Author's Note: This chapter is well over 3,000 words. Enjoy!
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At the Beacon cliff side overlooking the Emerald Forest, all of the students that came to become students of Beacon Academy were standing on silver tiles that seemed out of place to some. In front of them was Ozpin and Glynda with the latter holding a tablet while the former held a mug that no doubt had either coffee or hot chocolate in it. Kaizen stood on his tile with a smile on his face, something that became iconic to him. Why? Well, he believes that if he's always wearing a smile, others won't give in to despair.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald forest." Ozpin informs.
"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." Glynda explained which resulted in a reaction from one of the students.
"What? Ohhh..." A girl said.
"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." Ozpin said. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
"Whaaat!?" The same girl from before said.
"See? I told you!" Another girl said.
"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." Ozpin said, ending it with an ominous tone.
A boy then nervously laughs while Kaizen got excited for action.
"You will be monitored and graded throughout 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 you're standing and grade you appropriately." Ozpin explained. "Are there any questions?"
The boy who laughed nervously raised his hand.
"Yeah, um, sir?" The Boy asked.
"Good! Now take your positions."
Everyone who was standing on the tiles struck a pose as they were ready. Kaizen even got in on the fun and prepared himself for what was coming next. Noticeably, he didn't have a weapon like the others. Soon the tiles launched people into the forest one by one with Kaizen getting excited even more. Soon he was launched away from the cliff and towards the forest. As he flew through the air, he lost sight of the others but he kind of figured he would. He got closer and closer to the ground, so he prepared for landing. He focused his Aura into his legs, something he learned how to do, and when he hit the ground, he created a spider web like crack in the ground before he rolled forward a short distance. He then stood up and brushed off any dirt that got on him. He then heard growling all around him making him look around. He sees a number of Grimm, specifically Beowolves, surrounding him.
"Alright then." Kaizen said before assuming a battle stance and a grin. "Let's dance."
The first Beowolf charged him, then the next and then the next. He just stood there before he leans back and dodged the first Beowolf then he ducked under the second one before he rolled forward and dodges the third. The Fourth Beowolf roars at him as it charged at him. The Grimm then lunged at him but once it got into the air, Kaizen struck. He stepped forward enough and grabbed the Beowolf's neck before he slammed it onto the ground. He then let go and raised his foot and stomped on the Grimm's head with full force and it crushed it. As it turns to mist, he swerves under the Third Beowolf's strike. He then caught the wrists of the Second Beowolf before it could strike him. He delivers a strong front kick into the beast's chest sending it stumbling back. The Third Beowolf tried to swipe at his legs, but Kaizen jumped over the swipe. As he lands, he backs up as the Third and First Beowolf moved in. The Second Beowolf recovered and moved in with its brothers. As our hero backed up, he wayed his options.
He knew he was at a disadvantage because he had no weapons a choice that he made and it's a choice he doesn't regret that much. He's more than capable of fighting Grimm without a weapon. Sure, you could call it arrogance, but there was just something telling Kaizen that he didn't need weapons. The three Beowolves moved in and all of them lunged at him at the same time. Though by instinct and unconsciously, Kaizen threw his fist forward and to his surprise an explosion of Fire erupted from his fist that engulfed the Grimm. The Grimm dropped to the ground and died while our protagonist looked at his hand with a surprised expression. He soon smiled to himself as he had an idea what this meant. He finally unlocked his Semblance, and it was fire-based. He was happy that he finally had it. However, when he got the feeling, it felt like something he'd been doing for a while. Like his mind already knew what it was. It was an odd feeling.
When he refocused on the task at hand, he determined where North is before heading in that direction without knowing a drone was watching him.
[Beacon Cliff]
On the Beacon Cliff, Glynda was looking at her tablet watching the feed of other students meeting and paring up while Ozpin was looking at his Scroll and watching Kaizen. After the feeling he got last night, he had grown interested in the young man. Something was telling him to keep an eye on him. His instincts are rarely wrong, but it confuses him. Why are his instincts pointing him towards Kaizen?
"The next pair has been formed, sir. Nora Valkiyre and Lie Ren. Poor boy… I can't possibly imagine those two students getting along. Still, he's better off than Miss Nikos." Glynda said.
Ozpin said nothing as he watched the feed from the drone following Kaizen.
"I don't care what his transcripts say. That Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat. I guess we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace they should reach the temple within just a few minutes." Glynda said, voicing her opinion on certain matters.
She then turned to the headmaster.
"Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year?" Glynda asked.
Yet she got no response.
"Professor Ozpin?"
He still didn't answer as he kept watching Kaizen.
"Sir."
This snapped him out of it and he looked at her.
"Sorry, Glynda." Ozpin apologized.
She then looked at his scroll and saw Kaizen on the feed.
"The boy you spoke you last night?" Glynda asked.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"There's something about this young man, something that feels… familiar." Ozpin said.
