Y/n POV
I woke up and Blake already was gone like a bloody ninja. Apparently Summer had rolled over on her sometime during the night though because she was now snoring adorably where Blake had been. So much for spirits not having to sleep.
I turned to see Gray and Oliver rubbing their eyes.
"Y'all wanna go get some breakfast?"
They nodded. Then Gray speaks up groggily.
"I haven't found my pj shirt...so I'm going shirtless until after I shower."
I looked over at Oliver.
"All in favor of a shirtless breakfast club?"
Gray grunts and raises his hand. Oliver shrugs and raises his hand too.
"Motion passes unanimously. We are now the shirtless breakfast club."
We all just stood up and started to walk out of the room. Then an energetic redhead caught my attention.
She yells at a Chinese looking guy with black hair and a pink strip in it.
"Wake up, lazy butt!"
She dashes to the side like she's on speed.
The guy gets up with a groan as the redheaded drug addict hounds him.
I shook my head and left with the other two guys. As we walked to breakfast, I could tell there were a lot of female eyes on us, and it wasn't just first years either. Girls I hadn't seen yesterday or last night we're licking their lips at the three of us as we waited in line for food. I leaned over to Oliver.
"I'm starting to lose track of if we're the food or that is."
I gestured at the food we were about to reach and he chuckled nervously.
"Yeah man, I'm used to being stared at because I'm a Faunus, but this feels like I'm their prey. Honestly I don't know what feels more nerve racking."
I chuckled. Then I pointed over to Gray who didn't have a care in the world.
"Maybe we should take a page out of the stripper's book and just not give a crap. I mean, we worked hard for this look, we should be proud of it right?"
He shrugged.
"I guess so man. I'm just not used to humans staring at me without hostility."
I patted his shoulder.
"Well keep showing these thirsty women your bare chest and you'll get used to it bud."
Summer, who definitely wasn't a morning person today, snorted at this.
"Yeah and if you keep doing it Y/n I'll be able to have an entire shipping tournament for you and every available female in the school."
I just scowled at her and went back to getting a plate full of food.
Our breakfast was relatively silent, but the staring didn't decrease, in fact if anything, it got worse. So I was quick to return to the ballroom.
When I got there, The two from before were readying themselves. Redhead is brushing her hair and still chattering while ninja dude is tightening the strings on his sleeping bag.
I walked over and started rolling up my sleeping bag.
The redhead starts talking as Oliver and Gray silently started packing up their shit too.
"We've been friends for soooooooo long! What are the odds we'd still be together? Well, not "together-together..." Not that I'm not saying that you're not handsome; you are handsome, but that'd just be weird, right?"
After that, it got too awkward and I left for the shower. When I got there I realized how awkward this was gonna be for Summer, but luckily, she had just enough leeway to stand outside if I took the shower stall next to the bathroom door. So that's what I did. I think both Summer and I will be glad when I get to a dorm with a private bathroom, because when I came out to see her curled up in a ball, rubbing her eyes. I looked around to make sure no one was there and asked her a question.
"Is something wrong Summer?"
She looked up with a frantic look in her eyes to see me fully dressed, only missing my armor and weapons.
"I'VE SEEN WAY TOO MANY HALF NAKED GUYS!"
She kept going, but sat back down and rocked back and forth.
"I don't think I could handle that again... there's too much naked... too much…"
I patted her head. She looked like she was having PTSD.
"Well we'll be in a dorm soon and the bathroom will be a single person. So that's something to look forward to, right Glimmer?"
She sniffed and looked up at me.
"Yeah...I guess so."
I headed to the locker room to get the rest of my gear. When I got there I found my locker next to Oliver and Gray. I nodded to them and started belting on my vambraces and greaves. I hear some noise and look to my left to see...ninja and redhead speed addict.
The ninja was loading his bladed SMGs and the redhead was still talking nonsense.
"I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal!"
She gasps.
"A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?"
Summer hears this and her eyebrow shoots up.
The ninja sighs, finally replying.
"Nora?"
The now named Nora replies calmly.
