Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY or Rooster Teeth.

Author's Note: This idea has been in my mind since Volume 1 finished and I figured after all this time that now would be a good time to write it just before the start of Volume 2.

I've probably written about 15,000 words in a week and this story still isn't finished but I really wanted to get the first chapter up.

So I hope you readers enjoy it and leave a review to let me know.

Reeves3.


Chapter 1

A Chance Meeting

"All second year students please gather in the amphitheatre after your final class today, thank you." Glynda Goodwitch's strict voice echoed out from the speakers placed around Beacon Academy.

In their Grimm Studies class murmurs started up in the room from the students at the announcement until Professor Port called for silence and the humming quietened down. Carrying on with his lecture Yang waited until the Professor started going off on one of his rambles of his glory days before nudging her little sister.

"What do you think is going on?"

Sixteen year old Ruby lifted her head from doodling on her paper to look up at her older sister and leaned across in her direction slightly. "I have no idea. It's the end of the school hours so there aren't any battles scheduled. Although Nora did say she was expecting a pancake eating contest to happen soon but I think that was in one of her dreams."

Yang nodded. "Most definitely because didn't she say everyone else in the competition were sloths?"

Ruby grinned and struggled to stifled a chuckle which caught Weiss's attention as she sat in the seat on the other side of her girlfriend.

"Will you two pay attention?" Weiss hissed crossly, her pen poised over her notes in a delicate grasp.

Ruby's grin quickly vanished as she snapped to attention. "Of course Weiss."

Rolling her lilac eyes Yang leaned back in her chair but not before muttering for the couple to hear. "Wow, only dating for two months and already she has you wrapped around your little finger Rubes."

This earned her an icy glare from Weiss and a small kick in the shin from Ruby as the pair's cheeks tinged pink. Yang grinned from ear to ear and lifted her arms to bring them behind her so she could rest her head in her joined hands. Her attention was quickly drawn to the person sitting to her right silhouetted by the light of the afternoon sun shining through the arched windows. Blake's black tresses framed her face, from the golden glint in her eyes, the slight upturn on her nose and to her teeth gently biting her lower lip as she read her textbook. All the while her deep purple almost black faunus cat ears at the top of her head perked and twisted towards the sound of Professor Port as he continued his story listening intently.

Blake caught her eye and having not missed any of the interaction between the rest of her three teammates she closed her book and turned to look at Yang arching a slim eyebrow in question.

"Must you tease them all the time?" She whispered.

"What are big sisters for?" Yang replied. Blake rolled her eyes at her girlfriend of eight months but the corners of her lips upturned slightly.

A loud chime from the clock tower out in the courtyard rang out signalling the end of class and students quickly began exiting the classrooms. Team RWBY packed up their things as Professor Port dismissed them and began making their way to the main auditorium along with the rest of the second years.

Filing into the vast assembly hall Team RWBY quickly spotted Team JNPR at the front of the stage because of Nora jumping up and down on the spot. Heading towards their friends they were quick to greet each other and find out what had got Nora so excited.

"Look at all the flour! I told you it was a pancake eating contest!" She squealed, delightedly.

Turning their attention to the stage they saw a table placed on it where sacks of flour piled up in a jumbled pyramid and alongside that were notebooks and binders. The two teams, besides Nora, shared cautious glances worried that she might be right.

After the last student entered the amphitheatre Professor Goodwitch appeared from the shadows at the back of the stage and approached the microphone. Her presences alone was enough to immediately quieten the students from their talkative buzz that had filled the room like a swarm of bees.

"Thank you all for arriving after short notice and you'll be pleased to know I shall not keep you here for long. Now the reason as to why I've called you all here is because for the next week you shall be taking part in the flour child experiment."

Noise from the students rose right away after this announcement as though a volcano had erupted. Some students were voicing their confusion, some their excitement and others their annoyance and complete utter disinterest in the project.

A crack sounded out from Professor Goodwitch's whip and everyone quickly fell silent again. "Every second year has taken part in this assignment and your year won't an exception. You will get into partners in your teams and have one sack of flour between you. Your instructions are in the binders supplied on the desk and you will keep a record in the notebook provided. All of your teachers will be monitoring your care for the baby as you will be taking your child to all your lessons. Next Monday after your last class you shall all report back here for your grades. Now can each pair come up and collect their child and a notepad and binder. The assignment will begin the moment you leave this room."

"Well this is an enormous waste of time," Weiss expressed, as they shuffled over to get in line to collect their flour child.

"Not completely, half the people in this room very well may end up becoming parents one day, this will be good practice." Pyrrha pointed out.

"Yes but we learn parenting the moment we realise we're expecting a child. Right now in our lives we should still be training to become huntresses and huntsmen!"

Ruby gave Weiss a soft smile. "We're still doing that Weiss. This is just a side project and plus it might be fun."

