"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! SHIT!"

Kirito's mind was racing as he flew at high speeds above the emerald forest. Sure he was used to flying in ALO but he had wings there. Here he had nothing of the sort. Still he couldn't afford to panic. He just had to remember what he practised. He rotated to adjust himself in the air. So that the lower half of his body was angled downwards and readied his swords. He was still moving at high speeds but he was beginning to lose altitude. He began to plummet towards the ground just as quickly as he had ascended into the air. He tightened his grip on his swords waiting for the perfect moment. "Almost!" He thought as the forest floor came into view and then just before he made contact with the ground below he slashed down with his swords and pulled the triggers. The action resulted in two large waves of fire being shot out from the swords. The propulsion from the swords sent him back into the air and reset his momentum. Allowing him to land on the forest floor without any harm. The swordsman let out a sigh of relief as he went to sheath the two swords.

Unfortunately for him, A growling noise emerged from the trees. Kirito's eyes shot up as a large black creature emerged from the forest. Bone armour and bright red eyes on full display as they came into view. The bear shaped body of the creatures made Kirito immediately realise what he was dealing with. An Ursa. A powerful creature of grimm that Kirito had yet to face off against. Kirito readied himself and got into a stance as the creature of Grimm charged at him letting out a loud roar. The elucidator began to glow as Kirito lunged forward as well. The grimm swiped down at Kirito as the swordsman met the strike with a diagonal up-left slash. The Grimm was knocked back by the attack and Kirito immediately followed up with a horizontal slash to the right across the Grimms chest before performing a vertical downwards slash, Completing the three hit sword skill, Sharp Nail.

The Ursa, however, wasn't out of the fight just yet and swiped at Kirito with both its paws. Kirito flipped backwards narrowly avoiding the strike. But the Ursa was on him straight away again and rushed at him. Hitting him with the full force of its body and knocking Kirito back several feet. Kirito quickly drew the Dark repulser and got into a stance. The skill didn't take very long to charge however and Kirito immediately flew towards the Ursa. He quickly slashed the Elucidator diagonally up and to right and immediately followed up with a down to the left slash with the dark repulser. Both slashes cut into the Grimm. The Ursa let out a pained roar as it stumbled back a few feet before collapsing onto its back. Its body fading to ash as it died.

Kirito took a few deep breaths. He knew combat was inevitable but he hadn't expected it so soon after landing. He quickly pressed a button on the bottom of his swords causing empty dust canisters to fall out of the bottom which he quickly replaced with new ones. He was thankful that Ruby had helped him figure out what that dust features on his swords did otherwise he may not have had a landing strategy to fall back on.

He looked up into the sky but couldn't see any other students. They all must've landed by now. Kirito sighed and looked at the sun. It was early morning so the sun was thankfully still rising. Kirito extended his right arm towards the sun and his left in the opposite direction. This allowed him to orient himself so that he was facing north. The direction Ozpin had said he would find the temple in. Kirito began to head in the direction he had figured out was north. Judging by how far he had been flung into the forest it would still be a decently long walk to the temple and he still had to find someone to partner up with along the way.

Kiritio decided that reviewing his options on who to partner up with would be a good Idea. First off was Ruby. Kirito didn't actually mind the idea of partnering up with the Red Reaper. The girl was one hell of a fighter. She was so fast and her accuracy with her sniper was unmatched. She was also his first real friend that he had made while in the STL so he honestly saw no negatives if he was paired up with her. Yang was obviously another option in the same way. Kirito got on well enough with the Blonde Brawler and genuinely enjoyed her company. Yang would make for an interesting partner for sure. She was like a human wrecking ball with her fighting style after all.

Then there was Alice. Alice was still a weird one in Kirito's eyes. He hadn't forgotten how she had nearly taken his head off when they had met. If he was a second slower on the draw maybe she would have. Still, ever since then Alice had seemed to be ok with him. They talked and interacted like friends at least. But even now Kirito could feel that Alice didn't fully trust him yet. There was still something… off about how she interacted with him. Alice overall wouldn't make for a bad partner Kirito thought. However they'd have to work out their differences first.

Some other options like Blake or even Weiss popped up in Kirito's head but he didn't think they were good ideas. He and Blake hadn't spoken very much and the only time He and Weiss had spoken they'd Argued. So she was basically out from the get go.

So there was Ruby,Yang,Alice and….

Kirito froze as he heard the sound of a branch snapping from the treeline to his left. He quickly drew the Elucidator and got into a combat stance. Ready for whatever may come through that bush. Instead of a Grimm however a person walked through the bush. A person dressed in blue, Had an icy blue sword strapped to his waist and had flax brown hair. The sight put a smile on Kirito's face.

"Hey there, Eugeo!" Kirito greeted them with a grin. Giving the boy a small wave and re-sheathing his swords.

"Kirito! Boy am I glad to see you" Eugeo greeted as well. Taking his hand off the hilt of the Blue Rose sword. "I guess this makes us partners huh?" He said. Walking up to Kirito.

Kirito nodded "Seems that way. Sorry if you wanted to end up being partnered with Alice". He apologised while rubbing the back of his neck.

Eugeo shook his head "Not at all. Alice and I figured there was a good chance we wouldn't get partnered up. If anything I'm glad you're my partner" He told him. Kirito could tell that his smile was genuine but he could tell that the boy had hoped he'd be partnered with Alice. Kirito couldn't remember seeing them apart since he first met Eugeo.

Kirito smiled at him before looking north. "Same here." He responded "We should get moving. We've still got a job to do"

"Agreed," Eugeo nodded.