"Yes, Ren?"
Ren sheaths his weapons in his sleeves.
"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise."
Summer nods vigorously in agreement.
Nora seems to think about this for a moment.
"That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!"
Then Summer facepalms and looks at me.
"I guess not everyone has common sense."
Ren however, is smiling and shutting his locker.
"Come on Nora, let's go."
Nora blushes after he leaves.
"Not together-together..."
She giggles, her crush is plain for all to see.
I look over at Summer and whisper to her.
"At least you can't ship me with her. She's far too in love with Ninja boy to like me."
Summer shrugs.
"You never know Y/n...You never know, someone could like you and you'd be oblivious."
Then I look back to Gray and Oliver handing out against their lockers next to me. I then got their attention and pointed to Ruby and Yang. They nodded and we walked over to them.
Ren heads out while a skipping Nora follows, passing Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long as they are busy readying themselves.
We walked up behind them to hear Ruby speak up.
"Wonder what those two are so worked up about?"
Gray started to speak up.
"Well…"
Then Yang interrupts him.
"Oh, who knows? So, you seem awfully chipper this morning!"
Gray grumbles and I patted his shoulder.
Ruby though is actually much happier today.
"Yep! No more awkward small talk or "getting-to-know-you" stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking."
She strokes Crescent Rose as she sighs happily. Oliver looks at me and makes the crazy gesture. I almost chuckled but saw Summer tapping her foot angrily at me and just shrugged at Oliver.
Yang starts talking, pulling all of our attention to her.
"Well, remember, Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together."
Ruby sighs in frustration.
"You sound like Dad!"
She shoves her weapon into the locker.
"Okay, first of all: What does meeting new people have to do with fighting? And secondly: I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk!"
At that last comment about milk, Summer nodded vigorously. I just chuckled.
Yang however pressed on.
"But what about when we form teams?"
Ruby is suddenly nervous.
"Um, I don't know, I... I'll just be on your team or something…? Maybe Y/n's team?"
Yang looks away from her sister, bringing her hair around her shoulder and stroking it.
"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team?"
I patted Ruby's shoulder.
"I'd be happy to have ya Cookie Monster."
Ruby smiled at me and then rounded on her sister with such force that both Oliver and Gray grimaced.
Ruby starts to grill Yang.
"My dear sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?"
Yang waves the possibility off.
'What? No! Of course I do! I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... break out of your shell!"
Ruby sputters.
"What the-?! I don't need to 'break out of my shell'! That's absolutely-"
Jaune, appearing out of nowhere, interrupts Ruby.
"Ridiculous!"
He suddenly walked in between the sisters, holding a map and looking lost.
"There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered having to count that high! Why does this have to happen today?"
Jaune passes Weiss Schnee and that fiery redheaded Spartan from yesterday as they ready themselves at their lockers. Interested to hear them, I motion for Oliver and Gray to go over near them. I pulled out a bag of popcorn kernels and used a little bit of lightning to pop them. My dad actually taught me this trick. I held out the bag to both Gray and Oliver. They each took a handful and we leaned against the lockers, watching different people. I was keeping an eye on the Ice Queen. That Spartan girl looked impressionable and I didn't trust Whine Schnee with her at all.
Weiss starts talking to the Spartan.
"So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself!"
So that's her name huh? Pyrrha. I like it. She's kinda cute too.
Then I saw Summer take a piece of popcorn and eat it quickly. She smirks at me and then follows my line of sight to see that I was staring at Pyrrha.
"Oh ho ho? Another girl to ship you with? Are warrior girls your type?"
She raised an eyebrow, smirking harder if that was possible. But with two Faunus next to me, I couldn't even whisper without being heard so I just smiled and shrugged. The answer was clear to Summer. Maybe...maybe not.
Pyrrha started talking, pulling my attention away from the devilish smirk on Summer's face.
"Hmm... I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."
Weiss, ever the scheming little witch, tries to gain a teammate.
"Well... I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together."
Pyrrha, apparently another cinnamon roll added to my collection of them, replies happily.