Weiss gave a small 'hmph' that indicated Ruby could be right but she wasn't going to admit it any time soon.

"So this project?" Jaune spoke up, rubbing the back of his neck. "It doesn't actually mean the 'parents' are real couples, right?" He quickly glanced at Pyrrha and noticed she was gazing at him and the pair both looked in opposite directions. It was pretty obvious between the two teams that there was something between them, they had known that since their first year and first semester, but Jaune and Pyrrha continued to skirt around the issue.

"No Jaune it doesn't. Nora and I are only best friends but will be working on this project together." The same could be said for Lie Ren and Nora.

"O-Oh good," said Jaune, pretending to sound relived yet failing to completely disguise the disappointment in his voice.

Shuffling down the queue Yang and Blake headed up on to the stage where Yang quickly selected a sack of flour and Blake picked up the paperwork. A few minutes later Ruby and Weiss, Jaune and Pyrrha and Nora and Lie Ren joined them and they made their way back to their dormitory rooms carrying on with their discussion. Arriving at the corridor the two teams split up into their separate rooms saying they'll catch up later for dinner.

Dumping her school bag on the floor by Weiss's bed Ruby headed straight for her makeshift hammock with their flour baby and cuddled up with it ready to go to sleep.

"Don't you dare take a nap we've got work to do!" Weiss scolded, perching herself at the edge of her bed lining out all the paperwork perfectly. Blake entered the room with her nose buried in folder already taking in every bit of information from the instructions.

"But when babies nap so should the mom to catch up with sleep," Ruby mumbled. Weiss rolled her eyes and Yang laughed as she playfully tossed the sack of flour in the air and caught it.

"She has a point."

"Quiet you," Weiss snipped.

Yang raised her arms and shrugged nonchalant not bothered at all by the heiresses words however in doing so she momentarily forgot she was still playing with the sack of flour. She quickly realised her mistake when there was an unmistakeable sound of a 'thud' followed by 'rip' and a large cloud of flour rising from the floor.

There was silence in the room until the flour cleared in the air making it possible to see the destroyed bag of flour with its contents spilled around it. Ruby had sat up in her bed, holding her baby close, with a gaping mouth, Weiss's eyebrows had disappeared up into her hairline while Blake's were down in a frown as she glared at Yang who had her hands clasped and crossed over her mouth.

"Congratulations you just murdered your child," said Weiss, breaking the silence.

"Yang!" Blake shouted. "We've just failed the project in under five minutes!"

Tearing her eyes away from her accident Yang had a frenzied yet determined look on her face as an idea started to race through her head.

"Relax, what Goodwitch doesn't know won't hurt so if you guys clean this up I'll run into town and buy a new bag from the supermarket and it'll be our little secret," she suggested.

"But-," Ruby started.

Yang was already running out the room as she shouted. "It'll be our little secret!"

Sprinting out the building like a fired cannonball Yang rushed away from the school and quickly took the path that led down to the town of Vale. Her sprint soon turned to a jog to save on energy even though the boiling sun in the sky was enough to keep her batteries charged. Her stomach twisted with guilt, not had she just killed her fake child but she had cost Blake the assignment too and failing school work, Yang knew, wasn't something Blake liked. It made Yang determined to correct her mistake no matter what just to make Blake happy.

Arriving in town fifteen minutes later Yang slowed her pace to a walk as she headed to the supermarket. Inside the store people were walking about pushing trolley's and carrying baskets as they did their shopping but Yang made her way through the crowds and found the aisle that contained all sorts of cooking needs. It didn't take too long to find the right brand of flour and soon Yang was paying for it at the till along with a bottle of water to quench her thirst from her jog.

With her mission complete Yang let out a large sigh of relief and began a leisurely stroll back to Beacon. Her path took her under a nice shaded area from the overgrown trees standing tall on either side where birds sang in the branches above. A small river gushed just behind the wall of trees to the left side that flowed in its embedded channel moving with and against the earth. As Yang started to cross the little cobblestone bridge an entirely different sound broke the birdsong.

A cry.

Pausing in her tracks Yang looked around with her brow creasing yet saw no one nearby.

"Hello?" She called out.

Another cry, louder this time, coming from below the bridge. Quickly scanning the area for a safe route down Yang scaled down a small slope of grass and stopped just in front of the stream. Looking under the bridge Yang quickly found the source of the crying and her heart dropped to her stomach. Rushing into the water, not caring that her boots got wet, Yang approached the wicker basket where a baby lay crying inside.

It's arms and legs had come free from its blanket and its face scrunched up as it continued to cry and fuss. Another feature Yang noticed immediately were the two tiger ears sprouting from the top of the baby's head where soft black hair was growing.

"Hey," Yang cooed softly, reaching down to wrap the baby back up. At Yang's touch the baby opened its eyes, revealing orange orbs like a setting sun, and ceased its crying.

