In Beacon's main hall, while everyone was waiting for the initiation results, as it was the day before, the atmosphere was overly excited and friendly as the students gossiped. Still, with one exception: a single person kept drawing attention, especially from the female audience.
How could it be any different when such a model-like man had just appeared out of nowhere?! Well, given the fact that the mysterious, sinister cloaked student known as Uchiha Sasuke had disappeared, maybe he had always been among them, and now they could understand why he was hiding.
Not that it matters, anyway.
Sasuke had no one but himself to blame for being born this hot.
Now, he had to deal with the consequences of his blessing, and please the girls who couldn't help but fantasize about so many scenarios that made their bodies hot and pants wet.
It was a shame, really, that he was being claimed by the Schnee bitch. Like, she already has everything that she could ever want in this world! Why the hell did she have to lay her hands on Sasuke, too?!
This was so unfair!
Now, the dream boy was pretty much out of reach. After all, crossing a Schnee was a dangerous game, as everyone knows what could happen.
It was quite a common occurrence, actually.
From time to time, there's news of someone who lost everything, disappeared, or was just killed with no culprit to be found.
Jacques Schnee was relentless like that, and Weiss Schnee, his heir, was believed to be just as bad. So much so that many outright think that she is just trying to be a Huntress to gain even more power, like her sister was doing in the Atlas army.
Talk about a terrifying family.
It was as terrifying as the ignorance of the two girls who were still trying their luck, acting like guardians to protect Sasuke from everyone else, while the real danger was already holding his hand.
Fools, both of them.
The younger one was a cute girl who seemed a bit too young to be at Beacon, probably one of those prodigies. She had some unusual silver eyes, black hair with a reddish hue, and was dressed in a goth lolita style.
Honestly, this girl was a far cry from the Schnee princess, almost her opposite in every sense of the word. Besides that, she also seemed so innocent that even if she managed to put her hands on Sasuke, she wouldn't know how to please him.
To put it briefly, this girl was as naive as they could be.
Now, the blond bombshell was a different story, and this girl was as beautiful as she was intimidating. Be it because of how good she looked with that supermodel body of hers, or because of the eyes that turned red with anger, no one wanted to get on her bad side.
This one actually had a chance with Sasuke, as she was on his level, but not without risking disappearing one day... unless she turns out to be just a side chick.
That makes sense, they suppose. After all, relationships with more than three people are quite common because of the lack of men in the world. But will the Schnee princess accept something like that?
No way in hell, for that would tarnish their reputation as a noble family.
Be that as it may, the girls would certainly keep their distance and watch where this drama goes...and see if there's some opening to strike without risking losing everything.
As for the boys, most of them wished that Sasuke had kept that damn cloak on for the rest of his fucking life! Better yet, that he had never come to Beacon! Now, they were all going to be compared to him, and fuck with their chances of getting a girl!
This had to be the worst timeline!
On the other side of this whole commotion, Sasuke was with his arms crossed over his chest, and his eyes closed as he disconnected from the world around him. While being the center of attention and having his image defiled in the minds of a bunch of women bothered him deeply, what happened earlier bothered him even more.
I talked too much. He had this bad habit of losing his composure when influenced by stronger emotions. And that didn't seem to have changed even now.
And probably never would while he lived.
Now, Sasuke had to deal with the consequences of his flaws as Weiss, Ruby, and Yang were patiently waiting for him to open up to them even more.
Something that he had no intention of doing.
Call this being stubborn, but men prefer to fight to the death rather than sit down and talk about their feelings, and Sasuke was no different.
Otherwise, he and Naruto wouldn't have such a mess of a friendship...even if most of it was influenced by things beyond their control.
"I... know that the three of you have questions," Sasuke started, and the girls stopped staring daggers at everyone else to listen to him. "But I don't think that it's something that I can answer. At least, not now."
That would probably make things even more complicated. But who knows? Maybe one day, he could tell them the same version of events that he told Ozpin.
Yeah, that could work.
"It's okay." Weiss waved it off dismissively, even if she didn't really mean it. "I don't expect you to tell me everything about you so soon, anyway, especially when I haven't told you about myself either."
Everyone had a skeleton or two in their closet, and she was no different.
Besides, Weiss was no stranger to the feeling of wanting revenge. Be it against her own father for destroying her family, or the White Fang for targeting them all the time.
"You...are far more comprehensive than I had imagined," Sasuke had to say, surprised at every turn by this girl. "I don't dislike that."
