Chapter Text
Crashing onto the ground, blood dripped from Jaki’s face as he fell onto his knees, hands holding his face, his aura pulsated in pain as the sound of his heartbeat rang in his ears. Glaring up at the one who did this to him, a pair of silver eyes stared into his soul as a young woman in a black qipao slowly approached him. She wore a stoic expression, her hands stained with his blood before she wiped it off on the sides of her dress.
She struck one of his pressure points, and if it weren’t for his aura, he would have been a bloody mess on the pavement mere moments after he crashed into the ground. Scrambling onto his feet, he rushed forward with a flurry of punches that seemed to phase through her body before she diverted a blow with her forearm and countered with a violent uppercut that launched him off the ground. The world around him slowed as she formed a pair of fists and began to barrage him with a flurry of blows.
“ATATATATATATA! ATA!”
Jabbing a finger into his forehead, she launched him across the room and had him crashing onto the pavement once more. Rushing to get up, his body froze as she stood before him with a solemn glare. No matter what he did, his body refused to move, his heart banging against his chest as his head began to feel like it was being split open.
“You’re already dead.”
Was all she spoke, a piece of his arm bursting open as blood spewed out, before he could react, his other limbs following suit with the back of his head being last. Blood obscured his vision, with the last thing he saw being the woman who did this to him.
Then, he woke up.
5:00
The beeping of his scroll woke him from his nightmare. Swiping away the alarm notification, he glared at his device’s wallpaper. It was a picture of him and three other individuals; the youngest of the four bore those striking silver eyes that haunted him in his nightmares. Tossing his scroll to the nightstand next to him, the bed creaked as he sat up and rubbed his face. His physical exam was in two hours, and despite needing to be well rested, the voucher given to him was only enough to warrant him a few nights at a cheap motel a few minutes away from the testing facility. He’s slept worse, but for an Academy as prestigious as Beacon, one would think they’d at least TRY to get him somewhere nicer than a room that smelled of cheap cleaning product and coffee. Then again, he was a last-second enrollment; all the decent places were probably taken.
Hopping out of bed, Jaki rolled his shoulders, stretching out his body in silence whilst the world around him slumbered still. This was a far cry from the Hokuto Grounds in Mistral, no cool morning dew or breeze, but they did have free breakfast here. Dressing himself, he donned an all white changshan with matching slacks and a black overcoat to conceal the outfit and protect it from potential staining; he was wearing all white after all. Brushing his teeth and splashing some water on his face, he gathered what little things he had and shoved them into his bag. Checking the room once over to make sure he didn’t forget anything, he left and made his way down to get his free breakfast.
The food itself wasn’t anything groundbreaking: eggs, sausage patties, some artificial orange juice, enough to fill him up and not make him feel sluggish for eating. Snagging an apple from the fruit basket, the red delicious would fuel him whilst he leisurely made his way to the testing facility. He had plenty of time really, an hour, all things considered.
He had only arrived in Vale recently, last night actually, and hadn’t been able to explore the place he’d be spending the next four years living in. Unfortunately, a good bulk of the shops here were closed, considering how early in the morning it was. Many of them either flat out closed for today or are opening at a later time. The town, a little ways from his former home, would have been bustling with people already, merchants eagerly trying to draw in customers to buy whatever their stalls were offering.
Aimlessly wandering the empty streets, one place caught his eye, “ Tukson’s Book Trade ”, the shop opening a little over ten minutes ago with what he assumed was Tukson inside and behind the counter. Swinging open the door, a bell chime emitted from a small speaker over the door.
“Welcome to "Tukson's Book Trade", home to every book under the sun!” A tall man greeted. He had short, dark hair, but the standout feature of his was the dark sideburns curving forward, making it look like… well, tusks. He gave Jaki a small smile, pushing a stack of books to the side. The place wasn’t fully open, but he didn’t seem to mind his intrusion. The name tag on his shirt, being “Tukson”, confirmed his earlier assumption, “How may I help ya?”
“Just looking around, your place seems to be the only spot open at this…” trailing off mid-sentence, his eyes locked onto a book tucked into a corner shelf, “ Nanto Seiken 101 ”, walking over to grab it, the entire shelf seemed to be dedicated to various martial arts books and guides. Opening the book to a random page, old drawings of techniques and various styles were presented before the Hokuto practitioner. Shutting the book, he turned it over to the back and saw that it went for surprisingly cheap. Returning his attention to Tukson, he held up the book to him as he walked over to the counter, “Sorry bout that, just caught my eye and had to grab it.”
“Not a problem, that’ll be all?” Scanning the book, he put it in a plastic bag and waited for Jaki to pay.
“That’ll be all, yes.” Handing over the required Lien, Jaki took the bag and placed the receipt in it. Checking his scroll, the time was 6:45, fifteen minutes before his physical exam.
