Hello everyone! I hoped to receive some great reviews, but at least some of them were encouraging. This chapter will surely focus on Ruby going to Beacon Academy, but with a bit of a twist ;)
PS: I will also introduce three new OC's along with a certain blonde knight and an ice queen.
Quick Question: How are all you enjoying, reading the story in Ruby's POV?
Anyway, on the story!
Ruby
The airship making it's way to Beacon was surprisingly taking it's time to arrive there.
Not that I'm going to complain about it. In fact, the ride was rather peaceful and I even took the time to take another nap.
I was waiting for it to arrive at precisely midnight.
I yawned as I wake up to many students talking or interacting with one another.
It was around six thirty in the morning, but I'm guessing that the airship is taking long to arrive at Beacon, because it had to pick up it's new students first.
The clothes I'm currently wearing, was vastly different from the ones I wear at home.
I wore a white long-sleeved dress shirt with a semi-formal black vest and a dark gray necktie, and a red and black plaid short skirt with thigh high black stockings and knee high gray combat boots. I also wore crimson red headphones with a butterfly design on my head as they covered my ears, as well as wearing black leather fingerless gloves in my hands.
Most of all, I wore a dark red hooded overcoat that reached over my knees slightly.
Very different compared to what the other soon-to-be students were wearing, as their outfits consisted of either armor, something traditional, or basically anything flashy.
I didn't see the point in wearing such attires, so I opted to wear something casual.
Sure, those kinds of outfits were practical since all of us are going to fight the Grimm.
But my aura, as well as my weapons and semblances were more than enough for me.
Why 'semblances' instead of 'semblance'?
The answer is quite simple.
To my family and my old school, they believed my semblance was highly advanced aura manipulation as it allowed me to convert and manipulate my aura, shaping it into various objects, forms, and weapons.
Just like the aura formed bow and arrows I used during the robbery of that dust shop.
But little do they know, that I obtained a second semblance from around my age of twelve.
I have obtained that semblance due to my higher understanding of aura.
My knowledge of aura was something that I kept to myself, since it wouldn't be understood by the people around me.
That included my family and Luke.
"Excuse me" A voice suddenly called to me, snapping me out of my thoughts "Is this spot taken?"
The person who called me was groaning when they said that.
I turned to the person and saw that it was a boy.
He had messy blonde hair with dark blue eyes and fair skin. His physique was slightly above average with some toned muscles. The boy wore a diamond-shaped chestplate cut off above his lower abdomen and white spaulders with rerebraces set under them. Underneath the armor, he wears a black short-sleeved hoodie with detached reddish-orange sleeves. He also wore blue jeans with a white patch on the left knee, as well as black sneakers. He had elbow guards with cords strung through them and wears black high tops.
He has two belts crisscrossing his waist, both different shades of brown, with a pair of small pouches on them. Lastly, he wears brown wrist-length gloves with exposed fingertips and small metal plates over the back.
His face was a light shade of green as he turned to me.
"E-Excuse me?" He groaned as he shakily tried to stand up by himself "Do you have any bags or something-" he retched "-I can use to get this all out of me."
It was clear that the boy had motion sickness.
So I decided to cut him some slack.
Wordlessly, I opened one of my bags as I pulled out a plastic bag that contained a box of Luke's homemade biscuits.
He was more than kind enough to give me some snacks, before I began waiting for the airship until midnight.
I pulled out the box from the plastic bag, before I reached out the said bag to the boy, who looked like he was going to vomit at any second.
The boy immediately grabbed the bag, before proceeding to vomit inside it.
A few minutes after watching him releasing whatever breakfast he had inside the plastic bag, he tied up the bag before giving it to me.
I assume that he didn't have the strength to find a trash can all by himself, so I decided to find one myself.
"Just stay here and look after my luggage." I spoke up, after a long period of staying silent "I'll find a trash can to throw this in."
With that, I walked away from my spot, leaving the boy in charge of looking after my stuff.
