Jaune awoke, as he usually did, feeling like he'd rather just spend the entire day in bed. Thankfully he awoke, not from an injury, as Ruby had managed to talk Yang down, and Jaune, much to everyone's surprise, actually apologized to Yang, admitting that he had taken his snarking a bit too far, and honestly did feel bad about the entire situation. This managed to lower Yang's ire enough to where she had simply spent the night grumbling with her arms crossed. The rest of the night was fairly well off, and when Jaune fell asleep, he was all too ready to taken on the day.

Of course, waking up completely ruined that mood. Well, he couldn't be too angry. Ruby had been nice enough to wake him up, blabbering incomprehensibly about not being late for initiation. Which really sucked, as Jaune was planning on sleeping through it and getting kicked out. However, one look at Ruby's adorably innocent face and Jaune was trudging through Beacon's hallways once more, trying to find his damnable locker. Okay, I know I wasn't this far down. This is getting ridiculous. All I wanted to do was sleep in and fail! Is that too much to ask?

His internal grumbling and muttering had distracted him once more, and again like the night before, he found himself bumping into someone. "Oof! Watch where you're going you dunce!" A voice screeched at Jaune, knocking him out of his self-exploratory reverie.

With a groan, Jaune looked down to see one Weiss Schnee staring up at him, glaring. "Oh. It's you." Jaune muttered, rolling his eyes.

"E-e-excuse me?!" Weiss jumped to her feet, glaring at him. "How dare you treat me like that! It was your fault for bumping into me!"

"Yeah, and I'm not going to hear the end of it until I graduate Beacon, am I?" Jaune muttered dryly.

Another voice spoke up behind Jaune, soft and calm. "Ah, Jaune, there you are."

Jaune whirled around to see Pyrrha standing there, all smiles. "Oh, hey Pyrrha."

"Hey! I'm not done talking to you! And how dare you address her so familiarly!" Weiss snapped, stomping on the ground. "Do you know who she is?!"

Jaune blinked. "...Pyrrha Nikos. She introduced herself yesterday."

Weiss facepalmed. "You blonde dunce! She's the four time Mistral Champion!"

Jaune's face deadpanned. "Okay...?"

"She's on the front of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes!"

"So?"

Weiss made a strangled noise somewhere between a gasp and a cry of indignation, but Pyrrha seemed more focused on Jaune than paying any attention to the white haired girl's distress. "So Jaune, I'm looking forward to becoming your partner today." She fixed him with a confident smile, as though there was literally no way such a thing couldn't come to pass.

Jaune's lips drew into a thin line of mild irritation. "Er, I'm still telling you I don't think that's how that works. Also, teams are in groups of four, so have you thought about anyone else you'd want on your team?"

Oh Jaune, you are more than enough for me. Pyrrha's smiled as she thought to herself. "Honestly, I really haven't thought of that. I'm sure you and I would be more than enough as a team."

Jaune froze, his blood turning to ice in his veins. Shit...does she know about...no. There's no way she could know that. The Twelve, er, make that Thirteen Arc Family Blade Techniques are a secret. There's no way she could know I've mastered eleven of them and created my own... "Er...thanks?"

"EXCUSE ME!" Weiss yelled, obviously infuriated at being ignored for so long. "Pyrrha, you can't possibly mean to tell me you plan to partner with this rude, irritating, idiotic dunce?!"

Weiss was actually taken aback for a second when Pyrrha's face oh-so-briefly turned into an ugly snarl, but as soon as it appeared, it vanished leaving behind Pyrrha's wise and merciful countenance. "Mr. Arc here is a very kind and welcoming individual, Ms. Schnee. Our discussion yesterday has shown me that Monty above has declared our partnership to be etched into the stars themselves."

Weiss cocked an eyebrow. "Er, what?"

"I've stopped asking that the moment I stepped foot onto this campus..." Jaune muttered.

"I wasn't asking you!" Weiss yelled back.

"Right, because asking yourself questions is definitely a sure sign of mental stability."

Now, if you've been paying attention, you can probably ascertain that Weiss does not like Jaune. At all. But since this is a work of fiction and we are allowed the innermost personal thoughts of each characters, such as Jaune's complaints and running commentary and Pyrrha's mental lunacy, let's, for a brief moment, gaze into the thoughts of the Schnee heiress, shall we?

