Usopp didn't have much of an idea as for why he was invited to the team placement ceremony like the others that actually completed the initiation successfully. He wasted too much time running, and he lost his chance to find a partner because of that. He sighed. It certainly looked like he blew his only chance of becoming a Huntsman.

Maybe this school has a habit of publicly humiliating people who failed initiation.

"You look down for someone who passed."

Usopp looked up to see the girl in red that used a scythe. The same girl that decapitated a huge bird demon… Usopp couldn't help but gulp. This girl was certainly strong. Behind her was a blonde woman with lilac eyes who was looking at the other girl with some pride.

"Ah… Well you see, I didn't pass. I'm probably just here to be made fun of, so of course I'm down."

"You wouldn't be here with us if you didn't pass."

"No no, if you really think about it, they probably have people like me get humiliated in order to show an example to future applicants of what not to do."

The girl shook her head. "That's too negative. Beacon wouldn't do something like that."

"Can you really say that with confidence? There are thirteen people from initiation here, how are there supposed to be teams of four with that number?"

"I.. I don't know! Maybe there will be a team of five or something."

"Like this school would go so far just for me. It's not like I was particularly impressive during initiation. I doubt I did any better than anyone else here."

"You don't know that! You didn't meet up with anyone until the end, so how would you know?"

"I saw you decapitate that huge monster. That's all I needed to see."

"But that was with-"

They were interrupted as Ozpin took to the stage. "Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark."

The four mentioned walked up to the stage and stood in a line.

"The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester!"

Team CRDL left the stage as the next team was announced.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR."

Usopp's heartbeat sped up a small amount. There were only five people left, and his name hasn't been mentioned yet. While he didn't believe he passed, the girl he talked to earlier had given him a sliver of hope. S

"Led by... Jaune Arc!"

Usopp held his breath for the final announcement. I've already prepared myself for this failure, so why is it so tense?

"And for our last team: Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!"

Ruby was being hugged to death by her older sister, but she couldn't help but look at the long nosed man in the crowd. He was looking at the ground with his head hung low.

"And finally, Usopp."

"Eh?"

Team RWBY had already left the stage, so Usopp decided to step up.

"You retrieved a white pawn piece by yourself. While normally you would have been rejected, Beacon is implementing a new system this year. There are times when a team cannot fight with all of its members, or when a mission is too risky for one team, but there are too many other threats to dedicate two teams to it. Usopp, this is where you come in. You will not be part of a team, but rather you will be working with any of the other three teams formed here today depending on the situation. The finer details can be discussed at a later point, but for now, congratulations."

Usopp jumped into the air with his arm raised high. "I did it!"

Wait for me, everyone! As a Hunstman, I will find a way back!

As Usopp wasn't technically part of a team, he got a dorm room all to himself. Since the new system was introduced on the spot, he had a room that was designed for four people. He was also given a strange piece of technology called a scroll. He wasn't really sure how it worked, but it acted like a key for his room.

By messing around with it, he figured out that it had probably had some other functions. He would have to ask about that later. For now, he was setting aside some of the extra space by the windows for a Pop Green garden. Although, in order to finish the garden, he would need money. Getting pots, good soil, and a watering container would probably cost money

Usopp laid down in one of the four beds in his room. This would be his third night in this world, and it seemed like there wasn't going to be a quick way out. He buried his head into his pillow.

"Luffy… Everyone… I'm sorry. I know you can't hear me, but I am certainly alive. I'll get back as fast as I can, alright? So don't worry about me. I'm sure that someday, even if it takes years, we will meet again. Got it, Captain?"

Silence was the only response.

The next day was also the first day of classes. Usopp was sure to pay attention, as the first class of the day was about the monsters he encountered in the forest, which apparently were also present all throughout the world. He had school provided paper and pencil to take notes. However, it seemed like only the first part of the professor's speech was helpful. The rest devolved into a personal story that took up much of the class time.

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!"

Usopp made a checklist of the described traits on his paper.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

A girl up front, Weiss, raised her hand before Usopp could even consider the question. As Weiss walked up to the center of the classroom, a cage that was in the corner started shaking. The rest of Team RWBY started cheering for her, but that caused Weiss to snap at Ruby.

The professor cut the lock on the cage with his weapon that was a hybrid between an axe and a blunderbuss. Out of the cage came a Boarbatusk according to his notes.

