10

Chapter 10:

Glynda frowned tensely, closing down her scroll and drawing out her riding crop. "I'm going," she said decisively.

"Hold a minute, Glynda," said Ozpin, his tone as calm and unflappable as ever.

"You can't be serious!" exclaimed Glynda, whirling to face Ozpin. "It's bad enough that this is well beyond the level of uninitiated students. That creature is a threat to Vale itself. We can't allow it to roam unchecked."

"I'm not saying that we ignore it," said Ozpin. "Have Peter and Bartholomew get into position, but hold back until we are absolutely certain that the students are completely incapable of winning."

"You're going to actually let them fight it?" scoffed Glynda in disbelief. "This is well beyond the parameters of the Initiation."

"And yet...I believe it will allow us to see the full depth of the students' potential," said Ozpin with a small smile as he continued to watch the screen, his gaze focused on the girl in the red cloak.

"What the Hell's going on?" shouted Yang as she punched a lunging snake-head in the side, barely managing to knock it off course before it could sink its fangs into her flesh.

"Something merged those King Taijitu together!" Blake shouted back, even as a fanged maw closed about her midsection. However, Blake's body vanished into a black mist as her real body shot up above the head that had almost bitten her in half. Going into a spin, she folded her katana into its sickle form and launched it, firing a shot to speed the swing of her weapon on its ribbon. It slashed down, but glanced off the bony ridges of armor that had formed along the serpent's body, like growths of coral on the hull of a sunken ship.

Nearby, Ren leveled his guns and fired a barrage of magenta shots at it. But the bullets glanced off the beast's scales. "Its armor is even tougher now," he announced.

The unified Grimm's heads lunged out with speed that far outpaced what the individual King Taijitu had been capable of earlier. They lunged and snapped and struck so quickly that their heads became black blurs and it was all the students could do to keep ahead of them.

"Speed up! Power up! Armor up!" Nora whirled her hammer, batting away a snapping head. "This is totally a final boss!"

"This isn't a game!" Weiss shouted irritably as she created several small glyphs around her, using them to launch bolts of ice-Dust at one of the heads. Flowers of ice blossomed across the writhing body, only to shatter instantly with each flex of the monster's length, the ice not slowing it in the slightest.

Ruby jumped up above an attacking head and whirled, swinging her sword down. The blade left a red arc in its wake as it bit through the armored plates and smooth scales below them, the serpent's head leaning forward by its remaining flesh. Then, right before her eyes, black veins seemed to explode from the severed portion that led down to what had become the main body of the beast, extending out to connect the cut portion and pull them back together, completely undoing Ruby's work.

"It's regenerating too!" Ruby added.

"So it can't be killed!" Weiss nearly screamed. "Just great!"

"I think we have to kill that octopus Grimm!" Jaune shouted. "It's the one that brought them all together. I think it's the one that's holding them together."

Ruby frowned, planting her feet on the very tip of the nose of one of the Grimm's heads. Kicking off, she launched herself higher into the air, the vantage point giving her a better look at the Grimm's, which she'd decided to call Orochi, body as a whole. On some level, the Grimm looked as though the eight King Taijitu had merged into one. However, Ruby could still see their individual coils, now bound together by the same black veins that had pulled the one she'd cut back into one piece. And at the center of it...

There! Ruby caught a glimpse of a flash of five red eyes gleaming from within that nest of merged coils. But then the eyes were gone as the Orochi's coils shifted around it, obscuring the Grimm holding the King Taijitu together from view.

Letting herself fall, Ruby landed lightly next to Jaune. "I saw it," she said. "But it's really well hidden in there. We need to draw the heads apart to open it up for an attack." She frowned. "Even then, we're only going to have a second at most to hit it. The bodies keep shifting."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" demanded Weiss tartly.

Ruby's eyes narrowed. Then she took a deep breath. "FALL BACK!" she shouted to be heard above the din of battle. "GET TO THE CLIFFS!"

"Running away?" scoffed Weiss, giving Ruby an affronted look. "That's your answer?"

"Well, it's what you wanted to do in the first place," Ruby retorted with a teasing smirk.

"I never-" sputtered Weiss, before throwing her hands up in a fit of pique.

Everyone did their best to disengage from the Orochi and rushed into the trees. The massive Grimm surged after them, bearing down like a tidal wave of malevolence, its heads striking out, smashing through trees like they weren't even there. Compared to the King Taijitu it had been formed from, this Grimm was much faster. Only the fact that it held back so that its heads could continue to strike at the fleeing students kept it from overtaking them completely and crushing them beneath its enormous bulk.

