"Wow..." Ruby looked up in awe at Beacon Academy. The size of the school was tremendous: much larger than the school she was coming from. Not only was it large, but it was intimidating as well. The fist-pumping excitement from having stopped a thieving villain had dulled somewhat over the passing days, and those emotional receptors in her brain had instead decided to start producing lots and lots of worry. Was she going to do well at this new school? Could she even make any friends there? She wasn't sure how the other students were going to react knowing that she'd been allowed to attend earlier than most. Maybe they'd think she was some kind of... nerd, or something.

It would've been worse if Yang wasn't already attending. Having her sister to guide her along and show her the ropes made her feel much more at ease as opposed to having to go in without any kind of support system. She didn't want to completely depend on her sister for everything, but she had to admit that it was nice to have one connection at the school.

At the moment, however, she was without Yang. They'd both ended up on the campus grounds together, but her older sister had walked off somewhere and left her on her own. She was determined to not be scared, though. There was nothing to be scared of, anyway. Nothing could hurt her on campus... probably. With her suitcase in tow, she was certain she could explore the campus without getting lost or in trouble. That did work... for a little bit, at least.

It didn't take her long to betray herself. Seeing all the different parts of the campus got her excited, and she had a temporary lapse in 'paying attention to her surroundings'. Specifically, she had begun to walk backwards so she get another look at the sky walkway when something stopped her momentum. More than one thing, actually. Multiple pieces of luggage, which she knocked off of the cart they were on with her backside. That was when she found out that maybe there was at least one thing to be scared of on campus.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Ruby whirled around, prepared to immediately spew out an apology for knocking over someone's luggage. However, she was frozen on the spot by the cold, piercing gaze that seemed to be trying to set her on fire right where she stood. A girl with long, snow-white hair was staring her down, and she looked none too happy with what Ruby had done.

"I'm really sorry!" Ruby smiled as brightly as she could, trying to use her positive attitude to make the girl calm down. "Here, let me help you!" She reached down and grabbed one of the suitcases, but nearly dropped it when the other girl let out an angry screech. Jeez, the way this girl was acting, someone would've thought her luggage had been trampled by a pack of Grimm.

"Don't touch it! You'll do more damage!" She reached down and slapped at Ruby's hand to get her away from the fallen luggage, but as soon as their hands made contact, she yanked it back like she'd been burned. Ruby didn't see what the girl was doing, or why she had pulled away. She was just staring down at the luggage. Or, more specifically, her hand still on the luggage.

Slowly she stood back up, but she couldn't take her eyes off of her hand. When their hands had touched, she'd felt something. She couldn't explain it, but it was like... some sort of electrical current. It was heated, and she could still feel whatever it was tingling on her skin. Looking up at the girl, she could tell that she wasn't alone in what she was feeling. She was also staring at her hand, her eyes wide.

"What was that?! What did you do?!" The other girl snapped out of it fast, her expression surprisingly angry as she focused it all on Ruby. She shirked back automatically, putting her hands up defensively. Something felt different, though. She could tell that there was more than just anger in those eyes. It was like she was... scared? Such conflicting emotions. There was something... familiar about it.

"I didn't do anything!" Ruby tried to profess her innocence, though it didn't seem like the other girl was interested in her explanations. Not that there was much of one for her to give. They both were clearly unsure about what had happened. Did they know each other? She stared at the girl with a more critical eye, trying to wrack her brain for something that would render her familiar, but... nothing. They'd surely never met before, but why did she feel like there was something she needed to say?

"Just... Just put my luggage back on the cart, alright?" Apparently she'd changed her mind about Ruby handling her suitcases. She was clearly shaken by whatever had happened, so honestly Ruby couldn't blame her. Nor could she blame herself for starting to put the suitcases back up without any complaint. It felt like the moment had passed, but there was still a weird tension hanging around them. She wasn't sure what to do or what to say, and it was bothering her way too much.

Once all the luggage had been returned to its proper place, Weiss grabbed the cart and took off for the main building. She gave one last look back at Ruby, then walked off. Ruby wanted to stop her, but she didn't know why. So she just stood there and watched her visage disappear from view. She didn't know how long she would've stood there if not for a hand suddenly squeezing her shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?" Yang leaned over Ruby, frowning as she examined her. "You were spacing out there. What were you staring at?"

"Uh, I... I bumped into this girl, and..." Ruby struggled to explain what exactly happened. She found it difficult to put what she had felt into words, though. "I feel like I've met her before, but I've never met her before."

