2

Chapter 2:Cooking Up Friendships.

Shirou sighed as he poked around the small kitchen the first-years were granted access to. There was a cafeteria to eat at but Shirou had long ago vowed to never eat school food unless he was starving to death. And even then, he'd probably contemplate eating one of his legs first. After all, his cooking was the only thing he really had pride in and the only real joy he had experienced since arriving on Remnant had been the looks on the faces of Ozpin, Qrow, and Glynda when they had sampled it. That look of amazement and wonder was a memory he'd likely treasure forever, especially in the case of Ozpin who very rarely emoted beyond that vaguely mischievous smile.

The only problem was that the pantries of this kitchen were very poorly stocked. Beyond some very basic (to Shirou) things, there wasn't much that could be made with the ingredients on hand. It was clear that the people who stocked it weren't expecting anyone of any real talent to be cooking and it was equally clear that the first thing Shirou needed to do when he had the chance was procure better cooking supplies.

Still, the limited nature of the ingredients did excite Shirou almost as much as it disappointed him. After all, the test of a great chef is the ability to make a great meal out of basically anything and Shirou almost always had any ingredient or utensil on hand. As such, this presented a perfect opportunity to prove his mettle. Or, rather, his cast iron. If he couldn't rise to this challenge then he was certainly a failure as a chef.

Cracking his knuckles, Shirou got to work.

OoOoOoO

An hour later, Shirou looked over the fruits of his labor. He had set out to just make breakfast for himself but ended up making enough to feed a small army. This also had the side effect of almost completely clearing out the pantry of this kitchen but that couldn't be helped.

Despite the lapse of self-control, Shirou was proud of himself. He had managed to make a wide variety of dishes that were all more-or-less to his standard despite the limitations. The Western staples of breakfast— bacon, sausage, eggs (made in a number of ways), toast, pancakes, and waffles— were all there since that was primarily what this kitchen was stocked for but that was hardly all he had made. Omelets of all kinds, aloo paratha, crepes, bhatoora, and tamago kake gohan, to name a few, were also present. Not all of them had everything they should have but they were all close enough to be recognizable.

While Shirou was proud of his success, he was still faced with the fact that he had more food than he could ever possibly eat. He contemplated placing a sign outside the door to try and attract the other students but a quick check of the clock put a halt to that plan. It was only just past six now and only a few of the students in the ballroom were starting to get up. The initiation test wasn't until eight so it's not like they were in any hurry, after all.

While Shirou was contemplating what to do, he heard the voice of a way-too-energetic-for-this-or-any-time girl approaching. She was clearly talking to someone else but he couldn't hear any other footsteps beside hers. Slightly curious, he sniffed at the air and pushed past the smell of the food to focus on his ability to smell power. While he could only smell magic in his home world, he was surprised to find that he could smell people with an unsealed Aura as well. The girl he could smell with ease— her scent was one distinctly of ozone— and he could very faintly smell the other students in the ballroom but nothing else.

This left three distinct options to Shirou: The girl was crazy and talking to an imaginary friend (hopefully unlikely but one can never tell with Ozpin), the person she was talking to didn't have an unleashed Aura (almost certainly unlikely since that was a basic requirement for a Hunter), or they had very impressive presence concealment abilities. The girl talking to someone over a Scroll would have also been possible but what she was talking about (hoping they got put on the same team) made that so unlikely as to essentially be impossible.

When the (hopefully) pair neared the kitchen, the girl suddenly cut herself off. "Oohhhh! Something smells really, really good! C'mon, hurry up! We need to get some of that!" The girl burst into the kitchen with surprising speed, dragging along a rather unenthused guy who Shirou was quite relieved actually existed. She was an orange-haired girl of a somewhat short stature with vibrant green eyes and a strong build that wore an eclectic mix of items and colors. He had long black hair tied in a ponytail with a single magenta streak on the left side that accented his pale pink eyes. His clothing fascinated Shirou since it was completely normal, if rather ornate, and resembled a Chinese tailcoat.