The two then began heading north. Towards where they both hoped they would find them temple and complete their initiation. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Alice found herself with only one thought after she landed. She hated Ozpin and everything he stood for. Not for any reason relating to his person. No. She hated him because he threw her off of a god forsaken cliff!. She hated heights as it was and as soon as she saw Kirito getting flung off of the cliff just before she was she was ready to panic. She knew Ozpin had said they'd be falling but she hadn't expected that. She looked behind her at the results of her landing strategy. Several destroyed trees that she had crashed through while using her semblance to slow her descent. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. Right now she had an objective. Head through the forest and make her way to the temple. She immediately knew which direction was north as they had been flung from the south and the trail of destruction from behind her told her where south was.

She began to head through the forest. Her hand hovering over her blade the entire time. She was on edge and ready for any kind of attack. Her readiness was proven valid. She entered a clearing after just a few minutes of walking and she heard a hissing noise from behind her. She slowly turned around and saw a massive snake-like creature with two heads slithering towards her. One black and one white. Alice recognised the grimm.

"A king taijitu" She muttered as she drew her sword. She stood her ground as the snake circled her. Gradually closing in and making the space she had smaller and smaller. She held her position as the amount of space she had continued to shrink. She waited until the snake was barely an arms length from her in all directions. And then she made her move.

She raised her sword into the air. The golden blade shimmering in the sunlight. She then activated her semblance and the blade of the sword transformed into thousands of razor sharp flower petals "SWARM MY FLOWERS!" She yelled as the flowers struck the sides of the creature. Causing it to let out a massive screech of pain and to break its formation around her. Alice refused to let up however as she had the petals attack the head of the white part of the snake. Cutting away at it. The black head attempted to bite her but she was ready for it. She jumped into the air and avoided the head before recalling her flower petals and reforming her sword, and with one quick slash she beheaded the black half of the grimm as she landed.

The white head charged at her, Enraged at the destruction of its other half. She quickly raised her sword and blocked the attack. The blade of her sword grinding against the creature's fangs. Thinking quickly she used her semblance once again and had her flowers attack the creature at close range. She quickly stepped aside as her blade transformed and the creature rushed past her but the attack from her flowers still remained. They large swarms struck everywhere on the creatures head that they could and eventually the creatures head began to topple. Aliice quickly reformed her sword and slashed at the toppling creature. Removing its head in the same way as she had the other. The creature evaporated into black mist as it died and Alice resheathed her sword.

She took a second to observe the grimm evaporating. The King taijitu was a troublesome grimm but she was at least happy that it had been defeated easily. Still fighting without Eugeo by her side felt strange. They had worked together for so long now that his absence was unusual. She was quickly removed from her thoughts by the sound of clapping coming from the edge of the forest. She quickly turned her head and saw a person standing at the edge of the forest. They wore crimson red armour with white and gold patterns scattered across it. A narrow cape flowed behind her back. Their hair was short and coloured a crimson red and their eyes a piercing green.

"Not bad," She said. A small impressed smile on her face. Alice immediately recognized her "Not many could defeat a King Taijitu with such ease"

"Thank you" Alice said cautiously "You're Medina Right?. I'm Alice. Alice Zuberg" She introduced herself with as much confidence as she could. She wasn't sure how to interact with the girl in front of her properly just yet.

Medina nodded "Medina Orthinanos. Judging by the rules set for us at the start of the initiation it would appear we are partners" her tone wasn't one of disappointment but there wasn't any approval there either. It was more indifferrence.

"So it would seem" Alice agreed. She had hoped she would end up partnered with Eugeo but they had both known there was a chance they would get partnered with someone else "We should get moving. If we stay in one place for too long more grimm could show up" She advised

Medina nodded. Seemingly pleased with Alice's suggestion. "That seems like the best course of action. Let's move" She said as the two began walking north side by side.

They both walked mostly in silence. Alice couldn't really get a read on her partner. She seemed so angry last night. Especially when she interacted with Weiss but here she was. Complimenting her skills, Alice found her to be relatively pleasant. She glanced over at Medina who was focused on whatever was in front of them. Medina seemed to notice her eyes on her and looked over at Alice.

"If there's something you wanna ask, go ahead" Medina told her, Her focus returning to the forest in front of them. "If we're going to be partners then we need to trust each other"

Alice was briefly taken aback by how direct Medina was. She paused for a second, choosing her words carefully "I'm just surprised is all. I saw your short argument with Weiss Schnee last night and I guess I expected you to be more" She paused for a second to try and find her words "Hostile towards me I guess"

Medina just looked at her for a few seconds before sighing "I guess that would leave a bad first impression wouldn't it?" She was silent for a few moments before looking away from Alice "Listen. I'm not like that with everyone. It's just. My family and the Schnees have history and for simplicity's sake I'll say that Weiss and Myself do as well. Complicated history. Not to sound rude but I'd appreciate it if you don't ask me about it" She explained. Refusing to look Alice in the eye. A sad expression made its way onto her face as she spoke.

Alice nodded. She didn't press it any further. She had seen the same spark of anger that Medina had in her eyes the night before during her explanation and didn't want to annoy the Crimson Girl any further. "I understand, Still I do hope you'll trust me with the story some day" Alice figured she'd atleast try and extend that olive branch.

Medina didn't respond to that but she did put an arm out in front of Alice to stop her from walking. She was silent for a few seconds as her eyes roamed their surroundings "Did you hear that?" Alice was briefly confused as to what she was talking about until she heard the sound of rustling bushes to their right.

"Grimm" Alice said quietly reaching down and drawing sword. Her previous concerns were forgotten as she readied herself for the encounter. Medina drew her own weapon. A Katana-Like sword with a white blade, Outlined in the same crimson as the rest of her attire.