Is it really alright to have monsters like that in the school? Although, all of the students here are probably strong enough for them not to worry about it.

It seemed that some of Usopp's worries were not misguided as Weiss appeared to be having some trouble with the creature. She was even disarmed.

That thing must be tougher than it looks, as even some larger Grimm like an Ursa were not hard to deal with. So is it REALLY alright to have it in here?

The instructor didn't seem to be worried. However, Usopp couldn't count on a teacher in a fighting school to be entirely sane. Usopp decided that he would at least have his hand on Black Kabuto just in case.

"Weiss," Ruby shouted, "Go for its belly, there's no armor underneath-"

"Stop telling me what to do!"

"Isn't she your leader though?" Usopp asked.

Weiss glared at Usopp for half a second until she focused back on the fight. The boar Grimm charged forward with a roll, but Weiss was able to stop it in its tracks with a glyph. Usopp's eyes widened for a second. The boar fell on its back, and Weiss used another glyph as a platform to jump from and stab the Grimm.

"She ended up listening to the advice anyways?" Usopp mumbled.

After that fight, class was dismissed. It was time for the next class of the day.

Next was a combat class where the students would practice fighting in spars. Usopp wasn't particularly looking forward to this one.

Glynda was standing in the center area where the spars would take place. "Now, are there any volunteers to fight first?"

Cardin raised his hand.

"That's one, any more?"

Most of the other students raised their hands besides Blake, Jaune, Ren, and Usopp.

Glynda looked around the room. "Hmm..."

Don't make eye contact, don't make eye contact, don't make-

"Usopp, thank you for volunteering."

"Me?"

"Please come up to the stage with your scroll and weapon. I will set it up to display your aura level."

Aura level? What's that supposed to mean?

Both Cardin and Usopp walked up to the arena. Usopp recognized the man as the leader of team CRDL. He had some armor on and was swinging around a somewhat oversized mace.

Usopp and Cardin handed Glynda their scrolls. After a minute, they were handed back to them.

"Now, on the screens above, both of their aura levels should be displayed by a green bar. When that bar is brought low enough, it will turn red and signify the end of the match."

"Um, professor?"

"Yes, Usopp?"

"My side of the screen is only showing an error message. The same is true for my scroll."

Glynda looked up at the screen to confirm that an error message was really being displayed. She sighed. "Usopp, do you know what aura is?"

"Eh? Oh that? Ha ha ha, of course I do! It's some… thing. It's kind of blue?"

Cardin started laughing. "It seems that you are as dumb as you look with that long nose."

"HEY!"

"That's enough now students, Jaune, why don't you explain to Usopp here what aura is."

Jaune looked startled for a second. "Huh, me? Ah well, aura is like making a force field with your soul."

Usopp's eyes immediately started to sparkle. "Seriously?! That sounds cool!"

"That.. is one way of putting it. There is more to it than that, but regardless, having one's aura unlocked is necessary for any sparing or tournament battle, as it will prevent you from getting any serious injuries with the rules established."

"I see… well I can't use this soul force field ability, so I guess someone else will have to fight Cardin-"

"No, actually I am going to unlock your aura right now. There's no point in delaying it, as you will need it for this school."

"Oh… Wait, I can learn force field powers that easily?!"

"Yes, now close your eyes and concentrate."

Alright, force field powers, force field powers, FORCE FIELD POWERS! Ha, everyone back at the Sunny will be so excited… Chopper and Luffy will have stars in their eyes for sure! Franky will say, "What a SUUUPER force field, can't you tell me how to do it?"

And I'll say "No, no, it's a cool ability I got from another world, I can't just give it out for free!" But then he'll remind me how cool a robot with a force field would be, and then I would give in… ha ha ha!

"Usopp..."

Ha ha ha-

"Usopp!"

"Oh, yes?"

"Your aura has been unlocked. We will be beginning the match now, as we have already wasted enough time."

Usopp looked at his hands, and indeed he did see a green force field covering them. The screen and his scroll also properly displayed his aura level.

"Now that the issue has been dealt with," Glynda said, "let the match begin."

"Long nose, I'm not going to lose to some loser who just unlocked their aura."

"I'd like to see you try and defeat me now! I have a force field!"

"That doesn't make you special at all, it just shows how lame you were before. You weren't good enough to be part of a real team after all."

