Author's Note: First off, apologies for the delay. I could give plenty of excuses such as work, life or video gaming(of which I'm guilty of). Though the reality is that I got caught up in binge watching V1-3 again while I was doing some research and well...I spent more time watching and looking for animation goofs than actually writing. Oops?
Anyways, this chapter was written some time ago and my dumb self forgot to upload it. I hope you enjoy.
Also, apologies in advance for the Coffee-Chan lovers out there.
"It's morning! It's morning! It's moooorning!~" was what Jaune woke up to as sunlight shined directly into his eyes when he opened them.
"Gah!" Jaune winced as he held a hand over his eyes before he heard a chuckle in his head, 'Morning Ozma.'
'Good morning to you too Jaune.' Ozma greeted back, 'I trust that you've had a good night's rest?'
'Yeah, slept like a baby.' Jaune replied as he raised his arms and stretched his back, sighing in relief as he felt his spine pop. He then turned and saw the girl in pink cheerfully singing 'It's morning' over and over to the boy in green who looked like he needed to sleep some more.
Jaune watched as the boy raised his hand and pat the girl on her head once and the girl instantly stopped singing as if she was an alarm clock. The girl smiled and pressed a finger to the boy's nose and said, "Boop. Morning Ren." which made the boy smile.
"Morning Nora." the boy greeted back. The pair then quietly got up and left, prompting Jaune to do the same.
After freshening up, Jaune went to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. His eyes lit up when he saw the platter of chicken nuggets on offer. They were even shaped like beowolves! He reached out to them with the provided tongs with the intent to pile as many as he could on his tray when Ozma interrupted him.
'I suggest that you keep it light for breakfast today, trust me.' Ozma told him.
Jaune frowned but listened as he grabbed only a few pieces of nuggets and supplemented it with some hash browns. He then added a mug of coffee to his tray for Ozma. He didn't like the drink very much but Ozma did so they'll switch out after he was done with his meal.
After grabbing the utensils, he looked around for somewhere to sit and found a table in the far side of the cafeteria near the door to the courtyard. There he saw that the table was nearly empty save for one occupant, a girl with long black hair and an equally black bow on her head who was nibbling on some fish sticks with one hand while holding a book in the other.
"Hey, mind if I sit here?" Jaune asked.
The girl kept reading her book but nodded to him in response.
"Thanks." Jaune sat himself down before introducing himself, "My name's Jaune. What's yours?"
The girl looked up from her book and looked at him briefly before answering, "Blake."
Jaune winced at the curt reply. He didn't want to assume, but Blake reminded him of his younger sister, Lavender, who also preferred books over the company of people who were not family. So he did what he usually did with Lavender when she's reading; give her space.
"Nice to meet you, Blake. I'll let you enjoy your book in peace now." Jaune stated to which the girl nodded in appreciation before turning back to her book.
Jaune was quietly enjoying his breakfast when he heard someone calling out to him, he turned to see Ruby and Yang with their own trays in hand.
"Hey Yang, hey Ruby. Good morning." Jaune greeted while waving at the pair.
"Morning Jaune, mind if we join you?" Ruby asked.
Jaune turned to Blake and asked, "Would it be alright if my friends sat here too?"
Blake simply nodded in response which gave Ruby and Yang the cue to join them at the table.
"Thanks. Was having a hard time looking for an empty table." Ruby stated as she sat down with her plate which was piled to the brim with cookies and a single glass of milk. She then looked more closely at Blake and gasped, "Hey, aren't you the girl I met yesterday?"
Blake looked up from her book and looked at Ruby and nodded, "Yes, I am. And you're the girl that exploded yesterday."
"You two know each other?" Jaune asked.
"Kind of, she helped me out a little when that crabby girl from yesterday was yelling at me for blowing up her dust." Ruby grumbled before she remembered something, "By the way, I forgot to thank you for you help. So, thanks."
"You're welcome." Blake replied and said nothing else, making things awkward for Ruby who didn't know what else to say or do.
"Sooo, what's your name?" Yang cut in, filling the awkward silence.
