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Chapter Text

Chapter 1

-Blake Pov-

I groan in the morning when I wake up. Sitting up a little, I look out the window and then raise my hands to shield my eyes from the light. Hissing slightly, I close the window and then rub my eyes and run a hand through my hair. Looking next to me, I smile when I see my partner, and then I stand up. Yawning and stretching one more time, I then head down to the bathroom, and then start my morning routine. When I finish with that, I head back to the bedroom, and then set out my outfit for the day. Changing, I then head back to the kitchen, and then begin to make just a small breakfast for myself. Checking my scroll, I smile when I see the alert on it, with an offer from Emma.

Going back to the bathroom, I see my partner still asleep, so I write a note for them, which will explain where I am if they wake up. I then go to my bookshelf, and then look around, looking for the book I need to read. Eventually, I find the book I need, ' The Day we waited for,' the book I wrote. Carefully, I then make it out of the room with the book in hand. I walk down to the bookstore, and then smile when I see Emma, a dove faunas, singing to all of the children in the room and they look dumbstruck up at her, in awe of her voice. " And then this is Blake!" Emma says, gesturing over to me. " This is one of my best friends. I met her when I went to Beacon, and she has something special for you all."

I smile and then walk over to them. My ears twitch lightly, I stopped wearing the bow a long time ago, there's no point for it anymore. " Hello children. Like Emma said, my name is Blake. Did you all enjoy hearing her sing?" I ask, and all of them cheer. Smiling at this, I then show them the book and then they perk up even more. " This is the book I wrote! This is about some of the stories of Beacon, and how Salem was defeated. Are you excited for me to read it?" I ask, and then the kids cheer again.

" Now remember kids, you have to be a good audience," Emma reminds them, and then they all nod in agreement. When they do, she smiles and then walks through the room, handing them all small bowls of popcorn, and then also some sodas. She wraps a blanket on each of them and kisses their heads, motherly love radiating from her.

When Emma gestures to me and gives me the signal, I sit down on a chair, and then open the book to the first page. I smile when I see the dedication I wrote in it, to my family and all of my friends. I open my mouth, but before I can manage to read anything, the doors then burst open. In the doorway, I see Nora and Ruby there, panting from having run a long way to get here. " Blake! Were you really going to start without us?!" Nora asks

A bigger man, Hercules, Nora's husband comes to the door after, rubbing the back of his head with a chuckle. " Hey Blake," he says, and then gives Nora a kiss on the forehead. " We just had to make it here before you could start. We wanna be here for this!"

" Yeah!" Ruby said with a smile. " When I heard that my teammate had published a book about the adventures we had, I just had to make it here, especially when Emma sent the text you were going to do a reading! Oh! And Karen is on her way. She's cooking dinner for all of the kids here!"

" Everyone's on their way," another voice says, and then I look up and smile when I see Weiss walking in with Jason, Yang and Ruby's brother. On their back is Lian, Jason's little sister. " It's good to see you again Blake."

" It's good to see you all too." I say. All of them go to sit down, and then the sound of a motorcycle goes out, and all of the kids eyes are drawn to it, as Yang and Sun step off and then head on it.

" We're not too late are we?" Sun asks in a panic, and then I shake my head with a fond chuckle for the two of them.

" I was just about to get started." I assure them.

When I sit down once more, I then hear the door open, and then I look up to see Pyrrha, and her husband Taigam walking in with her. " Hello!" Pyrrha says in her familiar voice. " I'm so sorry if the two of us are late. We flew in from Amonkhet."

" It seems we are right on time," Taigam says with a bow, and then the two of them get tackled by Nora and Hercules into a big hug. I chuckle slightly, and then all of them make their way to their seats, smiling out of the corner of my eye as Alesha, Emma's wife comes out and hugs Emma from behind to listen to the story.

" Well," I begin. It all started one year at Beacon...."

Chapter Text

-Emma Pov-

I hum to myself when I watch the ships head in and out of the harbor. Hands in my pocket, I spread my wings out from under my dress. " Tomorrow is the day," I say to myself, looking out to the sky, to where my mother, father and sister are. I frown softly. "I wish you all had been here to see this. Tomorrow I'm going to Beacon. I hope all of you will watch over me." A soft smile remains on my lips, and when no reply comes as always, I look down and check my scroll to see the time. Flexing my wings slightly, I hum and then take off to the skies, flying and waving to the people below.

Smiling more, I see the bookstore and then I land and touch down. Carefully, my wings fold and retract under my dress, tucking themselves away. I walk into the store, and then walk to the back where I find Steph. " Hey!" I tell her with a smile, and then she looks over.

" Hey Emma! It's good to see you!" The woman says. She then walks over and then hugs me. Hugging back, I then smile. " I thought you were going to be headed off tonight. To better things than this place." She says.

" I am. But, I'm already packed, and my flight isn't until later tonight. So, I thought I would come here and say goodbye to all the kids." I explain, and then Steph nods. " I feel bad. These kids they....they need a sense of consistency. And when I'm gone...."

" When you're gone, we're going to manage," Steph cuts me off. " I managed when it was just me and I was on my own with these kids. And having you here has been amazing. And all of them have enjoyed it also. But we can manage without you. You've earned this Emma. And I mean that."

The door then opens and then all of the kids run in with arms wide open and smiling faces. I knew it would be hard to leave them, but I didn't realize it would be this hard to say goodbye. Taking a shaky breath, I then compose myself, and then I spread my arms, and hug each of the kids one by one. When I finish with the hugs, I then sit down in a chair, and they all gather around me. " I have something to tell you all kids," I say, and then all of them lean in closer to listen to me.

For a moment, I see each and everyone of them as my younger sister, the same youth, innocence and sense of wonder. I shake my head, and then gather my composure. " I'm going to Beacon tomorrow," I tell them. " I won't be able to see you, but I will always be watching over each and everyone of you. And I will send pictures, and visit during holidays."

To my relief, each and everyone of the kids smiles happily on my behalf, and then they hug onto me. I hug them all back, and then my wings spread to envelop them all in a protective hug. When the night ends, I smile and then look at the bullhead as it lands. I turn and wave at the kids one more time, and then step onto it. " Beacon," I murmur to the pilot as he starts flying. Home, for the next four years

Chapter Text

-Hercules Pov-

" Yeah, yeah I love you too sis." I say into my scroll. " How's the treatments going?" I ask, and then I nod and listen to her answer. " Hey, alright. I'm headed to Beacon tomorrow, but I'm gonna visit as soon as I can. Hey, if you turn on the TV right now, then you'll see me fighting. And then before I go to Beacon I'm gonna find the time to visit you."