"Well, that sounds grand!"
Weiss smirked evilly.
"Great!"
The background disappears into a thundercloud as Weiss adopts a scheming pose and manic smile in her head. I'm insulted that she uses a thundercloud as her evil thought backdrop. But I can basically hear her evil thoughts.
"This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class! Together we will be unstoppable! I can see it now! We'll be popular! We'll be celebrities! We'll get perfect grades! Nothing can come between us now!"
Jaune then comes between them and interrupts Weiss' evil train of thought.
All three of us standing against the wall grab some more popcorn and get ready for this train wreck.
"You know what else is great? Me. Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."
Weiss is irritated. This makes me happy for some reason.
"You again?"
Pyrrha leans around Weiss, hurriedly letting herself be seen.
"Nice to meet you, Jaune!"
Yep she's a cinnamon roll and I want to give her headpats.
Jaune waves her off.
"Yeah, yeah."
I almost growled as he pushes Pyrrha aside and talks to Weiss, posing slightly. The first rule of cinnamon rolls in human form is you protect them...not ignore them and push them aside. My reaction however fuels the fire for Summer. She giggles evilly as Jaune hits on Weiss again.
"So, Weiss, couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day."
Weiss groans.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"
Then even Summer has to shake her head.
"How is he this dense?"
That sentiment was so good I repeated it to Oliver and Gray.
"How is he this dense?!?"
Oliver shrugs, his mouth was too full of popcorn. Gray however is looking at Weiss, scanning her completely.
"I mean I can tell why he likes her for her body, I mean she has legs for days."
Both Oliver and I look at him dumbfounded. He then holds up his hands.
"Her personality is way too rotten right now though. She's got the looks, but she needs to get her ass off her high horse and learn a bit more respect before she'd be good girlfriend material."
I chuckled. Summer could ship Gray and Weiss all she wanted. I turned back to see Jaune oozing confidence he had no right to have as he spoke to Weiss.
"Don't worry! No need to be embarrassed! So, been hearing rumors about teams! I was thinking you and me would make a good one! What do you say?"
Pyrrha, ever the helpful little good noodle, waves, getting Jaune's attention.
"Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so-"
Jaune's eyes focus on his new prey.
"You don't say."
By now all three of us were just raring to go and slap his overconfident ass across the room. We could all feel the innocence oozing off of Pyrrha.
Jaune, unaware of the trio of protective badasses glaring at him, advances on his new target.
"Well, hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team."
I whispered to Oliver.
"Hold me back or I'mma smack the shit out of the clueless dumbass."
Both Gray and Oliver started holding me as they saw the look of anger in my eyes. They knew it'd be game over if I got my hands on him.
Weiss steps in, separating the two.
"Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"
Jaune keeps up his confidence, now flirting with two girls at once.
"Not in the slightest, snow angel."
Weiss points at Pyrrha.
"This is Pyrrha."
Pyrrha waves happily, unaware of Jaune being a complete player.
"Hello again!"
Seeing this, even Summer is rooting for me to slap the shit out of Jaune.
"I don't normally condone this Y/n...but please slap some sense into that boy. Being dense is one thing, but flirting with everything in a skirt is horrible. Trust me, my husband Tai used to do it and I know how horrible it can end up."
Weiss is once again talking about the Spartan roll.
"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum!"
Jaune shrugs.
"Never heard of it."
Both Oliver and Gray facepalm. They had both heard of it and through them I had too. Hell Gray had gone to Sanctum.
Weiss scoffs.
"She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!"
Gray speaks up.
"Yeah and my friend was runner up every year."
Jaune however, was clueless.
"The what?"
Weiss has lost it now, waving her arms rapidly in anger.
"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!"
Jaune gasps suddenly.
"That's you?!"
The design of the cereal box in question is seen with Pyrrha's smiling face on it.
"But they only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"
Oliver sighs.
"That's what he knows? Where did this kid get his training. Even I knew about the whole tournament winning thing and I didn't have formal training in a combat school. Hell, the only reason thunderhead here didn't know it was because he lived in an isolationist village."
