Weiss placed Myrtenaster, her Dust Rapier, in its holder on her hip and casually initiated a conversation with her target.
"So, Pyrrha. Have you given any thought to whose team you would like to be on?"
"I am sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong individual such as yourself."
Pyrrha hummed at Weiss's words and spoke softly while putting on her armor.
"I am not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."
"Well....I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together."
Pyrrha still maintained her polite smile.
"Well, that sounds grand."
Weiss immediately lit up at those words, not picking up on the fact that Pyrrha's face might have flickered a tiny bit.
"Great!"
'This will be perfect. The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class. Together, we will be unstoppable.'
'I can see it now. We will be popular. We will be celebrities. We'll get perfect grades. Nothing can come between us now!!'
Unfortunately, the heiress's dreams came crashing down when the same blond boy from the day before barged into their conversation.
He casually placed his hand on the lockers, separating Weiss and Pyrrha with a fake suave smile.
"You know what else is great? Me, Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."
He thumbed to himself with a confident grin on his face.
"You again-?"
Pyrrha interrupted Weiss's comment.
"Nice to meet you, Jaune."
Then, much to Pyrrha's surprise, Jaune directly ignored her and focused on Weiss instead.
"Yeah, yeah. So, Weiss. Couldn't help but overhear your fondness for me the other day...."
He made stupid 'macho' moves, trying to impress Weiss, who simply smacked her face again with her palm.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."
"Don't worry. No need to be embarrassed. So, been hearing rumours about teams?"
"I was thinking you and I would make a good one. What do you say?"
Pyrrha's smile underwent a subtle change to the positive as she spoke up with an amused tone.
"Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so..."
"You don't say...?"
He quickly slid towards Pyrrha.
"Well, hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team-"
Weiss quickly stepped between Jaune and Pyrrha and separated them forcefully.
"Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"
"Not in the slightest, snow angel."
That nickname instantly made the heiress's opinion of the boy fall to rock bottom. But still forced herself to speak in a polite tone since she did not want to cause an incident before Initiation even began.
"This is Pyrrha Nikos."
"Hello again!"
"She graduated top of her class at Sanctum Academy."
"...Never heard of it."
That confused the heiress. Nearly every child who wants to become a Huntsman definitely knows about the four main preparatory schools in the kingdom. To think that one who has already been accepted into Beacon would not know of one was simply unfathomable for the girl.
But she let it be. Because she knew that everyone had different circumstances. And if Beacon accepted his admission despite his clear lack of basic knowledge, he must at least have enough practical skill to compensate for said weakness.
"...She won the Mistral regional tournaments four years in a row. A new record, might I add."
"....The what?"
This time, Weiss really felt insulted and could not help but lose control.
Flailing her arms wildly, she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"She is on the front of every single Pumpkin Petes marshmallow flakes box!!"
That finally got a reaction out of Jaune as he gasped in amazement, much to the embarrassment of Pyrrha, who was still reeling from the giddiness she felt from the earlier words between Weiss and Jaune.
"That's you? They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!!"
Pyrrha smiled gently at his words.
"Yeah. It was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you."
Weiss barged in again and spoke seriously.
"So, after hearing all of this. Do you really think you are in a position to ask her to be on your team?"
Those words made Jaune slump in defeat while Pyrrha felt a twinge in her heart.
However, another voice from the side, filled with unmistakable awe, interrupted their conversation again.
"...Dude. I have seen rejections before. But she basically spit-roasted you with her words alone. That has got to be a record or something."
Jaune slumped further as he glanced at his fellow teenager with crimson hair and blue eyes, wearing black combat pants, black combat shoes, an armored undershirt, and a white and gold combat jacket.
"Hey, Ignis."
"Hey, Jaune. Looks like you've got your hands full, eh?"
"Very funny."
Weiss glared at the new arrival with her hands on her hips.
"And who are you?"
"Ignis Ruben."
That name rang a bell in the heiress's mind, but she was too distracted to remember properly. So she put it aside for now.
Behind him, Ruby and Yang also walked over to see what was happening, making Weiss's annoyance spike even more as she remembered the shouting match from last night.