Blake looked up from her book and stated in a slightly irritated tone, "Blake."
"Well Blake, My name's Yang and this is my cousin, Ruby." Yang greeted cheerfully, apparently not noticing the irritation in Blake's tone or ignoring it if she did.
Blake let out an audible sigh and put down her book, "It's a pleasure to meet you two." Everyone could tell this was a lie. "What would you like to talk about?" Yang grinned victoriously and rubbed her chin thoughtfully but before she could ask anything, Ruby beat her to the punch.
"What is it about?" Ruby asked.
"Huh?" Blake responded, confused by the question.
"Your book, what's it about?" Ruby clarified, "Must be pretty good if you're reading while eating."
Blake smiled softly as she brought her book back up, "It is. It's a story about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over the body."
Jaune choked on his chicken nugget when he heard this as he started coughing violently. He then felt thumping on his back and turned to see Yang grinning down at him.
"You good?" Yang asked while Ruby and Blake looked on in concern.
"Yeah, just ate a little too fast." Jaune said. Yang shrugged her shoulders and sat back down next to Ruby who gave him a smile before resuming her conversation with Blake. 'Ozma, anything I should know about?'
'To be honest, I'm as clueless as you are.' Ozma answered, 'Maybe it's just a coincidence? People can be amazingly creative if they put their minds to it after all.'
'Yeah, I mean, we don't fight for control after all.' Jaune cheerfully stated.
'For which I am truly grateful for and speaking of which, it seems that you're done with your meal.' Ozma noted that the tray was now empty, leaving only the mug of coffee. 'I believe it's my turn now.'
'Sure, enjoy.' Jaune said as he relinquished control of his body to Ozma who took a deep breath and smiled at the physical sensations he was feeling. While he did switch out with Jaune every so often, he still enjoyed the five senses that many people often take for granted.
One of which being the sense of smell as he took in the scent of coffee as he brought the mug up to his nose and smiled. It was such a shame that his host didn't share his own appreciation for coffee in the morning. He mentally shrugged as he sipped from the mug. Oh well, more for him.
Ozma closed Jaune's eyes and let out a sigh of content as he savored the warm bitterness of the brew as he drank it. Jaune will undoubtedly complain about the aftertaste later as he always does yet the boy still did this for him whenever he could. He truly appreciated Jaune for being so considerate of him.
"Is that okay with you Jaune?" Ruby asked.
'What did I miss?' Ozma asked while bringing the mug up to buy himself some time to think. Plus, he'd take any excuse to drink more coffee.
'Not much. They were talking how excited they were about Initiation, well Ruby and Yang were talking. Blake…didn't say much. It's almost weird how much she reminds me of Lavender. Anyways, they started talking about rumors about teams of four being made today. Oh and then Ruby asked about the promise I made to show her my sword.' Jaune explained.
'Your 'sword', eh?' Ozma asked teasingly while resisting the urge to waggle Jaune's brows.
'Hardy, har, har.' Jaune deadpanned. 'Isn't that kind of humor a bit low brow for you?'
'Says the one who thinks puns are funny.' Ozma shot back.
'Hey!' Jaune protested though Ozma ignored it as he lowered his mug and turned to Ruby who was looking expectantly at him.
"Sure, Ruby. We can go after you're done." Ozma replied.
"Great!" Ruby cheered as she started shoveling the cookies on her plate into her mouth one after the other like a chipmunk. Ozma briefly wondered if she was a chipmunk faunus. He turned away to take another sip of coffee though he was surprised when he looked back to see the plate had been cleared and Ruby was in the middle of washing it down with milk.
'Wow, and I thought Amber was crazy about cookies.' Jaune commented. Of all of Jaune's sisters, Amber, the youngest had an odd fondness for cookies and sweets that bordered on obsession. Ozma once joked to Jaune about Amber having a second stomach specifically for cookies though Jaune refused to share it with his family out of a sense of self-preservation.
"Done!" Ruby declared as she slammed her now empty glass back on the table. She quickly wiped the milk moustache off her face before she hooked an arm around Jaune's own arm. "Come on! Let's go see that super sword of yours!"