"Oh, is that all?" Yang laughed, looking relieved. "Maybe she just looks like someone you walked by on the street once or something. Deja vu and all." Grinning, she gently pushed on Ruby's shoulder, getting her to walk towards the main building. "Let's go inside and get settled, hmm? We gotta find a good spot to put our sleeping bags before orientation."

"Yeah, you're right." Ruby tried to shake off that strange feeling and concentrate on what was ahead of her. Specifically, that she was about to start her training to become a huntress! It was what she had wanted to be ever since she was a child, and this was the biggest step that she'd taken to trying to achieve that goal. That was where her concentration needed to go towards. Whatever strange feeling she had felt before was just that: a strange feeling.



It was orientation day. All of the prospective huntsmen and huntresses were lined up and waiting to be sent down into the forest. If they were going to be training to fight Grimm, then they might as well get started very... very early. Immediately. Weiss didn't mind, of course. She had full confidence in her abilities, and she was more than ready to defeat any monster that crossed her path. The one thing she was having trouble defeating was a strange feeling that persisted from the previous day.

She was extremely frustrated that she couldn't get that clumsy girl out of her mind. Even at her worst, she wouldn't spend this much time suffering fools, but there was something about that girl. She had no idea what it was, but there had been something strangely familiar about her. There had been something there in those wide silver eyes that sparked some sort of recognition within her brain. Try as she might, she couldn't remember just who that girl was. She'd even had trouble sleeping because her mind was annoyingly fixated on that issue. Well, that and not sleeping in a nice, plush bed wasn't her idea of a good night.

It was something she had to push aside, as much as her brain wanted to keep hyperfixating on it until an answer appeared. Sometimes there just wasn't going to be an answer. Maybe it was some secret inner stress over the orientation showing itself as deja vu. That probably wasn't it, though. She was Weiss Schnee: she didn't need to be worried about anything.

At least there was something bothering her that she could understand the reasoning for: the fact that the first person they made eye contact with would be their partners. She certainly did not want to have to drag some dead weight around while she working towards being the best huntress in the academy. Well, hopefully whoever she made eye contact with would be somewhat competent. Or maybe she should just learn to fight Grimm while blindfolded.

Her mind was temporarily cleared as she was launched into the forest along with the rest of her prospective classmates. Using her glyphs allowed her a safe landing, and she set off to find as many Grimm as she could without running into any other hunters. She was ready to prove herself to her teachers, and she would prove that she could do it on her own.

Of course, life doesn't always work the way you want it to. She did not get the chance to encounter a Grimm before running into another hunter. It couldn't have even been five minutes before it happened. And of course, to continue defying the odds of sense, the hunter that she saw in the clearing, the one that she - by complete accident - made eye contact with, was the girl with coal-black hair and bright silver eyes. Something in her mind made her feel like there couldn't have been any doubt that this would happen. It was like it was... like it was meant to be.

Neither of them said anything at first. Neither of them moved either. They just stood in the clearing like they'd been shackled to the earth, forced to stare at each other for eternity. At the very least, she could say something snarky or express her annoyance. 'Oh great, I'm stuck with you for a partner.' Something like that. She couldn't, though. Her mouth wouldn't cooperate.

It was the rumbling howl of a nevermore that broke both of them from their paralysis. Both of them looked up into the sky, but they didn't see anything. It must've been farther off. Now it just meant that they had to face each other and whatever this elephant in the room was. "So, it... looks like we're partners, huh?" The girl smiled, but Weiss knew a forced smile when she saw one. Of course she would be the cause of that. She was sure that she had caused plenty of fake smiles to exist in her short lifetime.

"Just follow my lead and be quiet." She didn't have any time for pleasantries. With her sword at the ready, she walked right past the girl and deeper into the forest. However, it seemed the 'be quiet' part was not going to be heeded. She certainly appeared to have quite the mouth on her.

"Hey, I can fight too! I'm here to be a huntress, after all." Since it didn't seem to convince Weiss, she whipped out her weapon of choice and jogged in front of Weiss so she could unfurl it fully and get the full effect. It did work, as Weiss stopped in her tracks and stared at the huge red scythe that the girl was brandishing. How did someone so small carry something like that? "And this is Crescent Rose!"