"Are you trying to lead this thing back to Beacon?" demanded Weiss as she used a glyph to fend of an attacking head.

"We're not going directly back," said Ruby. "There's something I saw when we were launched."

When they'd initially been launched, Ruby had been preoccupied by Jaune's predicament. However, she'd also gotten a chance to take in the lay of the land. While the Emerald Forest came right up to the base of the cliff where they'd been launched, further to the east, Ruby had noticed that the ground dropped away, a split, like a massive scar on the earth itself, forming a chasm. Within it, she had seen rocky spires and, more interestingly, what looked like additional ruins, similar to those of the temple where they had found the relic.

It was a desperate run through the forest. The students were already considerably worn down by their previous battles and pursuits just to reach the temple. Now they were sweating profusely, gasping for breath as they emerged from the forest, finding themselves running past lines of columns that led to a stone bridge, extending out across the chasm to a ruined building, which sat upon an elevated spire of stone.

"Keep going!" shouted Ruby, leading the group onto the bridge as the Orochi plowed through the trees behind them, its heads still lunging after them. However, as it reached the bridge, the Orochi hesitated, its heads weaving indecisively, whatever malign intelligence guiding the beast apparently realizing that the bridge alone wasn't suitable to hold up its weight.

The eight students came to a stop at the base of the building in the center of the chasm, gratefully taking advantage of the lull to take a quick breather.

"I hope...you have...something...better than this," said Weiss, as she panted for breath.

Ruby took a deep breath to calm herself down. "I have a plan," she said, giving Weiss an earnestly plaintive look. "But I need your help."

Weiss' eyes narrowed. Then she closed them and took a deep breath of her own. "Fine," she said. "Let's hear this plan that's probably going to get us all killed."

Meanwhile, the Orochi's hesitation came to an end as eight sets of eyes registered the presence of several stone spires, both natural and manmade, the remnants of ruined columns, dotting the abyss around the remains of the large building in the center. Moving forward, the heads went along separate paths, winding around the columns, spreading out its weight and allowing it to move forward as it began to close in on the building where its intended targets were sheltering.

"GO!" shouted Ruby from within. Seven blurs exploded out from within the building, leaping into the air around it. Each of the Orochi's heads moved to track a different target.

Only Jaune remained at the base of the building smacking his sword against his shield. "Come and get it, ugly!" he shouted.

One of the eight heads focused on him and Jaune swallowed nervously. He barely managed to raise his shield in time as it struck, its fanged maw closing around the rim, just like the Taijitu he'd slain previously. The force behind its strike slammed him back into the outer wall of the building, then through it, a cry of pain exploding from Jaune's lips, even as the strike drove him back into one of the interior walls, which cracked, Jaune's body embedding in the solid stone.

"Jaune!" shouted Ruby and Pyrrha, turning to look back at their friend.

"Keep...going!" shouted Jaune in a pained voice. He raised his sword and reversed his grip on it. Then he plunged it down through the lower jaw of the head that had attacked him, the blade piercing through to sink into the stone floor beneath it and hold firm, eliciting a pained, hissing screech from the head. With its strength, the Orochi head could probably pull free by breaking the stone of the building itself. However, fully extended as it was, it wasn't in the best position to exert its full strength, so it was held fast for the moment.

Outside, the others split up. Blake fired the revolver built into the handle of her sickle, peppering one of the heads with bullets. Her shots didn't cause any harm, but they did get the head's attention, drawing it after her as she leapt into the air. The head lunged for her and its jaws once again seemed to close around her, only for that Blake to vanish as the real one shot downwards, her body displaced by her shadow. She threw her sickle out to the side of the monster's head, firing a shot to quickly change the sickle's direction so that it swung the other way, looping the ribbon it was tethered to around the closed jaws before Blake reached out and caught it, stretching the ribbon taught and using it to keep the beast's mouth closed. Dangling down, she managed to reach one of the rock spire. She anchored the sickle on one side and wrapped the end of the ribbon around the handle of the bladed sheath, then anchored it on the column's opposite side, the tightening ribbon drawing the monster's head down and holding it in place...for the moment.