Pyrrha innocently speaks about the cereal.
"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you."
Weiss enters the conversation again, appearing as the box design crumbles behind them.
"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?"
Jaune looks down.
"I guess not... Sorry…"
He looks away, hanging his head.
I grumbled to my friends.
"That's not why you shouldn't be near her, you wannabe Playboy."
Both of them, still holding my arms to keep me from throttling the boy, nodded in agreement.
Pyrrha, unsurprisingly, decides to be optimistic.
"Actually, Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader!"
Jaune, upon hearing this, immediately brightens back up.
"D'oh, stop it!"
Weiss nods incredulously.
"Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!"
Jaune regains his ridiculous confidence once more and gets all up in Weiss' personal space.
"Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?"
Weiss shivers.
"All right, that's a bit too close! Pyrrha, a little help, please?!"
She doesn't have to even lift a finger. Seeing Jaune go back to his unashamedly open Playboy behavior, Oliver and Gray nodded to each other before letting me go simultaneously.
Jaune looks back just in time to see a bolt of my lightning hit him and drive him across the room. Pyrrha and Weiss turn back to see me with a satisfied grin on my face.
I shrugged.
"He was acting like a Playboy. I don't like people who toy with other's emotions."
Pyrrha looks behind me and sees Gray.
"Hello again Gray! I thought you'd be at Haven with the rest of your Fairy Tail friends."
Gray's mood went from laughing to how far Jaune flew to grumpy fast.
"Flame brain and I got in a fight...we were disinvited from applying to Haven."
Pyrrha nods knowingly.
"Ohhh. Well it's good to see you again. And thank you for the help…"
She reaches out for my hand. I grabbed it and shook her hand.
"Y/n Tempestarii. The guy beside me is Oliver Durham."
She smiles and waves at him as I continue.
"Nice to meet you Miss Nikos. Honestly I'd never heard of you before today. Now? I'm looking forward to sparring with you, a champ is just the person to spar with for me."
Weiss scoffs, but Gray backs me up.
"I've seen him deal with a ridiculous amount of Grimm with his rather unique Semblance. He's as good if not better than the blonde arrogant member of Fairy Tail."
Pyrrha looked very interested now.
"Well I'd love to spar Y/n. And Pyrrha is fine."
I nodded, then An announcement played on the intercom system.
Glynda's voice belts out from the speakers.
"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."
Weiss then walks past Jaune as he hangs from the wall of a locker on her way out. Pyrrha follows her, waving back to all of us boys as she passes Jaune.
"It was nice meeting you!"
Jaune groans in pain, slumping against the locker, holding where my lightning bolt hit his chest.
"Likewise…"
Yang chuckles as she and Ruby approach.
"Having some trouble there, lady-killer?"
Jaune sighs as he looks up at her.
"I don't understand. My dad said all women look for is confidence! Where did I go wrong?"
He accepts Ruby's offered hand and uses her to lift himself back up.
Yang chuckles once again.
"Snow Angel probably wasn't the best start."
Oliver adds onto the advice Yang had given.
"Yeah and don't flirt with everything in a skirt dude. Why do you think Y/n was so excited to help the Ice Queen get you out of her personal space?"
Gray scoffs.
"Do you think it was because he wanted to help that cold witch out?"
Jaune obviously has no clue, so he shrugs.
I cleared my throat.
"Bro code rule #42: Never let a Playboy or a Playboy pretender flirt with a cinnamon roll girl. They are too innocent and naive. They must be protected."
Oliver and Gray nodded in unison. Yang and Ruby were giggling, but Jaune had no idea what I was talking about. So I rolled my eyes.
"Pyrrha is an innocent cinnamon roll, a deadly cinnamon roll, but a cinnamon roll nonetheless. You were flirting with her and the Ice Queen at once. Clearly Playboy behavior."
It was starting to make sense to him just a little bit now...or at least I hoped so.
"Ooohhh."
Ruby, being a cinnamon roll in her own right, decided to take pity on Jaune.
