Sword-Edge

"You know he doesn't belong, right?"

Glynda Goodwitch stood in Ozpin's office, the pair were staring at several camera feeds from the forest on a large holographic screen. The feeds showed some students walking through the woods, others were fighting creatures. Thankfully it seemed that none of the students had died this year, it filled her with a sense of relief that she wouldn't have to inform the parents of the untimely death of their child. That part of the job was always the hardest, though it wasn't one they had to do often.

The sound of Ozpin's fingertips drumming on the desk filled the room, as the video of a particular blue-haired boy holding a rusted sword moved to the center of the screen.

"That may be true, but I cannot ignore the request of a friend." He replied matter of factly, "They did me a great favor once, one that allowed me to gain an advantage I so desperately desired. I promised that I'd allow any foreigner into my academy, regardless of circumstance. So even if he has some rather 'unique' circumstances, I will allow Mr. Alenko to attend my academy."

His eyes suddenly took on a nostalgic look, he was no longer staring at the screen but rather looking right past it. A small smile crept onto his face, followed by a chuckle. "Yes. Truly he'll be a rather entertaining foreigner. If he plays his cards right, he may even be able to turn the tide of my situation."

She took a step back, it wasn't often that the headmaster spoke of such things, even rarer for him to speak of it in front of her without Qrow or Ironwood present. "I'll make sure to keep an eye on him, sir. Should I put him in the same group as the other foreigners, or…"

"No, list him as one of the Legions. I'm rather certain he's one of them but I'll verify his status myself during the opening ceremony just to be certain." Ozpin gripped the head of his cane tightly, an unnerving smile spreading across his face. "To have three... no... four Legions on our campus on the first day, what a year this is turning out to be."

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The pounding in Raishun's skull only seemed to grow with each step he took. It had started as a dull ache in his head but had now grown into a feeling of constant pressure in his head. It felt like a vice was slowly being closed around his brain.

"Bec… -ad…ch..."

The broken sentence repeated itself over and over in his head. The meaning was a mystery to him, all he could tell was that the voice was feminine, and that he couldn't talk back to it. He'd tried muttering to it under his breath, and using his thoughts to communicate, but neither of them had worked. All he'd earned for his efforts were worried looks from Laura.

A loud boom from the forest stopped the group in their tracks. They held their breaths, listening for any other sounds until several cracks of a rifle caused them to breathe sighs of relief. All except for Alisa, who stepped to the front of the group, her green eyes scanning the forest vigilantly.

"I hope the other applicants will be okay." Laura said in a worried tone, "I've heard rumors that several of the applicants in last year's exam were killed by Grimm."

"They'll be fine, we've all trained for this. Besides I'm sure those were just rumors." He patted his younger cousin on the head affectionately, only to have her shrug him off once again. His eyes drifted over to Alisa, and he leaned down and whispered something to Laura that made her lightly slap him on the forehead.

The two began to argue amongst themselves in hushed voices. On his own, and needing a distraction from the pain, Raishun moved to Alisa's side.

"Hey, you feeling alright Alisa?" He asked her in a worried tone. Standing by her side, his eyes scanned the environment for any threats but found none. "You've been spacing out for a while now, there's nothing out there you--"

"Get back!!" Throwing herself backwards, she tackled him to the ground just in time to avoid a gargantuan blade slamming down on the spot where they had been standing. Quickly twirling around, she pointed her rifle at where she thought their attacker was, only to be met with open forest.

"What the hell was that!?!" Gil yelled as he and his cousin helped the pair to their feet.

Together, the group formed a tight-knit circle, their hearts thundered in their chests as trees noisily creaked and fell around them. They could hear heavy footfalls, low menacing growls, both seemed to come from all around them. There was something large yet unseen circling the group, something that Raishun knew was much more dangerous than any beast he had fought before.

With a groan of frustration, Alisa stuck her hand out to her side. Blue particles began converging in her hand as she used her semblance to create three ivory-coloured bullets.