They didn't have to wait long as two black masses leapt out at them. Alice and Medina quickly dived out of the way and rolled back onto their feet. The two looked up to see what had attacked them and they were both easily able to identify them as Beowolves. However the extra armour and size that they both had indicated that they were stronger than just that. They were Alphas.

"Two Alphas togethers" Medina muttered "Definitely an uncommon sight". Alice nodded as she readied herself. She was getting ready to unleash her powers before Medina put her hand on her shoulder "Relax. I'll take this one"

Medina then moved forward and stood in front of Alice as the blonde girl watched curiously. Medina got into a stance. Bending her knees and angling her sword down behind her. Medina then began to glow and emanate a crimson aura and the aura eventually extended around her blade. The two alphas ran at her. Letting out a deathly howl as they did. Medina looked unphased as she held her stance. Alice still remained focused. Ready to help if whatever Medina was planning didn't work. The beowolves charged until they were in striking distance but as soon as they were Medina let out a yell and slashed with her sword. The slash was incredibly fast so much so that Alice might have missed it if she blinked and the sheer power of the slash kicked up a gust of wind. The beowolves themselves had been unable to resist such an attack and had evaporated into black mist on impact from the attack. The only evidence of their existence was the red aura that had followed the slash and still remained for a few seconds before dissipating.

Alice was stunned at what she had just witnessed. Alpha grimm were notoriously difficult to deal with but here this girl was defeating two of them in one slash. Alice looked towards Medina who was sheathing her sword. There was a look of strain on her face but overall she looked fine. "Wha… What did you just do!?" Alice nearly yelled

"That…" Medina paused for a few seconds. Taking a second to catch her breath. "That was my semblance. My family calls it soul strike"

"Your family calls it?" Alice asked curiously "So it's a hereditary semblance?"

"Indeed" Medina nodded "It essentially allows me to channel my very life energy into my sword and unleash a powerful blow by doing so. Can't use it too frequently though. It takes far too much energy for that" She explained. Still breathing turned her eyes towards the north. "We should get going. I expect that as we just fought the alphas the pack can't be very far behind"

Alice nodded and the two began moving again but something Medina had said bothered her. Using aura to augment your attacks wasn't an uncommon thing to do. Kirito's swords skills where a perfect example. But Medina hadn't said Aura. She said "Life energy" and that felt deliberate. Like she was trying to make an important distinction. Alice guessed there might be more to the Orthinanos girls' semblance than she was letting on. Still, Alice figured, from here on it was best to focus on the mission than to distract the girl again. They would have time to discuss the intricacies of each others semblances after the initiation. If they survived of course.

It hadn't taken Alice and Medina very long to reach the temple after their encounter with the Alpha Beowolves and they had thankfully been able to reach it without any other grimm encounters. The temple itself was a large circular stone structure that had long since been abandoned. The age was visible on everything except for a set of twenty or so pedestals and a set of chess pieces on top of them.

"We made it," Medina said. The relief was clear in her voice.

"Indeed. It's not as if this place was very hard to locate" Alice agreed. Observing the temple cautiously. "Still we were fortunate to avoid any other grimm encounters on the way here."

Medina nodded "Right but we shouldn't waste any time. We should grab a relic and leave"

The two of them made their way over to the pedestals and observed the remaining chess pieces. So far it seemed as if other students had made it there and had left before them. Alice scanned the remaining pieces before walking over and picking up a white bishop. " What about this piece? Is it ok with you?" She asked.

"Whichever is fine," Medina told her. Eyes locked on the tree line. "We should get moving. Who knows what'll happen if we stick around for too long"

Alice shook her head "I disagree. It's probably smarter for us to wait for another pair to arrive and then to return to the cliff with them. Safety in numbers is something we can afford to wait for here" She suggested.

Medina looked at her for a few seconds before sighing and nodding "That makes sense I suppose. Still we shouldn't wait for too long"

Alice nodded and walked over to Medina and kept her eyes on the treeline. Hoping that whoever would arrive at the temple next wouldn't take too long.

While Alice and Medina had been lucky in avoiding Grimm on their way to the temple. Kirito and Eugeo hadn't found themselves to be as lucky. They were currently surrounded on all sides by six beowolves. Each growling angrily. Kirito and Eugeo stood back to back. Swords drawn and each keeping their eyes focused on the grimm. But despite the worrying circumstances neither of them looked worried. In fact they both looked relaxed.

"I'll freeze, you shatter," Eugeo said quietly to Kirito. Who gave him a small nod in response. "On my signal" Eugeo continued.

It was at that moment that one of the grim let out a howl signalling for the others to attack. All of the grimm rushed in as soon as the command was given "NOW!" Eugeo yelled. As soon as he did Kirito jumped into the air as Eugeo reversed the grip on the Blue Rose sword and stabbed it into the ground. Using his semblance he caused six torrents of ice to burst out of the ground and rush towards the now charging Grimm. Freezing them in place, Kirito then landed in front of the closest one, a sword skill already charged up. His swords glowing red. He slashed at the first Beowolf cutting through the ice and it before moving onto the next one and slashing twice at it. He repeated the process for the remaining four grimm until all of them had been defeated. Kirito had a wide smile on his face as he had just managed to pull off his first eight part dual wielding skill since the entrance exam. Crimson splash.

Eugeo removed his sword from the ground and observed the area around him. "Nice work" Eugeo complimented. "We seem to be working well as a team already"

Kirito smiled at him "Yeah. Although it's not the first time we've fought together, is it" He reminded. Referring to the entrance exam.

Eugeo chuckled in response, "True enough," he smiled.