Ren also opened fire on one of the heads. It lunged after him with a vengeance, its mouth opening to practically swallow him in midair. Ren abruptly swept his arms out to the side, flinging his bladed guns away. As the Orochi-head's fangs were about to close on him, Ren brought his arms in, then extended them out in front of him, his hand facing palm-out, turned so that the fingers were pointing inwards towards each other, angled slightly downwards. The head was halted by the magenta barrier of Ren's Aura extending out from his hands. Though he'd kept the head from biting down into him, Ren had nothing to brace against, so he was pushed backwards in the air.

Then the guns he'd thrown away came arcing back, spinning rapidly so that they crossed the monster's face, the blades cutting into its eyes, causing the Grimm's neck to spasm. It arced back and Ren was thrown clear, extending his arms to snatch his weapons as they flew past him.

Nora whooped as she flew through the sky, her feet resting on the head of her hammer, riding on it. An explosion from the head propelled her further, sending her zipping right past another of the Orochi's heads. Obeying the instinct that guided Grimm as a whole, the head lunged after her, moving with speed that belied its size, becoming a black and white blur as it whipped after Nora.

Despite that, Nora's grin didn't falter in the slightest, and she triggered yet another explosion from her hammer, this time angling the head so that it sent her around in a rapid spin, twirling her through a full rotation by the time the head reached her. Extending her hammer out, Nora slammed it right into the side of the head and triggered yet another explosion, the pink flash, combined with the momentum of her spin, launching the head into the side of the chasm on the side of the Emerald Forest.

The recoil of the blow also bounced Nora back away. But she rotated the hammer in her grip, so that the head was now facing in the opposite direction. Triggering it again, she launched herself back towards the cliff and arrived just as the beast tried to pull its head free of the rock it was embedded in. That was when Nora slammed her hammer into it again, triggering a final explosion, embedding it even deeper into the stone face of the cliff.

Yang roared as she charged one of the Orochi's heads straight-on. Swinging with all her strength, she slammed her fist into the the side of its snout, snapping the head to the side. Without any footing, Yang was bounced back. But she swiftly punched behind her, firing her gauntlets to launch her back at the giant snake again. However, the Orochi's head rallied and rounded on her just as fast and the two met again, the head's jaws opening wide enough to swallow her whole.

With a yelp, Yang spread her limbs out, reaching up to brace her left hand against the head's upper jaw, while she planted her feet firmly on the bottom jaw, desperately holding out against the pressure of the beast's bite, which threatened to snap her in two. Still, Yang grinned as she saw a way to get under the monster's skin...literally.

"I...HOPE...YOU'RE...HUNRGY!" she shouted, punctuating each word with a blast from her right gauntlet straight down its throat. She unloaded her weapon's entire clip straight down the serpent's gullet.

A spasm ran along the length of its neck and its head jerked upwards, flinging Yang into the air. Not quite done yet, she fired her left gauntlet to spin her body around, allowing her to slam the heel of her boot into the tip of the monster's snout, sending it whipping back down to slam into the tip of a broken column, smashing it. The head lay still, momentarily stunned by the impact.

Not far away, Pyrrha Nikos leapt from one column to the next, barely managing to keep out of the reach of the Orochi head pursuing her. Spinning around, she lined up her rifle to fire several shots, which glanced off the armor plating of the Orochi's head, merely seeming to irritate it. It lunged at her again and Pyrrha kicked off the column immediately behind her, managing to jump out of the way before the head slammed into it, shattering the remains of the carved stone structure. Spinning around again, Pyrrha transformed her weapon into its javelin mode. Taking advantage of the head's confusion, she drew back her arm and hurled the javelin straight into one of the glowing, red eyes.

The head let out a hissing screech and it whipped back and forth in an attempt to dislodge the irritant. However, it was stymied by Pyrrha, who threw her shield, the bronze-colored disk seeming to home in on the end of the javelin like a guided projectile, striking hard and hammering the javelin in further. The serpent's undulations became even more intense as it thrashed about in agony.

Finally, Weiss and Ruby moved, side-by-side, towards the remaining two heads. Ruby skipped across the stone spires, bouncing from one to the other, while Weiss went in jumping glides, propelling herself with the intermittent use of her glyphs. The remaining heads lunged at the pair and they split apart.