Jaune
Why?
Of all the rides I have to be in to go to Beacon Academy, it had to be an airship!?
I struggle to stand on my own two feet, as I desperately tried to find something where I can let out my breakfast.
While searching, I found a girl sitting on her own with probably her stuff right beside her.
I hope she has something that helps me with my motion sickness.
Using whatever strength I had, I made my way to her as I struggled to keep balance.
A few tries later, I finally made my way to her. Wow. As much as I want to let out my breakfast, the girl is really cute.
Compared to what the others are wearing, she's wearing an outfit that makes her look like she's a regular schoolgirl, if it wasn't for the long coat and fingerless gloves.
Wait no! Focus Jaune, you're just one minute away to puking on her boots.
Shaking my head, I called out to her "Excuse me?" I groaned afterwards "Is this spot taken?"
The girl seemed to notice me, but she didn't say anything and kept quiet.
I decided to speak up, but groaned in the process "E-Excuse me?" I shakily stood up on my own "Do you have any bags or something-" I retched but continued "-I can use to get this all out of me."
At least she received the message when she checked one of her bags for something I can use.
When she pulled out a plastic bag, she removed the box inside it and reached the bag out to me.
Feeling grateful, I immediately grabbed the bag from her, and let out my breakfast all at once.
A few minutes later, I was at least relieved for now. I tie up the already puke filled bag and gave it to her.
I was exhausted, but I hope the girl doesn't take it the wrong way. I really didn't have to strength to find a trash can all by myself right now.
Luckily, she understood me and took the bag from my hand.
"Just stay here and look after my luggage." She finally spoke up "I'll find a trash can to throw this in."
Yeah, I can do that.
The girl then stood up and walked away, leaving me with her baggage.
I began thinking of what kind of conversation I'm going have with her, once she gets back.
Wait a second!
I just realized something, I never even got her name!
Groaning, I lay down on the floor as I began to think about what the initiation for Beacon is.
Ruby
It took me awhile, but I finally found a trash can to throw away the now vomit-filled bag in.
Afterwards, I made my way back to where my spot usually is.
But it was then I realized how much people are there inside the airship.
Perhaps I should take this opportunity to at least interact with a few of the people in the crowd.
That's what Yang wanted for me when I told her the news of being accepted to Beacon. She was very proud of me and even said 'Watch out Beacon Academy, my baby sis will blow you away with her smarts' or something like that.
I was always better than her academically, but she was completely fine with it.
Only time will tell when her legs will recover. She may have slightly recovered emotionally, but she now has to rely on someone to move her, every now and then.
I could feel that it was a huge blow to her confidence, but that didn't stop her from supporting me, right?
Sighing, I made my way into the crowd as I slipped between the soon-to-be students.
Along the way, I accidentally bump into someone.
"Oh!" I turn around to apologize "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It's alright young miss, I assure you it was an accident." A voice cuts me off.
As I turned around to see who I bumped into, I immediately took note of the person's appearance.
The person I bump into is male.
The boy's appearance was that he had slightly messy black hair, azure blue eyes and fair skin. He has a slightly above average physique with some slight muscles. He is wearing a dark blue blazer over a white dress shirt, gray jeans, and black and white sneakers. He is two years older than me, just like all other students.
Interestingly, he has a large sheathed blade on his waist that practically screamed transforming weapon.
He seemed to be giving me a friendly smile, and is holding out his hand for a handshake.
I observe his expression for a quick second, and notices that he has no ill intention towards me.
Sensing that he is being friendly, I grab his hand for a handshake before letting go.
"I believe it is the right time that we introduce ourselves." The boy said in a polite and gentlemen-like voice "My name is Ezra Williams"
So his name is Ezra Williams, if I recall correctly from one of the books I read back at Patch. His first name means "helper", while his surname means "desire", "helmet" or "protection".
I would often read the meanings of names, especially in my free time, both in Signal and at home.