In fact, it's a characteristic that he could appreciate.
"Happy boyfriend, happy life." Weiss wore a smug smile, proud of herself and the points she had just scored. "So take your time."
Her curiosity could wait until he was ready to open up to her...or at least until she decided to open up to him, as well.
Sasuke didn't have an answer for that, but his amused smile spoke for itself. Of all the girls he had ever met, Weiss was up there with Ruby in how unique she was.
And he wasn't the only one who thought so.
"Damn, you are good!" Yang was really impressed by how smooth this girl was. "Do they teach how to flirt back in Atlas or something?"
Because this princess was proving to be quite a master of the craft! That, and she was slowly winning Sasuke over! So much so that he didn't even bother refuting it when she called him her boyfriend!
This was bad, really bad!
"Like they would teach such a thing!" Weiss was red in a weird mix of embarrassment and pride over such an accusation and what she assumed to be a compliment. "I'm just being myself!"
It's not her fault that her natural charm was so overwhelming that it could intimidate even a woman like Yang!
"A-anyway," Ruby interrupted by getting between them before they could turn this into a discussion, and focused on what really mattered. "Sasuke, while I agree with Weiss, try not to bottle everything inside." Taking a step closer, she rested her hand on his arm. "I don't like to see my friends hurting because... it hurts me, too."
Especially when it was the first boy that she had ever developed feelings for.
That made Sasuke's eyes widen as he was reminded of Naruto once again and the way he felt about him back when they were kids.
After he started to see a shadow of his family on Team 7, every time he saw Naruto hurting... Yeah, he felt pain too. When Sasuke understood that pain, that was the first time he saw Naruto as a friend.
His closest friend.
I don't even need to bother asking if he feels the same way. Sasuke knew all too well the feelings of that idiot, who was willing to die to save him from all his hatred. And that's one of the reasons why I need to get rid of him.
At least, that was the plan, but things have changed as new options have been presented to him in this world.
"You remind me of my only friend," Sasuke said suddenly, but soon mused on the thought as he looked at Yang. "Well, more like the two of you, actually."
They both had characteristics reminiscent of Naruto, be it in appearance and attitude or just the heart worn on their sleeves.
"I...will take that as a compliment," Yang said before smirking as she took the opportunity to put her arm around Sasuke's neck and push him closer. "And what do you mean by 'only friend'? I'm pretty sure we are friends, too!"
That and maybe something more, as she made sure to press her breasts against his arm to show the feminine weapons that she had, and that Weiss could only dream about~.
Scratch that, she is more like a combination of Ino and Karin! Sasuke could only be thankful to Weiss and Ruby for acting fast to save him from this blond menace. Well, I suppose it could be worse.
At least the other girls are keeping their distance, even if they are still watching him like prey.
They all seem especially wary of Weiss. Sasuke noticed, and now that he was paying attention, he could hear whispers carrying some serious accusation towards her. The Schnee family's reputation is almost as bad as the Uchiha's back in the Elemental Nations.
By the looks of it, they had a lot more in common than he had imagined.
Hard to say if that's a good thing or not. Sasuke was no saint, and neither was the Uchiha Clan, so who knows if the same was true for Weiss and her family. One thing is certain, though: Accepting her as my girlfriend would solve most of my problems in this world.
But not without creating new ones, as it would hurt Ruby badly and maybe even Yang, too.
Ironically, I think it would be so much easier if I just dated all three of them. Sasuke had already thought about something similar back in the Elemental Nations while he was contemplating restoring his clan, and the flock of fangirls that was chasing after him. More women equals more children, after all, and without burdening them.
Childbirth was no joke and could kill the mother, as it nearly happened with his mom when he was born.
Though I doubt they would ever agree to something like that. Sasuke just needed to watch Weiss and Yang beating heads to reach that conclusion. The same as it was back home with Sakura and Ino.
That's when he gave up on the idea, as women can't get along or bear the thought of sharing.
Not that men were much different. If anything, they were far worse.
Sasuke, for one, would never agree to have another man lay a finger on the woman he chose. In fact, he would burn that person to ashes, smile throughout the whole thing, revive him, and do it again a few more times.
So it would be hypocritical of him to expect anything different coming from the girls who are after him.
This is far more complicated than it has any right to be. Sasuke almost sighed as he decided to put these thoughts aside and focused on Ozpin, who was taking the stage. "It's time."