The two then set off once again. hoping to be at the temple soon after the many groups of grimm they had encountered. It didn't take very long after the fight with the Beowolves for Kirito and Eugeo to spot a break in the treeline. Moving towards it they found a large clearing with an abandoned temple in the centre. The only part of the temple that didn't look run down was a set of pedestals with chess pieces atop them. Kirito also noticed two people were there and he saw Eugeos face brighten as he saw them. "Alice!" Eugeo called over to the blonde knight.

The Girls head whipped up to look in his direction. She noticed the two of them walking out of the forest and a smile appeared on her face "Eugeo, Kirito!" She called over and walked over to them. The other Girl stayed where she was. They met in the middle and Alice smirked at the two "You guys took your time huh?" She teased

Kirito chuckled, "Hey, we did our best. It felt like we were getting attacked by Grimm every few minutes," he explained. "Honestly i'm surprised you only just made it here"

Alice shook her head "We've been here for a while actually. We decided to wait for others to arrive so that we could travel back in a group. I believed safety in numbers would be efficient" She explained, gesturing to Medina.

Kirito and Eugeo looked over at Medina who looked at them indifferently. Kirito found it hard to get a read on her. The only thing he knew about her is what Eugeo had told them the night before.

"Hey there, I'm Kirito" He introduced taking a few steps towards her and offering her a handshake.

Medina looked at his outstretched hand "Medina. Medina Orthinanos" She told him. Refusing the hand shake. Kirito was a little bit stunned. He hadn't thought about what he'd do if she didn't take it. Thankfully Eugeo helped him out.

"Hey Kirito we still need to grab our relic" Eugeo told him

Kirito gave his friend a nod and a look that said "Thank you". The two then walked over to the pedestals and looked around at the pieces. The two quickly realised that even Alice and Medina weren't the first to arrive at the temple as many of the pieces were missing. Eugeo walked around and looked at each of the pieces before his eyes settled on the white bishop piece "This piece looks good to you?" He asked Kirito who gave a small nod in affirmation. Eugeo grabbed the relic and the two began to walk back over to Alice and Medina. Until two figures emerging from the tree line caught Kirito's eye.

"He-lloooo! '' Yang called to the group cheerfully. Walking up to them with who Kirito,Eugeo and Alice quickly realised was Blake alongside her. She seemed to see Kirito first and a grin made its way onto her face "Hey there Kiri-Dude" She greeted him, Briefly throwing him off by using the same nickname that Klein had always used for him.

He quickly shook it off and responded "Yang!Blake! Good to see you guys" Kirito greeted the two girls smiling at them. "You have much trouble getting here?". He didn't doubt that the two had the skills to make it through the initiation. He was more making sure they were physically ok.

To his surprise. Blake was the one who responded "Not much. We ran into a pair of Ursai on the way here but other than that it was mostly quiet" She explained.

Eugeo let out a small groan "How is it that everyone else had an easier time than we did?" He complained silently. Kirito chuckled at his friend's reaction.

"Anyways we should stick around for too long. The longer we remain here the more chance that grimm will show up" Alice told them "Blake,Yang. You two should collect your relic so we can get out of here."

The two girls nodded and made their way over to the temple. The two girls walked around for a few seconds looking at each of the remaining chess pieces before Yang reached out and picked up the white knight piece "How about a cute little pony?!" Yang asked Blake who rolled her eyes but agreed. None of them missed the small smile on her face however. The two walked back over the group soon after.

"Well that wasn't too hard," Yang said cheerfully. Eugeo muttered something under his breath in response. "Anyways, let's get out of here. We shouldn't hang around for too long…."

A loud scream rang out across the forest cutting Yang off and causing a worried look to appear on all of their faces "Did you guys hear that some girls in trouble!" Yang said, worried. Kirito recognised the genuine worry in her voice. She was hoping that it wasn't Ruby in trouble. "Guys, what are we gonna do?"

"Uhhhh. Yang" Blake said, looking up and pointing at the sky.

The group all looked up and saw a girl in red falling from the sky. Kirito quickly realised that It was Ruby and was starting to panic and figure out a way to stop her free fall. "Heads uuuuppp!" Ruby yelled out as she fell from the sky. Just before she hit the ground however another person, who was also screaming, crashed into the side of her and sent them both flying into the nearby tree line.

"Did… Did your friend just fall from the sky?" Medina Asked them all incredulously. No one blamed her for the tone. They were all just as confused

"I…" Yang began. Not sure how to respond to the question. Just as stunned as everyone else.

Before she could formulate a response a loud roar came from the nearby forest. "Oh what now!" Kirito yelled in frustration as reached behind his back to draw his swords. As the words left his mouth an Ursa burst through the tree's catching everyone off guard. The Ursa itself wasn't what caught them off guard however. What caught them off guard was that there was a girl riding on the Ursa's back. Using her weapon to move it forward. The girl laughed joyfully as the Ursa stumbled forward into the clearing before falling onto its front.

The girl rolled off its back and turned around to look at the creature. "Aww it's broken" She said sadly. Poking the side of its head. As she did, a boy wearing all green stumbled out from behind the creature. He let out a few deep breaths.

"Nora" He managed to get out between breaths. "Please. Never do that again".

Kirito was astounded at the two's antics and everyone else in the area had the same Kind of look on their faces. "Did she just ride in on an Ursa?" Alice asked as the girl in pink dashed over to the relics and picked up the white castle piece.

"I…" Yang stuttered again. Still having not fully processed her sister falling from the sky let alone whatever the hell was happening around her.

