“My name is Corey ‘Gold’ Tokiwa,  I'm just a Faunus, I have cat ears as an extra pair of ears.” My hands take off my hood to reveal them in the mirror. “I wear a black cloak to conceal them. I think of them as a burden half the time. I was accepted as a student at Beacon Academy. A school for Huntsman and Huntresses. We fight creatures called Grimm.” I throw my hood back one before anyone sees me. I keep my true eye color hidden, I wear contacts to help me see. I was born with silver eyes like my mother who has two silver eyes. She is the reason why I was born a Faunus. I have everyone believe that they are blue with the help of my contacts, it makes it look like I have two blue eyes.

I don't blame her for me being me. I see my Faunus traits as a burden. My father, Sora Tokiwa, was a human soldier. My mom Angela Silver-Towika was a model for Atlas. They moved to Menagerie after my brother was born. She didn't want us to be deprived of our heritage as animalistic Humans. My baby sister Amber Towika was born human. That's enough about my family for now.

Let me back up a bit. My life on the Run with an organization called the White Fang. I took out a bullet on a golden chain.  It was a reminder of what I needed to fix by atoning. My friend from Menagerie, Blake Belladonna, was attending. 

I heard a door slammed behind me, I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was a cowboy-dressed individual with blue eyes. He has brown hair and no weapons. Strangely, he doesn't look like someone who doesn't use any kind of weapon.

“Hello?” He asked in a thick Atlas accent.

“H-h-hi.” I stuttered a bit.

“Who are you?” He asked me.

“Corey Gold Towika Silver,” I got myself to say. “I prefer Just a Passing through Faunus… I mean Hunter, you better remember that.” I add sarcasm to that last part.

“Donald 'Dan' Crimson.” He extended his hand. “I'll remember that just a passing through Faunus. That's a great joke.”

I shook his hand but I felt like I had met him somewhere before. “So what do you use to fight?” Dan questions me.

“I fight with…” I sighed and two gauntlets appeared from the cloak. They had claws built-in and a chamber for bullets or dust. “I call them Fated Hour.”

“Nice name for an Edge lord.” Dan teases. “I don't use a weapon. I rely on my Semblance of Stubbornness. It lets me double my strength with every hit I take.”

“What about when your Aura breaks?” A girl with Violet eyes walked towards us.

“I usually don't worry about that.” Dan took off his hat. “I usually have my enemies down before I worry about that.”

“I create Shadow clones.” I shrug but my eyes are drawn towards the girl with Blonde-hair.  She drew my attention.

I saw her on the plane earlier. I stepped away from these two. I didn't know the girl but her Violet eyes I feel like I had seen her before. I walked over to the girl with Blonde hair.

“How's your first day going, little sister?” She asked Crater Face  

“You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?” She had silver eyes like me.

“Yikes! Meltdown already?” The blonde-haired girl.

Ruby replied “No, I exploded a hole in front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice...?”

Yang smiling broadly “Are you being sarcastic?”

Ruby scoffs as Weiss right next to her “I wish! I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I exploded, and then she yelled at me again, and I felt really, really bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!”

Weiss exclaimed “You!”

I looked at Weiss and Ruby. “Hello.”

Ruby panicked at me. “Yang it's one of those thieves from Dust till Dawn.”

“No, I'm not,” I replied calmly but also nervously. My ears twitched under my hood, good thing nobody noticed.

“What's with the cloak then you look like a nobody.” Weiss rudely puts it.

I took a deep breath, trying to maintain my composure. "I'm Corey," I said, keeping my voice steady. "And the cloak is... a personal choice." I glanced at Weiss. "I'm not a thief. I’m a student, just like you."

Yang's smile widened, and she extended a hand towards me. "I'm Yang Xiao Long. This is my little sister, Ruby Rose." She pointed to Ruby, who was still eyeing me warily.

I shook Yang's hand, her grip strong and confident. "Nice to meet you," I said, then turned to Ruby. "Sorry if I scared you. I promise I’m not here to cause trouble."

Ruby relaxed a bit, though she still looked uncertain. "Okay," she said slowly. "Sorry about the mix-up. It’s been a weird day."

Weiss crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed. "So, what’s with the dramatic entrance? And the hood?"

I felt a flicker of irritation but pushed it down. "It’s just... something I’m used to. Keeps me focused."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Focused on what?"

"On staying under the radar," I said, choosing my words carefully. "It's better if people don't notice me too much."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Well, you're at Beacon now. You can't stay in the shadows forever."

Yang chuckled. "Sounds like a challenge."

I couldn't help but smile a little at that. "I guess we'll see."