"Ruby, w-wait! I haven't finished my coffee yet." Ozma called out as he tried to pull away and reach for the mug. However, despite her short stature, Ruby was able to keep her hold on him as she dragged him out of his seat with ease.
"Come on, Jaune. You can drink coffee later. Sword now!" Ruby told him as she started dragging him through the cafeteria and towards the exit with Yang following behind them. The girl was entertained at Ozma's misery if the grin on her face was anything to go by.
'You did tell me to make friends with Ruby and this is the perfect chance to do it, Oz.' Jaune said with some satisfaction.
"But, my coffee…" Ozma whimpered uncharacteristically as he was dragged away by the smaller girl, much to the amusement of everybody in the cafeteria
Jaune cackled as he was starting to understand why Ozma found his own misery to be so entertaining. Sure, his reputation is probably going to take a hit here but that's future Jaune's problem.
"Blegh!" Jaune, now back in control of his body, groaned at the bitter aftertaste in his mouth as he trudged into the locker room. Ahead of him was Ruby who looked apologetically at him.
"Sorry for dragging you like that. Mom and dad always tell me that I forget stuff like my manners when it comes to weapons." Ruby explained awkwardly.
"I-it's fine?" Jaune said equally awkwardly as he wasn't upset with Ruby since his sisters had done the same to him when they wanted something from him so he was used to it. "Why don't you go grab your stuff first and we'll meet in a bit."
"Sure!" Ruby chirped before speeding off further into the locker-room. Jaune then felt a pat on his back.
"See ya later, Splat Boy." Yang said as she walked past him.
"Splat Boy?" Jaune asked, confused.
Yang turned around and smirked at him, "You know, from the video yesterday? Your epic faceplant on screen? You went splat on screen so Splat Boy. What'd you think?"
Jaune did not respond nor visibly react though he was screaming internally at the unfairness of it all. Though a small part of him would have liked the pun if it wasn't at his own expense.
"Hmm, no good? Then how about Splat Face? Hmm, Splat Man?" Yang suggested before shaking her head, "You know what, I'll work on it a little more and get back to you."
Jaune waited until Yang was gone before he let out a groan 'I really hope you're right about Initiation fixing my reputation, Oz.'
'Well, it certainly could get much worse but as long as you don't do anything foolish, you should be fine.' Ozma replied.
'Gee, thanks Oz.' Jaune said sarcastically.
'At least it got you to forget about the aftertaste…Oops.' Ozma said unapologetically.
Jaune's face screwed into a look of disgust as he stuck his tongue out as the aftertaste came back and somehow worse than before. 'Ugh! I hate dealing with the aftertaste. I don't know why you and my dad like this stuff so much.'
'You'll learn to love it one day. We just need to find the right brew for you.' Ozma said assuredly.
'Well, until that day comes, I'm going to need a breathmint.' Jaune said as he made his way over to his locker. However, he found that two people were standing in front of it. However, he was far from upset as he saw the same snow haired girl from yesterday.
"Great!" She said cheerfully said to the second person standing by his locker, a rather attractive redhead though Jaune still preferred the snow angel next to her. He smiled as he headed towards the girls confidently to introduce himself.
'Are you sure that's a wise decision?' Ozma questioned, 'You do remember her behaviour from yesterday, right?'
'She was probably just grumpy from all the noise Ruby and Yang were making. She seems to be in a good mood today. See? She's smiling.' Jaune said as he looked at the girl who was hunched over a little with her hands held up close to her face.
Ozma raised a nonexistent brow at the obviously scheming look on the girl's face. He could tell that the girl was up to something. Hopefully it wasn't something malicious. He sighed at Jaune's obliviousness and wanted to dissuade him of his plan to 'woo' the girl but some lessons had to be learned the hard way.
"Hey there, sorry to interrupt but-" Jaune said in greeting though he was cut off when the snow-haired girl spun around and pointed a finger accusingly at him.
"You should be sorry! Do you know how rude it is to interrupt someone in the middle of a conversation?" the girl demanded.