"Cover your mouths, and try not to breathe this in!" She ordered. Loading the rounds into a slot in the side of her rifle, she elegantly spun in a circle, the hem of her green uniform flowing upwards as she fired the bullets into the forest surrounding them. After a short pause, a loud puff not unlike a balloon being deflated sounded around them, followed by fine white powder that filled the air.

Down the powder fell, covering trees, bushes... and the silhouette of their attacker. Standing just as tall as the trees that surrounded them, it's spine covered head lowered down mere meters away from the group. It opened its large gaping maw to let out a roar when--

"Go up in flames!" The pink-haired sniper said coldly, before firing a single shot from her rifle at the beast. The bullet glanced off its armor but created a spark that ignited the powder on its body. It didn't have time to react as the forest exploded in blue flames.

Raishun was blown off his feet by the blast and was sent flying back a few feet, while the rest of the group stood their ground. Without a moment to catch his breath, he scrambled back up to his feet, amber eyes taking in the scorched remains of the forest around them.

"D-...Did we get it?"

"You bet!" That was one of my signature moves: Blue Rose!" She explained with a smug grin on her face. "I've destroyed areas twice the size of this using it. I'm proud to say it never fails-"

A deep growl from behind her caused her to stop mid-sentence. With its camouflage gone, the creature attacking them was revealed as it rose from the forest's ashes. It was very similar to a T-Rex in appearance, with a few differences. Sharp navy coloured spines ran along its crimson body, starting with the pair of horns on its head, and ending at the large single-edged blade it had for a tail.

"So much for never failing huh." Gil snapped, "Look's like you just pissed this thing off!"

"Hey hey hey! T-That was just a fluke! A lucky miss, a one in one hundred occurrence!"

"There's no way…" Raishun muttered, slowly moving to the front of the group, he recognized the creature. "It's not supposed to be real…"

"Seems pretty real to me! Out of the way Raishun!" Gil ordered, pushing past him while simultaneously pulling free a purple-colored hatchet from his waist. "If you're not going to help fight, then stay out of my way!"

"Please, don't take his words too close to your heart." Laura said softly, "He can be callous to people he's just met, but he does mean well. Although, please try not to interfere with the fight if you feel you can't meaningfully contribute in combat."

"H-hey wait you just said the same thing he did! It hurts more when you're all nice like that!" Drawing the rusted sword from his hip, he moved back by Alisa. "You guys are mean!... But I guess I'll just watch our backs for now."

With the forest burning around them, Gil and Laura rushed in to attack the creature. Without a word being exchanged between them, Gil suddenly dropped to one knee and boosted his cousin into the air. Landing elegantly on it's back, she began to slice at it's back and spines using a pair of silver blades.

While the creature tried to shake her off, the brown-haired boy began to chop away at its legs with his hatchet. There was no blood, only growls of pain as he nimbly ducked and weaved through each bite and kick, with the refined aura of a dancer on a stage.

In a fit of rage, it let out a loud roar and charged at the pair in the backline. Mouth wide open, a glowing yellow light began to shine in its throat as it prepared to launch an attack at the sniper and her guard.

"I won't let you!" Laura placed her palm on it's back, a purple glow began emanating from her body. It spread from her palm onto the creature, and suddenly it slammed into the ground, as if it had been slapped by a giant hand. Unfortunately, the action threw her off it's back, but covering herself in a purple glow, she slowed midair and landed softly on her feet beside her team.

Seeing an opportunity, Alisa lowered her rifle, took aim, and pulled the trigger. The creatures frustrated growls stopped and were replaced with a low gurgling as a hole the size of a basketball appeared in its throat. It began to writhe and struggle on the ground, it's limbs flailing as it tried to suck in a breath.

"That'll do her in." The sniper explained in a cold tone, "Every breath it takes will make the hole bigger till…" She raised her hands to her throat and quickly opened them while mouthing the word "Boom".