Once again before Yang had a chance to respond a loud screeching noise came from the nearby forest. Kirito's head whipped around and saw a girl with bright red hair wearing what Kirito equated to a greek warrior outfit came dashing out of the trees. A creature of grimm on her tail. A large scorpion-like grimm known as a Deathstalker. Kirito couldn't exactly tell why but the creature of grimm filled him with an incredibly large sense of dread. Without even realising it his hand slowly drifted up towards his chest. He didn't even notice Ruby jump down from the nearby treeline next to them to join up with the group. Nor did he notice the arrival of Weiss Schnee and another boy after Weiss fell off of a giant bird grimm. He just stood staring at the creature of grimm. As if he was in a trance.

Eugeo seemed to notice the swordsman's discomfort and put a hand on his shoulder. "You ok man, You look like you've seen a ghost" He asked. Genuine concern in his voice.

Kirito was dragged back to reality by the gesture and quickly remembered where he was. "Yeah … Yeah I'm okay". He told Eugeo with a small smile. "I don't know what happened there but… Yeah I'll be fine".

Kirito quickly refocused on the situation just as the girl with the red hair was sent flying and landed just in front of them. She didn't look hurt and she eventually made her way back onto her feet. "Great the gangs all here!" Yang cheered "Now we can die together!"

Medina looked like she was going to respond to Yangs comment but Ruby seemed to beat her to it.

"Not if I can help it" Ruby declared confidently as she unclipped Crescent Rose and dashed forward towards the Deathstalker. Using her semblance to move at incredible speeds. Kirito and Yang both let out cries of "Ruby! Wait!". There was no way she could beat that thing alone. No matter how good of a huntress she was. Ruby reached the Deathstalker in a matter of seconds. She swung her scythe down at the creature but it batted her back with its pincer. She stumbled back to her feet and quickly realised the deathstalker was still on her. She used Crescent Rose to fire a shot at the Deathstalkers face before turning and running away from the creature. Kirito felt his legs move before his brain did as he and Yang began to sprint towards her. To at least Provide some kind of backup.

Unfortunately at that exact moment the giant bird Grimm , The Nevermore, had circled back around. The giant creature flapped its wings and fired its feathers down at the group like projectiles. The feathers pinned Ruby's cloak to the ground, Making it so Ruby could no longer run, as well as landing right in front of Kirito and Yang blocking their path and forcing them to stop in their tracks. "Ruby get out of there" Yang desperately called to her sister. Kirito quickly drew Elucidator and began hacking at the feathers Iin an attempt to clear the path. Unfortunately time wasn't on his side and the Deathstalker was quickly right on top of Ruby, its stinger raised to attack.

Kirito's movements stopped as images suddenly flooded his head. He was outside of the house back at patch. Ruby and Yang were there. Although they were at least a few years younger. Ruby was stuck in front of a Deathstalker. Although this one was missing one of it's pincers. Her feet were frozen to the ground and Yang was trapped as well. The image was so vivid and so strong. It was almost like a memory of his own. He also heard someone faintly calling Ruby's name out and then a scream of horror.

" …to… irito…. Kirito!"

Kirito snapped back to reality just as quickly as he had been removed from it. The first thing he noticed was that he was on the ground. He looked around and checked his surroundings. The deathstalker was now trapped in a wall of ice. Its stinger trapped. Yang was hugging Ruby in relief as Weiss stood nearby. Kirito looked to his left and saw Eugeo and Alice kneeling down next to him. Looks of concern on their faces. Medina stood nearby as well although she seemed to be refusing to look in his direction.

"What…. What happened?" Kirito asked.

"We... We don't know. One second you were on your feet and the next you just stopped moving and fell down. You blacked out for a few there" Eugeo told him "Weiss managed to save Ruby though"

Kirito looked over to Alice who nodded in agreement. "Still are you ok?" She asked. The concern evident in her voice "I've never seen you freeze up like that."

Kirito didn't know how to respond to that question. Physically he was fine but those memories. They couldn't be his own? Right?. Ruby and Yang were at least a few years younger and he had only met them recently and besides the odd Beowolf there hadn't been any Grimm activity around the house in his time there. "I'm fine. Just something about the Deathstalker threw me off" He explained giving them the short version. He could explain in more detail later.

Eugeo seemed more concerned at that comment though "You've been acting strange ever since the deathstalker showed up" He told Kirito. Genuine worry in his voice "We should get out of here as fast as we can!" He called to the rest of the group

"Guys that thing's circling back" The boy with blonde hair announced. Kirito thought he recognized him from the airship. Kirito remembered that Ruby had said his name was Jaune. Pointed to the sky where the nevermore was indeed heading back towards them "What are we gonna do!?"

"He's right" Weiss said, gesturing to Eugeo "Our objective is right in front of us".

Everyone looked over to the temple and realised the relics were still there. In the chaos they had all seemed to have forgotten about their objective.

"She makes a good point" Medina agreed although there was some hesitation. "We just need to get the relics and get out of here. Fighting these Grimm now would just be a waste of energy and would more than likely attract more Grimm"

"Run and Live" Jaune repeated to himself with a smile. "That is an idea I can get behind" Kirito let out a small chuckle at that.

Jaune and Ruby quickly ran over to the temple to grab relics for their partners while everyone else kept an eye on the two Grimm in their immediate area. Kirito still felt uneasy looking at the Deathstalker. The images he saw still bothered him like hell. Just what did they even mean?. He didn't have time to further ponder however as Ruby and Jaune quickly rejoined the group with their relics. The Deathstalker let out a screech from where it was trapped as the Ice it was trapped in began to crack.

"Time we left!" The boy in green called out. Seeing the Nevermore closing in once again

Alice nodded before addressing the group. "Some of us should split off. Moving in a Group this large will just attract even more Grimm" She explained. She received a round of hesitant nods of agreement. None of them particularly like the idea of splitting up but attracting more grimm was a risk they couldn't afford to take.