"Familiar how?" Glynda asked.
"I'm not sure." Ozpin said. "But my instincts are telling me to keep an eye on him… like a worried parent would."
This piqued Glynda's curiosity. Ozpin rarely focuses on a random person like this, so perhaps this young man was something worth looking into.
[Emerald Forest]
Kaizen breaks through the forest and located the temple where two people already were. He begins his approach and soon after he is spotted by the two people. One of them had blonde hair and the other had black hair with a bow on her head. The two girls heard him coming and thought he was a Grimm at first, but when they saw him, they lowered their weapons.
"Seems like you two beat me here." Kaizen said.
"Not quite, other pieces are missing so other people before us were here." The girl with the bow on her head said.
Kaizen looked past them and saw the relics. He then returned his gaze to them.
"I'm Kaizen."
"Blake." The Girl with the bow said back.
"I'm Yang." The blonde-haired girl said before she noticed something. "Uh, where are your weapons?"
"Don't need them." Kaizen said. "My body is the weapon."
"Really?" Yang asked. "How so?"
Before Kaizen could speak a loud scream was heard. Making them turn to the noise.
"Some girl is in trouble!" Yang announced. "Did you two hear that?"
Blake didn't answer, instead she looked up at something in the sky.
"That doesn't sound very far away." Kaizen said. "We could probably head over and lend assistance."
"Blake, did you hear that scream?" Yang asked, looking at her.
All Blake did was point upwards making both Kaizen and Yang look up.
"HEADS UUUUUP!!!" A girl said while falling from the sky.
As the girl fell from the sky, a boy with blonde hair came flying in and crashed into her causing them to land in a tree. Kaizen winces seeing this while Blake and Yang looked at the tree.
"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked.
"I…" yang tried to speak but was cut off by several crashing noises from the forest.
From the forest, an Uras comes out while swiping its claws before a pink blast of energy hits it in the back which results in it falling to the ground with a ginger haired girl who seemed hyper rolled off it.
"YEEE-HAAAW!!" the girl said as she rolled off the dead Grimm.
She gets back up and looks saddened.
"Awww…. It's broken." The girl said as she dashed not its neck and observed the carcass as a boy wearing green comes up behind her clearing out of breath from running.
"Nora…. Please… don't ever do that again." The boy said only to look up and see she has ran off making him look around frantically.
Nora had run over to the temple and spotted the relics but was looking at a golden rook relic. All the Relics were chess pieces which Kaizen found interesting. She grabs the Relic and begins singing for some reason.
"I'm Queen of the castle! I'm Queen of the castle!" Nora sang.
"NORA!" The boy from earlier shouted.
Nora stops dancing with the rook piece that made it to her head and salutes. The relic drops into her hand.
"Coming Ren!" Nora said.
"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked.
"What a weird Saturday." Kaizen mumbles.
Yang went to speak again but was cut off as a screech is heard from the right and soon Pyrrha came running onto the scene with a Deathstalker running after her. She narrowly dodges its giant claws and keeps running away from it. Pyrrha, somehow, sees the blonde boy in the tree.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune responded
The girl who fell from the sky is now standing on the tree branch before she runs off the branch and lands in a role.
"Ruby!" Jaune whined as he was stuck in the tree.
"Ruby!" Yang said.
"Yang!" Ruby responded.
The two sisters had rushed towards one another with them both raising their arms to hug each other, but they were interrupted by Nora who came in between the two and it knocked them off balance.
"Nora!" Nora said, joining in on the fun.
Kaizen just watched this chaos unfold in front of him. Meanwhile, the Deathstalker chased after Pyrrha in the background.
"Did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Blake asked.
At this point, Yang had enough and growled in anger before her hair burst into flames with her eyes turning red.
"I can't take it anymore! Can everyone just chill out or two seconds before something crazy happens again!?" Yang asked angrily.
It takes two seconds for Yang to calm down while the others regrouped at the temple with Blake and Ruby looking up.
"Ummm… Yang?" Ruby said while tugging her sister's sleeve and points up.
Everyone looks up to see a girl in fancy clothes hanging on a talon that belonged to a Nevermore type Grimm. Kaizen's eyes widened at the sight of this ridiculous situation. They then hear the girl call down to them.
"How could you leave me!?" she said.
"I said jump!" Ruby shouted back.
"She's gonna fall." Blake comments.
"She'll be fine." Ruby said.
"She's falling." Ren comments.
As she fell, Jaune attempted to catch her only to fall face first onto the ground and the girl landed on his back. Kaizen once again winces at the sight knowing it must hurt. He then looked over to Pyrrha only to see her get swatted like a fly by the Deathstalker and launched to the feet of the group.
"Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together!" Yang said.
"Not if I can help it!" Ruby said before letting out a battle cry and rushing towards the Deathstalker.