My manager runs into the room, and then looks at me. " Herc, we gotta get going," she says. " The crowd is waiting for you to make your grand entrance." Rolling my eyes I hold my hand up to ask for a few moments.

" Alright, yeah I'll call you back sis." I say, ending the call, and then I walk into a big hallway which connects to the arena. Cracking my neck and knuckles, I then begin walking in time with my theme music into the ring. Flames shoot up around me dramatically, and then I walk inside the arena. The audience starts cheering and I toss my tracksuit into the audience, which some girls start fighting over.

Across from me is the opponent they brought in for me. I'm sure he's good, but I didn't get here by being just good. I got here because I'm one of the best around. As he starts his whole speech about how he's going to defeat me, I take a look into the audience. I sigh when I see one of the VIP seats I've kept reserved over the years, and it's empty. Sighing again, I then turn to the audience and start blowing kisses. I've memorized this song and dance so to speak, and how to do this. Then, I turn back to my opponent.

" I hope there's no hard feelings about this." I tease him. He then charges for me, and begins swinging some wild punches, and occasionally his mace. Using my Semblance, a steel covers my body and the weapon shatters against it, and then his hand breaks when he punches me. " You got the knockoff didn't you?" I ask, and then I slug him across the arena. He smashes into the wall, and then he struggles to get up, and then falls back down.

A referee runs out and then starts to count down. When the countdown ends, the crowd erupts in cheers again, and then I try my best to catch some of the flowers and gifts people toss down to me. Giving some waves, and blowing some kisses, I then make my way out of the arena, and I change in the locker room. After that, I sign a check for my managers, and some other workers, and then head down to the Bullhead, flying me to a local hospital in Vale. Walking in, I then find my sister, Grace.

" Hey!" Grace says, looking over, and then I let out a sigh of relief. She's looking healthier then the last time I saw her. I sit next to her, and then the two of us just start talking for hours, getting caught up with each other, and then laughing with each other. Grace then sighs and turns to me. " You know you can go right? To Beacon without feeling guilty about leaving me."

" I know Grace." I tell her. " But it's hard to leave."

" It's harder to stay Herc. You should be at Beacon, in the big leagues. Not knocking out jobbers, and looking for Coco in audiences. She made it clear this doesn't matter to her. That you don't." Grace says, and then I nod.

The two of us sit in silence, and then hear the Bullhead landing to take me to Beacon. Standing up, I smile and then hug her gently. "I love you sis," I tell her, and then I head to the bullhead, ready to go to Beacon. To fly with the angels, play in the big leagues.

Chapter Text

-Zion Pov-

I walk down the halls, humming to myself as I go. It's an old lullaby my mother used to sing to me, about the working day being over and how it's time for everyone to go home. As I walk down, I smirk when I see some guards lining up in the hallway, aiming their weapons at me. As the lullaby gets more intense, I use my Semblance to teleport behind them and begin cutting them down. " It's nothing personal," I assure the last one as I impale him, and watch as the poison slowly makes his way through the system, slowly killing him.

Removing my sword from him, I then keep walking down the hallway. Humming softly still, I make my way to the final door which stands between me and where I need to go. Humming still, I then teleport past the door, into the master bedroom of the house. " Mr. Gatz?" I say, and then a man pokes his head out from under the bed, trembling and shaking. " We can make this as easy or hard as you want it to be."

Slowly, the man crawls out from under the bed. He looks like all the others I go after. Fat, rich, greedy, snobbish, scared, weak. When I walk out of this room, I won't even remember what he looked like. " Please....I, I don't know who you are," he says. " I don't think I've ever done anything to you. I can pay you any amount of money to make you go away and never come here again."

I have to chuckle about this. " Wow. I have to say it doesn't usually happen this quickly." I admit. " Usually, I get to at least walk menacingly towards them, and then they start begging. But you are really something else." I then teleport in front of him, and then kick his chin, sending him flying and he lands on the bed. I then teleport above him, sword in hand.

" Who paid you to do this?! I...I can double it! Triple it! Aggh!" His begging is cut off when I jam the sword into his mouth and begin choking him on it, watching with a smug satisfaction as he gargles on his blood, and then of course, the obvious health drawbacks of having a sword in your throat.

" I don't do this for money." I tell him. I then sigh and remove the sword from his mouth right before he chokes to death. Gatz leans over the bed, and then throws up and coughs. " It's mostly because I want to, and because I can. And that's why you do things right? Because you want to and you can. And damn whoever gets run over."

" I....I....what is this?" Gatz asks as he composes himself.

" Punishment. See, I've done my research Gatz. You run a big time vehicle industry. Covered in blood. And every so often, you sell a car with faulty breaks to take out rivals, or someone who got in your way. I don't know what my brother did to you, but he was on the list apparently. And my mother and father." I say

" Oh Oum....the....the Helsings!" Gatz says. " That was a mistake! It was never supposed to happen! I....please!!"

" A mistake? Well this isn't." I tell him, ramming my sword through his throat, killing him. Removing it from him, I then teleport in front of a grave, my brothers grave.

" Well, it's done little brother. Our families murders avenged." I tell the grave. " I guess what's next is for you. Beacon Academy huh? I'll make your dream come true." I promise, teleporting off to Beacon

Chapter Text

-Jason Pov-

I wake up in the morning, feeling a pair of arms around me. I then turn and smile when I see my little sister, Lian, cuddled up next to me. She's so precious at all times of the day, but when she's asleep it's even more so. I wrap my arms around her, and then return the hug. She wakes up a few moments later, and her face widens into a smile. " Baba!" She says. " Today is the day!" She says with excitement which is impossible to match. She's more excited about this than I am, which says a lot since Beacon has been my dream ever since I was a kid.

" Yeah, it is. Good morning kiddos." A voice calls from the doorway, and then I smile and look over to see my adoptive father, Qrow there waiting for us. " Your stuff's all packed and everything. Your mother's doing some touch up work on Black Chariot, and then we're all gonna eat breakfast with each other to send you off." He says, and then he catches Lian when the girl jumps to give him a big hug, which he happily returns before he sets her down.

Smiling, I then roll out of bed and then go get dressed. After Lian gets changed from her shark onesie to her clothes, the two of us run downstairs, and then get greeted by a big hug from our mother, Azure. " Ooh, I'm so proud of you my little shark." Azure says with a smile. She then lets go of the hug after a little bit, and then sets down breakfast on the table.

All of us sit down with each other, and then Lian takes her seat on my lap. She smiles, and then all of us start to eat with each other, talking and laughing back and forth. " Dad said you were working on Black Chariot?" I ask Azure, and then she nods.