"Come on, Jaune, let's go."
Ruby leads Jaune out of the locker room by supporting him and his damaged self-esteem. Yang looks at the three of us.
"Are you guys sure you didn't grow up together?"
Oliver shook his head.
"This is our first time meeting all together, why?"
She just shakes her head as she turns to leave.
"Could have fooled me. Y'all almost looked like brothers there."
As she left, I held out my hands and immediately received two strong low-fives. This was a good start to the day.
The walk to the Beacon Cliff was uneventful and boring. So when we arrived and we're overlooking a forest, where several students — some old, some new, and some unseen — are standing on silver tiles in front of a mug-holding Professor Ozpin and Glynda with her tablet, I finally started paying attention again.
Ozpin starts to speak first
"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."
Glynda starts talking like this is all a rehearsed act...which it probably is now that I think about it.
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."
Ruby panics a little.
"What? Ohhh…"
Ozpin continues on script.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."
Ruby groans as I look to both Gray and Oliver and nod. They return the favor and we know to look for each other.
Ozpin speaks again.
"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
Now we really need to find each other.
Ruby squeaks, the shocked expression on her face mirrors her world cracking like glass and falling apart.
"Whaaaat?!"
Nora over to my left a ways calls to Ren.
"See? I told you-!"
Ozpin interrupts her to continue.
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."
Jaune laughs nervously and then gulps loudly.
At this both Oliver and Gray snort.
Ozpin is really going with this monologue huh?
"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"
Thinking ahead, I whispered to Oliver and Gray.
"I'll be in the air and find the first one of you two I see. Then we'll head directly for the relics. Whoever doesn't meet me, take you partner and wait for us at the relics. We'll wait for you if we get there first. I think we could pick the same relics if at all possible. Other than the girls, I trust you two the most and could work with ya the easiest. Any objections?"
Gray and Oliver shake their heads.
"Ok that's the plan. Good luck boys."
We all nod at each other and hear scaredy pants Jaune start to speak.
Jaune starts to raise his hand.
"Yeah, um, sir?"
Ozpin ignores him like a bloody legend.
"Good! Now, take your positions."
Everyone strikes a pose on their tile. Nora crouches low, Ren wields his weapons, Yang raises her fists, Ruby readies her body, and Jaune is still raising his hand. Summer climbs on my shoulders and gets comfortable. For some reason she always likes to fly with me.
Jaune speaks up, desperately trying to get his question answered.
"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question."
He misses the tile under Weiss rising up into a springboard, rocketing into the air and over the forest, as the platforms activate down the line.
"So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?"
Ozpin shakes his head calmly.
"No. You will be falling."
Summer giggled excitedly.
"This is gonna be fun!"
Jaune keeps missing more students being thrown.
"Oh, uh, I see... So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?"
Ozpin once more replies in the negative.
"No. You will be using your own landing strategy."
Jaune somehow still doesn't see an excited Nora and Ren getting launched.
"Uh-huh... Yeah."
At her turn, Yang winks at her younger sister and me, puts on a pair of aviators, and flies off with a "Woo-hoooooooo!" a second before Ruby joins her. Then Gray is flung...and he leaves his shirt already. I shake my head and look at Oliver.
"This is starting out great."
Then I'm flung high up in the air, quickly followed by Oliver. But I can still hear Jaune's ungodly high pitched squeal as he gets launched.
"So, what exactly is a landing strategYYY!..."
Ozpin POV
The boy Jaune asks his question just when he finally has to get hurled with the cloud of students now making their way down into the forest below under the eyes of the teachers.
I just stood there and took a sip of my coffee. Glynda looks over at me and chuckles.
"You know every time I question if we should be catapulting kids off a cliff, I see another kid like Jaune that makes me smile with glee as he flies away and I don't question it anymore."
I looked back at my second in charge and sigh. Honestly I think she might be a bit of a sadist...but that works for me. I need her to whip the kids into shape so they'd be ready for whatever the world..and she...could throw at them when they graduated.
A/n: Well that was fun to write. See you in the next one!