Weiss used a glyph to launch herself straight up into the air, the head targeting her snapping at where she had just been. From her position up above, Weiss channeled all her remaining ice-Dust into a single attack, producing a massive spike of ice, several times larger than she was. A larger version of her usual snowflake glyph appeared above it, and the whole construct shot down like an arrow, the tapered tip of the spike slamming straight into the top of the serpent's skull. Unfortunately, the beast's armor held and the ice shattered instead. But, even then, the sheer power and momentum behind it forced the serpent's head down to dangle in the empty air of the chasm.

In the meantime, Ruby darted to the side, then used her Aura to propel herself straight back at the head that was coming her way. She went into a spin, scattering a hurricane of red petals around her body, their swirling forms concealing her. The attacking head lunged through it, assuming Ruby would be at the center. However, its jaws closed around nothing but air and Aura.

"Hanabi!" A crackling sound came from the red petals dancing in the air around the serpent's head. Then, a sound like countless firecrackers echoed out, tiny thunderclaps, as the petals exploded into blasts of crimson lightning that arced across the monster's head, making it lurch and spasm in pain.

Weiss narrowed her eyes, glaring at the explosion that Ruby had left in her wake. I knew she was lying about using Dust. It must be woven into her cloak.

However, there was little time to worry, as Ruby was already zipping towards her. Weiss created a glyph, this one black, to bring the girl in red to a stop. As they did, their comrades attacks all did their work, stretching out the full length of the Orochi's necks and causing the coils that merged together to form the body to pull apart enough that they could catch a glimpse of red eyes lurking in the center of that mass.

"Give me everything you have!" shouted Ruby.

"You are so high-maintenance!" protested Weiss, even as she did as Ruby told her, pointing Myrtenaster ahead of her, creating a sequence of glyphs in the air, practically bridging the gap between them and the Orochi's central mass. Ruby bent her legs and channeled as much Aura as she could spare into her feet, the interaction between her Aura and the glyph that held her fast dying the snowflake sigil red. At the same time, Ruby traced the first two fingers of her right hand along the blade of her sword, which chimed and burst into light.

Weiss reversed her glyph at the same time that Ruby kicked off. The subsequent glyphs accelerated Ruby at an unbelievable rate, turning her into a streak of crimson light, flashing towards the center of the massive, composite Grimm like a living laser. Raising her sword high, Ruby condensed the atmosphere swirling around it as she brought it down in a powerful, two-handed slash. "Kazegiri!"

Her sword cleaved through the Orochi's coils, as well as the strange, cephalopod-like Grimm at their center, a bright-red line seeming to divide everything it came in contact with. Then Ruby spun about to slam her feet into the side of the cliff, plunging her sword into the rock to help anchor herself into place.

Turning to look at her handiwork, Ruby was relieved to see that the four King Taijitu, as well as the Grimm that had bound them together, were falling into the chasm, their bodies beginning to dissolve. Ruby let out a low breath. "Phew..." Then she glanced up the side of the cliff where she'd anchored. "This is gonna be a pain to climb."

Fortunately, they made it up the side of the cliff without further incident. Both Glynda and Ozpin were waiting for them. "Congratulations on completing the Initiation," said Ozpin with a slight smile. "I presume you have your relics."

Ruby nodded and presented her rook chess piece, earning a surprised look from Weiss as she presented the same one. Meanwhile, Yang and Nora presented their knights.

"You are the last teams we were waiting for," said Glynda. "With your initiation complete, we can proceed with the induction ceremony."

"We're last?" gasped Weiss, horrified.

"It's all right," Pyrrha tried to assure her partner. "I don't believe this was supposed to be a race."

That appeared to reassure Weiss, and she straightened up. "You're right," she said quickly, appearing to pretend that her previous display had never happened. "I am certain that, after dealing with a Grimm like that, we have earned the highest marks. Am I right, Professor?"

Ozpin's smile, somehow, became even more cryptic. "I'm afraid I cannot answer that question, Ms. Schnee. The specifics of our scoring criteria are classified, as is your official ranking."

"Wha-but-I..." Weiss' inability to even form a coherent sentence was a source of amusement to the others, as they watched the heiress' desperation to know her grades.

"What do you think?" asked Jaune, leaning in to whisper his question to Ruby.

"I kinda think that completing the Initiation is what matters," Ruby whispered back. "I think Professor Ozpin uses the whole 'grading' thing to motivate everyone. Now he's just teasing Weiss."

There was a glimmer in Ozpin's eyes that caught Ruby's attention, and she got the distinct impression that he'd heard her whispered conversation with Jaune. She could have sworn that his smile quirked and widened slightly. Secretly, Ruby was more convinced than ever of her conclusions.