" Yes I am. I just want to make sure it's ready before I send you off to Beacon." Azure says. " And then, I also wanted to talk to you before you left alright?" I then nod, and then we go back to eating breakfast with each other, laughing and smiling.

After breakfast, I head with Azure into her forge, where my katana, Black Chariot is waiting for me. " What did you want to talk to me about?" I ask her as I sit down and watch her go to work, forging up some last minute fixes. Every time she forges is incredible, she's so good at it that her passion shines through with every gesture.

" I just wanted to tell you that this will always be your home. You can always come back here you know? Over one of the breaks, or just a weekend where you get lonely," Azure says. " Qrow and I are so proud of you. And of course Lian is too. We love you Jason, and we have your back."

" I love you too mom. And I know. I'm gonna come back here every break," I promise.

" And I just also wanted to tell you to be careful. You don't have anything to prove to anyone." Azure says. " Your Semblance is all your own."

Smiling, I take Black Chariot from her, and then set it on my back. I smile, and then walk upstairs to make it to the bullhead in time. Seeing Lian, I crouch down and hug her. " Hey Lian," I say. I smile. " I have something for you." I then hand her my plushie, the shark stuffed animal who cuddles with her owl stuffed animal.

" Bwue!" Lian says, hugging the plushie.

" That's right. He'll take great care of you when I'm gone." I say. Lian hugs me tightly, and then I smile and hug the three of them back. After awhile, I let go and then head down to the Bullhead to make it to Beacon, to the place I can make my dream a reality

Chapter Text

-Emma Pov-

I smile when I stand in the Bullhead. It would have been faster for me to fly by myself, but I wanted to meet the people I would be working alongside for the next four years, and I wanted to just really take in the scenery as I went. When I fly, I tend not to be as observant as when I'm flown in vehicles. Smiling still, I then take a look around the ship to see some of the people, smiling when I see people talking with their siblings, or when I catch a brief moment of someone's conversation with loved ones, a parent or a significant other who they won't be able to see for a little bit. I lost my family, and I wouldn't have wished that on anyone. It also makes me happy when I see some faunas around me. I wasn't worried about being the only one, but it is just assuring to see all of them here, and for the most part accepted.

As I keep looking out the window, I smile when I look over and see that someone has come to stand next to me, a girl in full armor, which I find unique, since most of the people here have their casual clothes on, and most huntsman don't need armor since their aura protects him. I wonder if it's a throwback to when huntsman did wear armor, or maybe a family thing. " Hello! My name is Emma Waters," I say to her, offering my hand to her.

" Alesha Kolaghan," she says with a smile, shaking my hand. " Hey, um sorry for asking this but how come you don't have a weapon with you? I'm with Beacon, but I'm not going as a huntress. I want to have a degree in forging and blacksmith work. I'm doing this internship where I can patch up people's weapons after they fight, and then make sure everything works okay, and I just noticed you didn't have one."

I smile, and then take out my staff and show it to her. Though, all it is is a staff, but it was something my mother carried with her." I'm not here for a huntress program either actually. I'm here for the medicinal program! I'm working as a nurse for Beacon. So, I don't have a weapon really. I'm just in Beginner Combat since at least one class of combat is mandatory," I explain to her.

Alesha smiles, and then nods. " Oh okay. Sorry if that was a weird question for anything. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't having any issues." She then rubs her arm. " It's nice to know I won't be the only one who isn't here to be a huntress. I know that there are other academies for forging, but I just wanted to come to Beacon. And I have a little sister who really wanted to go to this school, but she can't, so I'm here for her."

I frown slightly, remembering my little sister and all of the dreams she had for herself, all the things she wanted to do for the world. I don't feel like I know her well enough to ask her about what happened to her sister, and so the two of us stand in silence for a little bit. " It's the same for me really. Well, Beacon does have a good medicinal program."

" Sorry, I didn't mean to make it weird or anything when I mentioned my sister. She's not dead, just injured," Alesha says, and then I let out a sigh of relief for her. The two of us go back to standing in silence again, and then she shakes her head. " Sorry, it just feels easy to tell you things, to talk to you." She says, and then I blush softly. " And yeah! Beacon has an amazing forging program."

The two of us then go back to laughing and talking with each other about the programs we're going to be a part of, and then how it works. After a while, she waves and then walks off to find something on the bullhead, and I smile to myself, glad to know at least one person here at Beacon, someone who I can count on and call a friend.

Chapter Text

-Hercules Pov-

I smile, and then stand in the bullhead. The second I walk in, my fans run and flock to me. Chuckling, I then reach into my backpack, and then take out some posters of myself and some other merchandise I took with me to hand out, and then sign some quick autographs. I then toss a wink to the fans and then try to push my way through the ship to have a moment of silence to myself. But, it's not meant to happen since I then see hordes of fangirls running for me.

Winking at them again, I smile. As annoying as it can be sometimes to have to deal with this, and even if I only became a tournament fighter to make money for my sister, having fans can be fun. And having these beautiful girls throw themselves at me isn't the worst thing in the world. Looking around them, I try to find a tall brunette to sleep with tonight. But before I can, I then hear a loud squeal. The girls all turn to see the source of it, and then I see a girl with orange hair and bright turquoise eyes running for me, and a man with black hair and a pink streak follows with an exasperated sigh.

The girls surrounding me look over at this new girl, and then all try to stand in front of me to block her from getting to me. The running girl manages to barrel her way through all of them without even slowing down. The man breaks off, and then goes to move the girls aside, and he apologizes for the actions of the girl. The girl then makes her way in front of me, and then lets out another squeal. " Oh my Oum!! It is you!" She says. " I am such a big fan! I saw you from across the bullhead, and I thought it was you, but I wasn't sure!"

" Hercules Spring yeah," I say with a smile. I then reach into my backpack and then find the one poster I still had left, and then sign it. " And who is this autograph too?" I ask, wanting to personalize these as much as I can.

" Nora Valkyrie!! I'm your biggest fan!" Nora says, and then she turns to her friend. " Ren! Do you want one?"

Ren then shakes his head and then looks at me with an apologetic smile.

" Alright, here you are Nora." I say with a smile, handing her the poster. She takes it, and then hugs it.

" Thanks Hercules!" Nora says. " You're so much buffer in person and way dreamier." She then realizes she said it outloud, and then rubs the back of her head, and then I find myself blushing, which usually doesn't happen anymore.

" Oh thanks. You're beautiful by the way," I say to her with a wink, and then Nora blushes slightly.