The foreigner flinched but nodded grimly in understanding. As much as he wanted to put the creature out it's misery, he couldn't get close without risking his life. "We should keep moving, the extraction shouldn't be too far away now." Unable to stomach the sounds the creature made any longer, he turned on his heel and began to walk up the hill.

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The airship ascended, carrying groups of students back to campus just as another arrived to carry the next batch. Laura's group was among those waiting to be recovered, and while they were lucky to be unscathed, others weren't as lucky. A pair of trainees passed her by, one of them with blood splotched bandages covering their left eye, was being half-carried by the other.

[When I'm the leader I must take care to lead my team well, lest they end up like that.] She thought calmly. Her eyes casually drifted over to the boy who would be her partner.

Ever since their encounter earlier that day, he'd been distant. Throughout their walk to the extraction point he'd been checking his body over and over, as if expecting to suddenly find a wound on his body. She found his actions strange, any huntress in training worth being accepted into Beacon would be able to withstand a blast of embers without batting an eye. And yet, the blue-haired boy had seemed genuinely frightened when it happened. Not only that, he was thrown off of his feet by the attack. His weapon wasn't much better, it was badly chipped in several places, and rust covered so much of the blade and guard that she worried it might crumble at the smallest impact.

Subconsciously, she was slowly inching closer and closer to her cousin, until her forehead bumped against his shoulder.

"Hm?" Gil looked down at her, at first with curiosity, then with worry. "What's bothering you this time. Is it because of your partner, if so I agree that there's something off about him."

"Whatever gave you that impression? I'm quite confident in my choice of partner." She glanced over in Raishun's direction, "He's courageous and--"

"You're chewing on the inside of your cheek again."

She paused, suddenly noticing the taste iron in her mouth. Offering him a thin-lipped smile, she bowed her head in apology. "Forgive me, here I thought I had finally rid myself of that disgusting habit."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, we've been through a lot over these past few years." He patted her head, his handsome features brightening when she didn't shake him off. "We've depended on each other all this time, you can trust me with what's on your mind."

"You're right, my problems do lay with Raishun." She sighed, glancing at her partner from the corner of her eye. "He doesn't behave like a Hunter. While most of us are confident in our abilities, he's so timid… almost like a scared rabbit. And yet that sword, it's similar to the one in mother's diary."

"I saw that too." The taller boy's gaze settled on the faded crimson hilt hanging from the foreigner's waist. "The resemblance is uncanny. If we have to, we can do what we discussed before and--"

Their conversation was cut short by loud screaming from the airships. Trainees were running, struggling to get into the ship, as the half-dead creature they had fought in the forest emerged from the trees. Bright embers spilled from the hole in its throat, setting the ground behind it ablaze as it limped towards the airships.

Suddenly it veered off course, and began chasing after one of the trainees, who began to sprint away from the half-dead Grimm. His black capelet and rusted sword gave away his identity to Laura, who felt her breath suddenly hitch in her throat.

"That's Raishun!!"

The pair struggled to push through the surging crowd, trying to reach their teammate. Alisa trying shooting her gun into the air to get the trainees to scatter, only to cause the crowd to panic and swarm towards the airships. Despite their efforts, the crowd pushed them back away from Raishun.

"Fool!! What's come over you!?!"

"Raishun get out of the way!!"

"Get out of there ya idiot!!"

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Everything looked hazy, and blurred around the edges as if he were looking through smudged glass. His lungs burned with each step he took, the ground beneath his feet shook from the footsteps of his pursuer. Vaguely he heard his group members yelling at him, but he couldn't discern their words. He was tired, confused, and in pain.

The Grimm lunged at him, it's fiery jaws would've taken off his upper torso had he not rolled to the side. He swung his sword diagonally at it's head, only to have the dull blade harmlessly bounce off it's navy armor. It let loose a roar, and he broke into a sprint once again.

