Chapter 5: Welcome to Beacon

Three months later, Beacon Academy, 18th April 18 BBY, 11:45 am…

Nathan had seen many a beautiful view during his seventeen years of life.

But as he descended the transport shuttle him and Weiss had flown to Vale in, Nathan had to admit to himself that Beacon Academy might just be one of the most beautiful vistas he'd ever seen.

Looking over at Weiss, he could see even his close friend was impressed at the sight of Beacon Academy; up until now just a figment of dreams and speculation, now fully realised within their field of vision:

There were the main building, surrounded by a double ring of colonnades bisected by the main avenue with the outer ring rising high over the main entrance to the academy itself.

Lining the main avenue were trees and flag draped lampposts, alongside some impressive aqueduct-like features and archways.

Rising above all this was a massive tower, surmounted by a number of green light spheres, the 'beacon' which had given the academy its name.

"Now this is what you call a view." Nathan remarked, placing his hands on his hips.

"Even better than the views in Atlas?" Weiss asked playfully.

"I'm sure we'll find more views that're on par with the ones in Atlas." Nathan replied.

A smile crossed the Schnee Dust Company heiress' face as she stepped in front of Nathan. "Well; let's explore." She said confidently.

Weiss doing this gave Nathan a good view of her from behind, such as how her dress hugged Weiss' backside admirably. Moreover, Weiss' dress hugged her figure perfectly, betraying the existence of a beautiful body underneath Weiss' dress. One better than most other female figures Nathan had ever seen.

That's a pretty good view, too, Nathan suddenly thought, immediately shelving it with a shake of his head. Fucking hormones, he thought to himself before saying: "You know what, Weiss; I'm gonna go do a little bit of solo exploring. See more of the sights. I'll meet you later."

"Okay." Weiss said, turning to face him. "Just remember; the welcome assembly is in an hour."

Nathan nodded, and started looking around. There was bound to be something going down somewhere.

Not long later…

It wasn't long before Nathan came across something:

That being a young man emptying the contents of his stomach into the pits of a trashcan.

Nathan felt a heavy dose of sympathy. Motion sickness had been a horrible affliction he'd had to deal with growing up; and evidently, this young man had not grown out of it yet.

However, Nathan wasn't about to leave him there. Walking over, Nathan stopped next to the guy just as he'd finished puking. "You okay there, dude?" He asked.

"Yeah… think that's the last of it." The young man said, turning to face Nathan.

The young man was tall; taller than Nathan at roughly six-foot-one to Nathan's five-foot-ten, with messy blonde hair and dark blue eyes.

He was wearing a black short-sleeved hoodie with detached reddish-orange sleeves. Over his hoodie was a white diamond shaped chest plate cut off above his lower abdomen, and placed over his shoulders were a pair of white spaulders with rerebraces set underneath them. Completing the man's appearance were some blue jeans with a white patch on the left knee and black sneakers.

Handing the man a breath mint, Nathan said: "Here; freshen your breath up a bit."

"Thanks." Jaune said. Taking and eating the mint before holding out his hand. "I'm Jaune by the way; Jaune Arc."

"Nathan Phoenix." Nathan replied, shaking Jaune's hand. "So; what's a guy afflicted by motion sickness doing here at an academy where we train to fight monsters?"

"Always wanted to be a Huntsman." Jaune responded. "My dad was one before he retired to be with his family. Felt like the right thing to do. You?"

"Been training my whole life for this." Nathan lied. "Grew up in poverty on the streets of Mantle and saw becoming a Huntsman as the only way I could realistically dig myself out of that hole."

Jaune nodded. "I can respect that. Hey; maybe you and I could hang out some more."

"Could do." Nathan said. "You seem like a decent dude; and I don't really know anyone else but-"

BOOM!

Nathan jumped a little at the explosion, looking to see it coming from the direction Weiss had walked off in. His concern growing, Nathan dashed off to investigate.

At the site of the explosion…

As the smoke cleared, Nathan had to admit the scene before him was a little amusing.

Weiss was fighting to clear all the smoke from out of her face, spluttering whilst another girl stood there, visibly apologetic.

The sight of the other girl gave Nathan pause:

She was fairly younger than him and Weiss were; approximately fifteen. With neck length black hair with red tips that hung over vibrant silver eyes.

