Yo Peeps, GateMasterGreen here with a new story. Yet another chance at multitasking stories against my better judgement. This one is a Soulmate!AU where people are born, knowing a song tied to someone else. When the person hears them sing it, the join in, even though they have never heard the song and then reply with their own song. The idea has been nagging at me, so I decided I would get it out there. I don't really expect this to be too long, because I still need to work on Transcendent Rose. I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY...
Ruby bobbed her head lightly and swayed with the music that poured into her ears from the bright red headphones she wore. Her eyes closed as she let the familiar tunes soothe her. Well, as much as the high-paced rock could soothe a person. She thrived off the energy and let it drive her. She opened her eyes, letting her mind wander as she took in the others around her. The other occupants of the ship bound for Beacon Academy also sported some way to listen to music and she giggled lightly.
Once, back in the earlier days of the Kingdoms, the authority of the time tried to clamp down on creative thought. Everyone knew the tale and it was in fact what spawned the rebelling peoples into naming their children after one of the chief aspects of creativity: Color. Unforseen, however, was the second thing that came with this obsession to remain tied to creativity. Children born carried with them a song etched into their very souls.
No one could explain how, but after some time and their songs being shared, people realized what it meant. Someone (or multiple people) would recognize the song and join in, their souls entwining before the second would respond with their own tune. Another aspect of creativity had asserted itself into the very souls of the children of Remnant: Music. Each song told the person bearing them about their fated partner.
Ruby didn't enjoy discussing hers however, the harsh song grating against her happiness. Maybe she would meet them here at Beacon? She noticed Yang leaning against a wall, head swaying lightly as she listened to her own music. Another laugh bubbled in Ruby's throat as she remembered hearing some of her sister's favorite music. The sheer contrast of opera to some of the more club oriented music was jarring, but she couldn't really give Yang too much crap about it.
The ship jolted lightly, signalling the end to their journey, and students began to make their way to the exit. Snatching up a red guitar case, Ruby jogged over and joined the others. Her combat boots rolled over the paved walkway outside the plane and she found herself twirling lightly as she took in the sights around her with a wide smile. Beacon's tower dominated the horizon and she noted the line of the autumnal trees that traced the path to the enormous school.
Yang walked out of the soon after Ruby and laughed uproariously at the cloaked girl's antics. She walked over to her sister, tapping her shoulder to get her attention. Ruby tried to stop, but her feet caught too much traction and she lurched forward. Trying to save herself from falling, she reeled her arms, but overcorrected and went reeling back, falling and slamming into a trolley bearing a bounty of suitcases as well as her own guitar up into the air.
The blonde snatched the instrument's case out of the air, quickly setting aside and helping Ruby up, but not before she heard the voice of whoever probably owned the suitcases. Pulling her earbuds out, she turned to the sound. Her eyes locked onto a white-haired girl, fuming mad at them, though Yang admitted the anger made the girl rather adorable. "Come again, Princess?"
The "Princess" huffed. "My name is Weiss and you need to show some sense of self awareness." She gestured at the cases. "You nearly blew us off the cliff with that stunt!"
Lilac eyes darted down to said luggage, finding dust containers of Dust resting within one of the opened ones. She whistled lowly. "Packing some heat. I must say, Princess, didn't expect you to carry that much around."
Ruby finally managed to get to her feet, headphones hanging around her neck. She held her hands up placatingly to Weiss. "I'm sorry about that, Weiss. I kind of lost balance there."
Weiss rolled her eyes, but relented. "So long as it doesn't happen again." She glanced at the red case leaning against Yang's leg. "So, you play guitar then, uh…?"
The cloaked girl's eyes widened. "Ruby! Sorry, I'm Ruby Rose and this is my sister, Yang." The blonde waved. "We actually both play it. It was a gift from my mom." Weiss saw a flicker of pain on the girls face. Ruby's smile returned. "Do you play an instrument?"
"A few actually," the white-haired girl replied. "My father wanted me to diversify, but I settled on singing. It's very soothing for me."
Yang smiled warmly. "Maybe we can hang out sometime and just play. Well, sing in your case, but you get what I mean."
Weiss cocked a brow up at that. "I think you'll find my taste may be a bit refined for you." She was surprised to see Yang's cheeks flush, while Ruby stifled a laugh. Confused, she asked, "What's so funny?"
Ruby composed herself, but still shook a bit. "Yang has a weak spot for opera and classical music that fixates on singing."
Yang's cheeks darkened considerably as she glared at her sister. "So what?! I can like other types of music." Glancing at her scroll, she noted the time, thankful for a reason to change their attention elsewhere. "We should get going. Orientation starts soon and apparently the Headmaster will be speaking to us all."