The girl skidded to a stop and just stared in awe, drooling at the vast array of food laid out on the table. The guy was a lot more reserved in his reaction but the widening of his eyes showed that he was just as awed. After a nearly half a minute passed in total silence, Shirou decided to speak up. "Good morning."

That seemed to snap the boy out of his stupor as he shook himself and turned to look at Shirou. "Did… you make all of this?" he asked, a hint of awe and disbelief in his voice.

"Yeah," Shirou said sheepishly, scratching at the back of his head. "I meant to only make breakfast for myself but I kind of got carried away. You're free to have some if you—" Shirou didn't even get to finish making his offer before the girl was on the food in the flash, devouring it with surprising and mildly alarming haste. The sight reminded him painfully of her, even if this girl wasn't nearly as elegant or beautiful, and it took all of his willpower to keep his expression under control.

"Sorry about that," the guy said as he calmly took a seat next to the girl. "She's pretty serious about her food."

"It's fine. I'm actually pretty used to it. Feel free to help yourself to whatever you want."

"Thank you very much," he said before choosing a dish and gracefully taking a bite. The second the food touched his tongue, he froze and his eyes became as wide as saucers. Shirou couldn't help but chuckle as he then began to eat nearly as quickly as the girl but stopped when he came to a somewhat disturbing realization: If he didn't start eating himself, there'd be no more left for him.

Shirou started eating.

OoOoOoO

"That was sooooo gooooooood," the girl said as she patted her slightly distended stomach. Shirou could only look on in awe at the veritable mountain of empty dishes. An hour of cooking all that food and two people had eaten 95% of it (the girl had eaten about 80% of it with the guy eating 15%). At least none of it went to waste.

"I have to agree," the boy said. "The vast array of flavors present was astonishing and everything was cooked to perfection. I had no idea what even half of those dishes were yet all of them agreed with me perfectly. That was honestly probably the best meal I have had in my life."

Shirou blushed and scratched the back of his head, "Thank you very much."

"After allowing us to eat such a delicious meal, we should probably introduce ourselves. I'm Lie Ren and this is my friend, Nora Valkyrie."

"Hi there!"

"I'm Emiya Shirou. It's a pleasure to meet both of you."

"The pleasure is all ours," Ren said.

Shirou got up and started to do the dishes. Ren joined him a moment later. "So, what were you two talking about before you walked in here?" Shirou asked.

"Oh, that's right!" Nora said. "Ren and I have been friends forever and we were talking about how we hoped to be placed on the same team. I was just about to say that we should totally work out a way to make sure that happens! What about you, Emiya? Anyone you wanna be on a team with?"

Shirou contemplated his answer for a moment. While he couldn't come out and say that Ozpin was going to be rigging things to ensure that he wasn't placed on a team to keep him a relatively free agent, Nora's question was still worth considering. "Call me Shirou," he said first. "I can't really say that I do. I don't really know anyone here so I don't really have a preference. I've found that I can work with just about anyone so that shouldn't be a problem, either. If I absolutely had to choose, I guess being on a team with you two wouldn't be too bad since I already know you. Same goes for the other three— no, for two of the other three people that I've already met here."

"Well, I hope you get put on a team with Ren and me. That way you can cook for me more!"

"Nora…," Ren said in warning.

"Hey, you're thinking it, too!" The fact that Ren didn't deny this wasn't suspicious at all, no siree.

Shirou smiled as the topic then shifted to inconsequential things. Ren and Nora made a very odd couple due to how wildly different they were but there was an undeniable fondness in their interactions that made them fun to watch, even if it left a pang in Shirou's heart. Both of them were also incredibly easy to get along with which just made it all the more enjoyable. Ren's serious and straightforward attitude, in particular, brought yet another pang to his heart as he was reminded of Ryuudou Issei but he quickly pushed those thoughts down. Meanwhile, Nora's bubbly nature and boundless energy reminded him of Fujimura Taiga and it took all his willpower to not let anything show on his face.