Ruby stepped forward, her curiosity overcoming her earlier caution. "So, you make shadow clones? That sounds pretty cool."

I nodded. "Yeah, they can be pretty useful in a fight. And with Dust, they can do a lot more."

Yang's eyes sparkled with interest. "Maybe we can spar sometime. I'd love to see what those clones can do."

I glanced at Weiss, who still seemed skeptical, but I could see a hint of curiosity in her eyes too. "Maybe," I said. "Once things settle down a bit."

Yang grinned. "Looking forward to it."

As the conversation moved on, I found myself feeling a little more at ease. It wasn’t exactly the warmest welcome, but it was better than I’d expected. Maybe Beacon wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Tomorrow I'll get to know my teammates but tonight we get to listen to Opzin, the school headmaster give us a speech. “I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction.” All the students whisper among themselves. “You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step.”

After that it was time for bed, of course, we don't have dorms yet so everyone is sleeping in the hallway.  I kept my cloak on since I slept in it. Nobody will know I'm a Faunus and I tend to keep it that way.  I saw Yang talking to Blake with the girl who exploded this morning.

I guess it won't hurt to say hi to her. She was my friend from Kou Khana.

___________________

The Next day

Everyone was taken to the Emerald Forest. The Initiation, is simple right? Well, we're getting rocketed into a Grimm-infested forest to fight to form a partnership with another student and find a relic. How hard can that be?

I saw Jaune get launched first. I hope whoever he gets as a partner can make him less of a coward. I saw Dan talking to a girl with Bluetooth headphones over her ears. She had a green bow in the center of her white outfit and red eyes.

Maybe those two were friends. I loaded Fated Hour with enough dust bullets in case I needed to fight. It was my turn to get launched into the forest.

I took a deep breath as the launch pad hummed to life beneath my feet. The tension in the air was palpable, and I could see other students mentally preparing themselves for the sudden plunge into the unknown.

I was next. The world blurred for a moment as I was rocketed into the sky, the forest rushing up to meet me. I managed to steer myself towards a clearing, but my landing was less than graceful. I crashed through the branches of a large tree before tumbling to the ground, rolling to absorb the impact.

Groaning, I pushed myself up, shaking off the leaves and twigs that clung to my cloak. "Great start," I muttered to myself, brushing dirt from my clothes.

As I got my bearings, I noticed a figure nearby, partially hidden by the foliage. It was a girl with vibrant blue hair and striking violet eyes. She was dusting herself off, seemingly having just landed herself.

"Are you okay?" I called out, walking toward her cautiously.

She looked up, her eyes locking onto mine. "Yeah, I think so," she replied, a hint of frustration in her voice. "I didn't expect to crash into a tree on the first day."

I chuckled. "You're not alone. I'm just a passing through Huntsman in Training.”

She gave a small smile. "Sumire. I guess we’re partners now?" I noticed her weapons were fans.

"Looks like it," I said, offering her a hand to help her up. She accepted, and together we started to survey our surroundings.

The forest was dense, with the sounds of distant Grimm echoing through the trees. "We should find the relics and get out of here as quickly as possible," Sumire suggested, her tone serious.

I nodded in agreement. She said "Yeah. And keep an eye out for any other students. Safety in numbers."

As we moved through the forest, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched. I loaded a few Dust bullets into Fated Hour, ready for whatever might come our way.

"So, what's your Semblance?" Sumire asked, breaking the silence as we trekked through the underbrush.

I didn't answer her. I liked my silence.

"I'll tell you later," Sumire replied. "It’s best to keep it simple."

I remained silent. I didn't want to make her mad or anything. Silence is best for this kind of thing.

We continued our journey, keeping our senses sharp and our weapons at the ready. The Emerald Forest was full of dangers, but with our combined skills, I felt confident we could handle whatever came our way.

As we pushed deeper into the forest, the shadows seemed to grow longer, and the sounds of Grimm grew louder. We needed to find those relics—and fast.

Then I saw Dan and that Mysterious girl from before.  They were being chased by an Ursa. I don't have enough bullets for that. Especially when I need to save one for myself.

“Should we help them?” Sumire asked me. I didn't answer, I didn't want to decide since I'm not a leader or the type to lead. I'm running from myself at times.

Then the Ursa saw sent flying into a tree. I saw Blake and Yang standing together. Did they partner up?  Maybe they didn't but I'm partnered with Sumire.

“Who are you?” Blake's Amber eyes stared deep into my cloak.

“I'm Just a Passing through Huntsman in Training! You better remember that!” I proclaimed myself most sarcastically.