The cloaked girl nodded. "Lead the way, sister mine!" Jogging after Yang when the brawler walked off, guitar in hand. Behind them, Weiss looked after them before walking at a quick pace to catch up. She would not be caught dead running after the two.
XXXGMGXXX
Soon the students had gathered in the outdoor auditorium. Ozpin had spared a few words of what they could expect at the school before motioning for Glynda to guide them to one of the larger rooms in the school that had been emptied, so it could host the prospective students before the initiation that would come in the following day.
After food had been distributed to the hungry students, they passed the time away and slowly late afternoon shifted to night and students began changing into their night clothes. This found Ruby laying on her stomach on a bedroll, writing a message out for her friends still at Signal academy. Weiss had wandered off elsewhere and Yang had followed after, discussing their shared taste in music, while the blonde worked in an occasional prod at the admittedly stuffy girl.
Out of the corner of her eyes, though, Ruby noticed a flicker of movement. Had it happened once, she would've ignored it, figuring to be a student passing, but it kept happening. Glancing up, her eyes locked onto a raven-haired girl wearing a black bow and kimono, amber eyes scouring a book in her hands. A candelabra sat beside her, the flickering making much more sense with that. The elder teen was certainly pretty, Ruby noticed, and she felt a pull to the girl. Trying to go back to her writing, she found her gaze being pulled back to the girl.
Sighing to herself and screwing up her courage, she pushed herself to her feet. "Here we go…" She shuffled over to the girl and nearly jumped out of her skin when those shining eyes glanced up at her. "Uh, sorry, I don't meant to disturb you, but I saw you reading and I was wondering if the book was any good, because I like books too and-"
The girl cut her off. "Breathe." Ruby did so. "And the book is rather good. It's about a man with two souls, both fighting for control of his body." She marked her page and set it aside and held a hand out to Ruby. "My name is Blake Belladonna."
Ruby took the offered hand, shaking it softly. "Ruby Rose. Sorry, I just get excited sometimes." She chuckled nervously. "I really like fairy tales, they inspire me so much."
"But life is so very rarely like those stories," Blake pointed out. "Much doesn't go our way." She sighed. "Though I am a bit pessimistic. It would be nice if we could all have happy endings, but I doubt I'll ever find mine." She absentmindedly started humming, the music pulling at Ruby. She seemed to catch herself, quieting and looking at Ruby. "What books do you like to read, if I can ask?"
Ruby sat beside the girl, launching into the many tales told to her by her mom and later Yang. The tales of valiant warriors, damsels in distress, and the happily-ever-afters that everyone sought. "I know it's not realistic, but it's why we're here, I think. We want to give everyone their chance at happy-ever-after and fighting Grimm is one way to about that."
They spoke for another hour before fatigue set in and Ruby returned to her bed roll, passing out.
XXXGMGXXX
The next day saw the bustle of students preparing for their test. The locker room was packed and Ruby sat on one of the benches, making sure her weapon was ready, polishing the large scythe blade of Crescent Rose. She heard a slight commotion, laughing when she noticed a blond boy getting pinned to a wall by a javelin after he had bugged Weiss and the Amazonian looking girl beside the Heiress. A title she learned from Yang earlier that morning. Weiss was actually Weiss Schnee, Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company.
It certainly explained the uptight attitude.
Eventually, the students were ready and made their way to the cliffside overlooking the Emerald Forest. They were told to stand on the stone panels emblazoned with Beacon's symbol and to await the test's start. Ozpin then appeared, informing them that the first person they made eye contact with was to be their partner for the next four years. This of course got some complaints, but he sipped at his mug, unfazed by some of the louder complaints.
He then told them that the panels would launch them into the forest and that they were expected to have a landing strategy. The blond boy from before seemed rather panicked about this and was questioning the professor.
"No," replied Ozpin to one of his questions. "You will be falling."
To her left, Ruby noticed Yang put on her aviators as she went flying into the air. Bracing herself, she felt the panel spring up as she was hurled violently into the air. Her cloaked fluttered as she soared higher above the forest. She slowly reach the apex of her flight and looked down at the large sea of leaves below. This was it!
End of Chapter 1…
There we are. So, if you wanna check out any of my other stuff, I'd definitely recommend Phantom Rose. It's ladybug and freezerburn, but focuses on the former. I also have a Discord server, the code being on my profile page. Feel free to join and hang out with us. We're about 50 strong and we've got nearly 40 emojis. It's always fun to get to hang out with readers!