With Shirou washing and Ren drying and putting away (with Nora providing "moral support"), the dishes were done in record time. It was now around seven so the trio decided to go ahead and head to the locker room to get their gear. They still had nearly an hour left but Ren and Shirou both wanted to get there with plenty of time and they managed to convince Nora.

By now, most of the other first-years were varying levels of awake and were starting to mill about the ballroom. As the trio passed through, Shirou caught sight of Ruby getting ready and waved at her.

"Who's that? Oooh, is she a friend of yours?" Nora asked.

"That's Ruby Rose. She's one of the people I talked about earlier. As for her being my friend… Yeah, sure, I suppose you could call her that," Shirou replied.

"Let's go talk to her!"

"Nora, we need to get going. No doubt that this Ruby needs to get ready, too. There will be plenty of time to talk to her later," Ren said as he grabbed Nora by the back of her shirt and drug her along.

"Awwww, you're such a fuddy-duddy, Ren!" Nora crossed her arms in a pout as she let Ren drag her. After a moment, she started walking on her own. "So, Shirou, who were the other two you said you met?"

"That would be Ruby's sister, Yang Xiao Long, who doesn't seem to be around, and Weiss Schnee."

"Schnee… Schnee… Of the Schnee Dust Corporation?" Ren asked.

"One and the same. I think she's the heiress."

"I wonder why she came to Beacon instead of Atlas Academy."

"Who knows. I've heard some rumors about them but I don't really put stock in rumors. Maybe she just prefers the weather here."

"Or maybe she's acting as a double agent for Atlas and is here to steal all of our pancakes!"

Shirou just stared at Nora before looking at Ren. Ren shrugged. Shirou shook his head and just ignored her. "It doesn't really matter why she's here. She's here and in the same year as us so we'll have to deal with her at least some of the time."

"So she's the one you wouldn't want to be on a team with?" Ren asked.

"It's not so much that as it is that she wouldn't be my first choice. She struck me as rather self-centered and that's not a quality you want in a teammate. She did see reason so she'll hopefully get better buuuuut…."

Ren nodded, "I understand. Seeing as how we'll be thrust into a dangerous situation from the beginning, having someone you know is trustworthy watching your back is certainly preferable."

By this point, the group had reached the weapon storage/locker room so they split up to grab their weapons. Once equipped, Shirou started to make his way to the exit when a familiar voice stopped him.

"Hey, Shirou!" Shirou turned around to see Yang walking towards him, making the final adjustments on Ember Cecilia. "Is Rubes with you?"

"Ruby? No, she isn't. Last I saw her, she was still in the ballroom. Why do you ask?"

"Really? That's weird. We didn't see you when we woke up and she decided to stay behind for a bit. Said she wanted to talk to you about something. You said you saw her in the ballroom? Did she see you?"

"Yeah. We waved at each other but she didn't do anything else. Just went back to fiddling with her pack."

"Sorry I'm late!" Another higher pitched voice said, interrupting a confused and slightly concerned Yang. "Oh! Shirou!" Ruby Rose came screeching to a halt in front of them, a trail of rose petals behind her. "What are you doing here?"

"Yang said you wanted to talk to me. Why didn't you stop me in the ballroom?"

"Oh, you know, you were talking with those other two people and I didn't want to be a bother and intrude," Ruby said as she fidgeted nervously.

Now, Shirou wasn't the most perceptive person when it came to the opposite gender but even he could see social awkwardness when it was this blatant. It wasn't so much that she didn't want to be a bother, she just had no idea how to insert herself into an ongoing conversation. Sakura had been a bit like that when around strangers but she was nowhere near the level Ruby was. He had no idea how to help a person get over that but he hoped the team-based structure would help a bit. Either way, he'd certainly look into the subject later.

"I see," Shirou said. "It wouldn't have been that much of a bother; we were actually talking about you and Yang."

"You've got friends here you didn't tell us about, Shirou?" Yang asked.

"No, I don't. I just met Ren and Nora earlier this morning."