Surprisingly, his name doesn't follow the law of names that involve colors.
Judging from what his name means, he must be a helper of some sorts.
Nevertheless, I decided to introduce myself as well.
"Very well then, my name is Ruby Rose." I respond in the same voice he used.
"Ah, so your name means the color red." Ezra smiled politely "How fitting for a young maiden, such as yourself."
From the way he talks, I assume he must come from a rich family of some sorts.
"You know, it's not very polite to analyze people like that." His voice snapped me out of my thoughts "Especially those whom you have just met." I looked at him in surprise.
Huh, he's both observant and perceptive.
"I know what you're thinking, young miss." He smiled at me "My mistress always told me that I'm more observant than I let on, I don't know about being perceptive, I usually interact with others to gain a better understanding of them rather than simply observing them."
Mistress? So that means he is a helper, I think?
"I apologize for what I did earlier." I said in a polite tone "I was simply musing over your name."
It was true, but I still don't know how I managed to find a book with names that don't associate with colors.
"I see, but there is no need to apologize over something trivial." Ezra reassured "You were simply curious, after all."
He's not wrong about me being curious over his name.
However, I must move to a different topic.
"So you are enrolling in Beacon as well?" I asked, folding my arms
"Indeed, I have not only come to this school to become a huntsman, but to also accompany Miss Schnee, since she too is enrolling in Beacon as a huntress." He explained
Weiss Schnee, so he is serving the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company then.
As if on cue, a female voice calls out "Ezra!"
He turns around to see the source of the voice and smiles "Miss Schnee, I apologize for leaving you in the crowd like that, it was not my intention to do so."
The source of the voice simply sighs in response, before I take a good look at them.
"So this must be her then" I thought to myself as I observed their appearance.
The person that called out to Ezra is a girl, also two years older than me.
She has white hair pulled into an off-center bun tail on the right side that is pinned with an icicle shaped tiara, pale blue eyes and pale skin, but has a crooked scar that runs vertically down her left eye. She has a petite build and is only one inch taller than me, but her heels only make her slightly taller than that, though it's not much.
The girl wore a thigh-length strapless dress with a faint color gradation from white to pale blue at the hem, a small piece of black lace sits in the front of her neckline and the hem of the dress is scalloped and stitched to resemble snowflakes, with layers of white tulle under her skirt. Over this, she wears a bell sleeved bolero with the same color gradation as her dress from shoulder to wrist, lined in red and with a ruffled collar.
She also wears a small apple pendant on a silver chain, and thin rectangular silver earrings. Her boots are white, wedged heeled and higher at the back than the front. They have a silver decoration across the top of the boot and are lined in red. A thin white sash is tied around her waist with a pouch attached to the back.
Her name is Weiss Schnee.
She is the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company.
I'm going to assume she has connections with Ezra.
"At least, you didn't get lost on purpose." Weiss spoke up before noticing me "Thank you for finding him."
Huh?
"What do you mean by 'finding him'?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"That is because I am her personal butler and childhood friend." Ezra answered for me.
The white-themed girl could only flush at his words "Y-You didn't have to mention the first one!"
I raise an eyebrow in curiosity.
"I apologize for that Miss Schnee." He bowed politely "I didn't mean to embarrass you."
"Furthermore, you promised to call me by my first name!" She pointed her finger at him, still flushing in embarrassment "I thought we talked about this already?"
Ezra could only smile "Apologies, I have simply forgotten about what you had told me, Weiss."
"That's better." Weiss sighed in relief, before scrutinizing me.
I can tell that she is observing me, just like what I did with her.
"You seem younger than most of the students here." She spoke up, still observing me "How old are you exactly?"
"Fifteen" Was my simple reply.
Weiss could only observe me even more.
"Despite your age, you have an aura that holds a great amount of maturity in you." She spoke up again "Tell me, how did you get yourself enrolled in advance?"
"Headmaster Ozpin personally invited me himself." I answered, unfazed by her observing me up close.