Cardin charged forward, swinging his massive mace at Usopp. Usopp managed to roll out of the way, and the mace found itself cracking the ground. Cardin did not relent, as he continued to try and go after Usopp.

Usopp fired a seed into the ground ahead of Cardin.

"Where were you aiming with that pathetic sling-"

A sharp spike of bamboo swiftly grew from the ground, impacting against Cardin's chin and sending him flying into the air. He landed on his back after several seconds, causing the ground to crack around him.

Is he down?

Cardin started to get up onto feet. "Why you little..."

Usopp raised his slingshot to fire another shot, but the buzzer rang.

"Cardin's aura has now fallen into the red," Glynda explained, "The match is over."

"What?! There must be some kind of mistake!" Cardin yelled.

"No, that is not the case," Glynda said.

That was easy... Maybe these force fields are actually more flimsy than I thought they would be.

"Go Usopp!" Ruby cheered, "He is an unofficial member of Team RWBY after all."

"Using your logic, he would also be an unofficial member of Team CRDL and Team JNPR. We can't really claim a win here," Blake said.

"Shh! I wonder what kind of dust his slingshot uses to make bamboo grow like that."

Cardin was practically fuming right now. "That was a lucky shot, long nosed freak."

"Hey!"

Cardin just left the fighting stage and went back to his team.

"What's his problem?"

Usopp walked back to the rest of the students, ready to let the next match start.

The next class was History. It was rather uneventful, but through that class and the Grimm studies class, Usopp was even more sure that this was a completely different world.

Regardless, Usopp was still in need of Lien. However, now that classes were over for the day, he could enact his plan to earn some. The first order of business was to knock of Team RWBY's door.

The door opened to show Yang. "Hey Usopp, what's up?"

"Do you have a minute? It's not particularly important, but I would like to talk to you and the rest of Team RWBY if you're not busy."

"Sure, why not?"

Usopp was let in and the other team members stopped what they were doing to look at him.

"Team RWBY… yes, yes, that sounds good, but I've been thinking that what a team really needs is a good symbol or flag to represent them. I was thinking of designing flags for this team, Team JNPR, myself, and maybe Team CRDL since I will technically be a member of all three. They could be posted outside of the team's individual dorm rooms to give some team identity."

"That sounds great!" Ruby said.

"Unfortunately," Usopp said, "I am totally broke."

Team RWBY blinked. "What?"

"You see-"

"How is that even possible?" Weiss asked, "Did you do no planning whatsoever? What were you thinking when you came here?"

"...You see, before I came to Vale, I lived on an isolated island. I didn't know it, but apparently the currency is different from what's used here."

"They don't use Lien?"

"No, we used this." Usopp brought out a few bills and showed them to the team. "Why I am broke isn't that important now, however. Basically, the costs of materials required to make team symbols isn't something I can afford right now. So, in order to get started, I would need some money."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "So you want us to give you some?"

"I'm willing to work, if there are any jobs that you want me to do. Like cleaning the bathroom, or-"

"Deal," Weiss said.

"I could also- wait, what? Deal? We haven't even discussed a price yet."

"I can pay you 50 lien a week. And I'll even let you use my cleaning supplies, as I doubt you have any."

That doesn't sound like much… But she is a student. I can't expect her to be able to pay for a real job. It should be enough for me to buy some art supplies, and I can then sell my art as a primary source of income.

"Alright, that sounds good enough. Try to think about what you want your team flag is going to look like. I'll be off talking to Team JNPR about this as well."

"Could you wait just a little bit, Usopp?" Ruby asked.

"Why?"

"I didn't get the chance to ask you this in class, but could you tell me about your slingshot?"

"Oh, you mean Black Kabuto? It's a slingshot, but it is also a plant."

"Really? What kind of Dust does it use?"

"It-wait, what? Dust? Why would I use that?"

"You don't?"

"Is that strange?"

"Dust ammunition is used around the world, so yes it is."

"People use… dust? And that's common?"

Weiss asked, "Usopp, you didn't know what aura was, so do you really know what you're talking about? You do know what Dust is right?"

"Hey, I'm not that dumb! Dust is the stuff that can accumulate on things like bookshelves or other objects if you leave them alone long enough."

Team RWBY stared at Usopp long enough for him to be uncomfortable.

"You're just a complete dolt, aren't you?" Weiss asked rhetorically.