"... So it is." She was no longer sure what to say. Why did she feel like this was supposed to be happening? She was starting to resent these feelings. There was no need for her to feel attachment to anyone, especially someone she didn't know. At least, she was pretty sure she didn't know her... No, she was confident she didn't. Whatever these thoughts were about, it was ridiculous. She had things to do. "Well, if you're so sure about being a huntress, then let's go. There's no point in staying here when there's Grimm to kill."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go!" Like a switch was flipped, she went back to that cheery girl trying to put her luggage back on the cart. Weiss couldn't help but be... almost captivated by that emotional change. There was a light that seemed to surround that cheeriness, metaphorically. It made Weiss feel surprisingly light inside, though again it was an emotion that she couldn't explain. She was annoyed, but this time she was annoyed with herself for liking it.

Their time spent in the forest got a bit crazy. Neither of them could say that it wasn't interesting. They ended up meeting up with a tall blonde girl and a disinterested-looking girl with a bow in her hair. Despite what at times seemed to be a stunning lack of cohesion, they ended up getting through orientation together. Even slaughtered a few Grimm along the way. Weiss couldn't really call it a failure. Though honestly, she found it hard to call it a success either.

Of course, nothing involving her could finish without something resembling an argument happening. It was with the bow girl, who apparently had some kind of issue with her. What was her deal, anyway? They'd never even met! And this wasn't like with the other girl, who she knew she hadn't met, but felt like she had. This one she had no feelings of unknown connections with her. She was probably some right-minded protester who was mad about her father's company. Like she had any control over that!

In the end, she left the moment she was allowed to. She didn't want to spend another moment getting dirty looks from bow girl or curious stares from silver eyes. It made her feel like she was some piece of art on display. Probably something modern, considering the dirty looks. She didn't have to keep standing there and take that. If she had to be with a team, she really hoped that it wasn't with them.

As she walked away, Ruby watched her go with disappointment. "She didn't even tell us her name. And we all fought so well together too!"

"You don't know who that is?" Blake looked over at Ruby, wishing that she had that sort of cheerful ignorance. "That's Weiss Schnee. Her family is... It doesn't matter. She's bad news, bottom line. Believe me, she wouldn't stick around if we had taken down every Grimm in the forest."

"Won't you feel silly if we all end up on a team together," Yang chimed in, smirking as she elbowed Blake.

"Don't even say that." Blake groaned and folded her arms, clearly unamused by Yang's hypothetical scenario. They both started to walk off together, but they forgot a certain third member. Ruby hadn't moved since Blake had said that name. She had barely even listened to the rest of what she and Yang had been talking about. The name kept replaying in her mind, over and over again. Weiss. Like a hymnal chant she may have sung as a child. The name sounded so familiar. "Weiss..." She spoke it aloud, and it felt familiar. Comforting.

"Ruby?" Yang had realized that Ruby hadn't followed them. "Yo Rubes, you alright?" Shaking her head, Ruby snapped back to reality and jogged over to Yang and Blake. "What's up? You gonna be spacing out every day here?"

"No!" Ruby pouted, getting a chuckle from her big sister. "I was just... thinking about what team I might be on, that's all." It was a lie, but she didn't want to talk about her deja vu feelings again. Especially not in front of Blake, considering that she didn't really know her yet. It might make her sound crazy, and she wouldn't blame anyone for thinking that. She was feeling a bit crazy herself.

'Weiss...' She couldn't get that name out of her head. It was like she was meant to know that name for some reason: some purpose. But she didn't know what.



She fell asleep on Yang's shoulder while waiting for information on how the teams would be sorted out. Her dream was bright: too bright. She couldn't see anything because of some bright light. It covered all of her vision, and all she could hear were the sounds of someone - multiple people? - screaming and crying. The sounds pierced her heart as well as her ears, and throughout the entire dream only one word was playing on repeat in her mind. Sometimes it was too fast and jumbled to understand, but most of the time it was clear: Weiss.

Something from the dream, something she couldn't see, startled her, and she bolted awake. Nearly jumping out of her seat alerted Yang, who took note of the shocked look on Ruby's face. "Rubes? Did you have a bad dream?"

"Uh, yeah, I think..." Again, she was forced to shake off the residing thoughts of Weiss. It was weirding her out. There was obviously something going on, and she had no idea what it was. She wanted some kind of clarity, even if it meant that she had to admit that she was a bit out of her mind. Something needed to change. She needed a sign or... or something!

Much to her surprise, she got that sign, and quicker than she expected. When the teams were announced, she found out that she was to be teamed up with Yang, Blake... and Weiss. There were so many emotions going through her mind, but many of them ended up in the background. Getting to be together with her big sister, and being the leader of Team RWBY, no less, should've been exciting. It should've been the crowning achievement of her day, and something that she would've been excited and nervous about for days to come. But all she could think of was Weiss.