" Wanna arm wrestle?!" Nora asks suddenly. I look at her, and then think. Not that she can't be strong, but from the looks of it, she wouldn't be able to put up a fight. " I'm a lot tougher than I look!" Ren then nods in agreement

" Alright, I'm down!" I say with a smile, setting my arm on the table. Nora then puts our hands together, and then looks around.

" We need a referee!" Nora says, and then sees that Ren has left to go find somewhere quiet. Looking around, she then sees a man in monk robes reading a book. She opens her mouth to say something, and then before she can-

" I suppose I will referee your match." He says. Nora opens her mouth again to say something and then- " How did I know what you were going to ask? One of my gifts is being able to see slightly into the future. And well, the two of you are speaking quite loudly about it." He then stands up and then walks over.

" Alright, thanks man!" I tell him, and then he nods. " What's your name by the way?"

" My name is Taigam Ojutai." He says with a greeting bow. " Now then are the both of you ready to start?"

Nora and I then both nod, and then Taigam signals for us to begin the arm wrestling match. To my surprise, neither of us are able to budge the other, and it's not for a lack of trying. " You really are stronger then you look." I tell her

" I know!" Nora says in a cheery voice.

Eventually, the Bullhead does land, and then seemingly reluctantly, she lets go of my hand. " Well! I'll see you around cutie," Nora says, winking at me. " And then we can finish this some other time!" She then skips off the Bullhead with a happy smile.

Chuckling slightly, I then stand up again. I give a nod to Taigam, who then returns it and then I walk off the Bullhead, more excited now than before for the next few years.

Chapter Text

-Zion Pov-

I sigh to myself as I sit on the bullhead. I clean off my sword for a little, mostly to get the blood off it from the last man I killed, and then also to clean off the poison. Ozpin made it very clear in my acceptance letter than poisoned weapons weren't to be used in combat class against the other students. If I wasn't here for my little brother's sake, I would probably have told him to go screw himself, but this one isn't for me. Sighing slightly, I then try to ignore as some blonde guy hits on me, rattling on about how his name is short, sweet and rolls off the tongue. Looking up, I then raise an eyebrow at him, and glare, and watch with a chuckle at how quickly he scrambles off.

Once I finish with my sword, I then set it aside, and then take out a book I had been reading for a little now. I then take out a pack of cigarettes and light one, and begin to smoke, letting out a small sigh of relief when all of the students close to me scramble off to get away from the smoke. But to my surprise, a girl walks over to me, a girl with short black hair and black eyes dressed in white. On her back is a pair of chained sickles, and then she looks down at me. " Can I bum a cigarette?" She asks.

Usually when someone asks me for this I light one, and then pretend to hand it to them, and burn them with it. But something about this girl seems different, like she wouldn't be a total pain in the ass to smoke with. " Yeah, sure whatever." I say, flicking a cigarette to her. I then offer her the lighter which she uses, and then she takes a drag from the cigarette.

" Oh wow. This isn't the cheap shit either," the girl says when she does. She then thinks. " I'm Kay by the way. Do you mind if I sit here with you? It looks like all of the dumbasses just know to avoid you, and I am not in the mood to deal with them either."

Snickering slightly, I then nod and she sits down next to me. " Zion," I introduce with a shrug, taking another drag from the cigarette. " And yeah, the dummies here are at least smart enough to avoid me."

Kay nods, and then the two of us smoke in silence for a little bit. " Wanna play a game?" Kay asks after a little bit.

" Nope." I tell her.

" I think you'll like this one. We just make fun of the people here on the Bullhead." Kay suggests, flicking some ashes off her cigarette.

" You know what, works for me." I say.

Kay smirks. " Yeah, I figured it would." She then looks around, and finds the guy who was hitting on me earlier. " That dumb fuck hit on me. His name's Jaune Arc. Wanna start with him?"

" Oh yeah," I say.

" Alright, let's start with the fact that he's tried to hit on every girl on this ship practically. Desperate much?" Kay asks.

" Well, I would be desperate if I was him to, he's probably gonna die alone." I say. " He acts confident but look at this." I then point to him, and how nervous he really is as he talks to a girl who clearly isn't interested.

" Well, to be fair dying alone is his fault if he just never learns how to take a hint." Kay says. She then looks around. " Alright. Them." She says, pointing to four idiots who have all grouped up, surrounding a faunas girl and pushing her around.

" I don't know what's sadder. The fact it took the four of them to be able to beat up a girl, the fact that this makes them feel tough, or the fact the girl isn't fighting back at all." I say.

The two of us keep doing this for a little, snickering and chuckling here and there. I'm not going to say some sappy shit like how it feels easy to talk to her, but talking with her isn't the worst idea in the world. She seems to get it in a way a lot of the people here just don't. Eventually, the ship does land, and then the two of us stand up. " Well, thanks for the cig. See you around," Kay says, walking off the ship, pushing her way past the others, not caring about the looks and glares she was getting from the people.

Snickering slightly at this, I then stand up myself and begin doing the same thing. If nothing else, for the next four years I'll know someone who doesn't make me want to blow my brains out every time they talk.

Chapter Text

-Jason Pov-

I look out the window on the Bullhead with my arms folded. A lot of the other students are already laughing and talking with each other, and for the most part leave me alone. Enjoying the peace and quiet, I then sigh slightly when I hear a familiar voice calling out to me. " Hey!" Yang calls out as she starts to make her way over. " How are you doing?"

" Fine sis," I say with a sigh. I then turn to see her, and Ruby following after her. " How are you?"

" Me? I'm just glad the three of us are all going to Beacon with each other." Yang says with a smile. " It would have sucked if Rubes had to wait another two years. But this way, I can keep an eye on all three of you! I'm the oldest after all."

" By six minutes," I remind her, and then she chuckles. She and I are twins by birth, Raven's son and daughter, but some circumstances ended with me being raised by Azure and Qrow.

" Aw, is the runt grumpy?" Yang asks, resting an arm on my head, which makes my eyes twitch with irritation.

" I am not a runt!" I tell her, and then everyone glances over at the two of us and snickers lightly.

" You're barely taller than Ruby!" Yang points out, and then Ruby helpfully dashes next to me, showing that I am barely taller than her. Ruby then looks at me apologetically.

" Maybe if you drank more milk then you would be taller," Ruby teases.

" You have puke on your shoe Yang." I say, and then she looks down to see some puke, presumably from the blonde idiot who threw up earlier. Yang's eyes widen, and then she begins freaking out, and dashes off to the bathroom to clean it off.

When the ship lands, Yang ditches Ruby and I, claiming to see some of her friends, when in reality she just wants Ruby to get used to talking to people on her own.