Ezra coughed into his hand "It seems that Miss Rose is not bothered by your gaze in the slightest."
"I can see that." Weiss said before sighing.
"Forgive me for asking this, but are you two close?" I asked, curious of their relationship.
"Indeed we are, Miss Rose." The boy smiled, looking at the older girl "Her family took me in, after certain circumstances happened in my childhood."
I could sense that he was hiding a bit of sadness and melancholy in his eyes when he said that.
"I can't deny that he was good company, ever since I was a little girl." Weiss affirms, looking at the boy "Klein took it upon himself to train him to be a proper butler, if father was going to let him stay."
She said the word 'father' like it was a curse word for her, something that did not go unnoticed by Ezra.
"Weiss, I assure you that I have gotten over what I experienced in the past." He said placed a hand on her shoulder "I don't hold any ill will towards your father and your younger brother."
"I know that, but ..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say next.
"Family problems, huh?" I spoke up, getting their attention.
"How would you know about it?" Weiss asked me, not out of annoyance but out of curiosity.
It wouldn't be fair if I didn't answer her.
"Believe it or not, I had a twin brother with such big dreams of becoming a huntsman." I explained, feeling a great sense of nostalgia "He wanted to save as many lives as he could from not only the Grimm, but from the dangers of the world itself."
Ezra smiled at me "Then he sounds like he could be a great huntsman from how you described his dream."
"He would've been." I whispered under my breath, but it didn't go unnoticed by Weiss.
"What do you mean by that?" She asked, prompting me to look at her for a second before sighing.
"He ... passed away when he was five." I hesitantly answered.
I don't know why I felt like sharing my past to them, but so far they've been more than trustworthy in my eyes.
Not even Luke would get me to open up about myself that fast.
"Oh!" Weiss seemed shocked by this "I-I apologize for your loss, as well as pushing the subject."
There are times where I actually smiled and laughed, but they were anything but happy.
I let out a bitter chuckle "It's alright, I don't blame you for being curious."
"Even to this day, I still think about him." I looked up, smiling bitterly "That's why I'm in this school, to honor his ideals of becoming a hunter."
I used the term 'hunter', because it could be applied to both genders.
"You're training to become a huntress, because of your brother?" Ezra asked
Sighing, my lips were pulled into a fine line "Of course, but it's also a promise made by both of us."
I closed my eyes "I intended to keep that promise, even after his death."
Weiss and Ezra were quiet for a while, before latter spoke up "That's not so bad, I suppose everyone else in this airship have different reasons to become huntsmen and huntresses."
"They do." I muttered under my breath.
"Your reasons to become a huntress ..." The white-themed girl trailed off before finding her voice again "... is admirable at best, but it's all because of a promise you kept for your deceased brother."
Memories of a bloodied body in someone else's arms came to mind.
"Yes, but I'm also doing this because I also want to save as many lives as I can from the Grimm." I admitted "As well as the dark parts of Remnant itself."
Just like what my brother would say.
Ezra came forward and gave me a warm smile "I also believe that your reasons to become a huntress is admirable, not a lot of people nowadays would protect the people from not just the Grimm, but from the dangers of this world."
"I agree, but I believe it's fair that I also share my reasons." Weiss spoke up, before admitting to her reasons "I am becoming a huntress to take over the Schnee Dust Company, and run it like the way my grandfather did."
I must admit, the company itself is beginning to commit various questionable business methods. So hearing her admit to her own goal to change it, is admirable by itself.
"Your reason is admirable as well." I said, looking at the white-themed girl "I hope that you can truly save your grandfather's company before it would descend into true corruption."
For a moment, Weiss gave me a rare smile, in contrast to her serious expression.
"Hello, and welcome to Beacon!" A voice said from out of nowhere.
The three of us turned our heads to the source.
"My name is Glynda Goodwitch." It came from a screen of some sorts.