She was wearing a black, long-sleeved dress with a high collar and red trim on the sleeves. Over that was black waist cincher with red lacing up the front, and the skirt of her dress had red trim and lining. As well as this, she wore a pair of thick black stockings and black combat boots with red laces and trim around the top and red soles.

Completing her outfit was a red hooded cloak fastened to her shoulders with a pair of cross-shaped pins.

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" Weiss was saying.

"I'm really, really sorry!" The young girl was saying.

"Not even a full hour at Beacon and you're already getting blown up?" Nathan playfully asked Weiss.

Weiss ignored him, instead focusing on the young girl: "Ugh, you complete dolt!" Weiss said to the girl. "What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

"Well, I-I..." The girl said, clearly nervous.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school." Weiss continued. "It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight monsters, so... watch where you're going!"

"Whoa, Weiss, take it easy…" Nathan said. He hadn't seen this side of Weiss before. And he wasn't sure he liked it.

"Hey, I said I was sorry, princess!" The girl said, now fully fed up.

"It's heiress, actually."

Nathan, Weiss and the young girl then turned to see another young woman joining them:

The young woman was beautiful; with long, wavy black hair and amber coloured eyes. A black ribbon was visible atop her head, done in a cute little bow.

She was wearing a black buttoned vest with coattails fastened with a single button on the front over a white sleeveless and high-necked crop top, which matched the white shorts she was wearing, that had two zippers on the front of each leg.

Black low-heeled boots covered her feet, and the rest of her legs were covered by a pair of full-length stockings with a colour gradation of black to purple.

Covering her left arm was a black detached sleeve with a silver cuff around her bicep. Black ribbons tied around her forearms and a loose black scarf around her neck completed her look.

She carried on, saying: "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

"Finally! Some recognition!" Weiss said smugly, hands confidently on her hips as she glared at the young girl.

Nathan scowled. This was definitely a side of Weiss he didn't like seeing.

However, the other woman wasn't finished: "The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners."

Nathan cringed. Damn, he thought as Weiss started spluttered out a response to the other woman as the young girl giggled.

Weiss angrily stepped up to the woman, which was slightly funny, considering Weiss was slightly shorter than the other woman.

Weiss then angrily snatched a small bottle from the other woman's hand and stormed off, visibly angry.

The young girl started after Weiss, calling out to her by saying: "I promise I'll make this up to you!"

Nathan almost followed Weiss, but decided he'd stick with the younger girl; wanting to get to the bottom of her presence at Beacon.

"I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day..." The girl said, looking towards Nathan. "Thanks. For sticking up for me."

"Anytime, kid." Nathan replied. "Not sure what's gotten into Weiss; she's usually not like that."

"I doubt it." The young girl responded.

Ignoring that comment, Nathan asked: "Got a name?"

"Ruby." The young girl replied. "Ruby Rose."

"Nathan Phoenix." Nathan responded. "She did have a point though. Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

"I got in two years early." Ruby answered. "I foiled a dust robbery a few days ago, caught Professor Ozpin's attention, and here I am."

Nathan nodded. "That'll do it." He commented. "So what now?"

"I guess we head to the amphitheatre." Ruby said. "My older sister's there already, I'm guessing."

Nathan nodded. "Then let's get moving."

At that, they made to head off, before hearing:

"Hey."

Nathan and Ruby both turned to see Jaune behind them, walking up.

"I'm Jaune." The blonde said to Ruby.

"Ruby." Ruby responded.

A pregnant silence gestated between them until Ruby suddenly snickered a bit, asking Jaune:

"Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"

Not long later, somewhere on Beacon Academy's grounds…

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a far more common problem than people let on." Jaune said as he walked alongside Nathan and Ruby.

"I'm sorry. Vomit-boy was the first thing that came to mind." Ruby said apologetically.

"Oh yeah?" Jaune asked. "What if I called you Crater-Face?"

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!" Ruby protested.

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc." Jaune said proudly. "Short and sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."

Nathan raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Do they?" Ruby asked, sounding unimpressed herself.

"They will!" Jaune said quickly. "Well, I hope they will. I think… My mom always says that… Never mind."

Ruby chuckled, and Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Mommy doesn't always know best, Jaune." Nathan remarked. "Most of the time, their advice leads to you scaring prospective girlfriends away."

Jaune then looked away, slightly embarrassed.

Nathan went to say something, but then Ruby interrupted.