Ruby looks up at me. " Um, big bro, sorry I called you a runt. Do you mind going with me?" She asks sheepishly.

" Yeah, I've got you sis." I tell her, and then the two of us begin walking together, making small talk. A few moments later, she dashes off with her speed Semblance to see something, and then I wince when I hear an explosion up ahead.

" Do you have any idea what this costs?!" I hear a voice yell, and then my eyes narrow. My suspicions are confirmed when I walk over to see Weiss Schnee, yelling at Ruby, who scrambles to get the Dust back in the container.

" Leave her alone." I say, and then Weiss looks up and glares.

" You!!" Weiss says, grabbing her rapier, and dropping into her fighting stance.

" You wanna finish this? Just gotta warn you your big sis isn't here to save you this time." I say, grabbing and unsheathing Black Chariot

" As if I needed saving!" Weiss says. " If anything, you were lucky when Qrow showed up when he did!"

Before the two of us can fight with each other, we hear another voice. " Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the largest Dust company in the world. And Jason Branwen. Is this really the time to be fighting?" The two of us look to see where the voice came from, and then my eyes widen when I see it's Blake.

She walks off, and by the time Weiss and I turn back to fight each other, a crowd of students has gathered so the two of us wouldn't be able to fight without others. Sighing a little, I make a note to settle that situation later, and then I start pushing my way through the crowd to make it to talk to Blake.

Chapter Text

-Emma Pov-

I smile to myself as I fly through Beacon Academy. Everything here seems so wonderful, and all of the students on the ground seem to think so also, judging by their big smiles, and their loud talking and jovial energy. It makes me smile more to think everyone here is happy to be here. I read everywhere that Beacon was the best of the four academies, and while that's hard to say, it's almost impossible to deny that it's the friendliest and that it has the best energy to it out of all of them. And it also definitely has the best programs for those wishing to be something other than huntsman and huntresses.

After I've flown to every major location in Beacon so I know where they are, such as the cafeteria, the forges and the statue collection, I then land and start to make my way to the auditorium. I find a spot in the room, and then look up to the stage, and then wait. Ozpin and the rest of the staff aren't going to be making their speeches for a little bit, and so I have time to look around and take a look at all of the students and get a sense of all of them.

Eventually, Ozpin and Glynda make their way onto the stage. Ozpin walks to the microphone and then taps it a few times. " Greetings. As you know, I am Headmaster Ozpin. I will be supervising all of your growths for this year, and the four years you are with us. Tomorrow, as you know will be the initiation, and all of your teams will be formed during this time."

" At this time, there are some students I would like to invite up to the stage," Glynda says. " Would Karen Atarka and Alesha Kolaghan please make their way up? As well as Emma Waters."

My eyes widen, I hadn't been expecting that to happen at all. But without thinking too much about it, I spread my wings and then fly to the stage. I smile again as Alesha starts making her way up the stage, and then I look over to see the other girl, a girl with orange hair and eyes making her way to the stage, and I assume that it's Karen. Both of them look just as shocked as I am about being asked to come up to the stage.

" These three first years are all part of Beacon programs other than combat," Ozpin explains. " Tomorrow after initiation, the smithing, medicinal and culinary program will be helping you all. These three have each been chosen out of all the first years who applied to be the leaders of these teams. Would each of you come and say a little about yourselves?"

Karen is the first of the three of us to gather her composure, and she walks to the microphone. " Hi everyone! My name is Karen Atarka, like Ozpin said. I guess I'm the head of the first year culinary program, which is an honor. I've been cooking my entire life basically, all the way back when I was a kid, helping my mom with her pasta recipes. Being a chef has always been my dream, so this is a huge step. I look forward to being able to cook for all of you, and all of your unique pallets. If you have any allergies, then please come find me or one of the other chefs so I can make sure not to prepare anything with it."

" Um, hi everyone. My name is Alesha Kolaghan. I've always wanted to be a blacksmith. I take the weapon repairs very seriously." Alesha says, and then she shakes slightly, and I wonder if it's something from her past. " Seriously, I do. I don't cut any corners. You all being safe is very important to me, and I want to make sure that no one gets hurt if there's a way to prevent it. Feel free to find me, or anyone in the program before initiation and make sure that your weapon is ready."

Finally, I then walk up to the microphone. " My name is Emma Waters. Healing people has always been my passion. I've been doing it for as long as I can remember, so I can assure you that you're in good hands with me. I hope that I can get to know all of you, and support you along on your journey!"

Ozpin nods at us, and then signals for us all to go back to where we had been before, and once we have he takes the microphone again. " Teams at Beacon will be a mix of majors. So you may find yourself paired with someone from a program other than the huntsman course. Regardless, you are to work as a unit, and respect each other, and your differences. Please, make your way to the ballroom for tonight, and rest. You'll need it."

I smile, and then start to head down to the bullhead, and then I see Alesha, and walk over to her, smiling. " Hey!" I say with a smile. " I didn't expect to be the head of this program!"

" I didn't either. But I have to admit, I'm excited for it," Alesha says.

The two of us start walking to the ballroom together, laughing and talking through the night.

Chapter Text

-Hercules Pov-

I make my way out of the auditorium, and then begin to walk around Beacon. As I do, I take pictures and then send them off to Grace. When I do, I sigh to myself. She always wanted to come here to Beacon, and then she got sick. Beacon has always been my dream, but since she couldn't come here, I'm here for the two of us in many ways, which has made me work many times harder to make sure that the two of us would both be able to have our dream.

I find myself walking somewhat aimlessly, and then I find myself in front of the room of statues. I smile, and then take a look around at all of them, wondering how many of them I can recognize. I smile when I see statues like The Grimm Reaper, Lancelot Arc and his wife Guinevere, and then after looking some more, my eyes widen. In front of me is a statue of my mother and father. Plain as day, I can see the two of them. My father, a big and muscled man, and next to him, my mother, a small woman with all of her gadgets laid out in front of her. The statue captures all of it, my mother's concentrated expression as she works, my dad's loving smile as he watches her, and the power which radiates from his being.

Titling my head, I send a picture of the statue off to my family. " I'm gonna have one here too one day." I promise myself, and then I start to walk down to the auditorium. As I do, I then hear the sounds of a crowd roaring, and then I sigh and am prepared to break out some posters and hand it to them. But, I then look up and see one of my old friends, Pyrrha trying to make it to the ballroom in peace, followed by all of her fangirls and fanboys.

I brace myself to go and help her somehow, but before I have a chance to, I see the monk from earlier, Taigam talk to her, and then asks her something. Pyrrha nods rapidly, and he grabs her hand. The two of them vanish out of sight, and then the crowd disperses when they don't manage to find her. Shrugging to myself, I then make it into the ballroom and then sit down in one of the corners of the room, looking out the window.