"Well then," said Ozpin, "I'm aware that you must be tired after your ordeal. However, I promise that the induction ceremony will be brief. Then you will be free to rest."

"Looking forward to that," said Ruby, stepping forward, before almost pitching onto her face as her knees wobbled weakly.

"Ruby!" exclaimed Jaune and Yang in unison, Jaune immediately moving to support her, while Yang stopped short, arm outstretched.

"Sorry...just a little worn out," said Ruby. Her Aura was close to its limit. Between saving Jaune, unlocking his Aura, and the unexpectedly intense battle against the Orochi, Ruby was running dry. I really didn't do this as efficiently as I could've, she thought ruefully.

"I've got an idea," said Jaune, crouching in front of her and presenting his back. "Climb on."

"Are you sure?" asked Ruby, already leaning forward, in spite of her question. "Weren't you hurt when that Taijitu smashed you into a wall?" She remembered it quite vividly. Unlike the rest of them, Jaune wasn't accustomed to combat and, with no training and nothing but his basic Aura to take the impact, she imagined that it had been an extremely painful experience.

"Yeah," admitted Jaune. "It's kinda weird, but I feel fine already."

Unlocking Aura enhances a person's recovery ability, Ruby noted silently. Considering how much Jaune has...I can see him actually recovering pretty fast.

"All right," said Ruby, wrapping her arms around his collar and allowing him to hook his arms under her legs and hoist her up.

"Besides," said Jaune with a faint whisper, "I get the feeling most of this is my fault. Am I right?"

It seemed that, despite her efforts not to give him the idea that he was to blame for her condition, it seemed that Jaune had clued in to the fact that Ruby had expended a lot more Aura than she normally would have, had she not needed to help him. He's sweet, she thought with a small smile as she leaned forward and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Thanks," she said softly.

"Ruby," exclaimed Pyrrha from behind her, "your cloak! I'm so sorry!"

"Huh?" Ruby lifted her head back up and looked over her shoulder. Yeah, that's looking a little ragged. Ruby's red cloak was tattered and torn, looking more like rags of cloth than a whole garment. There were holes all along its width and breadth and several strips dangled off. Despite that, Ruby gave Pyrrha a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. It's an easy fix."

"A-all right," said Pyrrha, relaxing slightly.

Beside her, Weiss followed the whole exchange with a slightly irritated expression, wondering why everyone was making such a fuss over Ruby.

In front of them, Ozpin merely chuckled. "It's good to see that you are becoming fast friends already. Let's be off." He and Glynda turned and led the way back towards Beacon.

Jaune and Ruby immediately followed after him, with Weiss and Pyrrha slightly behind them, though Weiss sped up her walk to walk alongside Jaune and Ruby, inducing Pyrrha to also speed up and join them. Behind them were Ren and Nora. Blake brought up the rear...before realizing that she wasn't actually bringing up the rear. She turned to look for her partner. "Yang...?"

Blake's stomach lurched when she saw Yang. The blonde girl's eyes had changed, going from their normal lilac color to a stark, glimmering red. She was looking past Blake, glaring straight at Ruby's back with one of the ugliest expressions Blake had ever seen on someone's face before. No! She's not looking at Ruby. She's looking at Jaune. Blake frowned pensively. Well...Yang is Ruby's sister, so...Oh dear. This isn't going to end well.

"Yang?" Blake decided to prod her new partner again, shaking Yang out of her enraged torpor. "Is everything okay." Secretly, Blake already knew that the answer was a definitive "No," but decided to ask anyway.

Yang looked at her then blinked. When her eyes reopened, they had returned to their previous, normal color. "It's…nothing," said Yang, before pasting a smile on her face and walking past Blake and moving after the others. "Let's go. We don't want to miss the ceremony after all."

"If you say so," said Blake.

Up ahead, Ruby found herself having to admit that Jaune's back was very comfortable, and that she would miss it, once she was forced to stand on her own again. As it was, she was on the verge of falling asleep while being carried by him. Instead, she forced herself to remain aware. However, she did initiate Suppression, which would speed the recouping of her Aura.

"Ruby...?" Jaune frowned in confusion. He still felt Ruby's body pressed against his back, her arms around his collar, her legs hooked through his arms. But, all of a sudden, it felt like...like she wasn't actually there...like he was carrying a human-shaped rock.