'As rude as suddenly shouting at someone?' Ozma snarked before asking Jaune, 'Still think she was just being grumpy last night?'
"Whoa, easy there, Snow Angel. I was just trying to be friendly." Jaune said in his own defence though he quickly regretted it when the girl's eyes narrowed into angry slits at him.
"What did you call me!?" the girl seethed, clearly unhappy with the nickname, "Do you have any idea who you're talking to right now?"
Out of a well-honed sense of self-preservation from years of living with seven sisters, Jaune kept his mouth shut and shook his head. Unfortunately, this only made the girl even more upset.
"Hmph! Of course I'd run into more ignorant people here." the girl scoffed haughtily, "Guess I'll have to educate you. Well, for your information, I'm Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."
"Well, nice to meet you, Weiss." Jaune greeted casually, the title not fully registering in his mind. Ozma wished he had control right now just so he could facepalm himself.
Weiss ignored him and gestured to the redheaded girl beside her, "And this is Pyrrha Nikos."
"Hello!" Pyrrha waved at him..
"Hey, I'm Jaune Arc. It's short, sweet and rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it." Jaune blurted out automatically before he realized and internally facepalming himself for being so lame. Ozma agreed.
"It certainly does roll off the tongue." Pyrrha said as she giggled.
"Well I-whoa!" Jaune gasped when Weiss suddenly stood in between him and Pyrrha and pushed him away.
"Well, John, is it? Do you have any idea who this is?" Weiss asked in a strained tone..
"Uh, it's Jaune actually and yeah. She's Pyrrha Nikos." Jaune stated which Ozma noted Pyrrha wilting at the statement though her expression lit back up again at the following words, "You introduced her just a moment ago, don't you remember?…Are you okay?" Jaune asked in concern as he pressed a hand against Weiss' forehead, "Hmm, your temperature is fine."
"Get your hand off me!" Weiss yelled, slapping Jaune's hand away. Her pale face now red with indignation, "You seriously don't know who Pyrrha Nikos is? She graduated the top of her class at Sanctum!"
Jaune recognized it as the name of one of the many combat schools Ozma had told him about. If he remembered correctly, Sanctum was in Mistral. "I heard that Sanctum's a lot tougher than some of the other combat schools over in Mistral. You must be pretty smart to do that, Pyrrha."
"Sanctum has excellent teachers. I learned a lot from them." Pyrrha said modestly which made Weiss even more upset for some reason.
"She's won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row! It's a new record!" Weiss loudly.
Ozma had educated him on various topics throughout his childhood alongside his training, many of which he had found boring though none of the lessons had mentioned anything about this tournament.
'Any idea what that is, Ozma?' Jaune asked.
'No idea, it wasn't a thing when I was around. Most likely a combat tournament for hunters in training.' Ozma guessed while chuckling to himself at the Schnee girl's reactions.
"Is it some sort of fighting tournament?" Jaune asked for confirmation to which Pyrrha nodded, "Huh, you must be pretty strong then. And congratulations on the consecutive wins."
"Thank you. I just trained hard and did my best." Pyrrha said bashfully.
"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" Weiss shouted while waving her arms up and down in frustration.
"Whoa! Really?" Jaune gasped in surprise, "Don't 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 the last bit more quietly as if she was afraid some one might overhear her.
"Oh, my mom said the same thing when I went through fifty boxes in a month." Jaune stated.
"50? Why did you get so many? Trading in boxtops for a prize?" Weiss scoffed while rolling her eyes at him.
"Wow! Good guess, Weiss. I actually traded them in for a Pumpkin Pete hoodie." Jaune answered, oblivious to the sarcastic tone in her voice. "Though I kind of left it at home with my family."
"Oh my, I remember that contest. If I recall, the hoodies were limited editions so not too many of them exist and are pretty coveted by collectors so I can understand why you didn't bring something so valuable with you." Pyrrha stated.
"Umm, sure…let's go with that" Jaune said while making a mental note to call back home to make sure his sisters haven't decided to sell his hoodie while he was away. And maybe ask his mom to lock it in the safe with their other valuables.