"Alright then. Me, Eugeo, Alice and Medina will split off" Kirito suggested. It made the most sense to him. Himself, Eugeo and Alice were used to fighting with each other at this point and Medina was Alice's partner. Eugeo and Alice nodded in agreement and Medina looked at him curiously for a second before nodding as well. He guessed that she saw his logic as well.

"Alright then let's get moving!" Ruby instructed the group as she led her group forward away from the group. Heading northwest towards the cliff.

Kirito watched them go for a second before turning to his group. "What are we waiting for? Let's get going!" He told them as they all began to head northeast into the forest.

Kirito and the others ran through the forest as fast as they could. It would seem that the Deathstalker and the Nevermore had decided to either give up the chase for now or to follow the other group. Kirito could only hope for the former. He didn't have a lot of time to focus on that right now however. Right now his main focus was making it back to the cliff. Thankfully they had been able to cover a decent amount of ground without encountering any Grimm. Still he hadn't missed how even when running Alice's hand constantly hovered above her sword. It somewhat put him at ease how prepared she was.

As they ran they eventually reached a part of the forest that was different. Many of the trees had been knocked over. With the many stumps and fallen trees making it difficult for them to continue to move at the rate that they had been moving. The group was forced to slow down as they navigated through the sea of fallen trees. They eventually reached an area in the centre that wasn't literred with debris but still wasn't very open. The group stopped for a second to observe their surroundings.

"What happened here?" Medina wondered out loud "There's no way people did this right?" Her eyes falling on a nearby cave that had it's entrance blocked by more debris.

Eugeo shook his head "I don't think so. If this was a woodcutting job then why leave all the wood behind?" Eugeo wondered curiously "And look at the stumps" He said kneeling down for a closer look "The cuts aren't clean enough for this to have happened from an axe or anything like that" He pointed out.

A loud noise caught the attention of the four. It sounded like a person exhaling but it was deeper and a lot more drawn out. The sound rumbled through the area and it sounded like it was coming from all around them. They all drew their weapons almost immediately. Each ready for whatever was coming for them. The ground around them began to shake periodically. As if something huge was walking towards them.

"Don't suppose we can get away before whatever the hell that is gets here" Kirito asked. Constantly scanning their surroundings. Readying his swords for whatever it was that was going to attack them. Kirito reasoned that whatever it was, It was likely responsible for the damage around them.

"Unlikely" Alice explained."Our movement is impaired by the fallen trees and stumps. Even if we attempted to run we likely would not make it very far" She was right. The amount of debris that had caused them to slow down in the first place was also stopping them from being able to perform a successful escape.

"Our only option is to fight!" Medina told them. Her voice loud and commanding but an undertone of worry was evident in her voice "Ready yourselves"

No sooner than when the words left her mouth a large cave entrance nearby to them erupted open. A cloud of dust kicked up temporarily blinding the four huntsmen-in-training. The same sound they had previously heard rang out much louder now. The dust began to settle soon after and a creature towered over them. It was a large creature whose body was entirely made out of rock except for two spikes sprouting from its shoulders made of wood. Red vein-like lines ran across its body and in the centre of its head a bone grimm mask with a bright yellow eye in the centre revealed that it was in fact a grimm.

"What is that thing?" Kirito asked. He hadn't seen anything like it in any of its research. None of the common grimm in vale looked anything like this.

He didn't have time to get an answer and the creature moved forward and slammed one of its stone arms down on the ground. The four narrowly managed to dodge the swing. Alice immediately leapt into action. Her sword blade turned into flowers as she targeted them at the creature's body. The creature didn't seem to react however as it began to walk towards them once again. Eugeo quickly reversed the grip on his sword and stabbed it into the ground. A huge torrent of ice erupted from the ground and a large spike slammed into the front of the creature. Knocking it back a few feet buying them a few seconds of time.

Medina's sword blade began to glow red as she spoke "It's a geist. A fairly common type of grim in atlas. They possess materials to create bodies for themselves! When they're like this they're called Petra Gigas" she called to them.

Medina's sword continued to glow brighter and brighter. she eventually let our a yell as she dashed forward. She slashed down at where one of the stone formations was attached to the creature's body and managed to sever the creature's arm. The arm itself shattered as it hit the ground. She landed gracefully but paused as she did. She didn't see the Petra Gigas redirect its still possessed rocks as projectiles to attempt to attack her. Kirito dashed in quickly and his swords began to glow. With the additional power of a sword skill he was able to cut through the rocks. Nullifying the impact. The creature swung its remaining arm down at them causing them to jump back to narrowly avoid the attack. They didn't move far enough however and the resulting shockwave knocked them back a few feet. Eugeo ran up behind the creature and attacked its back with a rapid barrage of slashes. However the Blue Rose sword was barely able to damage the creature's stone body.

The creature took notice of Eugeos presence and attempted to stomp on him. Before it could however it was hit in the side by a barrage of flower petals from Alice knocking it off balance. The creature stumbled briefly but was ultimately unphased by the attack. Kirito charged up another sword skill, Crimson Splash, and unleashed the eight hit sword skill on the Petra Gigas. A series of red flashes shone from his attacks as he attempted to cause any damage but no matter how many slashes connected the most the attacks were able to do was chip away at it. Kirito only narrowly managed to jump back and avoid the creatures attack.

"None of our attacks are hurting it!" Eugeo called out "It's body is made out of rock. Regular attacks won't hurt it"

"My semblance can damage it!" Medina called over to him. Kirito realized that she was right. The only time they had made any progress was when Medina had used her semblance on the creature.