"So… I got this thing." She said, brandishing her weapon, a large scythe.

"Whoa!" Jaune said, jumping back in shock.

"Is that a fucking scythe?" Nathan asked.

"It's also a customisable high impact sniper rifle." Ruby added.

"A what?" Jaune asked.

Pulling back the bolt action on the rifle, Ruby replied: "It's also a gun."

"Not gonna lie, that is pretty impressive." Nathan remarked. "How do you lift that thing, anyway?"

"I ride the recoil of the gun." Ruby replied. Looking at Jaune, she asked: "So, what've you got?"

"Oh. Uh, uh… I got this sword." Jaune answered, pulling a basic looking sword out of a sheath.

"Ooh." Ruby said, clearly liking what she saw.

"Yeah, I've got a shield, too." Jaune said, bringing up the sheath of his sword.

"That's a scabbard. Not a shield." Nathan said bluntly.

Only for the scabbard to expand into a shield.

"I stand corrected." Nathan said, equally deadpan. "It is a scabbard that can become your shield. Pretty neat trick if you ask me. Make an enemy think you're all attack and no defence, boom! You reveal your shield and give them an ass whipping their ancestors will feel."

"Thanks." Jaune said with a smile. "It's a hand me down. Family heirloom."

"Nice." Nathan replied.

"So, how about yours, Nathan?" Ruby asked. "I've not seen your weapon before."

Nathan shrugged. "Well, stars forfend that I deny your adorable self a request." He replied, before taking his lightsaber from his belt and ignited it.

The familiar snap-hiss of the weapon igniting filled the air, as the familiar sky blue blade erupted from the hilt.

Ruby gasped and her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, that is the COOLEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN!" She squealed. "What is it?"

"It's a lightsaber." Nathan replied. "The blade is pure energy, and can cut through almost anything. Save for your weapons, that is. I've tried, trust me."

Ruby looked over the lightsaber and asked: "Can… can I hold it?"

"Sure thing." Nathan said, offering it to Ruby. "But be careful. I've had people lose fingers handling this weapon because they got too careless."

"I will." Ruby said, gingerly taking the lightsaber from Nathan, looking it over.

Folding his arms, Nathan raised an eyebrow. She actually looks like a Jedi holding my lightsaber, Nathan thought to himself.

After a minute of staring at Nathan's lightsaber with an awestruck look on her face, Ruby handed it back to him, switching it off. "Yep. Still the coolest weapon I've ever seen."

"No idea there was even a contest." Nathan said. "Regardless, thank you for awarding me top prize. Though I know not what the top prize is."

"Uh, to be honest, I don't really know either." Ruby confessed. "Can we just say it's the coolest weapon ever instead of giving out awards?"

"Yeah. Never really cared for prizes anyway." Nathan admitted. "But knowing I've earned your seal of approval is a badge of honour I'll happily wear."

Ruby smiled. "Thanks. I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons you see, so when I saw yours, I kinda nerded out a little bit."

"Understandable." Nathan replied. "Your weapon reflects that in its own right."

Ruby nodded. "Even if I went a little overboard when designing it." Ruby said.

"Wait, you made that?!" Jaune asked Ruby, surprised.

"Of course!" Ruby replied. "All students at Signal forge their own weapons." Ruby said. "Unless they already have a weapon, like you do."

"Yeah, it's a hand me down. My great grandfather used it to fight in the war." Jaune said.

"Well, I like it!" Ruby declared. "Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

"Yeah." Jaune said, smiling. "The classics.

"Ruby's telling the truth." Nathan said. "Just because your weapon is an older one, it doesn't mean it's any less effective. You could kill just as many Grimm with your weapon as I could." Placing a hand on Jaune's shoulder, Nathan added: "Give yourself more credit, buddy. You're a better person than you realise."

Jaune's smile widened as he said: "Thanks, Nathan."

"You're welcome." Nathan said. "I'm glad you came over, Jaune. You're a good person."

"Well, my mom always told me that strangers are friends you just haven't met yet." Jaune said. "Figured I'd branch out a little."

"Well, your mom sounds like a pretty smart lady." Nathan remarks. "Even if some of her wisdom is a little iffy sometimes."

"Yeah, she can be like that, sometimes." Jaune says.

"Hey, where were we going?" Ruby suddenly asked.