"Ugh! I give up!" Weiss suddenly shouted in exasperation before storming off.
"Huh? Weiss, wait! I just…" Jaune's voice trailed off dejectedly as he watched Weiss leave, "…wanted to talk."
"I better go keep an eye on her. It was truly a pleasure meeting you, Jaune. I hope we'll see each other during Initiation." Pyrrha said as she beamed him a bright smile before going after Weiss. Pyrrha's smile cheered him up a little though he was still disheartened by Weiss' refusal to speak to him.
'There, there my boy. There's plenty of fish in the sea.' Ozma said reassuringly.
"Oooh, struck out and yet you still scored. Way to go Ladykiller." Jaune turned to see Yang walking up to him.
"Oh, hey Yang." Jaune greeted though before he could ask what she meant by that, he noticed Ruby wasn't with her. "Where's Ruby?"
"Over here!" Ruby called out as she jogged towards him though she slowed down when she saw the sad look on his face, "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Jaune lied, not wanting his friend to be sad on his account. "Just…a little nervous about Initiation. That's all." He glanced over at Yang who simply smirked at him as she stayed quiet.
"Oh, ok…" Ruby said awkwardly, "…if it makes you feel any better, I'm feeling nervous about Initiation too."
"Yeah, actually. It's good to know I'm not the only one. Thanks" Jaune said and smiled at Ruby before turning to his locker and opening it, "Anyways, I did promise you that I'd show you my weapon…" he then took out Crocea Mors and smiled as he held the sheathed sword out to Ruby, "…so here you go."
Ruby eyes sparkled with joy as she reached out for the weapon and accepted it into her hands. She carefully unsheathed the blade and saw the many nicks and scratches on it from years of wear and tear. She then let out a soft "Whoa." as she studied the blade closely.
With Ruby busy with Crocea Mors, Jaune grabbed the packet of mints from his locker and popped one into his mouth. He smiled and hummed with satisfaction as it removed the coffee aftertaste. After putting the mints away, Jaune reached for his armor and put on the pieces one by one.
As expected, the armor still felt tight against his body so he made some adjustments but there was a strap he had trouble reaching. He then felt it being pulled and tightened for him. He looked back to see Yang smiling at him.
"Tight enough for ya, Ladykiller?" Yang said in a teasingly seductive tone.
"Y-yeah! Thanks." Jaune said hurriedly as he put on the rest of his armor while trying to hide the blush on his face though evidently not well enough as he heard Yang cackling. It was cut short when they heard something fall to the floor with a heavy thud.
The two blondes turned to see Ruby standing with Jaune's sword in her right arm which was raised into the air while her left arm hung in the air awkwardly. On the floor at her feet was the sheath, which had shifted into its shield form.
"Ehe…sorry, I wanted to try it out but it shifted a lot faster than I thought it would...so I dropped it. Sorry about that." Ruby explained sheepishly.
"It's fine. This shield survived the Great War and years of fighting grimm with barely a dent in it." Jaune assured as he kicked the fallen heater shield up into his handsand knocked on it to show its sturdiness. "See, not a scratch…well, no new ones at least."
"Okay…" Ruby said shyly as she handed the sword back to Jaune who sheathed it into the shield which he shifted back into its sheath mode before hooking it back on his belt.
"So, what do you think about my sword, is it what you expected it to be?" Jaune asked, hoping to distract Ruby from her accident just now.
"Oh it is!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly, "The blade is nicked and scratched all over which tells me that it's gone a long time without sharpening…" Ruby glared at him at the mention of this. Considering her apparent love for weapons, Jaune could guess why she was looking at him like he was her arch-nemesis.
"Before you say anything, I did try to fix up my weapon but I don't have the right tools or money for it. Best I can do is polish it when I can afford it." Jaune admitted. His family weren't poor by any definition of the word but raising such a large family cost a lot of money so there usually wasn't much left for certain things like getting his gear properly maintained or modified as was the case for his armor.