This had to be the sign. She was sure of it. When their hands had touched, she'd been certain that she'd felt something there. There'd been a connection, even if neither of them had been able to explain it. Then they met up in the forest, and now they were teammates. That couldn't be a coincidence. She didn't believe that for one second. If there was ever a time for her to put stock in fate, this was it. There was no doubt that there was a reason they were put together. She just had to figure out why.

She could tell that Weiss was thinking somewhere along the same lines as well. In fact, she didn't say a single word for the rest of the ceremony. She kept stealing glances at Ruby, though, as if trying to determine what exactly was going on. At least, that's what Ruby figured, since she was doing the same. She decided that the best thing to do was to have a private moment with Weiss to figure things out.

They had to get through the team ceremony and further words from Professor Ozpin. She had to wait out Blake and Weiss taking some time to be rude to each other for reasons she still didn't fully understand. And after all that, they were then shown to their rooms. Though it was nice to know where they'd be staying while at the academy, it unfortunately didn't give her an opportunity to speak to Weiss privately. If she decided to just pull Weiss out of the room and find a private spot, she didn't even want to start thinking about what kind of impression it'd leave on Yang and Blake.

She wasn't fully into things like she should've been, though. It wasn't that she didn't want to be, but every time she tried to act like a leader that day, her mind - and eyes - kept drifting over to Weiss. She tried her best to remain inconspicuous, but she could tell that she was being way too obvious. In a way, she wished that she and Weiss were in opposite places. Weiss was supposed to be staring at her, so it didn't look as strange. Though her looks were different than Yang's and Blake's. She could feel Weiss's gaze on her, even if she closed her eyes.

If Yang or Blake noticed her hesitance and her struggles, they didn't bring it up. Maybe they wanted to, but wanted to do so in private. While that would be nice of them, it would mean everyone would be in a holding pattern: just waiting for someone to be alone in order to talk to them. What a wild team they'd all ended up on together.

They never ended up with a chance to talk alone, so Ruby had to go to bed still thinking about what she wanted to say. Maybe all those constant thoughts of Weiss influenced her dreams, or maybe it was just fated to happen that way. Regardless, she wasn't even aware of the fact that she was in a dream during it. She was standing alone in their new room, wearing the clothes she'd had on earlier. Though for some reason all the color had been bleached out of them. They were just white now.

Something hit one of their windows, and she walked over to see what it was. Assuming someone had thrown a rock, she was surprised to find that it wasn't a something: it was a someone. Her eyes widened at the sight of Weiss standing outside, as if waiting for her to allow her entrance. This would've been weird enough, but they were definitely not on the first floor. Not even close. She flung open the window. "Weiss? What are you doing out there?" It sounded stupid, but she didn't know what else to say.

"I'm waiting for you. Are you coming out or what?" Ruby just gawked at Weiss, then looked down. She immediately felt a sense of vertigo at seeing a seemingly endless stretch of white and blue mingling together. The outside of Beacon seemed to have vanished overnight, replaced with an expansive sky. It was as if the academy itself had ascended into the sky, leaving everything else behind in its wake.

"But we're in the sky! I... I think." She gestured outside, staring at Weiss as if she was crazy. Maybe she was the one who was crazy, though. "How are you even doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"You know... Standing there! In the sky!" Weiss was starting to look confused, like Ruby was being the weird one there. "If I stepped out there, I'd fall all the way down!" For however long 'all the way' was. This still didn't explain how Weiss was standing there as if gravity was no longer applying to her.

"Don't you trust me?" Weiss smiled at her, and that smile made her feel unbelievably warm. It was unlike any smile she'd ever seen. It was so... so wonderful to bear witness to. Despite everything she'd just said, she found herself wordlessly stepping out of the room and into the sky, where to her complete disbelief, she didn't immediately plummet to her untimely demise. "See?"

"I... Woah..." She stared beneath her feet, just waiting for the drop that was never going to come. Then her attention was pulled back to Weiss, who had taken her hand in her own. She looked into Weiss's eyes, feeling that strange sense of familiarity burning inside her. It was so evident there, behind those eyes. Beneath the scar that... Underneath the warmth that she always had from... From what?

Weiss pulled her in, or maybe she moved on her own volition. She wasn't sure anymore. All she knew was that Weiss's hand was so warm in her own, and that smile was so nice and inviting. They were about to hug: about to kiss. Ruby could feel that everything she needed to know was right there in that warm embrace...

And then she woke up.