"Oh, I don't know. I was following you!" Jaune said.

"Wow…" Nathan remarked.

"You… you think there might be a directory?" Jaune asked nervously. "Maybe a food court. Some sort of recognisable landmark?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Come on. I'm sure we can find where we need to go sooner rather than later."

Some-time later, the amphitheatre…

Nathan, Ruby and Jaune entered the amphitheatre to find it packed, filled with students they would be spending the next four years learning alongside.

"Ruby! Over here! I saved you two a spot!"

Nathan glanced over to see a young woman waving at Ruby, assuming she was the older sister Ruby had been talking about.

And Nathan once again found himself staring:

Ruby's older sister was a drop-dead gorgeous young woman; fair skinned and tall at about five feet, eight inches, with bright golden coloured hair that faded to pale gold at the tips with a cowlick protruding from the top and lilac coloured eyes.

She was wearing a tan coloured jacket that bared her midriff with golden brown piping and short, puffy sleeves with black cuffs that were fastened by two gold buttons on either sleeve. Underneath that was a low-cut yellow crop top with a black symbol on the left side of her chest that resembled a heart on fire.

As well as this, she wore a pair of black booty shorts held up by a brown belt that was covered by a pleated piece of brown material that reached from hip-to-hip around the back of her waist. On the right-most pleat was that same flaming heart symbol visible on her top. Underneath this was a long, white, asymmetrical piece of material that at its longest, reached her right knee. Completing her outfit were a pair of brown, knee high boots with orange over-the-knee socks, a grey bandana tied around her left knee, and an orange infinity scarf wrapped around her neck along with a pair of black fingerless gloves.

However, he turned towards Ruby as the latter spoke to Jaune:

"Oh, hey, I gotta go. I'll see you after the ceremony!" At that, she walked off, leaving Nathan with Jaune.

"Hey wait!" Jaune protested, but Ruby was already gone. "Ugh, great. Where am I going to find another nice quirky girl to talk to?"

"Maybe look around and see if you can-" Nathan began, looking to see Jaune sullenly walk away, failing to notice an insanely attractive woman stood right behind him:

She was noticeably taller than most of the girls around at around six feet tall, with long, waist length red hair that was tied up in a ponytail and curled into a loose ringlet and emerald green eyes that sparkled.

It did not escape Nathan's notice on how muscular the girl was. Though not insanely muscular, she was noticeably more muscular than say Yang or Blake, and filled out her attire well.

This attire consisted of a brown leather over-bust corset with a vertical strip running down the middle that was coloured a lighter shade of brown. Additionally, she was wearing an elastic, black A-line mini skirt that showed off her muscular but toned legs, and brown opera-length gloves over both hands. Around her mini skirt was a red, ankle-length sash, which was held in place with a small, circular bronze plate on her right hip that was emblazoned with a symbol of a shield and spear.

Beneath her hair was a bronze circlet adorned with small, green, teardrop-shaped emeralds on thin chains. She also sported a large bronze gorget around her neck and a bronze bracelet on the upper half of her left arm.

Completing her look was a pair of elaborate bronze greaves that started below her mid-thigh before continuing downwards into her boots as well as a pair of cuisses that began mid-thigh and ended slightly above her knees. She was also equipped with a bronze bracer that covered her left arm. Her high heeled boots were brown with bronze trim, matching her skirt and sleeves and reached up to mid-calf.

Her eyes met Nathan's as he studied her, and Nathan could swear he had seen her before somewhere. However, he dismissed that detail as irrelevant as he considered what he had just seen.

He looked between the girl and Jaune, wondering how in the name of Master Yoda Jaune had failed to notice this woman standing behind him. Despite the clear muscle, Nathan could tell this girl was undeniably beautiful.

Shaking his head, Nathan walked towards the girl, muttering: "There's idiots, and then there's that guy." To her as he passed her by, hearing her gently giggle as he did.

"I wouldn't say he's an idiot. Rather he was not aware enough of his surroundings." The girl then said. Her voice was rich and measured, and Nathan found himself listening intently.

Nathan turned to face her again, and said: "Maybe." He could tell she was sizing him up, noting his height, his reach, and his build. Things that would be useful in a fight.

So he decided to joke about a bit. He had noticed the woman's similar red hair to his, and their overall similar appearance, save for their differently coloured eyes. "You sure you're not my long lost twin sister or some shit? Because I'm pretty sure that you're pretty much me, but the opposite gender."