She was the huntress that assisted me in fighting the mysterious woman.
The woman on screen continued her speech "You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." She disappears from the screen afterwards.
Ezra turned to me "It has been a pleasure making conversation with you, Miss Rose." he smiled "I hope we get along very well in the future."
I turn to him in response and said "Likewise, Ezra."
Weiss' serious expression returned "Let's go, I need some assistance in carrying the dust."
"As you wish, Weiss." He bowed as he began to follow her.
The girl turned her head sideways, and flashed me a quick smile before walking away.
I would have assumed that she would've acted rather arrogant and conceited towards me, but after interacting with her, she has shown to be quite noble in terms of her goal to save her grandfather's company.
The crowd began preparing themselves as the airship was a few meters away from landing.
Looking around, I decided to freshen myself in the girl's comfort room before heading to my luggage.
*TIMESKIP*
I enter the comfort room as I turned on water from one of their faucets as I took my headphones off, as well as my gloves.
The water was cold, but it was the way I liked it. I put my hands near the running water, cupped my hands together to get some of the water and splashed it slightly on my face.
I grab a small handkerchief from my skirt and wiped the water off my face.
Afterwards, I did it again two more times before tucking away the handkerchief in my skirt and looking at myself in the mirror.
"Maybe I should try socializing with others more in the campus" I thought as I looked at my own reflection.
Before I would make my leave, I hear faint crying noises.
Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, I checked the stalls to search for the source of said crying noises.
As I attempted to open the last stall, a voice called out "Please don't come in!"
Someone was already inside the whole time, it seems.
"Hello?" I tried to open the stall's door, but the person inside seemed insistent on not letting me in.
"Please go away!" The person's voice was slightly louder.
The airship was about to land at any minute now, but I simply couldn't bring myself to leave the person inside.
After all, if they are coming to Beacon as well, then they might end up being left behind inside the airship.
"We are about to approach Beacon Academy at any minute now." I attempted to reach out to her "Plus, I'm not going to hurt you."
The person was quiet for a while, before saying "You promise?"
"I promise." I sighed as the stall opened.
The person inside the stall was a girl.
But I've noticed something on her features, before coming to a conclusion as to why she locked herself inside the stall in the first place.
She is a faunus, and a rabbit faunus no less.
The faunus herself had brown hair in a short bob hairstyle and has a pair of long brown rabbit ears on the top of her head, hazel brown eyes that seemed to have tears in them, and fair skin. She has a very petite build, to the point where one could easily mistake her for a twelve year old child.
The girl is wearing a light brown trench coat that was opened, revealing an olive green turtleneck sweater, a maroon brown skirt, black stockings that reached all the way under her skirt, and regular brown shoes. She was also wearing a huge red scarf that seemed to cover her neck.
I've also noticed one small detail on her physical appearance.
One of her rabbit ears is badly bruised, as if someone had pulled on them for a very long time.
The girl seemed shy but at same time hesitant when approaching me.
I sighed, knowing her hesitation "I know what you're thinking, but I assure you that I am not by any means a racist."
The faunus girl spoke up "Do you promise?"
"Of course I do." I said kneeling down slightly to her height "I will not harm you, nor judge you for being a faunus, so tell me what upsets you."
Her eyes watered slightly as she put a hand in one of her rabbit ears "They really hurt."
"What?" She whispered her answer, but I didn't hear her.
"I said they really hurt." I could her voice this time, but it was slightly broken, probably from all the crying she made inside the stall.
My brows furrowed as I reached my hand out to one her ears "Allow me to take a look at them."
She nodded, not saying anything.
One of my hands touched her bruised ear, to which she flinched.
"Does it hurt when I touch them?" I asked, feeling my aura build up inside me.
She made a noise of acknowledgement as she nodded again.
I looked at her ear once more, before saying "Allow me to use my aura."
"Huh?'' Was all she said as I transferred some of my aura into her ear.
It took some time, but her ear finally healed.