"Don't worry about it," said Ruby, her voice next to his ear startling him, despite the fact that Jaune knew she was right there. "It's a trick to help me recover faster. I'll explain it later."

In fact, she was determined to do a fair bit more than explain. Her earlier trepidation at the idea of having a partner who'd never been given anything more than the most rudimentary combat training had all but vanished, replaced by excitement at the prospect that she could teach Jaune to use his Aura the way she used hers. It was a rare chance. Unlike their other comrades, Jaune had never gotten a regular Huntsman's education and, as such, didn't have the misconceptions about Aura that the others undoubtedly harbored. Jaune's weapon, as much as he might have disparaged it in comparison to most of their friends', was also helpful in this regard, having no fancy gimmicks beyond the sheath expanding into a shield. It was the perfect weapon to help Jaune learn to utilize his Aura...even better, considering what Ruby had sensed the first time she'd come into contact with Crocea Mors.

Of course, it wouldn't be easy. The biggest advantage Ruby had had when she'd been traveling with Sasame and Kyo was the openness of their schedule. Beyond traveling to the next settlement, they'd never had any real goals, and no actual time-limits, with the exception of that time with the bandits. As such, they had been free to work their schedule around Ruby's training and development, free to devote the entirety of each day to building up her Aura, physique, and technique. By the time they'd arrived in Onmyo, and Ruby had been enrolled in the Mibu equivalent of regular education, she'd already developed her physical strength and Aura to be almost on par with most of the aspiring warriors her age. On top of that, Sasame and Kyo had taken her on other training excursions across Leng, Sanus, and Anima where, once again, their schedule was built entirely around her development.

In contrast, she would have to build Jaune's training schedule around their already busy schedules as Beacon students. Beacon's curriculum would, of course, be built around the expectation that students had already completed training in Combat School or through some equivalent. Because of that, Ruby would have to figure out how to cram as much physical and Aural training for Jaune as she could, in between classes and homework. It would be pretty hard on Jaune, who would undoubtedly suffer from the lack of free time that the others would enjoy. She just hoped he was persistent enough to stick with it.

Her other conundrum was about what to teach Jaune. The basics of Aura control, the three exercises, as well as physical conditioning, were simple enough that she could pass them along to him. But when it came to technique, how to use his sword and shield, as well as developing his Manifestation, Ruby was at a loss. Her form of swordsmanship was, like her weapon, unique to her, and there was no way she could hope to pass it to someone who used such a different set of weapons and probably had very different natural tendencies from her.

Maybe I can ask Sasame-nee, when she gets here, mused Ruby. Sasame would be arriving in around a month, give or take a few days. She'd said that her visit would be brief, but maybe she could extend it a little to help with Jaune's training, and give Ruby some ideas about how to help him.

It helped that Jaune wasn't completely hopeless. For all that his father had only taught Jaune, apparently half-heartedly, for a brief period, it was clear that Jaune had practiced what little he'd been taught as faithfully as he could. From their experiences in the forest, she could tell that Jaune knew the bare basics of swinging a sword, even if the full nuance of its use escaped him for the time being…and he sometimes appeared to forget where the edge was.

"We're here," said Jaune, startling Ruby out of her reverie. She'd been so absorbed in thinking about how to help her partner that she'd all but forgotten about where they were going. She looked up to see that they were at the entrance to another auditorium, this one much larger than where they'd held the orientation.

Ruby got down from Jaune's back and stretched, assessing her condition. She still felt tired, and a little wobbly, but she could walk without fear of falling flat on her face.

Ozpin and Glynda had already gone in ahead of them, heading for the stage, where they would announce the newly-initiated students.

As the eight new students entered, Ruby gasped in amazement. This auditorium wasn't just bigger than the one where the orientation had taken place, but it was much more ornate as well. Decorated in dark browns and greens, the ceiling rose up above them in a large, domed configuration. There was a large screen hanging almost directly over the stage where Ozpin and Glynda were preparing their announcement. Finally, there was a second level of seats, a balcony section that ran the entire circumference of the room.

It was also more crowded. In addition to the eight of them, and the others that had completed the Initiation, Ruby saw that the floor and the seats above were filled by more students, second-years and above, she presumed. Their attention was fixed on the new arrivals.

Questions ran rampant in Ruby's head, even as she blushed and tensed nervously at being under the gaze of so many people, even if their gazes weren't directed at her alone. Was attendance mandatory, or were they here by choice? Were they taking part in a time-honored tradition to earnestly welcome the new arrivals, or were they watching to take the new students' measure? It made Ruby want to duck underneath her hood...but she managed to resist the impulse, knowing it would only draw more attention to her.