On your knees you beautiful blond fool! Your resistance and will only increase my ardor! I shall have you bowing before me before this year is through, mark my words! I am Weiss Schnee, the most beautiful woman in Beacon! You can fight and fight, but I will break you! Weiss' mind proceeded to construct a fantasy involving Jaune bound, gagged, and on his knees, while she was wearing a very provocative white leather corset and white leather stockings, a white leather whip in her hand. Call me Mistress! Call me Queen!

If Jaune could see inside of her head, he'd have probably taken off for the hills at a speed that would have made Ruby's Semblance seem slow. Weiss had been sick of dealing with the multitude of foolish men who came one after the other for her hand in marriage, and after a while, she found herself growing bored of them. Yes, she liked being in control, and yes, she did own a number of accessories that would bring a blush to even Yang's face, but the men she dealt with on a daily basis were so weak willed and foolish. Jaune though...Weiss found herself growing enamored with him the moment they met, as Jaune wasn't like the rest of her suitors, willing to throw away all dignity at first glance to impress her. To him, the name Schnee meant nothing, no, less than nothing! This of course set a fire to her. She wanted him. She wanted him on his knees, worshiping her! He was a challenge, and one she wanted to overcome. She would not be happy until Jaune had declared her to be his Queen!

Of course, Jaune couldn't see this, so all he noticed was Weiss glaring at him. With a roll of his eyes, he turned back to Pyrrha. "Be that as it may, we still need two other people."

"First of all, Pyrrha and I will be partners, not you, you blond dunce!" Weiss shouted. "And there's no way that I would ever be on a team with y-" She stopped and Jaune could swear he saw a light dusting of pink on Weiss' cheeks as she spoke up again. "Actually, I take that back! You'll be on my team so I can keep a close eye on you! If I don't you'll most likely end up blowing up half of Beacon with your idiocy! But Pyrrha will become my partner!" Weiss was not going to tolerate any possible competition for her prey, and not only would her and Pyrrha be an amazing and legendary team, but Pyrrha wouldn't be able to insinuate herself into Jaune's good graces what with her around!

"First, no. Second, no. Third, I'm outta here." Jaune grumbled. Already his morning wasn't going well, having to actually get up and go to the stupid Initiation, and how having to deal with a girl who seemed to have anger issues from his point of view.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Jaune," Pyrrha began, "We shall meet again. Should you encounter trouble during Initiation, simply pull upon my divine essence."

Jaune stopped, his brain ceasing to work. Divine what now? "Er...right." Not going to argue with this, just going to go down there, find the easiest way to fail and leave ASAP. Not dealing with Weiss, not dealing with Pyrrha, not dealing with anyone. Best of all, mom can't stop me! TAKE THAT MOM!

[Emerald Forest – Clifftop]

"...and the Initiation, which began during the first year of Beacon, circa 209, is a test that determines ones preparedness as you begin your journey here at Beacon. Each Initiation is different from the previous one, but all are made to test you on the skills you have learned, whether from independent study, of one of the previous schools you have attended. Now Initiation is considered to be..." Ozpin's voice continued on and on and on, unaware of the fact that half the students were actually asleep standing up on their launch pads.

Jaune on the other hand, was contemplating murder. That's it. If he talks any loner, I'm using it. I don't care, I'll go on the run! I'll become a criminal or something! The Chef of Crime! No wait...that's a stupid name. Why would I ever do that? Maybe I could become a thief? Like a Phantom Thief from the comics! Yeah, I'd be The Phantom Nevermore! No...that's stupid too. Oh Oum, he's still talking. No one cares, Ozpin. What the hell am I standing on anyway? What are we even supposed to do? Please tell me we're not supposed to decipher that from your speech, I might be the only other person who is actually listening to you!

This wasn't much of an exaggeration. Those who were still awake were busy checking their weaponry, doing stretches, or a few were even chatting with each other in low voices. Ruby looked like she was talking to herself, probably psyching herself up for the test they were on. If I had to stay, Jaune thought, I think I'd like Ruby as a partner. She's really nice and she's gone out of her way to be friends with me. Best of all, she doesn't seem like she has any serious mental issues. That Blake girl would be nice too. She seemed pretty normal and down to Remnant. Jaune continued to gaze at the line of students, all ready and waiting for Ozpin's speech to finally die down.

"...this is going to be a serious test. If you wish to survive, you must destroy everything in your path. Show no mercy. To pass this test, you must make your way to the ruins in the middle of the Emerald Forest and attain from there a relic. Your partner will be the first one you make eye contact with." Ozpin finally got around to saying, much to Jaune's infinite relief.

"Excuse me, sir?" Jaune brought up. "What if we were to return without a relic?"

Ozpin stroked his chin curiously. "Well...you'd fail."