"Isn't your semblance too risky?" Alice asked. Using her semblance to try and hold the Petra Gigas back "You said it drains your life energy"

Kirito thought about for a few seconds. Coming up with a plan in his head. He then turned to face Medina. "We'd only need one shot" Kirito told her "If we can remove the geist from whatever its possessing then we should be able to kill it. Right?"

Medina nodded. "Got it. Be ready to kill it as soon as the main body is gone Wait to long and it'll just posses the debris around us" Medina instructed as she began to charge her semblance "I need about twenty seconds to charge up. Keep it off me until then"

Kirito nodded. "Got it. Eugeo freeze it! Alice keep it from regenerating!" Kirito instructed as he moved to stand in front of Medina.

They all nodded. Eugeo rushed over to the creature as his sword shone a light blue colour. The creature swung its arm down at him. Eugeo waited until the last second before he sidestepped the attack and slashed at the Petra Gigas. A wave of ice emerged from the slash freezing its arm to the ground. The creature tugged at its arm in an attempt to free it but it was unable to do so. A large grimm looking arm emerged from the right side of its body and it reached for a nearby tree trunk. Alice was quick to react as she used her semblance to shred the tree trunk before it could be possessed. The creature let out a roar of pain as the flowers struck its actual body. The glow from Medina's sword was incredibly bright by now and she was breathing incredibly heavily. "Just a few more seconds!" she yelled. With a sudden strong tug the Petra Gigas was able to free its arm from the Ice Eugeo had trapped it in. Without warning it suddenly possessed the chunks of ice and flung them towards Alice and Eugeo. Eugeo wasn't ready for the surprise strike and was knocked over by the attack. Alice used her semblance to defend herself but this allowed the creature a window to quickly possess another tree trunk. Regenerating its missing arm. The creature swung its new tree trunk arms down at Medina. The attack would have hit but Kirito managed to quickly dash in front of her and cross his swords. Triggering cross block he was able to block the hit. A power struggle began between Kirito in blocking the attack and the Petra Gigas. Digging his feet in, the black swordsman was forced to his knees by the attack from the Grimm. The force of the grimm pushing a massive tree down on him was immense but he only needed to hold out for a few more seconds.

"Ready!" Medina yelled out . As soon as he heard the word Kirito quickly dived to the left as Medina let out an incredibly powerful attack as she slashed upwards in an arc. A huge arc of red energy tore across the forest floor tearing up the ground and any debris it came across. The attack slammed into the Petra Gigas and its body almost immediately began to show large cracks on it. The creature let out sounds of panic as its body was being destroyed. Eventually the attack forced its way through the Petra Gigas, shattering its main body completely. Kirito briefly stood stunned at the attack he just witnessed. He didn't have much time to be stunned however a yell from Eugeo reminded him that there was still more to do.

"Guys! The Geist!" Eugeo yelled out.

The ghost-like figure of the geist Slowly emerged from the rubble. It looked over at them for a few seconds before attempting to float towards a larger tree trunk for a new body. Kirito reacted the fastest. Raising the Elucidator, Kirito slashed in a vertical arc. Pulling the trigger as he did and Unleashing a wave of fire towards the geist. The attack quickly caught up to the fleeing Grimm and struck it in the back. While it had been incredibly strong in its Petra Gigas form. The regular geist was arguably the weakest creature of Grimm and was defeated in the single strike that Kirito hit it with.

All four of them took deep. Laboured breaths. Of all the things they had expected to fight. None of them had been ready for that. They all stood still for a few seconds to recover. Kirito took a moment to observe everyone. Eugeo was ok if a bit beaten up. He had cuts scattered across his face indicating that he was out of aura. Alice had probably taken the least damage out of the team. Although she was most likely running out of aura from using her semblance so much. Medina was still standing and she looked unharmed but the exhaustion and strain was evident on her face. She managed to stay on her feet for a few more seconds until she unexpectedly fell forwards and landed on her knees. Dropping her sword as she fell. Alice was the first to rush over to her side. Eugeo and Kirito following close behind her.

"Are you ok?" Alice asked concerned. Kneeling down next to her. She attempted to reach out to her but Medina flinched away immediately.

"I….. Am…. Fine" She spoke out between breaths. "I just ….. put more energy ….. than I probably should have …..into ….. that attack"

Alice let out a slow nod "We'll wait until you are ready before we move again" Alice looked up at Kirito and Eugeo. "Any objections"

Kirito shook his head. He knww that an attack that strong must've taken a hell of a lot out of the girl and wasn't in a rush to push her. "None from me. We're all low on aura and any grimm attack from anything above beowolves would be trouble". That wasn't technically true. Eugeo and Medina were the only ones who had taken any real damage from the fight. Himself and Alice were still relatively unharmed. But that was the only reason he knew they could wait safely. Still he didn't want to say that and risk upsetting Medina.

Thankfully the others didn't ask any questions and nodded in agreement as they all sat down to take a rest. Kirito made a mental note to ask Medina just what the hell her semblance was when they got out of the forest but that could wait for now. She was exhausted and probably just wanted a few minutes to catch her breath. They still had a fair bit of travelling to do until they reached the cliff and having them all be rested was imporant. All they had to focus on right now was making it back to that damn cliff in one piece. Kirito guessed that factoring in recovery time it would take them about another thirty minutes to reach the cliff. Kirito could only sigh. Hopefully his and Eugeo's grimm encounter luck from earlier didn't screw them over here.

"Cardin Winchester. Russel Thrush , Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark, The four of you obtained the black bishop pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team CRDL. Led by Cardin Winchester!" Ozpin announced as the audience in the auditorium clapped.