"Well, hey! Plus two friends! Me and Rubes make another two! That means you're up four friends in twenty-four hours! See, Rubes?" Yang lightly slapped the embarrassed looking Ruby on the shoulder. "It's easy! Like I said, you'll have plenty of friends in no time!"

"It's not that easy!" Ruby said indignantly as she turned around and marched to her locker. "I mean, sure, it's easy for Shirou but he's super nice and easy to talk to! He could probably make friends with anyone after talking to them for a few minutes!"

Now it was Shirou's turn to be embarrassed as he waved his hands back and forth. "Oi oi. It's nothing that special. I agree with Yang on this one. You're also pretty nice so I'm sure you'll be fine if you relax and actually talk to them."

Ruby finished her check of Crescent Rose and let it lay across the back of her waist in its holster before shyly turning to look at Shirou. "Do you really think so?"

"I'm positive." Shirou quickly scanned the room and was disappointed when he didn't see Ren or Nora. He was plenty certain that they'd get along with Ruby. There was one other familiar face but that would be more of a gamble. 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I guess. It'll hopefully be better than nothing,' Shirou thought as he made his decision. "Look, there's Weiss over there. I'll tell you what: I'll go over there with you and get us into the conversation she's having with those other two and you can take it from there."

"I dunno, Shirou. She was kinda mean."

"Yeah, but she wasn't all bad. Besides, if you can become friends with her then it'll be that much easier for you to become friends with people who give you a better first impression."

"Well… Okay. I guess it couldn't hurt.

As the two started to walk off, Yang called out, "I'll catch you guys at the launch site!"

"Okay! See ya later, sis!"

"Later, Yang." As Shirou started to turn back, Yang caught his eye and made him pause. When Ruby couldn't see her, Yang gave Shirou a thumbs up and appreciative smile before walking off.

As the duo approached Weiss, they started to hear the ongoing conversation she was in. "That's you‽" An unidentified blond guy in a ridiculous combination of a chest plate, blue jeans, and a hoodie said towards a long-haired redhead who Shirou knew by reputation. "But they only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"

"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you," Pyrrha, the redhead, said.

"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?" Weiss said. It was clear that her crabby attitude wasn't a situational thing.

"I guess not… Sorry…." Jaune said as his body slumped, the perfect picture of total rejection.

"I wouldn't say that," Shirou said as he stepped closer. The three turned to look at the duo and Shirou noticed a look of annoyed recognition pass through Weiss' eyes. "Even though Pyrrha Nikos here is considered the paragon of potential Huntresses, she's not unreachable. You don't have to be anywhere near her level to be a good teammate."

"Yeah, really?" the blond said with more than a hint of biting sarcasm. "She's on a cereal box! Do you know how much raw talent is required to get on a cereal box‽"

"No, not really," Shirou said, slightly weirded out by his choice of baseline, "but it doesn't really matter. Back me up, Ruby."

Ruby jumped slightly as everyone turned to look at her. "Huh? Um… Yeah! I-I think you're right, Shirou. Everyone has things they're good at and things they're not so being a good teammate is just about being good at what your team isn't. At least, that's what my Uncle Qrow always said."

The blond looked thoughtful and Weiss looked confused as Pyrrha nodded. "For what it's worth," Pyrrha began speaking to the blond, "I think you'll make a great teammate. The fact that you're worried about it is proof enough."

The blond looked positively bashful as he shuffled his feet, "Aw, jeez. Stop it, you guys."

"Yes, please, stop it," Weiss said suddenly. "This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!"

Shirou raised an eyebrow at that but was interrupted by the blond. "Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. How about you two?" he asked Shirou and Ruby.

"I wouldn't be against it," Shirou said.

"I-I guess that would be kinda nice," Ruby said, awkwardly shuffling her feet.

"I'll put red over here down for a 'Yes.' Well, snow angel? Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this but may— Gak!" The blond had been slowly advancing on an increasingly annoyed and uneasy looking Weiss when he was suddenly jerked backward by his hood.