HUH?
Was he really wandering around for this long? Putting away the scroll, Jaki nearly broke into a sprint before realizing the testing facility was just around the corner. Huh, how convenient… Approaching the building, it was a large gymnasium with a banner for Beacon Academy placed next to its entrance. A sheet of paper taped to the door with “ RESERVED FOR BEACON PHYSICAL EXAMS 7:00 - 15:00” printed in bold black ink was the only indicator for why the facility was so empty.
Entering the lobby was empty, save for the lady at the front desk and a girl with a black bow on her head, both of whom briefly looked up at Jaki when he entered.
“Mr. Yin?” The lady at the front desk spoke up after a second, adjusting her glasses to look at a tablet with his information.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied, patiently waiting as he watched her type something on her tablet and motioned him over where the girl was sitting.
“Give us a moment to set up the exam for you, have a seat till then.”
Seating himself a few chairs away from the only other test taker, she was engrossed in a novel he didn’t recognize. Not wanting to bother, he set his bag down in front of him and pulled out his most recent purchase, opening the book to the first page. The opening text was a summary of the martial art, its many branching schools, and a chapter index dedicated to the varying schools of Nanto Seiken. They were ordering in the simplicity of the schools, and the more challenging schools were relegated to later in the book. Curious, he skipped toward the end of the book, “Nanto Koshu Ken ” (South Dipper Lone Eagle Fist) being the final school. It was a mess of words and techniques that the son of Hokuto could barely comprehend, the visuals alone not even offering much help as he decided to just go back to the beginning.
Hit to his martial pride aside, he set his sights on the first school of Nanto in the guide, “Nanto Jaro Geki” (South Dipper Wicked Wolf Attack), little more than a few pages, it was less a school and more a technique beginners would learn. Focus your aura into your fingertips and slash them at your opponents. Simple enough, it’s not like-
“Mr. Yin,” pulled from his reading, Jaki would be called up by the lady at the front desk. Putting the book back in his bag, he stood up as she called for him. “The exam is ready, you too, Ms.Belladonna.” Perking up from her book, she put in a bookmark and closed it. Some more people were in the lobby at this time, though it seemed that the two of them would be first.
Both of them followed her further into the facility and down a long hallway. He was nervous; having an extra pair of eyes on him only added to the pressure. After a while, the three would stop at a metal doorway, “You’ll be taking your exam in here, Ms. Belladonna. Best of luck.”
“Break a leg,” his comment warranted a stare from the two women. Jaki realized how poor the statement sounded in the moment, a small smile crept onto his face to save the moment, “You know, good luck… and stuff.” For a moment, Belladonna seemed pleased by his effort to save face, smirking at him for a moment before entering the room.
“...Noted, You’ll be in the room next to her, just down the hall.” Leading him down the hall, the two stopped just before another metal doorway, “Break a leg, Mister Yin.” A small smile crept onto her face. His own words spoken to him, Jaki could only smile back, silently cringing at himself for even saying it earlier instead of a basic “good luck” or “do your best”.
Stepping into the room, the door shut behind him with the ring of a loud speaker overhead drawing his attention.
“Good morning, Mr. Yin, I do hope your trip here was… adequate, considering your peculiar circumstances.” A man’s voice echoed from the speaker. The room he was tested in was about half the size of a basketball court. A pair of humanoid droids stood slouched and off at the other end, a large steel box stood between the two. Jittering occasionally, the pair of droids powered on, turning to the steel box before the voice continued, “Now, usually, potential students at Beacon Academy would be put under an excruciating physical test, one that would push anyone to their limits.” The steel box would be opened by the pair of droids, a low growl emitting from the inside as a massive tiger slowly crawled out from its captivity. “You, on the other hand, will be tested in a different manner.”
Powering off, the two droids returned to their slouched positions. Now fully out from its containment, the only two beings here were it and Jaki. Staring each other down, the room was completely silent, the beast quietly sizing up Jaki. Placing his hands behind his back, he simply kept eye contact with the beast, not moving an inch from his initial spot even as the beast lurked closer to him.
Glaring up, it continued to size up its human prey, unsure of what he would do if it crept closer. He bore no fear nor killing intent. He didn’t even register the tiger as a threat and in turn, the tiger didn’t even feel threatened by him.
Gazing down at the beast, he gently raised a hand up to pet the feline. The tiger accepted the notion, turning around and returning to its containment as the steel gate of the box shut behind it. He couldn’t help but smirk at the interaction, the moment only stopping when he realized this type of test was something few people would know of.
“A trial like this is meant for potential successors of Hokuto, ya know.” He spoke up, turning to the now open doorway. Standing there was a silver haired gentleman with tinted round glasses, holding a mug of hot chocolate, and leaning on a cane that he very much did not need.