The woman giggled. "Unless my father is a lot more cavalier with his love life than I believe, I doubt that."

"Figured. Just thought I'd check first." Nathan replied. "Name's Nathan. Nathan Phoenix."

"Pleasure to meet you, Nathan." The woman replied, shaking his hand. "I'm Pyrrha Nikos."

"The famous tournament fighter?" Nathan asked. "Well, this is an unexpected turn of events." He paused, then joked: "You're probably scared that I'm about to drop to my feet and grovel, saying that I'm not worthy to be in your presence."

Pyrrha laughed. "In a way, yes." She said. "It's refreshing to meet someone who knows who I am, but doesn't really care for it."

Nathan nodded. "Well, when it comes to school, we're all one and the same." He said. "All looking to get better than we were before we set foot in Beacon."

Pyrrha smiled. "Indeed." She replied.

Nathan then said: "Either way; I'm looking forward to working with you sometime."

"As am I." Pyrrha replied. "You certainly come across as a good person, Nathan. I suppose we will see each other around.

"Well, great." Nathan replied. "See you around." At that, he walked away from Pyrrha, smiling. I like her already, he thought to himself as he looked for Weiss, Ruby, Jaune, or any one of his friends.

Hopefully they were around here somewhere…

"You!"

The sound of Weiss' voice proved all the direction Nathan needed as he walked over, stopping with a roll of his eyes as he realised what was going on:

Weiss was nearby, and was yelling at Ruby for something or other. She suddenly thrust a leaflet at Ruby and started rattling off something or other whilst Ruby stared at her confusedly.

Nathan walked over with a shake of his head, just as he heard Ruby reintroduce herself:

"Hey Weiss. I'm Ruby. Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies."

Weiss' response was dripping with sarcasm: "Yeah, and we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys like tall, blonde and… scraggly over there!" At this, she jerked a thumb behind her.

Nathan looked to see Jaune a few feet behind Weiss, having looked up upon hearing himself being mentioned.

"Really?" Ruby said hopefully.

Weiss' reply was straight to the point. "No." She said venomously.

"Well; if you were going to say no anyway, why not just say it?" Nathan asked Weiss sternly, getting her attention. "Why are you being so damn rude about it?"

Weiss flinched at his stern tone, a guilty facial expression crossing her face before feedback from a microphone drew everyone's attention, though, and they looked to the podium to see Professor Ozpin stood there, ready to give some form of speech.

Professor Ozpin cut a tall figure, with tousled silver hair and thing brown eyes covered by a pair of shaded glass spectacles.

He was wearing an unbuttoned blazer jacket over a dark green waistcoat, which itself was worn over a green shirt. Around his neck was a dark green cowl of similar colour to his waistcoat, on which was a small, purple cross-shaped pin. Long, dark green trousers completed his look, alongside a pair of black shoes.

In one of his hands was a cane, which he held in front of him as he spoke:

"I'll… keep this brief." Ozpin said. "You have travelled 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 among 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."

With that, he stepped back, his speech over as an older woman stepped up to the microphone.

She appeared to be middle aged, in her late thirties to early forties at most, with light blonde hair and bright green eyes behind ovular glasses. Dangling from her ears were a pair of teal earrings that matched the pendant on her collar. She was wearing a white, long-sleeved pleated top with a wide keyhole neckline and gauntlet cuffs that flared out in pleats at the wrist. Her lower body was covered by a black, high-waisted pencil skirt with bronze buttons and black-brown stockings and black boots with bronze heels. Hanging from her back was a black cape that was purple on the inside cut at the end to resemble flames and arrows.

It occurred to Nathan that this must be Professor Glynda Goodwitch, Professor Ozpin's right hand woman.

Professor Goodwitch spoke with a firm, authoritative voice: "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

Nathan folded his arms, pondering what Ozpin had said. All of it was nothing new to Nathan, he was well aware that knowledge was only as good as the manner in which one used it. His training with the Jedi Order and his subsequent service in the Clone Wars had shown him that many, many times. The fact was, Nathan already had the skills. He just needed the knowledge necessary for him to put those skills to use. Furthermore, Nathan also knew he needed to hone his skills; both to become a better fighter, and to perfect his use of what Force abilities he possessed.