Shirou locked his gaze with the blond's as he spoke. "Listen, buddy, I don't know what playbook you read before coming here but pressuring a woman into anything isn't something decent people do." His expression and tone were both perfectly neutral but they carried such a palpable sense of nameless danger, bordering on killing intent, that the blond couldn't help but be cowed by them. Despite not being the target of it, Ruby and Weiss both took a half step back at the sudden shift in mood while Pyrrha, being the only one who knew of the mental discipline required to produce such an aura without using body language, narrowed her eyes slightly and began to study him.

The silence hung thick in the air for a moment before being violently shattered by the P.A. system. "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately," a female voice, Glynda's, said.

With the mood broken, Shirou released the blond. "Well, it's been pleasant but we really should be going. Being late to our initiation test would set a bad precedent."

Everyone shook themselves from their stupor, the blond taking more than a few steps away from Shirou, before making their way towards the exit. As they were walking, Pyrrha put her hand on Shirou's shoulder and slowed him down. When she felt that they were safely out of earshot, she spoke. "Was that really necessary?" she asked without preamble.

Shirou contemplated playing dumb but the almost scowl on Pyrrha's face made him reconsider. From what he knew, Pyrrha was a generally happy, easy-going young woman who never really had anything bad to say about anyone. Between that and her reputation, on her bad side was the last place he wanted to be.

"I think it was. I have… experience dealing with people who act that way. One person, in particular, I used to call my friend since I didn't see anything wrong with it. Then I learned some… unpleasant… things about him. That blond guy—"

"Jaune," Pyrrha provided.

"Jaune doesn't seem like a bad guy— it was pretty obvious that all of his bravado was put on and would collapse at a moment's notice— but the look on Weiss' face brought back some bad memories. I was too slow and too stupid last time so I didn't want to take a chance this time."

Pyrrha hummed for a moment, deep in thought. "I don't know what you went through but you obviously possess greater training than most here. Even I can't change the atmosphere like that so casually. Wanting to stop people from doing bad things is fine but bullying people to do so isn't."

Shirou opened his mouth but then quickly closed it. There was another long silence before he spoke, "You're right. I went too far. I'll apologize to him the next chance I get."

Pyrrha smiled at Shirou and nodded, "Good! You already know my name but I'm Pyrrha Nikos."

Shirou shook her hand, "Emiya Shirou. Call me Shirou."

"Well, Shirou, we should hurry up. 'Being late to our initiation test would set a bad precedent,' after all," Pyrrha said with a cheeky grin.

Shirou could only smile himself as he sped up to catch up with the others. Only twenty-four hours since he arrived and Beacon had already proven to be very interesting.

OoOoOoO

Beacon Cliff, as it was so vaguely named, referred to a very specific section of cliff about twenty or so meters long that was located on the eastern edge of Beacon's main grounds, behind the main complex. What made this particular section of cliff so important was that it marked the western edge of the Emerald Forest and, if one decided to descend the cliff, one would find oneself in the heart of the forest. From there, assuming climbing back up wasn't an option, one would have to walk a few kilometers in order to get out and that was assuming one survived the hoard of Grimm that infested the place.

Naturally, Ozpin decided that the best way to decide partners and form teams was to launch the students into the forest via catapult, have them partner up with literally the first person they see, and then have these pairs hunt down some chess pieces that Shirou was convinced he had purchased from whatever this world's equivalent of a hundred yen store was.

To make matters worse, said headmaster was currently standing off to the side, observing the students mingle while smiling vaguely, a mug of what Shirou knew to be hot cocoa in his hand. Thinking of that last fact made Shirou be suddenly overcome by a very strong desire to punch that smug bastard in the face but doing so would raise far too many questions and would undoubtedly only make Ozpin that more smug. It seemed that living for an untold amount of time while being a Good GuyTM resulted in messing with people being one of the few pleasures to remain in your life and Ozpin was a master at it. Shirou briefly wondered what would happen if he and Zelretch were to cross paths but a shudder of dread made him immediately discard that train of thought.