“I saw it in a movie,” sipping from his drink, he stepped to the side and motioned for Jaki to follow along. “Don’t worry, it’ll be sent back to Mistral by the evening. Congratulations on passing.”
That was a lie. The movie part, at least, but, not wanting to push the topic, Jaki followed along, exiting the test room with the old man. “I’m grateful, regardless.” Walking down the hall, he’d be stopped when a cane was raised and pointed at the end of the hallway. The woman from earlier stood at the end of it, her face painted in frustration as she stared at her tablet.
“Let’s take the back exit,” he told Jaki, quickly turning him around and walking away at a hastened pace.
“Wha-”
“OZPIN!” her voice echoed from down the hallway. The clacking of her heels followed suit with Ozpin now practically breaking into a light jog. Assuming that wasn’t a good thing, he also broke into a light jog, catching up as the older man hurriedly folded some papers into an envelope, closed it, and shoved it into Jaki’s hands.
“We here at Beacon Academy are delighted to accept you into our doors and wish you the best of luck in the coming four years. If you have any questions feel free to send us an email or call us on our support line. AsheadmasterIpersonallylookforwardtoseeingyourgrowthandhopetoseeyouasaproudhuntsmanattheendofthesefouryears-” Approaching the back exit, the Headmaster stopped and quickly patted him on his shoulders, dusting him off and pulling his hand up to shake. The clicking of heels growing louder and quicker, Ozpin promptly shoved Jaki out of the exit and back outside.
“Now, Glynda, I know the method used for Mr. Yin’s-”
“I COULD CARE LESS, YOU STOLE A TIGER FROM-”
The door slammed shut before Jaki could hear the rest of the conversation. Standing dumbfounded at the sudden change of events, he could only look at his hastily folded acceptance letter and nod in affirmation of his success. Putting it into his bag, he quietly walked off, checking the time on his scroll, it was a little past 11:00, just in time for lunch.
Letting out a sigh, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat exhausted despite the questionable relaxed nature of his physical exam. He managed to keep his cool when facing the tiger, but to say it was an easy task would be a flat out lie. The high from his acceptance quickly wore off as he slouched forward and leaned against the shut metal doors of the facility’s back entrance. The growl of his stomach took him out of the moment as he smelled food.
Peeking from around the corner, there was a small gathering to the side of the facility, various food trucks offering meals to the very much hungry Beacon students who just finished taking their physical exam. Approaching the gathering from behind, a man handed him a wrapped hot dog with a can of cola before heading off to give out food to the other students. It was never wise to take food from a stranger, but it’d be rude to just decline free food…
Unwrapping the tubed meat in a bun, he gave it a quick sniff, confirming that the meal was safe, he practically inhaled it before downing the canned cola. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but for someone that just got out of an excruciating physical exam? Probably tasted like heaven, especially since it was free.
Shutting the door to his motel room. He tossed his bag to a corner and practically collapsed onto his bed. Why was he so tired? Who knows, but it wasn’t important, checking the time, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to allow himself a quick nap… after all, he did just get accepted into Beacon Academy…
21:00
Jolting awake, Jaki wiped the drool from his mouth and sat up from his unintentionally long nap. Checking the time, a groan escaped the young man.
“Slept the day away…” rubbing his eyelids, a yawn escaped his mouth as he bounced himself off the bed. His scroll had a single notification on it, some sort of local alert that was swiped away for not being important to him. Still dressed from earlier today, he didn’t even bother to fix himself up, leaving his motel room to explore the city at night. Mostly to just get himself dinner.
Checking his wallet, there was enough lien to get himself something decent. Though instant noodles never hurt, reaching the sidewalk, he decided to go the opposite way he took in the morning, explore a bit and all. Luck favoring the son of Hokuto with the shop “From Dusk Till Dawn” now open late! It was obviously a dust shop, but curiosity got the best of him and he entered the shop anyway.
An elderly man stood at the checkout counter, smiling at the new customer before returning to whatever miscellaneous task he was on. The shop itself is quite diverse with products other than dust being sold, magazines lining the shelves with others having other products like dust containers and or junk food. Seeing how he and the shopkeep were the only ones in, Jaki didn’t feel the need to rush.
Snagging a small shopping basket, he loaded up on various chips and sodas before stopping to admire the diverse elements of dust the shop had for sale. They were at a surprisingly decent price too, a sale going on and offering-
“Hey-”
A blade tapped against his basket, pulling Jaki’s attention to whoever was wielding the weapon. Standing behind him was a tall man in a black and red suit, tinted red sunglasses obscuring his eyes with a bowler hat resting on top of his head.
“Hands where I can see ‘em.”