"Hmm…fine." Ruby said begrudgingly before picking up where she left off, "Anyways, despite its lack of maintenance, the edge is still sharp. Like really sharp."
"Please don't tell me you cut yourself on it." Yang cut in, annoyed and sounding as if Ruby had done that before.
"Of course not!" Ruby protested, "I used it on my hair. I'll show you." she then looked at Jaune expectantly who pulled his sword back out and held it out to her. She then plucked out a strand of her hair and held it over the blade before letting go. They watched as the hair strand drifted down onto the blade and split in two. "See? it's razor sharp."
Jaune raised a brow when Yang suddenly backed away from him, giving him a wide berth while pulling her long hair to the front and hugging it for some reason. Weird.
'Says the young man with a voice in his head.' Ozma quipped.
Jaune ignored the comment as he sheathed his sword again before Ruby asked him, "Did your grandpa tell you what the sword is made of? I'd really like to know so I can use it on Crescent Rose."
Jaune shrugged his shoulders helplessly, "Sorry Ruby. My grandpa only told me that my great great grandfather forged the sword and shield himself when he joined the war. He never mentioned what he used to make it."
"Oh…" Ruby said, her enthusiasm visibly flagging before her eyes lit up with an idea in her head, "Hey Jaune, I know it's probably a lot to ask but could I ask you for a big favor?"
"Umm, how big of a favor are you talking about?" Jaune asked warily as he recalled some of the favors his own sisters had asked of him. Some of them involved simple but annoying things like taking the fall for things his sisters did to weird requests like taking their female friends out to dinners or movies. Hopefully, Ruby's request won't be anything weird like that.
Ozma sighed at his host's dense idiocy as he recalled those outings and how Jaune had unintentionally 'friendzoned' all those girls without realizing it. Any attempts to tell him that they were dates were dismissed as impossibilities. He had wondered if his training had somehow warped the boy's view of girls or if he was really just that dense.
"I was hoping that you'd let me cut off a small bit of your sword." Ruby asked hesitantly. "If it's alright with you, that is."
"Oh, is that it? Sure, I'm okay with that." Jaune quickly replied without a second thought.
"I mean, I'd understand if you don't want to since it is a family heirloom after all and you-" Ruby paused when she finally registered Jaune's words, "Wait, did you just say okay?"
"Yeah. You're just going to take a tiny bit right?" Jaune asked, slightly regretting his decision as he thought of the times his sisters had asked for 'tiny' anything from him only to leave with little to nothing left of whatever it was. Hopefully he hadn't just consigned Crocea Mors to become a sewing needle by the time Ruby was done with it.
Ruby bobbed her head up and down excitedly, "Yep! All I need is just a tiny sliver to study so your sword will be fine. If I can figure out what it's made of, I can upgrade my baby! No more buying whetstones!"
At that moment, the PA system turned on with a soft two toned tune before they heard a female voice that Jaune recognized as Professor Peach's coming from the speakers, "Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for Initiation. I repeat, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately. That is all."
As the announcement ended, the remaining students in the room hurried with their preparations as a chorus of lockers being closed sounded off. This was followed by the heavy footfalls of the students drumming the floor as they rushed out of the door in a panic and towards the Cliff.
"And that's our cue to head out. Come on!" Yang declared as she went ahead and sauntered towards the exit, leaving Jaune and Ruby being the only ones left in the room.
"Guess we better go too before we're late." Jaune said as he headed for the door with Ruby joining him by his side.
"So Jaune, you remember when we talked about teams back at the cafeteria?"
"Yeah, why?" Jaune asked, recalling that he heard while Ozma was busy drinking his hot bean juice.
'I resent that remark!' Ozma exclaimed in but Jaune ignored him.
"Well, there's going to be four people in a team and I was hoping…thatyou'djoinmyteam!" Ruby spewed out at the end.
"Umm…what? Sorry, but I didn't catch that last part. Could you repeat it for me?" Jaune asked.
Ozma did hear what Ruby asked and smiled but kept quiet, happy to just observe and watch things unfold.