To know the official results of initiation and what would happen next.
Weiss and Yang stopped bickering to pay attention, as this was far too important to be ignored.
"First of all, I would like to apologize for keeping you all waiting while we sorted this out," Ozpin started, and the room fell silent to hear his words. "However, given the situation, it was to be expected. As you are all most certainly aware, there was an anomaly taking place during the initiation of this year."
Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and a few more students like Blake and Pyrrha, who were aware of the so-called anomaly, were looking at Sasuke.
"Because of that, the Grimm ignored most of you and made the initiation into a little stroll," Ozpin continued after also sharing a look with the boy in question. "And we can't have that. "Therefore, I'm nullifying the result."
As expected, there was a moment of silence, and then hell broke loose.
There were two sides in this commotion: one that managed to put their hands on a relic and the one that didn't; the one complaining about losing their place in Beacon and the one celebrating the chance to try again.
"Silence!" Glynda wasted no time in putting order in this chaos. "The Headmaster is still talking!"
Sometimes, teenagers had no consideration for their elders! But that would change for those who got admitted; she would be sure of that!
"Thank you, Glynda." Ozpin could always count on her to deal with crowd control. "While we had more than 60 of you out there, and there were 32 relics, enough to make 8 teams, we actually don't expect to have that many finishing the initiation. At most, only 5 teams are made per year, and we intend to keep it that way."
Quality over quantity.
Sasuke could understand and even agree with that, as it was even worse back in Konoha. After all, in his year, only 3 teams made it to Genin... which was still his ranking.
Now, he could only wonder if Naruto was still a Genin, too. That would be quite ironic, especially given the fact that both of them were now the most powerful Shinobi who have ever lived.
"So, tomorrow, we are going to redo this elimination process, also known as the initiation," Ozpin concluded, and this time, there was no outburst from the students as the message was well conveyed and received. "Now, you are probably wondering about how we intend to conduct this new exam."
That made the students hold their breath in anticipation.
"As you can imagine, the traditional Forest Emerald is out of the question, and we don't have another Grimm-infested area that is under control at the moment." Ozpin could think of the Forever Fall Forest, but even that place would need time to be prepared. "Therefore, we will settle it with a tournament between the new students, one that is similar to those held in Mistral or at the Vytal Festival."
And just like that, the room erupted once again to make Pyrrha Nikos the center of attention, as the favorite to win this whole thing!
Everything good didn't last, as they say.
However, given the fact that it was all thanks to Sasuke and his noble sacrifice that she could enjoy a little bit of peace, Pyrrha couldn't even complain. So, she accepted her fate, put on her fake smile, and started to wave to everyone.
Just another day as the Invincible Girl.
"Hell yeah!" Yang was smiling so much that she could barely contain her enthusiasm as she beat her fists together to create flames. "Now we are talking!"
Not just that, but she could also have a rematch with Sasuke!
"Oh my god, this is going to be so cool!" Ruby was jumping up and down before looking to Sasuke with a big smile. "Now I can finally show you what I can really do!"
And prove that she wasn't just a kid, but someone capable of walking by his side as a woman!
"That makes two of us, then." Weiss was just as confident as these two sisters and had an even bolder declaration to make to this boy. "Just you wait, Sasuke! I'm going to shine so much on that stage that you won't be able to take your eyes off me!"
Because she was always a star, be it singing, dancing, or fighting!
"I look forward to it," Sasuke said with a smile of his own to these girls as he started to get excited, too. With this, I can evaluate every single student here and see what they are truly capable of.
While he already had a good grasp of their overall status by comparing them with the girls around him, their Semblances were mostly unknown to him.
"Since all of you are so enthusiastic about the tournament, I suppose it's just right to make a little event out of it and transmit it for the world to see." Ozpin wasted no time in trying to capitalize on it to entertain the masses and help control the levels of negativity. "And as a reward for first place, that student will be granted the privilege of choosing their own teammates."
This time, the majority of the students, who were females, had their eyes on Sasuke and a predatory smile that promised nothing but madness between four walls and under the sheets.
Just like that, Weiss, Yang, and Ruby were surrounding Sasuke again to protect him against this pack made of thirsty wolves.
"Now, go dine and rest for the night." Ozpin had an apologetic smile for the boy being targeted, but he wasn't worried, and for good reason. "For tomorrow, the first Beacon Tournament begins!"
And it would be an event to remember!