"I take it you are with them?"
"Hey! What are you trying to imply here?"
Yang immediately confronted the white-haired girl, making the heiress glare at the blond.
"Nothing much. You'd better keep your boyfriend in control and keep him away from me, is all."
"...Ew/The hell is wrong with you?"
Ignis and Yang reacted with disgust at her words, leaving Weiss confused about what she said wrong.
Yang motioned towards Ignis and glared at the heiress.
"That's my brother. You'd better watch your mouth there, Ice Queen."
"....Sorry about that. But my point stands-"
Before the confrontation could go on, the PA system came online.
"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again: all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."
Pyrrha smiled at Jaune, Ignis, and the others.
"It was nice meeting you all."
"...Likewise."
Jaune muttered listlessly while the champion and heiress left quickly.
Ruby patted Jaune's back with pity while Yang grinned at him.
"Having some trouble? Ladykiller?"
"...I don't understand. My dad said all women look for is confidence. Where did I go wrong?"
"....Yeah, that is the shittiest advice I have ever heard. Are you sure your dad wasn't trying to sabotage you?"
Jaune instantly fell silent at Ignis's words while Ruby chuckled.
"Come on, Jaune, let's go."
With that, the group of four left the lockers, heading towards the Beacon Cliff that overlooked the Emerald Forest and the river that cut through Vale, leading straight into the sea.
At the cliffs, dozens of prospective students stood on their assigned platforms as Ozpin and Glynda waited for them to settle in.
Then, the older man started to speak.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald forest."
Glynda picked up from there.
"Now, I am 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."
"Aw.."
Ruby groaned at her words, making Ignis smirk at her along with Yang.
"I told you, Rubes. Tai said team formations will be unpredictable."
"But still..."
Ozpin ignored the siblings and continued from where Glynda left off.
"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."
"That being said. The first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
"WHAT!???"
Ruby's squeak vocalized the stunned students as a whole, especially Ignis, who was now glaring at Ozpin.
'I knew I was forgetting something. It was this damned team selection method.'
'If I end up partnering with some guy or girl that can't work well with my strategies, I will be forced to work solo! That is not ideal!! Not one bit!!'
"See! I told you!!"
The girl with orange hair spoke excitedly to the boy dressed in green, who shook his head in amusement.
Ozpin continued.
"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 in your path, or you will die."
'Which means there might be some stronger variants of Grimm that are usually used by the preparatory academies to train their students.'
'I am thinking....Alpha Beowulves, maybe Ursa Majors, or maybe even ancient Boarbatusks.'
Ignis's mind kept racing, trying to think logically about the challenges in front of him while also trying to dig up those old memories from Earth about the show that had been fading over time in the past five years. Well, most of the memories, except for the ones involving his old family, anyway.
Jaune chuckled nervously before gulping in fear.
"You will be monitored and graded for 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 take that item and grade you appropriately."
"Are there any questions?"
"Um, yeah, sir?"
Jaune raised his hand timidly, but was immediately cut off by Ozpin.
"Good. Now, take your positions."
The students immediately took on their positions, knowing exactly what was going to happen thanks to the spring-loaded launch pad beneath their feet and their position on the cliff, giving them a logical conclusion.
Unfortunately, not everyone had that kind of logical thinking drilled into them.
Jaune continued raising his hand, not knowing what was about to happen.
"Ah. Sir. I got a question?"
One by one, students were launched into the air, frightening the boy even more, who stammered as he spoke.
"So, this landing strategy thing. What is it? You are, like, dropping us off or something?"
Ozpin spoke neutrally, but there was an undeniable tone of amusement in his voice.
"No. You will be falling."
"....Oh. I see. So, did you hand out parachutes for us?"
Finally, the siblings from the Xiao-Long/Rose household were launched off the cliff, leaving behind only the poor ol' Jaune as the last victim.
"No. You will be using your own landing strategy."
"....So, um, what exactly is a landing strategyyyyyAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
The boy soon disappeared into the sky, while Ozpin sipped happily from his hot chocolate.
'This is going to be an interesting year indeed.'