" Is this spot taken?" I hear a voice a few seconds later. I look up to see Taigam, and then I smile.

" No, go ahead," I say, moving and then making room for him. He nods, and then sits down, and takes out a book. Out of curiosity, I glance over at it, but then I realize I don't know the language the book is written in. " Hey, if you don't mind my asking-" I start.

" The language the book is written in is from Amonkhet," Taigam says. " In Amonkhet, each of our gods and goddesses has their own language. This particular book is written in the language of Yosei."

" Huh, cool." I say with a smile. " I've heard of Amonkhet, I just never found the time to visit. I kept meaning to, I've seen some pictures and it looks beautiful."

Taigam smiles. " It is. I truly believe there is nowhere like it in all of the world. If you ever do wish to go, then perhaps I would be able to give you some recommendations about what to see, and where to go."

" I would really appreciate that," I say, and then before the two of us can keep talking, I see a mass of girls making their way over to me. But, once again, Nora smashes her way through them all and she points to me dramatically.

" Hey Taigam!" Nora says, and Taigam gives her a small wave and a greeting nod. " Hiiiii Hercules," Nora says, in what I would have to guess is a flirty tone, and I have to admit, I'm into that.

" Hey Nora. How you doin?" I ask

" Good! Ren made pancakes earlier, and I ate them all!" Nora says, and then I have to wonder what the situation is with her and Ren, since I don't want to get involved if the two of them are dating. " Now then! We never did finish our arm wrestling earlier!" Nora then flops down in front of me dramatically, and then offers me her hand, which I take.

" Reaaady?" I ask, drawing out the word in the sultriest voice I can.

" Go~!" Nora says cheerily, and then the two of us begin to arm wrestle again. As we do, I stop noticing the time, until out of curiosity, I glance up at one of the clocks, and then my eyes widen.

" We've been doing this for three hours." I say to her.

" Yep! You're not getting tired are you?" Nora asks

" Not at all."

" Good! Cause I can do this all night!" Nora promises, and then the two of us continue to arm wrestle

Chapter Text

-Zion Pov-

After Opzin gives his speech, I then turn and then start walking to find the ballroom like he had mentioned. As I do, I start to think about what he said, about how he said that there were majors other than combat here. I think to myself about how badly my brother wanted to be a huntsman, but he also wanted to be an artist, and work on the comic book series which he loved. Sighing slightly to myself, a small smile comes to my face, imagining my brother running down the halls on his first day, scrambling to find all of his classes, and then coming in and out of the classes breathless because he ran to the wrong one.

I find myself shaking the thoughts out of my head. I miss him everyday, but there are times and places to do this, and now is neither. Right now, I find myself thinking about the three girls who were on the stage, the leaders of the first year programs other than combat. " Fuck," I murmur to myself when I realize that I could end up being on a team with someone who doesn't know how to fight, one of those three for example, or any of the dozen others who would have to be in this program if they were able to help provide to the entire team.

" Thinking the same thing I am? That we could get stuck with one of them." I hear a voice, and then I look behind me to see Kay. I give her a slight smile, and then she sighs a little. " Catch." She says, tossing a cigarette to me. " I snuck off and then bought some of these. I just ran out earlier. And with that all debts are settled." She then hesitates for a few seconds. " Wanna grab a smoke with me?"

" Sure. It's either that or the spend the night with those losers," I say, and then Kay snickers. " Where to?" I ask.

" Dunno. There's a park or something close by that we could go to. And it's close enough we can head there and back in time if you wanna get any sleep for the orientation." Kay says

" Yeah. Grab onto me." I demand, and then Kay shrugs and grabs onto my shoulder. Concentrating, I picture where the park is, having been there all the time with my little brother so he could look at Beacon, and see some of his favorite huntsman as they walked in and out of the building. When a few seconds pass, I then use my Semblance to teleport the two of us to the park, higher than the rest of the people so we can smoke in peace without having to deal with them.

" Need a light?" Kay asks, and then offers me her lighter. Nodding, I then light a cigarette and then take a drag from it. " Ready for tomorrow?" She asks

" Yeah, it's easy as shit," I say to her. " A little while ago, I was bored and had some time on my hand so I teleported and swiped some files from Beacon, including what the initiation will be. All we're doing is fighting Grimm. And not even dangerous ones really. They have someone who's job it is to just make sure the weaker Grimm are the only ones. And they hold our hand through it, if someone is in danger there's someone who comes in and then helps them out of danger."

" Oum. Dammit. I thought that maybe it was going to be challenging. Looks like everyone else here is amateur hour. If you can die against Ursa and Beowulves then you don't deserve the chance to be a huntsman," Kay says.

" You can say that again. I thought Beacon's whole thing was getting you ready for the real world. And yet here we are, having our hands held as we walk through the woods. ' Okay kids! Stay close to me!'" I say, at the end mimicking the babyish voice of a pre-school teacher, walking and making sure all of the kids get to lunch together.

Kay snickers slightly. " Oh Oum, this is going to be worse than I thought it was going to be. But I guess this is my life for the next four years."

" That's the scariest thing I've heard in a long time," I say to her, and then she snickers.

Eventually, our cigarettes burn out, and then we flick the ashes aside. " Well, I guess we might as well go and get back then. ' Kids, you have a field trip tomorrow so get plenty of sleep!'" Kay says, doing the same babyish voice used by teachers of young kids. She then grabs onto my arm, and then I teleport off to Beacon again, and then the two of us walk to find the ballroom.

" I'm not gonna say some sappy shit like it's easy to talk with you, or that I like spending time with you." I say, and then Kay looks over with a raised eyebrow, wondering where I'm going. And honestly, I do too. I just found myself saying it. " I just don't fucking hate you."

Kay snickers slightly. " I don't fucking hate you either," she says, and then the two of us walk into the bedroom, and split up for the night, going to different corners of the room.

Chapter Text

-Jason Pov-

I walk down the halls of Beacon with Ruby. Yang ditched us after the speech, who knows where she went. Shrugging slightly, I then turn to Ruby. " Do you have anywhere you wanna go?" I ask her. " You never had the campus tour before. But I have, and I know where everything is."

Ruby thinks about it for a few seconds. " Do you mind if we go and take a look at all of the statues here at Beacon? I wanna find one of mom and dad. Oooh! And Uncle Qrow!" She says eagerly.