Ruby fidgeted on the spot before she took a deep breath and calmed herself before looking Jaune in the eye, startling him a little at how intense the look in her eyes was. "I…I said I was hoping that you would join me and Yang as a team!"
"Oh…sure, I'd actually like that." Jaune smiled as Ruby visibly relaxed, seemingly happy with his answer.
"Great! I'll run on ahead and go tell Yang the news! See ya at the cliffs!" Ruby then dashed out the door and down the hall, leaving Jaune the only one left in the room.
'That certainly went better than what happened with Miss Schnee earlier.' Ozma spoke up.
'I wish I could have talked to her properly though.' Jaune said mopily as he headed for the exit.
'Cheer up Jaune, at least you've made a few friends already like Ruby for example.'
'Yeah, she's fun to talk to.' Jaune said as he smiled fondly which made Ozma smile as well.
'Good, sounds like the two of you will be good friends to each other. However, I suggest that you hurry to the cliffs. Initiation will be starting soon and it would be bad if you failed it just because you were late.' Ozma warned.
Jaune yelped in realization and bolted out the door.
"Mr Arc, you're late...again." Professor Peach admonished when Jaune arrived at the Cliffs, earning some laughter from the other students who had already arrived ahead of him. "That's enough students. Mr Arc, please hand over your scroll."
Jaune nervously obeyed and gave his scroll to Professor Peach who examined it briefly before placing it in a box full of more scrolls, likely from the other students.
"Good, now please go join the others so that we may begin."
Jaune nodded and headed over to the others where he saw everyone lining up along the edge of the cliff, including Ruby who waved at him. He waved back as he joined her in the line and saw Yang who gave him a thumbs up and a wink. He guessed Ruby had told her of them teaming up and she okay with it.
He saw that everyone in line were standing on metal platforms and guessed he was supposed to do the same as he stood on the one next to Ruby. Further down the line he could see Pyrrha and Weiss, the latter glaring at him before turning away in a huff while the former gave him an apologetic smile on Weiss' behalf.
He smiled back at her before turning his attention to Professor Goodwitch who stood in front of them all. The headmistress looked down the line, seemingly evaluating each and every one of them with a critical eye which kept everyone on their best behavior. She turned away when Professor Peach joined her and spoke with her briefly.
After they were done, Professor Goodwitch nodded to Peach and cleared her throat before addressing everyone, "For years, you have trained yourselves to become warriors, and today your abilities will be tested in the Emerald Forest below." She said as she gestured to forest behind her.
Professor Peach then spoke up afterwards, "I'm sure that many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams during Initiation. Well, allow us to put that rumor to rest. Each of you will be given teammates…today."
This caused confused murmurs to spread across the line before Professor Goodwitch raised her hand, and everyone went silent, "Please keep in mind that these teammates will be with you the rest of your time at Beacon. As such, it is in your best interest to be paired up with someone you can work well with…"
Jaune turned to Ruby who smiled at him, assured that they've already had a team in mind. All that's left is to find a fourth person to fill the last-
"However, with that being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
"Whaat!?" Ruby exclaimed in disbelief before turning to Jaune with a pleading look in her eyes, as if he could somehow help fix their plan that had fallen apart. Still, it couldn't hurt to ask so he raised his hand to get Professor Goodwitch's attention but he went unnoticed as Professor Goodwitch continued.
"And before you ask, yes, I know my statements contradict each other. As future huntsmen, you may find yourselves in situations where you will need to work together with complete strangers. Initiation will simulate such a scenario and test how well you work together." Professor Goodwitch explained.
"Also, it is a tradition laid down during Beacon Academy's founding by King Oslo the Wise before he abdicated his throne in the aftermath of the Great War so changing it is something we are unable to do even if we wanted to." Professor Peach added.
Jaune lowered his hand and shrugged his shoulders to Ruby who slumped hers in disappointment while Yang rolled her eyes at her cousin's overly dramatic reaction.
'King Oslo? Why does that sound so familiar…Oz' Jaune said when he connected the dots though Ozma didn't answer him as he was busy whistling a nondescript tune innocently in his head. 'Oz, you know that only makes you more suspicious.'