In the meantime, Ozpin had begun announcing the newly-formed teams. Ruby wasn't surprised to see that her guess about the chess pieces was correct. The teams were being formed from the pairs that had acquired matching relics.

As she watched, four boys stepped onto the stage. Three of them were decked out in armor, not unlike Jaune's, though theirs was more substantial and was actually integrated into their outfits, compared to Jaune's, which looked like he'd just thrown some pieces on over his casual clothes. The odd one out was the shorter boy, sporting a green mohawk, who was dressed much more lightly, a spaulder on one shoulder being the only piece he sported.

The four of them stood in surprisingly good order, their shoulders back and chests out, their arms folded behind them, almost like they were standing at parade rest. Ozpin stood before them, announcing their names before minting them as Team CRDL (Cardinal). Up above, Ruby saw their portraits on the screen, with their initials forming the abbreviated form of their team name. That's kinda cool, she thought, wondering what her team's name was going to be.

Then it was their turn. Ozpin called them up by name. "Lie Ren...Yang Xiao Long...Nora Valkyrie...Blake Belladonna...The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, the four of you will work together as Team Rainbow..." Up above, their initials appeared below their portraits, showing off their team designation, RYNB. "...led by...Lie Ren."

"Wait! What?" Ren blinked, looking startled and genuinely unsettled for the first time since Ruby had met him. Not even being pursued by a host of King Taijitu or dealing with them merged into an eight-headed super-Grimm seemed to have visibly fazed him as much as being named leader of his team had. Then Nora tackled him with a hug and a happy squeal, while Yang and Blake looked on with mild amusement at his discomfort.

"I am sure you will do well," said Ozpin as the new team made their way off the stage. Then it was time for the next, and last, team to be named. "Ruby Rose...Jaune Arc...Weiss Schnee...Pyrrha Nikos...The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team Raspberry, led by...Ruby Rose."

"Huh?" Ruby's stomach lurched and her heart shuddered. Me? Why? Suddenly, she understood quite well why Ren had looked so unsettled. Her cheeks heated up and she lowered her gaze.

She was so shocked that she missed Weiss' indignant "What?"

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, Ruby saw Jaune smiling at her. Past him, she saw Pyrrha also looking at her with a warm smile. Weiss was still staring at Ozpin, aghast, but Ruby felt a little better knowing that at least two out of her three teammates appeared to be okay with this...even if she wasn't completely okay with it herself.

Up above, their initials appeared beneath their portraits, marking them as Team RASP.

"This is shaping up to be a very interesting year," observed Ozpin wryly as he and Glynda watched the students file out of the auditorium, amusingly noting that the newly-minted leaders of RYNB and RASP had to be partly guided, apparently still recovering from the shock of their assigned position.

"You have something of a cruel streak, making those two leaders," observed Glynda with a frown. "Neither of them seems the sort to assert their will over others."

"Yet, Ms. Rose is definitely suited to it, even if she doesn't realize it herself," said Ozpin. "Her coordination and strategy were successful in dealing with that Grimm, and she did an excellent job using her teammate's capabilities, even factoring in Mr. Arc's...limitations."

Glynda's frown grew more prominent at the mention of Jaune. A closer look at his transcripts had revealed them to be fakes, a paper-thin facade that made her want to berate Beacon's admission staff for letting them get as far as Ozpin's desk, to say nothing of Ozpin approving Jaune's admission, despite his obvious unfitness. However, her realization had come too late. She could not interfere during the Initiation and, now that Jaune had completed it, the matter was out of her hands entirely. "I still have my reservations about him."

"Understandable," said Ozpin. "However...I looked into Mr. Arc's circumstances, and I believed he deserved the opportunity that had previously been denied to him."

"He could have been killed!" Glynda exclaimed.

"As could have any of the others," said Ozpin. "It simply would have been easier for that to happen, in his case. However, I don't believe we will need to worry about that anymore, not if Ms. Rose takes him under her wing...so to speak."

Glynda sighed in resignation and shook her head. "The Council would be most unhappy if they learn that you are allowing students to disseminate those skills amongst one another."