" Sure," I say with a chuckle, and then I start to walk with her to where the statues are. The two of us stay silent for a few moments, not always knowing how to talk with each other, and then I think. " So. When that Karen girl was talking about the culinary program you suddenly started paying a lot more attention," I observe, causing Ruby to blush softly, which does confirm my suspicions.

" I just love food okay!" Ruby says defensively, still blushing softly. " So, what if I was paying attention?" Ruby then thinks for a little bit. " Well hey, when that girl stopped you and Weiss from fighting, you ran after her. You seemed like a total dork. How do you know her anyways?"

" Dammit, did I really look like a dork?" I ask, and then Ruby nods, and then I sigh. " A little after I was adopted by Azure, I met some of the friends Azure had met at Beacon. One of them was Kali, and then Kali's daughter, Blake. Who's that girl. We used to write letters to each other, but then we stopped so I just lost touch with her. Seeing her was a little bit of a shock is all."

Ruby nods, with a smug smirk on her face, and then I roll my eyes. I have to give her credit for having been able to turn around the conversation and tease me instead. " What did the two of you end up talking about?" Ruby asks. " How much you missed each other, and how happy you were to see her again," she asks in a teasing voice.

" No actually, she lost me in the crowd of people," I admit with a shrug.

The two of us then keep walking, and then we eventually see the statue collection of Beacon. Ruby immediately dashes off to go and find the statue of Qrow she had mentioned. Shrugging, I then walk after her to the STRQ statues, and then I look up at the one of Raven Branwen, my biological mother. Before I can look at it for too long, my eyes are drawn to the statue of Azure, the woman who ended up raising me. I smile up at it, and then I feel my scroll ring, and then I check the text on it, from Azure.

Azure: Missing you my son, but I am so proud of you. I look forward to reading about all of the good things that you do. Good luck tomorrow with the initiation. Love always.

I smile at the text and then send one back about loving her also, and thanking her for everything. I then set my scroll away and then Ruby and I make our way to the Ballroom. We find Yang, just playing a game on her scroll as though she hadn't dashed off. The two of us make our way down to her, and then sit with her. Ruby starts writing a letter to some of her friends who didn't get to skip Signal. After a little, Ruby looks up and then sees Blake reading. " Hey, um. She stopped Jason and Weiss from fighting earlier. Maybe the three of us can go and talk to her?"

" Yeah, I got you little sis." Yang says, and then she stands up. When I do, Yang can't resist resting her arm on my head to show me that she's taller, causing my eyes to twitch in annoyance. " Oh hey! The runt is coming with us too!" She says.

" Yeah he is! That's cause he's got a cruuuuush on Blake," Ruby says, drawing out the word.

Sighing, the three of us go and then stand next to Blake. After a little bit, Blake starts to talk with the two of them, and I find myself struggling to get in a word edgewise. Sighing to myself, I then walk off when I get the sense that rather than help Ruby talk to her, I'm getting in the way of it, I sit next to the window and then take out my scroll again, and then I smile when I see a text from Lian on it. I then open it.

Lian: I hope you had a good first night at Beacon! I'm so happy for you. Just having a bit of trouble sleeping

Attached is an imagine of her cuddling the shark plushie I gave her, Blue. And also the snow owl plushie she has, Snow. I smile, and then send a quick text about how much I love her, and promising to write her letters and visit with each and every chance I have. I then set my scroll aside, and then look out the window.

I glance over to see Yang talking with Blake, and Blake chuckles slightly at something that she said. I raise an eye at this, and before I can wonder what's happening, I see Weiss get up and then start walking over to the three of them, presumably to pick a fight or complain about something. Sighing, I get up, seeing it as a chance to do something other than fourth wheel my childhood friend and sisters. But before I can, Blake blows out the candle, leaving us in darkness.

And so, I sigh and then lay down, closing my eyes and hoping for some sleep.

Chapter Text

-Emma Pov-

The next morning, I make sure to wake up early. I'm up just before the sun rises. Standing up, I then head down the halls of Beacon. Having been shown yesterday where the medical wing is, I walk inside. I smile and exchange some pleasantries with the rest of the medical staff, and then I start to get the items I'll need to patch up anyone who gets hurt during the initiation. Since I woke up early, I have some time to fly through the halls and then find where all of my classes will be for when the school year officially starts. As I fly through one of the hallways, I take a look and then see Alesha, hard at work in the forge. Curiously, I knock on the door, and then wait for her to notice me. After a few moments, she looks over and smiles. " Hey!" She says. " Come on in."

I walk on in, and then smile at her. " You're up early huh?" I ask, and then she nods. I glance down at the weapon she's working on. " Is that one of the student's?"

Alesha nods. " I couldn't sleep, so I thought I would go and find where I would have to go for the rest of the school year. And then it's a good thing I do, someone came to me and asked to work on their weapon. It could have been just minor repairs, but I wanted to make sure that everything was done right. I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt if I took shortcuts when it came to forging."

" How was their weapon damaged already?" I ask curiously.

Alesha then gets angrier then I've seen her before, clenching her hand into a fist. She holds up the weapon, and then shows me on it an insignia of a skull. " This is by a company called Badman. They make weapons for huntsman and huntresses, and their claim to fame is the dark aesthetic. It's supposed to help huntsman with the intimidation factor, and a lot of well, edgelords go and get weapons from them." Alesha says, anger creeping into her voice. " But they're famous for taking shortcut and cutting corners. This student bought from them without really doing all of the research, and so when he went to do some training yesterday it got damaged."

" Don't a lot of huntsman make their weapon by hand? Wouldn't it feel a lot more personal that way?" I ask. I can tell she's getting angry, and so I want to calm her down, and so I use a pretty common trick, getting them to talk about their passions.

" A lot of them do choose to," Alesha confirms, and I can tell that while she may be quick to anger, at least when it comes to weapons that anger also fades out quickly. Her tone has already become much calmer. " But some people just don't have the ability to, and so that's why these companies exist. A lot of them are good companies, but you do have to do the research. There are some that will cut any corners they can."

I nod, and then look at the weapon. " Well, it looks like you did a great job patching it up." I say

" Oh, thanks!" Alesha says. She then sighs. " Sorry, I didn't mean to get so mad talking about the weapon. It's just...." Alesha trails off.

" You don't have to tell me if you aren't ready to."

The two of us stand in silence for a little bit, and then she smiles slightly. " Well, are you ready to go and watch the initiation?" She asks.

" Yeah, I am! I wonder what team they're going to put me on." I say, and then she nods.

Walking together, the two of us make our way down to the cliff. Along the way, I smile when I see Karen and some of the other chefs pushing down carts of food, all of which looks and smells amazing. Eventually, we make it to the cliff where all of the students have been gathered.