As fun as it was to contemplate the trollish nature of his boss, Shirou had more pressing matters to deal with as he approached the launch site. He'd probably only have a few moments before the test began and he wanted to clear the air with a certain blond while he had the chance.

"Excuse me," Shirou said as he approached Jaune. The young man nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned around and took a few steps back, looking every bit like a cornered rabbit. "Jaune, is it? I need to apologize for what I did back there. It was completely inexcusable and I humbly ask for your forgiveness," Shirou bowed deeply as he said this.

Jaune looked surprised and confused for a moment but quickly found himself. "Uh, no, it's okay. It's cool." Shirou straightened as Jaune continued, "You were right, I was being a bit too forceful. It's just that I've never really been all that popular with anyone, especially the ladies, and my dad said that all women look for is confidence so… yeah. I guess I overdid it."

Shirou smiled as Jaune stumbled through his own apology. While it should be directed at someone else, it was nice to see that he had an earnest spirit and was just trying to make friends. Sure, the advice his father gave him had been bogus but that wasn't Jaune's fault. Listening to him talk, Shirou noticed that Jaune seemed to be in a similar position as Ruby except he actually had the drive to change himself. He was idly wondering if getting them together would help when Jaune's speech came to an end.

"Thank you for forgiving me," Shirou said first, wanting to get formalities out of the way, "But I believe you should have said all that to Weiss. If you had wronged anyone, it would be her."

"Yeah, you're right. Although, if I'm being honest, she kinda scares me a little. I called her snow angel but she's really more of a blizzard."

Shirou chuckled softly at this, "I suppose so but why approach her first, then?"

"That's exactly why. If I could get someone cold and harsh like her to like me then I can get anyone to like me." Shirou blinked a few times as Jaune inadvertently paraphrased exactly what he had told Ruby earlier. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.

"That makes sense. I'm Emiya Shirou, by the way. You can call me Shirou."

"Well, you kinda already know my name but I'm Jaune Arc. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise. You know—"

"Alright everyone, onto the launch platforms, please," Glynda said. Shirou and Jaune quickly bid each other farewell and good luck before making their way to the platforms. Jaune chose one at random while Shirou specifically took the one closest to Ozpin and Glynda.

"For years," Ozpin began, "You have trained to become warriors and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Glynda continued, "Now, I'm sure all of you are aware of the four-person teams Hunters-in-training are assigned to. Some of you may even be aware that Hunters have a specific partner on their team who they work most closely with. You will be assigned to your partners and teams today."

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon and will undoubtedly be your closest allies going forward afterward. Your partner, meanwhile, will work with you whenever pairs are required and will often share in your success and failures. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

At Ozpin's revelation, confused murmurs broke out among the students. For his part, Shirou had to suppress the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose at such a haphazard way of deciding something so important. He didn't manage to completely reign in his reaction, though, and a small sigh of annoyance escaped his lips. Despite its quiet volume, Ozpin clearly heard it judging from the way his vague smile had morphed into an almost imperceptible smirk. The bastard.

"After you're partnered up," Ozpin continued, "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."

'Always one for the dramatic,' Shirou thought. Jaune's nervous laughter made Shirou curious but he pushed that thought away.

"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?"

Jaune raised his hand, "Yeah, um, sir?"

And was promptly ignored, "Good! Now, take your positions."

As Jaune started to ask some rather peculiar questions, the other students started being launched into the air. While the idea seemed absolutely absurd, it actually had a lot of merit. It was very common for Hunters to be airlifted to their mission zone and they had to make a long fall more often than not. Being thrown through the air by a Grimm also wasn't terribly uncommon so the ability to safely redirect and dispel your momentum so you can land without too much strain on your Aura was a very valuable skill. This logic was also apparent to nearly every other student here as all but one of them were prepared when the time came. The fact that Jaune had no idea what was going on raised a lot of red flags in Shirou's head but there was nothing to be done as the blond was quickly catapulted into the air, screaming all the way.