Ozma only whistled harder in response.
Jaune gave up questioning Ozma and turned his attention back to Professor Goodwitch who continued her explanation.
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. There, you will find an abandoned temple which will hold several relics. Each pair is to obtain one relic and make their way back to the cliffs to finish Initiation." Professor Goodwitch then narrowed her eyes, making Jaune gulp nervously, "However, don't think that Initiation will be as easy as it sounds. The Emerald Forest is home to grimm so expect to meet opposition along the way. It is up to you to decide whether to face it head on or avoid it altogether.
"Pfft, only cowards avoid a fight!" a tall orange haired boy down the line scoffed. Jaune didn't really agree with that sentiment and it seemed the professors didn't either as they gave the boy a disapproving look but said nothing to the boy as they continued with the explanation.
"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. Should you end up in a situation where you are in danger of dying, our instructors will intervene as best they can. If this happens, you will be automatically failed and sent back home on the first airship out of Beacon."
Jaune heard the others students break out into nervous murmurs and he could understand why. It would be humiliating to come all this way only to fail and be sent back home.
"However, this does not mean that you can get complacent during Initiation." Professor Goodwitch stated sternly, "While our instructors will do their best to ensure your survival, there are only so many of them and they can't be everywhere at once so I highly advise you all to stay vigilant, less we send you home…in a casket."
The students went silent at the warning as a few gulped at the prospect of dying during Initiation.
"With that in mind, are there any questions?" Professor Goodwitch asked. Nobody said a word, except for Jaune who raised his arm, "What is it Mr Arc?"
"What exactly are the relics? How will we know if we find them?" Jaune asked and heard a few students murmuring in agreement.
"I can't tell you what they are but I can say is that it will be obvious when you see them." Professor Goodwitch answered cryptically, "Any other questions?"
"Yeah. How will we be getting down to the Emerald Forest?" Jaune asked, "Will we be taking an airship or something like that?"
"No, Mr Arc. You will be entering the forest with that." Professor Goodwitch answered, pointing her riding crop down at his feet.
Jaune looked down at the metal platform and noticed that it had the symbol of Vale engraved on it. As he stared at the platform, his mind was suddenly filled with images and impressions of the platform and its function. He soon realized what Ozma's hint was referring to.
'Finally figured it out?' Ozma asked, 'A little late but at least you know how you'll be getting down into the Emerald Forest now.'
'There's just one problem there, Oz.' Jaune said nervously as he watched Pyrrha being catapulted into the air.
'Oh? And what's that?'
'You never taught me how to perform a landing strategy!' Jaune said as he watched more and more students were launched into the air towards the forest below. Yang had put on a pair of aviators and let out a whoop as she was catapulted into the air.
'Really? I swear that I taught you about them.' Ozma said, feeling perplexed
'Yeah, you told me about them but never how to do it!' Jaune yelled internally as he faked a smile to Ruby who nodded to him before she shot off into the air.
Ozma thought back to the many lessons he had taught Jaune throughout his time with the boy, namely the one concerning landing strategies. He had indeed taught Jaune what a landing strategy was but soon realized that they had never put it into practice due to an Arc family trip to Argus to visit Saphron and her wife and had forgotten all about it. Until now.
'Oh…Oops?' Ozma said guiltily.
'Oops! Is that all you have to say? Damn it Ozmaaaaaaaa!" Jaune screamed out loud when he was suddenly catapulted into the air.
Author's Note: Fun fact: In Volume 1 with the locker room scene where Jaune was looking for his locker, he already had his gear with him so either the animators forgot or he was looking for something else and also, his locker was never the one where Pyrrha and Weiss were talking. Guess it was just something a fanfic had done and we as a whole accepted it as canon.
Anyways, as you can see, Yang isn't as overprotective as canon and Ruby isn't as sheltered in canon though she's still an awkward weapon nut though more tempered due to being raised properly by their respective parents. There will be other differences shown later, as for what they are, you'll find out soon enough...provided I don't get distracted like by something else so I hope you'll be patient with me. :P