"Ruby, wait!" Yang protested.
Ruby—still screaming—fired her weapon at the large Grimm while charging head on towards it. This only resulted in the Deathstalker smacking her aside, sending her flying into a tree. She gets back up slowly, a little dazed by the impact.
"D-Don't worry! Totally fine!" Ruby said.
She turns to the monster approaching her before she shoots at it which does nothing. She then starts running away from it while putting away her weapon with the Deathstalker chasing after her. Yang, now seeing her sister in great danger ran after her. Kaizen watched all of this unfold and felt something inside his mind. Like something was trying to take hold. It was urging him to help. But he didn't know how.
"Ruby!" Yang said with great concern.
Ruby rushed towards Yang but was cut off by the Nevermore who flapped its wings and launched a series of sharpened feathers at them. The points that catch on Ruby's cape pinning her and preventing Yang from reaching her.
"Ruby get out of there!" Yang cried out.
Unfortunately, the feather had Ruby's cape good and she couldn't free herself.
"I'm trying!" Ruby replied.
The Deathstalker gets closer and closer raising its golden stinger to strike down a scared Ruby who was helpless to stop it.
"RUBY!!" Yang cried out.
Something then snapped in Kaizen's mind, that urge to help that thing nagging at his mind took control. His eyes turned orange before a fiery aura wrapped around him before he suddenly dashed forward at high speeds, shocking everyone including Pyrrha. As he charged forward, he cocked his right fist back as a swirling vortex of fire wrapped around his fist. Once the vortex formed and as Kaizen reached Ruby, he went past her and threw a punch with his right fist. His fist collides with the stinger of the Deathstalker causing a shockwave to erupt around the impact. This impact freed Ruby and knocked her back a little but while it eviscerated the stinger upon impact as a massive shockwave of fire erupted forward engulfing the Deathstalker. Everyone looked on with wide eyes.
"Woah." Ruby said in awe at this power.
The Deathstalker stumbled back while the flames covered its body before the flames killed it somehow. Kaizen stands in front of Ruby before he looks up and sees the Nevermore coming back. He suddenly summons a javelin of fire and takes aim. He then throws it but as he threw a burst of flames like a mini explosion erupted sending the javelin rocketing towards the Nevermore. The javelin pierces the Nevermore's head killing it and causing it to plummet towards the ground. The fiery aura around him then suddenly vanished as his eyes returned to normal while he blinked a few times. Snapping out of whatever trance he was in. he then saw the burning carcass of the Deathstalker and the Nevermore falling from the sky.
"How did I…" Kaizen said in confusion.
The group rushed over to the two while Yang hugged Ruby.
"I'm so happy your okay!" Yang said.
Pyrrha approached Kaizen.
"Kaizen… what was that?" Pyrrha asked.
"I… I don't know." Kaizen said.
[Beacon Cliff]
Upon seeing Kaizen unleash that power, Glynda and Ozpin's eyes widened. Glynda because she'd never seen something like that before and Ozpin for a different reason. He recognizes that specific attack. But how?
"It… it can't be." Ozpin said completely stunned.
"Sir?" Glynda asked, surprised to see him so stunned.
It looked like he'd seen a ghost.
[Later]
After everyone returned from the Initiation, everyone had gathered in the Amphitheater once more for the announcement of teams. Kaizen stood with the teams but was unsure if he'd pass. He hadn't found a partner but at least grabbed a relic. A golden king piece. But he wasn't sure if that'll guarantee entry. But as Ozpin called the four names of each team they approached him on the stage.
"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark." Ozpin names as the screen hovering above shows the images of each person. "The Four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward you will work together as team CRDL, led by… Cardin Winchester."
With the crowd applauding, the four boys walk off the stage while the next four step onto the stage.
"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkiyre. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team JNPR." Ozpin said. "Led by Jaune Arc!"
"Huh? L-Led by?" Jaune asked, wondering if he heard that right.
"Congratulations young man." Ozpin said.
A smiling Pyrrha offers a friendly shoulder bump to Jaune but this only caused him to be knocked over and fall onto his butt causing the audience to laugh. The next four come onto stage while JNPR walks off.
"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long." Ozpin names. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team RWBY, led by…. Ruby Rose."
Weiss looked to her right with shock at this decision with Ruby also in shock but Yang goes over and hugs her sister.
"I'm so proud of you!" Yang says.
These four move away as Kaizen hears his name being called so he walks on the stage.
"And finally, a unique situation." Ozpin said. "While you didn't attain a partner, I find it a waste of talent to let someone as strong as you walk away from Beacon Academy. So, for the first time in history, we have a one-man team. Kaizen Ryuuzaki, from here on out you shall represent yourself as the world's first one-man team."
Kaizen was surprised to hear this. But he then smiles, knowing he made it into the academy and made history at the same time. The crowd goes into another round of applause for this announcement.