His attention was soon taken up by the appearance of Jaune next to Weiss, bragging about how he was a natural blonde.

Nathan smirked, but had his attention diverted again when a voice said:

"Hey."

Nathan turned around to see Ruby's older sister stood there, hands on her hips. "Hey." He replied. "You're Ruby's older sister, right?"

The woman nodded. "Name's Yang. Yang Xiao Long."

Nathan smiled. "Well met, Yang. I'm Nathan Phoenix. Sorry about Weiss. She's normally not like this."

"I'll take your word for it." Yang replied. "Also; don't worry about staring at me. I get it a lot."

"I wasn't even-" Nathan protested, only for Yang to step closer.

"Though not usually by anyone handsome…" Yang added with a playful smirk.

Nathan smirked back. "That so? Well; maybe you and I could stare at each other a little longer. It's been a while since I've seen such a beautiful woman…"

A blush quickly appeared on Yang's face, but before she or Nathan could say anything else, Weiss appeared between them.

"We're leaving." Weiss said firmly, storming past Nathan and dragging him with her.

Offering an apologetic glance towards Yang, Nathan resolved to confront Weiss about her behaviour that evening.

Hours later, the great hall, 20:50 pm…

Nathan stepped into the hall to find it completely packed, filled to the brim with first year students hanging around and chatting.

He spotted a few topless boys sitting around and flexing their muscles, which made him roll his eyes.

He never saw the appeal in seeing one's muscles. Sure, it was a sign that the person took care of themselves, but never considered it an aesthetic benefit. Besides, he wasn't really all for showing off his body either, well-muscled though it was. Because while he was muscular, he also had scars, and if people saw his scars, they would ask questions, since many of his scars had stories behind them.

Hence why he traversed the groups and already forming cliques of muscular guys wearing a pair of shorts and a simple tank top.

Loud humming drew his attention, and he stifled his laughter as he spotted Jaune; who was striding confidently through the group wearing a full, baby blue onesie with a cute little bunny rabbit emblazoned on the front.

Nathan soon spotted Weiss a few rows down, brushing her hair.

It suddenly occurred to Nathan that he'd never seen Weiss with her hair down, at which he thought:

She looks gorgeous… However, he shelved the thought once again, and approached her.

Weiss spotted him immediately, and a pleasant smile crossed her face. "Oh, good evening, Nathan." She said.

Nathan finally noticed Weiss' choice of nightwear: a faded form-fitting blue nightgown with short sleeves and white trim and display the Schnee Crest on the upper-right chest.

Ignoring lewd, hormone induced images of Weiss removing said nightgown, Nathan sat next to her. "Hey." He replied. "Just thought we could take some time to talk about earlier."

A groan quickly escaped Weiss as she said: "Look; I didn't mean to be rude, okay? I was… Ruby was being so…"

Ignoring the fact Weiss was blaming Ruby, Nathan said: "Weiss, you do realise the day might come where you and Ruby need to work together. And I think it'd be for the best if you two learned to work with each other in the event that comes to pass."

Weiss met Nathan's gaze, a thoughtful look crossing the Schnee Dust Company heiress' face.

Until the sounds of a scuffle drew their attention:

Looking over, Nathan sighed as he spotted Ruby and Yang on the floor, rolling about as if fighting.

Weiss flashed Nathan an annoyed look and marched over just as Ruby had captured Yang's leg, prepared to deliver a counter:

"What in the world is going on over here?!" Weiss demanded. "Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?" Upon realising who she was talking to, Weiss said in unison with Yang:

"Oh, not you again!"

"Shh!" Ruby shooshed. "Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!"

"Oh, now you're on my side!" Weiss asked.

"I was always on your side!" Ruby responded.

"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!" Yang demanded.

"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss responded.

Rolling his eyes, Nathan stood up and walked towards the quarrelling young women, noticing the dark-haired girl nearby with a candle which she promptly blew out.

"Okay, ladies, let's calm down a little…" Nathan said, gently taking Weiss' arms and lightly dragging her away, letting go when they'd reached her bedroll, folding his arms and giving Weiss a stern look.

Weiss wilted under Nathan's gaze, clearly uncomfortable as Nathan asked:

"What the fuck has gotten into you, Weiss? This isn't you. You're not usually like this."

Before Weiss could respond, someone clearing their throat caught Nathan's attention:

"Nathan Phoenix?"