"The Council will have to accept it, assuming they learn of it," Ozpin replied. "To officially forbid the Mibu Clan's Aura-techniques, they would have to officially acknowledge the Mibu Clan's existence, which they have no desire to do. Their irritation is a small price to pay for having Ms. Rose with us."

"You value her quite a bit," noted Glynda.

"Indeed," said Ozpin. "She is everything I expected, and more. I look forward to watching her future here."

Glynda sighed again, finding it disturbing how often Ozpin drove her to sigh. "And what about Lie Ren? Are you really certain he is fit to lead his team."

"The fittest option among the four," said Ozpin. "Ms. Belladonna has a level head, but she is too withdrawn, to say nothing of her secret. Ms. Xiao Long is a little too hotheaded…and I imagine I don't have to say anything about Ms. Valkyrie."

"Most certainly not," said Glynda, sounding resigned.

"It will be a difficult task for him," said Ozpin. "However, I am certain he can rise to the occasion."

Glynda frowned, but nodded all the same. "It seems it will be an interesting year." I just wish I could say that was a good thing.

"I don't like this one bit," declared Weiss, folding her arms stubbornly as she took in the sight of the dorm room, where'd they spend at least two out of their four years at Beacon.

"You like having your own room?" asked Ruby.

"That's not it!" exclaimed Weiss, flailing her arms. "I knew we were going to be living in dorms. What I don't like is that we have to share a dorm with him!" She pointed fiercely at Jaune, who blinked cluelessly.

"Uh…so what?" asked Ruby.

"He's a boy!" protested Weiss.

"Yeah. I can see that."

"A boy shouldn't be sharing the same room as three girls."

Ruby tilted her head. "Why?"

"It's…it's…" Weiss' mouth worked silently for a moment before she could formulate a response. "It's indecent!"

"It's just a fact of life at Beacon," interjected Pyrrha. "Teams share a room, regardless of the gender composition."

Weiss sighed and slumped, clearly not willing to go against Pyrrha...or at least directly contradict her to her face. "Fine." Instead, she leveled a glare at Jaune. "But if I catch you peeping or trying to carry out any perversity, I'll make you regret it."

"Duly noted," said Jaune, slightly unnerved by Weiss' attitude towards him. At first, he'd been excited at the prospect of being on the same team with three lovely girls, particularly as beautiful as Weiss was. But now he could see that living and sharing a room with her was going to be an ordeal among ordeals, one that he could only hope his life with seven sisters had prepared him for.

"Whatever," said Ruby, stretching with a yawn. "I'm exhausted."

"At least we don't have class, tomorrow," Pyrrha pointed out.

Following the initiation, the students were given a day before their classes formally began. While it served as a rest period, it also served as a time for them to collect the various necessities for the upcoming school year. They would be fitted for uniforms, get their textbooks, and acquire notebooks, pencils, pens, and other sundry necessities. It would also give them time to set up their room to their preferences.

Weiss sighed. "Fine, but I call the first shower." Suiting action to word, she grabbed her pajamas and marched into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"What's her problem?" asked Jaune. He'd already noted that Weiss as irritable by default, but her fuse had seemed especially short the past few hours.

"I think she's upset that she wasn't named team leader," observed Pyrrha.

"That's it?" asked Jaune. "What's the big deal about that?"

"I'm afraid I don't know," admitted Pyrrha. "Frankly, I'm just relieved it wasn't me."

"Gee, thanks," said Ruby wryly.

"I'm sorry!" exclaimed Pyrrha, her sudden apology making Ruby laugh.

"It's all right," said Ruby. "To be honest, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. I'm not sure why Ozpin picked me to lead."

"You were the one who came up with the plan to bring down that Grimm," said Jaune. "I'm certainly okay with you being the leader."

"Thanks," said Ruby, sounding much more sincere this time. Then she groaned and stretched. "I just hope Yukihime doesn't take too long in the shower. I wanna sleep."

Jaune blinked as Pyrrha stifled a snort. "Uh...What kinda nickname is that?"

"A good one," said Ruby cheerfully.

She had to resist the urge to flop back on her mattress and spread herself out. But she didn't want to get her sweat and grime all over the crisp, clean sheets of her new bed. Instead she leaned back a little and stared at the ceiling. I'm in...I did it. I'm a student at Beacon. She was secretly exultant. The one thing her so-called family had told her she couldn't do and she had done it...and two years early to boot.

Undoubtedly, she had a lot of hard work ahead of her. But Ruby found herself looking forward to it. After all, hard work had never scared her before.