[This is so stupid!! Have I lost my mind!?] He thought to himself, [I shoulda just gotten on the ship with the others…] Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an injured applicant crawling onto the airship. One of the trainees burst from the crowd and helped drag the injured man inside to safety. [But some of those people are hurt and can't move well. Even if it's just for a little, if I can buy them some time then-]

"Bec… -ad…ch…"

Again, the feminine voice repeated the same sentence. Shortly after the pounding in his head returned. Gritting his teeth, he threw himself to the side in time to dodge a lunge from the creature chasing him.

"Become…-yad...chan-...-ate."

He rolled away from a bite and thrust his sword towards its cheek, only to have it bounce off harmlessly once again. With a growl of frustration, he slashed at its face three more times, but to little effect.

The Grimm stepped backwards, then swung it's body sending it's sword tail racing down towards Raishun. He raised his blade, and deflected the blow to the side, the impact causing him to fall to his knees.

The pounding in his head, the voices message, and the threat in front of him began to agitate him as he ran away once more.

[My leg hurts... My arm hurts.]

He dove to the ground, dodging another swing from the Grimm's tail.

[I don't want to be here... My head hurts.]

Hot anger started to rise from the pit of his stomach. He slid to a stop, holding his sword in front of his body as he faced his foe.

"IF YOU WANT ME SO BADLY, THEN COME AND GET ME!!!" He shouted, "I'LL TAKE YOU DOWN WITH ME IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!!"

With a gurgle filled roar, the creature brought its tail up to its mouth, flames flowed over the blade and heated it until it shone a bright red colour. The grass surrounding it became yellow and singed, curling into itself under the heat before bursting into flames.

"Become my Dyad… Change your fate."

The pain in his head abruptly faded and instead moved to the right side of his back. Doing his best to ignore the burning pain, he slowly felt strength begin to build up inside of him. His breathing slowed down, his eyes felt sharper. No longer was he afraid.

With a loud roar the beast spun it's the molten tail in a full circle, setting everything in the area ablaze. With a determined cry, Raishun blocked the blade head-on, sending sparks flying as their blades clashed. Slowly the rust on his sword began to peel away, revealing the obsidian coloured blade underneath.

"Let the pressure burst out, and slay your foe!" The voice ordered.

With a loud war cry, he pushed its bladed tail back, knocking the creature off balance. Suddenly the pain in his back disappeared, and with it, his body felt lighter. He could feel the muscles throughout his body brim with new power. Kicking off from the ground, he did a jumping slash towards the creatures head, but it blocked his attack with it's tail.

Raishun forced himself to push his sword harder. Small cracks began to appear in the creatures tail as the two clashed. It opened it's mouth in a pained roar, and a bright light appeared at the back of it's throat. Suddenly a ball of flame shot out from it's throat and slammed into his stomach, sending him crashing into the ground in a cloud of dust.

He jumped to his feet, and looked down at his stomach. [I'm okay...] he thought to himself, before tightening his grip on his sword.

"My turn!!" He launched himself up towards the beast from the dust cloud, catching it off guard, and sunk his blade into the hole Alisa had made. With a mighty tug, he pulled his sword up to its jaw, fully opening its throat before he jumped away.

The creature that had stalked them for so long took one last shaky step forward, then Raishun dashed forward again and slashed at its body, opening a large gash in his side. Landing on a nearby tree, he bounded off of it and slashed again, and again, and again. With each rebound, he moved faster, until with one last slash, the beast exploded into a large cloud of smoke.

As he skidded to a halt, he released a slow heavy breath. The weightlessness that had enveloped him faded, now all he felt was a dull ache throughout his body. "Gah… Shoulda worked out more before I got here." Behind him he could hear people running closer. [Think about this later, right now put on the show!] Putting on a small smile, he turned to face whoever was approaching him.

All three members of his group stood in front of him, with expressions ranging from surprise to excitement on their faces. "I told you I was having a bad sword day." He quipped and sheathed his sword. "I'm sorry that it took so long for me to warm up, I must be losing my touch." He yawned, "Now let's get back to the academy, I could go for a nap right about now."