Nathan closed his eyes, turning around as he said: "Sir; I'm getting real fucking tired of people interrupting me to-" Stopping the moment he saw Professor Ozpin stood before him.

Beacon Academy's headmaster towered over Nathan as he asked: "Care to join me? I've been meaning to speak to you since I received word you'd arrived."

Glancing over at a confused Weiss, Nathan nodded. "Alright."

Following Ozpin to a small out of the way alcove where their conversation could not be heard, Nathan folded his arms as Ozpin turned to face him.

"Apologies for the interruption of your conversation with Miss Schnee." Ozpin said politely. "But I felt the need to speak to you privately."

Nathan nodded. "It's not a problem. I was trying to check her attitude, but hey-ho."

"Well; since we are on the subject of Miss Schnee… have you told her?" Ozpin asked, his brown eyes staring deep into Nathan.

Nathan immediately figured out what Ozpin was speaking of and shook his head. "No sir. I don't feel like I can trust anyone other than General Ironwood, Specialist Schnee, or you with that information just yet."

"Understandable." Professor Ozpin remarked. "That being said; I recommend you surround yourself with people who you can trust. Miss Schnee will not be the only friend you make here at Beacon; and it seems you are well on your way to making more friends already, given your interactions with Miss Xiao Long and her sister. And Miss Nikos."

Nathan nodded. "I'm well aware I'm going to need to tell the truth about myself. But with all due respect, that's a decision that'll be up to me to make."

"I never would presume to say that it was nobody's decision but yours to make." Ozpin replied. "Regardless, I do feel the need to stress that you tell them when the time feels right. Elsewise, they may not remain your friends for much longer."

Nathan frowned. "I'll tell them, sir. Don't worry about that."

"Good." Ozpin said. "Well; all that remains to be said is welcome to Beacon Academy, and I will see you tomorrow for Initiation."

Nathan nodded, and soon walked off, finding Weiss waiting for him.

"What was that all about?" Weiss asked.

"No idea." Nathan lied. "Guess Ozpin likes pulling random students aside for private conversations."

Weiss' eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she simply replied: "I see." Taking a deep breath, Weiss added: "In any case; the hour is growing late. We should get some sleep." Laying down on her bedroll, Weiss closed her eyes. "Good night, Nathan…"

"Good night." Nathan replied, laying down in his bedroll and allowing sleep to claim him in its embrace. Tomorrow would give rise to new challenges, and Nathan was prepared to face any that came his way.

And now Nathan's friendship group is forming.

He's got Jaune, Pyrrha, Yang, Ruby, and of course; Weiss.

Something I wanted to make sure I also addressed is how Nathan now reacts when Weiss' less pleasant side emerges. Instead of being rude and confrontational about it, I wanted to make Nathan try and call Weiss out for her behaviour far less belligerently than he did in the first version of this story. And it's clear Weiss realises this, hence her reactions whenever Nathan does call her out.

Regardless; let's answer some reviews!

54godamora: Glad you enjoyed the interactions between Weiss and Nathan in the previous chapter. None of the factors you brought up even crossed my mind, since I wager Grimm keep their incursions strictly to Mantle, as do most criminals. As for any pompous rich boys trying to court Weiss; I think Weiss would already have that handled. Ice Queen, remember?

Gamelover41592: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter mate.

keybladelight: Yes, I could have had Nathan use a Jedi mind trick on the reporter, but I wagered he wouldn't want to make Weiss too suspiscious. As for Nathan using his holocron to continue his training, it's strictly for the warning message from Obi Wan. And having Jedi gather on Remnant would be a bad idea, considering that's precisely what Obi Wan was warning against Jedi doing.

naedinefebruary2.0: Your offer is tempting. I'll take some time to consider it.

Sharnorasian Empire: The old storyline will remain online, make no mistake about that. And I agree it is sad to see it incomplete. Regardless; it's an example of my work and it's arguably some of my best. So why remove it? I also do apologise for the long delays with updating. Life sometimes got in my way, and I was sometimes too focused on other aspects of my life to remember to update. That will change now, I hope. As for the 'arranged marriage' BS... just you wait.

With all that said; thank you all so much for taking the time to read this chapter. If y'all liked it; you know what to do.

I shall see you next week with Chapter 6, which sees Nathan and co. begin their initiation into Beacon Academy.

T-Rock14