Now the only student left on the cliff, Shirou watched as Glynda tossed a wireless earpiece towards him. Without a word, he caught it and put it on. Ozpin wanted Shirou to remain a relatively free agent during his tenure at Beacon just in case and as such, they would be helping him avoid any unpartnered students. Judging by the slight scowl on her face, Glynda wasn't all that pleased with what she viewed as cheating but she said nothing as Ozpin gave the thumbs up before activating Shirou's launch pad.

A/N: First of all, I'd like to say that I'm taken aback by the response the first chapter has gotten. I'm used to my stories being released with no fanfare or attention but you guys blew all of the records my other stories had out of the water in the first week alone while several of them had been on this site for years. I'd like to thank each and every one of you who left a review, followed, and/or favorited this story. I really hope I can live up to your expectations.

Starting with this chapter, I'm going to introduce something else I'll be doing every so often. After certain chapters, I'll be including an omake or extra. This will be a brief scene that depicts an event that's canon to the story (unless otherwise stated) but didn't fit in anywhere.

Omake 1

The Next Mission

During V1C1

Shirou and Ozpin sat in the former's apartment in silence, sipping tea as the wall clock ticked on. Shirou had only been back in Vale for an hour before Ozpin had shown up as planned.

"I want you to join my academy," Ozpin finally said after finishing his tea.

"Any reason why?" Shirou asked as he refilled Ozpin's cup.

"A number of them, actually. You have been in Remnant for a few months now and while you have been studiously studying our world ever since you awoke, we feel that you'll be better served by studying in a more scholastic setting."

"You sound like Glynda," Shirou observed cooly before taking a sip of his tea.

"Yes, she was rather insistent upon that matter. Moving on, if you manage to graduate from Beacon, your degree and official Huntsman license will no doubt make your life easier in the future. Your time there might also let you form connections."

"You mentioned something about having my next mission lined up. What is it?"

Ozpin smiled as he sat down his teacup and pulled out his Scroll. "I want you to enroll in Beacon in order to watch over someone of importance," he said as he sent Shirou some files. "You remember the story of the Silver Eyed Warriors, do you not?"

Shirou opened the files on his Scroll and began reading through them. "Yes. An ancient race of people who possessed the power to kill Grimm just by looking at them. I take it this Ruby Rose is one of them?"

"The last one of them, as far as we know. I want you to watch over her and help her in any way you can."

"She's only 15. What's she doing in Beacon?"

"Her physical capabilities far exceed her contemporaries and are on par with the others taking the entrance exam this year. Her scholastic abilities are also exemplary."

"I don't think dragging her away from all of her friends will do her any favors."

"Her older half-sister, Yang Xiao Long, will also be attending this year and there are a few other hopefuls that I'm certain she'll get along with."

"Does this have anything to do with that robbery she thwarted a few days ago?"

"Partially. I had been heavily considering extending an invitation for some time now and that incident simply solidified matters and presented a golden opportunity to ask."

Shirou hummed as he closed the files and locked his Scroll. "You think Salem will make a move against her while she's at Beacon?"

"I don't think Salem knows of her existence and I would like to keep it that way as long as possible. However, given her personality and knack for finding trouble, I doubt she'll remain an unknown for much longer.

"That's where you come in. She will become a target for Salem eventually and you can do your best to prepare her for that. The teachers at Beacon will give her the best education they can but they can't play favorites without raising too many questions and garnering too much scrutiny. You, however, can. You are in a very unique position and have an equally unique skill set. It is my belief that you can prepare her for her future."

Shirou sighed deeply as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I don't like the idea of going back to school but I can't deny what you're saying. Very well. I'll do it."

"Excellent. The initiation ceremony is one week from now. The airship for new students will leave the port at 10:30. Your Huntsman attire will be appropriate and make sure to bring your equipment. Everything else will be provided for you.

"One last thing," Ozpin said as he stood and made his way over to the door before smiling mischievously at Shirou over his shoulder. "Welcome to Beacon."