her bath, and then the other team members took turns using it. Although, they took some time to make Lupusregina do it.
"Eh? Bath? No thanks. I bathed two days ago", Lupusregina said while grabbing the door handle with one hand. Meanwhile, the rest of her body was restrained by CZ.
"Cleaning maintenance needs to be done daily," said the gynoide.
With a stronger pull from CZ, Lupusregina left the handle. Neia opened the door to the bathroom, and CZ threw Lupusregina inside. Neia closed the door right away. After a couple of minutes, they heard the shower. Then, the girl who did not want to shower turned out to be the one who spent more time inside it. Taking her almost an hour to bathe.
The four girls now wore similar clothes, but each had different things that made them stand out, aside from their hairstyle, facial features, and height.
Neia was wearing a 'Star pendant,' given to her by Ainz-sama himself. Lupusregina had her black hat and also added a slit to the skirt to 'give it style.' Chizu was the one with a more prominent add-on, as she was wearing her camouflaged scarf and her eyepatch.
While walking to their class, the men started to look at the other differences, like the tight-hight white stocking of Lupusregina, the black pantyhose used by Chizu, the black tights with lace that go under the skirt of Clementine, and the kneel-high brown leather boots with metal reinforcements of Neia.
The four arrived at the class early, encouraged by their leader and Chizu. Before class, Neia and Chizu were reading the books given to them about the class subject.
The classroom was big and spacious. The four students sat in the first row. Neia noticed then that in the back of the class, the head of one of the creatures called Grimm was over the blackboard. And on its sides were more drawings about another kind of Grimm.
"King Taijitu, Death Stalker, Beowolf, Boarbatusk, Nevermore, Ursa," read Neia. On Neia's side was CZ2128, who was also reading everything.
Once more students arrived, they stopped taking notes and closed the books. And then the class started.
Lupusregina was almost instantly falling asleep. She tried her best to remain awake but was losing that battle. "Chizu, could you pass me your notes from the class later?"
CZ2128 nodded, "Leave it to me."
Their plan was almost perfect, but Neia heard them and elbowed Lupusregina, "Don't let down the supreme one."
Lupusregina remained awake but with a bored expression. "As expected of our fearless leader," commented Chizu to the way Neia managed the problem.
The class passed with no problem. Lupusregina decided to distract herself with her schoolmates. Especially with a small black-haired girl drawing.
The Professor, after a long talk about a tale of himself, finally gave the conclusion, "The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise! So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"
"Me!" "Here!" A white-haired girl spoke at the same time as Chizu. The difference was that the white-haired girl raised her own hand, and CZ2128 raised Neia's hand.
"Chizu, what are you doing?" whispered Neia. The white-haired girl put her hand down, a little ashamed as she was showing herself as self-important, while the other team had nominated their leader themselves.
"Oh. Very well, then, let's find out! Please go to the locker room, put your fighting garments on, and get your weapon ready," the Professor instructed. Neia nodded and obeyed.
Shortly after, Neia arrived again with her usual clothes. The Buser's armor, the gauntlets, the bow with its arrows and quiver, and the sword on her hips.
The Professor stood still with a cage behind him and his weapon in hand. Before Neia returned, he promised that he would step up and protect all of them if the Grimm got out of control.
"GO LEADER GO!" yelled Lupusregina.
"You can do it," said CZ monstrously, and people did not know if she was being sarcastic, and this was a prank. But all could see the red face of Nei, ashamed of her teammates. At that, the white-haired girl, Weiss Schnee, noted that maybe she may have made a mistake, but she still looked closely at the combatant as she was the leader of the best team out in the initiation.
"Ready?" asked the Professor to Neia, and she just nodded. On her hand was her bow and a regular arrow.
"Allllright! Let the match... begin!" the Professor shouted. He swung down and broke the cage lock, dropping the cage door and revealing a small Grimm, a Boarbatusk Grimm that looked like a wild pig, which was covered in the lecture.
The Grimm immediately charged at Neia. At the other side of the classroom, Neia rapidly grabbed her bow and took one arrow; she shot her arrow and landed at the eye of the Grimm, which made it screech in pain and stop, but soon after, it started to run faster toward Neia's direction again. Neia rolled to the side, readying herself for its next move. The Grimm stood a distance away from its enemy, studying her.
"Ha-ha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?" commented the Professor.
Neia then took another arrow, looked at it really fast, and then changed it to another one.
The Boarbatusk charged again at her, but this time, Neia was prepared, and she let the arrow fly. The arrow was different, as this one was in a light blue color, and when the arrow hit the floor where the Grimm was, iced appeared. The ice-covered part of the floor in front of the Grimm made it slip and fall upside down, leaving the belly exposed, the only part without the bone armor protection.
Neia then put the bow away and walked to the Boarbatusk side. Took her sword and thrust her sword at its stomach, in the part where there was no white bone. The Grimm then started to disappear.
"That's how it's done!" yelled Lupusregina and started to whistle.
"As expected," said CZ2128 clapping.
The rest of the class also started to clap.
"Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!" said the Professor. He then checked his watch, "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!" Almost after it, the bell rang.
CZ2128 got close to Neia and gave her a thumbs up, "Good job." Lupusregina went close and, with a smile, said, "Yeah, but could you try to make it last longer next time?"
Miss Schnee looked at them as they realized they were in good hands of leadership, something she felt she didn't have, as she couldn't understand why the youngest team member became the leader.
AN1 - Outfit "CZ Survival Game Department Head" from Mass for the Dead videogame.
AN2 - Outfit "Lupusregina_(New_Year's_Eve)" from Mass for the dead videogame. The only difference is that I added boots, and instead of the "cane-shaped blunt weapon," she is using her usual Crosier.