Ozpin then explains how teams are going to be made, and then he turns to me, Karen, Alesha and all of the others from the gathered programs. " As for you all, after the initiation is over, you will be assigned any team which just so happens to only have three students."

After the students are launched, Glynda walks to me. She hands me a scroll, which shows the locations of all the students, and where their aura levels are. " Keep an eye on all of them." She then shows me how to use this scroll to make notes and separate tabs. " Keep track of their aura levels, and then pay special attention to those who fall below the green to heal after."

I watch the initiation from the scroll, watching as the students make their way through the Grimm, with varying degrees of challenge. " Hmm. That's an interesting team," I say to myself, and then Alesha glances over my shoulder curiously, and then I show her. The team in question is a blonde boy with a sword, who's aura reserves only recently appeared, the scroll has him labeled as Jaune Arc. Pyrrha Nikos, who everyone knows as the Invincible Girl, and then a girl with short orange hair and a massive hammer, Nora, and then her friend Ren.

" What about them?" Alesha asks, gesturing to a team of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long. The two of us watch from the scroll as Weiss and Ruby bicker their way through the forest, while Yang makes an attempt to get Blake to open up to her, or at the very least say something.

" What teams have less students?" Karen asks, making her way over. " Sorry, I didn't mean to barge in, I just wanted to see which of the teams we might end up on."

" Right. Well right now there's this team." I say, showing her a team of just Taigam and Kay, which seems like a mismatch, but that's what happens when you randomize the teams. " And then right now, there's this team." I say, showing a team of Hercules, Zion and Jason.

Eventually, all of the teams have made their way to the auditorium. Ozpin recites the names of all the teams, and then the leaders, with a few surprises, like Ruby being the leader of her team, and then Jaune being the leader of his. Finally, the last two teams make their way onto the stage, Taigam and Kay, and Hercules, Zion and Jason.

" Now then. For these final two teams. Would Alesha Kolaghan and Karen Atarka please make their way to Taigam and Kay?" He asks, and then the two of them do that. " The four of you will be known as team ATKK. Led by Alesha Kolaghan." As he says, this Kay narrows her eyes, but then Ozpin quickly moves onto the next team.

" And finally, Emma Waters. Hercules Spring. Zion Helsing. And Jason Branwen. The four of you shall be known as team EHZJ. Led by Emma Waters."

All of the teams begin making their way to find the dorms. I open my mouth to say something to my team, and then I notice the death glare Zion is shooting me. My mouth quickly falls silent, and as I enter the room, I have to wonder what the hell Ozpin was thinking making me leader.

Chapter Text

-Hercules POV-

After the initiation I make it to the dorm with the other members of my team. I feel bad for Emma honestly. Zion seems to hate her for being here, which isn't fair to her. The poor girl looked just as shocked as anyone else when she was told she would have to be the leader of the team. I try to keep quiet, not wanting to try to talk to them and having the conversation lost over the sounds of the other teams celebrating, or friends being overjoyed to be on the same team with each other. Eventually, we make it to where our dorm is. I look across the hall, and then give a small wave when I see Taigam entering his own dorm, which he returns.

Walking into the dorm, I look around and then I see the four beds. " Does anyone have anywhere in the room they really want to be?" Emma asks, trying not to look Zion in the eyes. After their glare earlier, I get the sense Emma is a little scared of them, and I can't blame her.

" Well since you're the team leader maybe you should get the first choi-" I start to say, and then I sigh when I see Zion and Jason already throwing their things onto the bed they want. I then turn to Emma and offer the friendliest smile I can. " Well you can choose out of the two which are left."

Emma smiles slightly, and then sets her things down on the bed. Once I set my stuff down, I then turn to try and talk to them, and break the ice, and I see that Jason and Zion have already left, and Emma is deep within unpacking her own things and getting organized. Shrugging, I take out my scroll, and then check my messages, and see that I have one from Yatsuhashi about wanting me to come and talk to him. I confirm that his team is gone, and then walk upstairs. Knocking on the door, I wait for a few moments, and then he opens the door. " Ah. Hercules, please come in." He says.

I walk in through the door, and then turn to him. " Hey. It's been a while. Grace really misses you." I say.

" Yes, and I miss her. I have been reading her letters and writing to her, but Beacon keeps me very busy." Yatsuhasi says, and then I nod. " It is good to see you again Hercules. What have you thought of Beacon so far?"

" Honestly, it's been pretty cool. I haven't had the chance to bond much with my team. But, I did meet some pretty cool people. Nora for one. And then I saw Pyrrha again. Oh yeah, and I met a guy who seems pretty cool. Taigam." I say.

Yatsuhashi nods. " Yes, I watched the initiation. I saw Taigam fighting. It is nice to not be the only student here from Amonkhet," he says.

" Hey, what did you want to talk to me about?" I ask.

" As you know, your sister and I have been dating for sometime. And in recent years, she has gotten very sick. The other day, the two of us had a video call with each other, and the both of us agreed." Yatsuhasi begins, getting emotional just talking about how sick my sister is. " I proposed to her, and she agreed. Normally, we would want to wait until after Beacon. But well, time is a luxury we don't have."

I nod and then sigh. " Oum that's....yeah." I then run a hand through my hair. " Well, I mean you have my blessing. I've known you forever really. Ever since we were kids. And no one has made Grace as happy as you've made her. And I know you're marrying her because you love her, and not just to say you got married. When is the wedding going to be?"

" At the end of the month," Yatsuhasi says. " In two weeks time to be more precise. You would have gotten this in time, but I wanted to be the first to invite you," he says, handing me an invitation. " And please, bring someone. Grace doesn't say it, but I know it would mean the world to her to see you with a girl on your arm. But not one of the hookups you've had. A girl who means something to you." He says, and without me even meaning to, I think of inviting Nora to the wedding. " And any friends you make are welcome as well."

" Right." I say, and then I smile. " Well, I'm happy for you being married. Is your uh, is your team coming to the wedding?"

Yatsu gives a soft smile, knowing what I really mean to ask. " No. Fox is, but your sister was very adamant about Coco and Velvet not coming."

" Works for me," I say. The door to the dorm then opens, and then I see Coco and Velvet walking in with their shopping bags. " See you around Yatsu."

I say. I move my way to the door, and then Coco stands in the door. " Herc, I wanna talk to you," she says.

" I don't." I say, pushing my way past her. Velvet rushes to help her, and I slam the door behind me, and then I make my way back to my dorm, and then I walk inside to see it's just me and Emma. Shrugging, I hop onto the bed, and start to play games on my scroll, ready for classes to start.