She reached out to touch her ear again, and then asking "How did you do that?"
"I transferred some parts of my aura into your ear, so it could heal itself." I was confused though, why didn't her own aura heal her bruised ear.
"I see then." She looked at me "Thank you"
"It's nothing really" I stood up and began making my way out of the comfort room as I grabbed my headphones and gloves.
"Wait!"
Before I could leave, I felt a slight tug at my coat's sleeve.
I turned around to see the girl again, who looked rather timid "Please don't leave me in here."
Judging from her timid demeanor, she was afraid of being left alone.
"Very well then, but ..." I trailed off, before speaking again "... how about we introduce ourselves, since we're practically strangers."
"O-Oh!" The girl seemed surprised by this, before regaining her composure "If that's what you want then, my name is Lily Scarlatina."
Sensing that she finally said her name, I said my own in return "Ruby Rose, tell me Lily."
I knelt down to her height "Why are you in this room earlier?"
The rabbit faunus, know known as Lily was hesitant for a brief moment before saying "A couple of people in the crowd pulled on my ears."
"Who did this to you?" I never understood faunus racism, but would probably never will.
"I didn't see, but I heard the voices and they were male." She answered looking down on her feet "They said I was a 'freak' and that I shouldn't live."
That got a bit of anger building up in my chest.
"Why did they do this to you?" I asked, wanting to know the reasons for such behavior.
"They did it all because I was simply a faunus." Lily looked like she was close to crying.
That does it!
"If you ever run into them again, notify me immediately." I said placing a hand on the girl's shoulder "I will make quick work of them."
"What?" The faunus looked surprised that I would say something like that.
"I will not kill them, but I will ensure that they will never harm you again." I promised, expressing something akin to a mother vowing to protect her child.
She was still surprised, but suddenly teared up as she suddenly went up to give me a hug.
"Thank you" The girl slightly whispered, hugging me as tight as she could.
"Do you want me to accompany you all the way out of the airship?" I asked in a motherly tone, as I wrapped one of my arms around her.
Lily nodded as she and I let go, but had decided to hold my left hand.
I nodded as I helped her out of the comfort room.
*TIMESKIP*
Both of us made our way to where Lily's luggage is.
I had to secure her stuff first.
The rabbit faunus was still holding my hand, refusing to let it go.
Despite the fact that she may or may not be as old as me, but it feels as if she is an actual child.
It was quite endearing actually.
We reached the area of where Lily's luggage is, which consisted of a large bookbag, a stroller bag, and a duffel bag.
I allowed her to carry the bookbag and drag the stroller bag, while I carried her duffel bag.
Judging from the weight of the bag I'm carrying, I would require a large luggage trolley to push all of my luggage as well.
Lily gave me her permission for me to carry my own luggage as well.
We quickly searched for a luggage trolley, before finding one as I pushed it to where the boy was, since he was the one I left in charge of looking after my stuff.
Both of us reached the area of where my luggage is.
The boy was still there, but is asleep due to waiting for so long.
I quickly packed my bags and weapons as I placed them on the trolley, along with Lily's duffel bag. I took the liberty of wearing one of my luggage, which is a large backpack, on my back as we made our way off the airship.
As we were close to exiting the airship, groaning as well as panicking can be heard, which meant that the boy is now awakened and is presumably looking for his own luggage.
We made our way off the bullhead, before staring in awe at the size of Beacon Academy itself.
It was like a large castle with some sights for the students to take pictures at.
"Wow" Lily spoke up, still in awe "It's huge!"
"Indeed it is" I responded, before staring at path ahead of us "Let's go"
The other girl nodded as we walked towards the academy.
As the two of us looked at our new surroundings, an accented voice called out to us "Lily!"
We both turned our heads to see another girl.
She is another rabbit faunus like Lily.
The girl had a very similar appearance to the one I'm with, except that her hair was long as it reached the end of her back and that she possessed an average build, but was clearly older than the both of us.