"Who's left you here, ey? Where's your mummy and daddy? Damn you're freezing cold, how long have you been out here? Come on, let's take you somewhere safe."

Carefully picking up the abandoned basket by the side of the water Yang made her way back up on the footpath carrying the baby and her bag from the supermarket. Heading back towards the town Yang walked as fast as she could to the hospital. She held the basket close to her trying to keep the baby from screaming by making giving reassuring sounds but she was futile in her attempts as the baby continued to cry. She brought a hand up instead and let the baby grab her finger where she felt it was still icy cold. Unknowingly she activated her semblance slightly and started passing some heat to the baby's cold body.

The hospital came into her line of vision after ten minutes of speed walking and taking shortcuts through back alleys. Passing through the automatic doors Yang quickly approached the reception desk.

"Hi," greeted Yang, quickly, to get the receptionists attention, her words came out in a rush. "I've just found this baby in the woods and it won't stop crying. Is there anyone who can take a look at him...her? I don't know. The small thing is so cold, I've tried wrapping it up in the blanket but the skin is still cold to touch. Can you help?"

"Of course, just take a deep breath first ma'am, we don't want you collapsing. What's your name and you say you found this child in the woods? Was anyone around?" The woman behind the desk asked, standing up from her chair to take a better look at the baby in the basket.

Yang did as told and inhaled deeply before answering the question. "I'm Yang Xiao Long, a student at Beacon and no, I think he or she's been abandoned."

"I see. In these types of circumstances I need to contact the police to see if there are any missing child reports and get someone here to talk to you. In the meantime though head down the corridor, turn right and enter room one on the left. I'll get a doctor with you right away."

Yang nodded in understanding and muttered her thanks as she made her way to the assigned room. Windows on the back wall filled the room with a bright light as well as giving her a view to the outside world. Counters, one with a built-in sink, and cabinets above took up the rest of the space in the room. Placing the basket and the bag filled with a sack of flour and her bottle of water on the bed covered with paper towels Yang stood over the basket and tried to keep the baby's attention to ease the piercing sounds of it crying.

The door opened and Yang looked around as a man with dark skin, dark hair, and eyes stepped into the room. "Hello," he said in a friendly voice, giving a smile. "I'm Dr Crawford, from the maternity ward, are you the woman who found the baby?"

"Yes, my name is Yang. It's nice to meet you."

"You too and thank you for bringing the baby in. Let's take a look then."

Dr Crawford picked up the baby from out the basket and laid the small bundle on the bed. After doing numerous tests along with using a stethoscope on the tiny chest listening to the heartbeat and using a thermometer in the baby's ear to check its temperature a worried expression filled his features but he quickly covered it.

"Hmm, smells like someone's done a stinky and I doubt its Yang here. Let's get you clean and into some new clothes and fed. After that I might be able to do some tests and estimate your age but right now you are causing a right protest," the doctor suggested.

He went over to the cupboards and pulled out a packet of diapers, a bottle with a packet of formula and a new fresh white onesie wrapped up in clear packaging. Bringing the items over Dr Crawford quickly yet carefully undressed the baby out of its dirty clothing and put them in the bin.

"Yang? Do you mind holding up the legs as I change the diaper, these things are very fiddly and babies are very messy."

Unsure but in a position not to say no Yang agreed and stood next to the doctor and held up the slightly bounded legs that wouldn't stop kicking. After removing the diaper Yang nearly gagged from the sight and the sudden onslaught of smell that burned her nostrils and eyes.

"You have definitely been out there for the night, haven't you?" Dr Crawford asked the baby, a hint of sadness in his voice, as he disposed of the messy diaper and opened up a packet of wipes. Yang risked a second glance and noticed something.

"Well he's a boy."

Dr Crawford gave a chuckle. "It's a bit of a giveaway."

"So what's his diagnosis? Will he be alright?"

The troubled look re-appeared on Dr Crawford's face. "At the moment I'm not quite sure. After spending the night out in the cold I would be looking for signs of hypothermia but his breathing is fine, his chest is clear and he's not shivering at all but the skin is still cold. It's as though he's been warmed up on the inside but not the out."

Yang immediately realised why. "Mother of Grimm! That's my fault, on the way over here I noticed he was cold and I must have used my semblance on him, its heat, I used to do it all the time when my little sister was sick with a cold that I do it without noticing now. Have I made things worse? Will he be alright?"

Slightly taken back by the sudden flood of information Dr Crawford shook his head and smiled. "No, if anything you've saved his life. I'm almost done with this now and then I can dress him. I need to go make the formula though so while I do that can you hold him and pass on some more heat? Do you have enough energy? I can get you a chocolate bar from the vending machine?"

Yang smiled and eyed the area of the room that had sunlight streaming through it.

"Just sit me in the sunshine."


Well that's it for chapter one. What did you think? What will happen to the baby?

I hope you liked it and don't forget to leave a review.

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more!

Reeves3.