Kirito clapped slowly as he waited to be called up to the stage. It had only taken him and his group about thirty minutes to make it back to the cliff and to hand their relics to Ozpin. Medina had insisted that she didn't need all that much rest so they were able to get moving a lot earlier than they had expected. Suprisingly they weren't the last group to arrive. Kirito had been slightly worried when he heard that Ruby's group hadn't made it back yet but Ozpin had assured him that they were ok. Glynda had then taken over and explained that they were to return to the auditorium three hours from when they arrived on the cliff and here he was. Watching as each team was formed and he had a small hunch about who was going to be on his team. Kirito's attention was returned to the stage as the next team was called up

"Jaune Arc!. Lie Ren!. Pyrrha Nikos!. Nora Valkyrie!". Ozpin announced "The four of you collected the white rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as …. Team JNPR!" Ozpin declared

Kirito recognized the now named Team JNPR as the others who had been with them in the forest. He knew how good they were at fighting and they would definitely be interesting to have around. Especially Pyrrha Nikos. Kirito had seen her mentioned on the news a few times. She was a world renowned fighter having won multiple tournaments and had earned the name "The invincible girl". Kirito couldn't hope but wonder just how good she was.

"Led by….Jaune Arc!"

Kirito couldn't help but chuckle at the surprised look on the boy's face when he was declared as the leader of the team. His laughter continued when Pyrrha gave him what was meant to be a friendly shoulder punch but she misjudged her own strength and knocked him to the ground. He heard Eugeo and Alice laugh as well and even Medina hid a smirk behind her hand.

"Next. Blake Belladonna! Ruby Rose! Weiss Schnee! And Yang Xiao Long!. The four of you obtained the white knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team RWBY!. Led by … Ruby Rose!"

Kirito smiled as Ruby was made the leader of her own team. She definitely deserved it. The girl was a tactical genius when she put her mind to it and she had helped him improve massively during his training for the entrance exam. Seeing Ruby and Weiss on the same team was interesting though. The two hadn't exactly started out on the best of terms so Kirito could only hope that could set aside their differences. Still Ruby and Yang being on the same team was also interesting. With Blake as well. He had seen most of the team fight and he could already tell that the team was maybe the most stacked team he'd seen so far. Only when team RWBY walked off stage did he realise there were only four students left.

"And Finally . Eugeo Azure! Medina Orthinanos! Alice Zuberg! And Kirito!" The four of them quickly walked onto the stage. Kirito looked up as their faces appeared on the screens that were right next to the stage. Looking into the audience he could see all the already formed teams watching them. He made eye contact with Ruby and the two gave each other a smile. This was what both of them had been working towards.

"Your four obtained the white bishop pieces" Ozpin addressed the four as they stood on stage in front of them. He observed the four of them for a brief second before continuing. "From this day onward you four will work together as Team KAOZ(chaos)" He announced to the four of them.

A small smile made its way onto Kirito's face at his team name. Chaos. Seemed like a fitting description for whatever it was he usually got up too. The only question left would be who Ozpin picked to lead the team. Kirito was ok with any choice but he figured it would be Alice. She was an incredible fighter and often the most prepared in any combat situation so it only made sense tha…

"Led by… Kirito!"

Kirito had to do a double take on that one. Him?. That wasn't something he had expected. It's not something he was opposed to. He had been told before from many in his world that he had the qualities of a good leader but he had never really put any thought into it. Still he was definitely the least experienced when it came to combat of the four and almost certainly the least knowledgeable about Grimm. Ozpin was also aware of his "Lack of memories" as far as he knew and he thought that would have been enough of a detterent to make him the leader of a team of huntsmen-in-training. Still it seemed Ozpin had made his decision on this and Kirito would do his best to live up to whatever it was that Ozpin expected of him. Despite getting thrown off a cliff by the man Kirito still had some respect for the man. He had given him a direction to follow in a world he was completly lost in.

"This is shaping up to be an interesting year" Ozpin said to himself but was drowned out by the round of applause that every team had received after being assembled. Kirito kept his eyes on the man as the newly formed Team KAOZ. Walked off stage. He knew Ozpin had his reasons behind what he did but Kirito was no closer to understanding anything about Ozpin than when he first met the man on remnant. It was an addition to Kirito's growing to do list. Still he felt as though he had made significant progress. He had managed to make it into Beacon Academy and complete initiation. If he wanted to find an admin console or a way to contact the outside world, becoming a huntsman was most likely the course of action that would best prepare him for the journeys he would have to take. So in that regard he had made great progress.

But what about Ozpin. How had he ended up in the Soul-translator in the first place and what was with those flashes of memories he had early. Kirito knew he had to get answers but as Yang gave him a cangratulatory clap on the back that nearly made him fall over and he looked at team RWBY, JNPR and the rest of team KAOZ arround him he couldn't help but smile. He now knew he had people he could depend on and he felt as though he was one step closer to his goal. The black swordsman still had a lot of questions with very few answers but, for now at least, Things seemed to be going his way. Kirito only hoped it would stay that way.

(Authors Note 19/03/2023)

Hey all. I actually got a chapter out in a decent time frame this time huh!. Just wanted to address the name of Kirito's team really quickly. Team KAOZ (Kirito Azure Orthinanos Zuberg) was the name I settled on after a LOT of experimenting. It feels a bit cheap considering I'm using the last name I gave Eugeo as well as three last names in naming the team but it was the best I felt I could do with the letters available. Either way I found it fitting. Kirito being on a team named Chaos works well with what seems to follow him. Anyways, that's all I have to say. Hopefully I'll keep the same pace with future updates!