She is wearing a long-sleeved brown jacket over a black t-shirt, brown shorts with black leggings and light brown sneakers.
I assume that since classes hasn't started yet, there was no reason to wear combat gear around campus. Plus, there aren't any rules stating that we aren't allowed to wear casual attire around the campus.
Lastly, due to her looking one or two years older than us, she is probably our upperclassman and a second-year student.
"Velvet!" Lily called out, smiling happily.
The now named Velvet walked towards us, and smiled at me "I see that you met my cousin Lily."
They're cousins, probably due to their very similar appearances. The differences are that Lily's voice did not have an accent, her eyes are hazel brown while her cousin's eyes are dark brown, her skin is slightly lighter than her cousin's, and the obvious difference of their builds.
Nevertheless, they were still related.
"Um, Velvet" Lily looked at me, before smiling at her cousin "I made a new friend today."
Friend. We have just met not too long ago, and she already sees me as her friend.
"That's great" Velvet smiled at her cousin, as she smiled at me "Thank you so much, she normally doesn't have any friends when she was younger, but for her to be friends with a human is no easy task."
It was mostly true, some faunus have a very hard time interacting with humans, such as myself.
Except unlike them, I am not a racist.
"Come on" The older girl said to her cousin "I'll guide you to where my team is."
"Okay" Lily nodded, but stopped as she looked at me again.
The younger girl smiled brightly at me as she said "Thank you for taking care of me, while I was all by myself in the stalls."
"Your welcome" I responded, as my lips twitched slightly upwards "Take good care of yourself, and don't forget to tell me about the ones that pulled at your ear."
She nodded as Velvet carried her cousin's duffel bag off my hand, before making her way back to her cousin.
"Once again, thank you for being her friend." The older faunus bowed politely "I hope we get along once classes start."
I simply nodded in response, as I saw Lily smiling brightly at me once more before following her cousin.
All by myself, I carefully pushed the trolley down the path as I pulled out my scroll.
Hopefully, my scroll should have a map of Beacon Academy by now.
*FIVE MINUTES LATER*
Well this is embarrassing.
Five minutes in, and I'm already lost on the campus.
I needed to find someone to help me find my way to the entrance ceremony by now.
But as I began searching, I have already found someone.
That someone was a boy, and he was lying against a tree, looking at his own scroll.
He had short spiked messy white hair with light blue tips, particularly on his bangs, sharp yellow eyes and slightly fair skin. He had an average build and is one inch taller than me.
The boy was wearing a long-sleeved light gray v-neck shirt, dark gray jeans, and white sneakers. He also had a pair of goggles resting on the top his head, which were light red in color, as well as wearing dark red fingerless gloves.
Sighing, I walk up to him, hoping to not bother him at whatever he's doing.
"Excuse me?" I spoke up "Is there any way to get to the entrance ceremony?"
I get the boy's attention, but it was hard to read his expression as it was blank.
"The entrance ceremony?" The boy spoke, his tone blank as well
I rub my arm "I was hoping that you would show me where the entrance ceremony is."
The boy was silent for a while, before standing up and stashing his scroll in his pockets.
"Very well, I shall take you to where the ceremony is taking place." He put his hands on his pockets, and gestured me to follow him.
Nodding, I was about to push my trolley, before he stops in his tracks.
"What is it?" I asked, confused why he stopped
"I'll first show you where to put your luggage in, since we have lots of time to spare before it actually starts." He explained as turned to look at me "Is that okay with you?"
"Sure, I don't mind." I answered as I followed him.
He has been hard to read so far, but at least he's nice.
Oh right, I don't know his name yet.
"I have to ask." I said as I followed him "What's your name?"
He stopped for a second before replying "Kiyoshi Nakamura"
That's an unusual name, but then again when I read that book of names, the name Kiyoshi means "quiet", while Nakamura means "middle village".
His first name made sense since he has displayed a quiet nature.