Bingo! Jaune grinned widely. "So how are we doing this? We walking down?"

"Actually, Mr. Arc, you are currently standing on a launch pad. Throughout your career here at Beacon, you well be required to make long drops, and so therefore you must utilize your landing strategy."

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Oh sure. Who needs coffee or cigarettes in the morning to wake up? We have danger, and flying! You understand we have legs, right? We can just walk down."

Ozpin stared at Jaune for a while before slowly bringing up his Scroll, and purposefully bringing his finger down onto the piece of technology while maintaining eye contact with Jaune. With a loud SPRONNGGGGGG Jaune was launched sky high. As he flew through the air, arms and legs flailing from the sudden launch, Jaune's voice could be heard clear as day, "FUCK YOU OZPIiiinnn..."

The Headmaster stood there and very carefully took a sip of his coffee as the surrounding students stared back at him curiously, awaiting his reaction. After he finished his sip of coffee, he stared out over the greenery of the Emerald forest and spoke only a single word. "Rude."

In a row, the students were launched, one after the other, being flown through the air. With cries of panic, excitement and a few who simply remained silent, everyone proceeded to prepare their landing strategies lest they meet a grisly end. Pyrrha was the first to land, and her very first action was to start looking around, gazing through her scope to find the object of her affection. She noticed him, attempting to adjust himself in mid-flight, and smiled. She knew that the gods helped those who helped themselves, and while she knew they were destined to be together, it would help if she stacked the deck in her favor. She aimed her rifle, preparing the spear, and fired it. She knew it would be straight and true, pinning her beloved to a tree by his cute hoodie and leaving him dangling there for her find and claim.

She smiled to herself and nodded. He was as good as hers.

[Airspace Above Emerald Forest – South]

Meanwhile, Ruby smiled as she fired at the bird in the air. The small Nevermore would be a great kill to start off her day, but the bird kept dodging her shots. She fired again and again with her massive sniper rifle, but somehow, it managed to avoid everything she fired at it and it was frustrating. In fact, if she didn't know any better, she'd say that the bird didn't even notice her! It seemed to simply fly around in the air lazily, wings out stretched as though it didn't have a care in the world. She flew right at it, boot stretched out, ready to kick it out of the sky...and missed. She pouted even as she managed to catch herself on a branch with the blade of Crescent Rose and flipped around, landing on her feet with practiced dexterity.

She whistled to herself, flipping her scythe around as she began to stroll through the woods. "So, Crescent? Help me find Yang?"

Silence.

"Why don't you think I should be partners with Yang?"

More silence.

"You do make a good point. Yeah, Jaune would make a great partner! He's really nice to me and he's kind of funny. Oh, and don't tell anyone, but he's really cute too."

The only sound that could be heard was the sounds of birds chirping and the wind whistling through the surrounding forest.

"You think so?" Ruby blushed and drew her foot in circles, looking down at the ground. "You think he'd actually ask me?"

Even more silence.

"You're right! If I'm partners with him, he might ask me out! Alright Crescent Rose, you've convinced me! Let's fine Jaune!"

Ruby proceeded to vanish in a puff of rose petals. No one else followed.

[Airspace Above Emerald Forest – East]

Jaune flew through the air, the wind whipping past his face. If one could see his expression while he was being launched at high speeds, they'd have laughed at the irritable and deadpan expression gracing his boyish features. Okay, okay. Let's land first, then find our way back without running into anyone. If you don't fight and you don't die, and you get back to Ozpin empty handed, he'll kick you out and you'll be home free! Now, you have some Lien saved up, so you can afford to grab an apartment while you search for a job. Wasn't the Exvnir hotel hiring for a chef? I should check with them first.

Jaune smiled and nodded as he flew, flipping his body around. His Aura had been unlocked for a long, long time, and he was very skilled in controlling it. All he'd have to do is land on the ground with his Aura primed and he'd be siting pretty. As he prepared to land, the green trees growing bigger in his vision, ready to land on his feet with expertise, something went wrong. Agony suddenly lanced through his chest and his body went horizontal, slamming him into the trunk of a tree. Jaune coughed and watched as bright red blood was forced from his mouth. He looked down and saw a bronze spear, directly through his chest, pinning him to a massive tree. Judging by how it felt, whoever shot it at him had pierced his heart and he'd be dead in seconds.

So he could be forgiven for having stared down and with the air of someone who'd had wine spilled on an expensive suit, simply murmured, "Oh for fuck's sake..."

And died.

Death Count: 2,034