I don't know about his last name, but I'll assume he comes from a village of sorts.
"I believe it is proper that you introduce yourself as well." Kiyoshi spoke up, snapping me out of my thoughts.
Oh right, I haven't introduced myself yet.
"My name is Ruby Rose." I introduced myself "It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise" He replied as both of us continued to walk.
*TIMESKIP*
Kiyoshi and I have mostly been silent throughout the walk, as we found a place where I could store my luggage away safely.
Afterwards, both of us made our way to the entrance ceremony.
"Hey Kiyoshi, can you answer a question for me?" I finally broke the silence between us.
"I'm all ears." He responded casually.
"Are you a second-year student here?" I asked
The white-haired boy seemed to think about it for a moment before responding "I am not."
"Huh?" I was honestly curious "Really?"
"You heard me, I am a first-year student like the rest of you." Kiyoshi explained "Except that I'm here before all of you were."
"I see" I nodded, accepting that kind of answer.
After a while, we finally made it to the entrance ceremony.
"It was nice talking, I think?" I said, as I stared at the crowd "I hope we get to talk later in the future."
"I don't mind at all." He answered as he made his way to the very back of the crowd.
He was leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets and one foot against the wall.
"I guess he doesn't like crowds" I thought, before heading into the crowd.
I pull out my scroll for a brief moment to check the current time.
Unfortunately, as I did someone bumps into me, causing me to drop my scroll on the ground.
"My scroll!" I tried to kneel down the ground to find it, but there was simply too many people and I end up losing sight of it.
I didn't know there would be that many students signing up for Beacon this year.
But I still needed my scroll, how would I contact any of my family members and Luke.
As I began slipping through the crowd, I end up bumping into someone again.
"I'm sorry!" I quickly apologized "I didn't mean to-"
"It's alright, you have nothing to say sorry for." The person I bump into is another white-haired girl like Weiss.
Except she had wolf ears on her head, meaning that she is a wolf faunus.
"Just be sure to watch were you're going next time." She told me as she made her way out of the crowd.
I began searching for my scroll again, but as soon as I see it ...
... someone else was already picking it up from the ground.
I narrow my eyes as I observed that person.
He was a boy with brown hair and blue eyes.
Unfortunately, I didn't observe his appearance long enough as groups of students began to block him.
However, was it me or did the boy just noticed me, before he faded into the crowd.
I don't know why I decided to go into the crowd in the first place, but then again I was trying to make my way to the front so I could get a better hear of whatever speech the headmaster has planned.
Sighing, I take a page from Kiyoshi's book and opted to be at the very back of the crowd.
As soon as I did, everyone's attention is drawn to the stage as Professor Ozpin is readying the microphone with Professor Goodwitch standing beside him.
"I'll... keep this brief." The headmaster began his 'brief' speech "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."
The students began to whisper among themselves.
I look around as I see Kiyoshi still leaning against the wall. He almost had an uninterested expression on his face, as he watched the students whisper to 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." Just like that, he quickly left the stage.
I could catch some parts of his speech, and I can see why he said knowledge can only carry us this far.
Everything in this school will be advanced for me, so I plan to read up some lessons in advance, later on.
Professor Goodwitch then steps up to talk in front "You will all gather in the ballroom tonight; however, the headmaster himself recommends sleeping with your combat gear ready, because we have a special surprise in store for all of you at initiation tomorrow. Be ready. You are dismissed." She leaves the stage afterwards.
I look at everyone around me, and I see Weiss, Ezra, Lily and the boy at the airship, all of them standing in different areas in the crowd.
But I have to wonder.
What will be the special surprise waiting for us at initiation tomorrow?
To be continued ...
This is last chapter of the Prologue Arc. The next one will the first chapter of the Initiation Arc, but it will focus mostly on character interactions that mostly involve Ruby meeting more students.
I also introduce three more OCs: Ezra, Lily and Kiyoshi
Next Chapter: Making New Friends