Ah, shoot, I'm already blowing up the canon story with this chapter. Can't wait to see all the hate I'm bound to get.
Ren slowly opened his eyes from sleep to see a scene not uncommon to him at this point.
"Waaake up, lazy butt!" Nora exclaimed.
Ren groaned a bit as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, still waking up.
"It's morning! It's morning! It's morning! Iiiiiit's morning!" Nora sang to no one in particular.
Ren sighed as he got out of bed and grabbed his bag. He started off towards the changing rooms, Nora following him closely.
"Can you believe we've really been at Beacon for almost a day?!" she asked. "I mean, I didn't think we'd get kicked out or anything; you're like, the perfect student and I'm… I'm me, you know?"
"Nora, you may want to get your own stuff and go to the girls' changing room," Ren commented.
Nora realized he was walking into the boys' changing room and she was still in her pajamas. By the time she realized, Ren had already gone into the changing room.
She was done changing and was waiting for him before he had even finished changing.
As he continued out to the lockers, Nora rushed back to his side again.
"But still, it's just crazy, you know? We get to stay in such an awesome place for the next few years, and we get to go on teams, and fight Grimm, and participate in tournaments, and―"
"Are you going to grab your weapon?" Ren asked, interrupting her. He had already put his bag in his locker and retrieved StormFlower.
"Oh, we're going to be fighting stuff, right?!" Nora said, going to grab Magnhild.
"It's likely, considering the announcement yesterday," he replied. A message had been sent to all new students' scrolls the previous night, informing them they would be getting teams and would need their combat gear for the next day.
"Oh, I'm so excited! What do you think we should do to make sure we get on a team together?! I wonder how it's decided? You think they toss us into a Grimm-filled area and the first people we find are our team members? I bet that's how they do it, I've heard stories about that. We should think of a sound to use so we can find each other. Oh! How about a sloth?! Can you imitate a sloth?"
"Nora?" he asked in response.
"Yes?"
"I'm pretty sure sloths don't make much sound."
Nora pondered the meaning of life for a bit. "Well, that's why it's PERFECT!"
Ren smiled as he continued on to the main hall to get breakfast, Nora continuing to follow and talk energetically.
"Man, she's really excited about this," Yang commented as she watched the two pass.
"I think that's her being calm," Ruby replied.
"You know her?"
"I heard the two of them yesterday," she replied as she pulled Crescent Rose out of the locker. She hugged it momentarily putting it on its connector on her belt.
"You seem cheerful," Yang noted as she finished putting on the inactive Ember Celica.
"Of course I am," Ruby responded. "Today, it's no more meeting people and getting lost. Today I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." She gestured to her scythe.
"Yeah, but we're getting teams."
Ruby flinched. "Yeah, well I… I could just be on your team, right?"
"Maybe… you should try being on someone else's team?" Yang said awkwardly enough it sounded like a question.
Ruby stared at her. "What… what are you implying?"
"I-I don't know, I thought it might help you to be on someone else's team… that you might manage to meet some new people or… something…"
Ruby fumed. "I don't want to meet new people! I'll stand out too much to talk with them…"
Yang tried to recover the situation as the two headed towards the exit.
Along the way, Ruby noticed Jaune pacing around, seemingly caught up in his own thoughts. She looked away, figuring he would've been upset with her after she left him alone yesterday.
As Jaune walked back and forth, he muttered to himself, "Where was that dumb locker!? I thought it was 100-something…"
Pyrrha approached Jaune as he continued his ramblings. "Um, Jaune?" she asked.
He turned to face her, snapping out of his semi-trance. "Oh, uh, hey Pyrrha."
"Is… something wrong?"
Jaune sighed. "I forgot my locker number…"
"Didn't you have somewhere in the 630's?" Pyrrha said, thinking back to when they had parted ways at his locker the previous night.
"600?!" exclaimed Jaune. "There's no way, I would've remembered having to count that high… wait, 630… that's right! It was 636!"
Pyrrha smiled as he hurried off to his locker. She followed him over, watching as seemed to put in the wrong code several times before finally managing to open it.
A white-haired girl walked up to Pyrrha as she waited for Jaune to get ready.
"Would I be correct in believing that you're Pyrrha Nikos, four-time winner of the Mistral Region Tournament?"
Pyrrha turned to the girl with a mildly surprised look. "Y-yes, that's me. You're Weiss Schnee, correct?"
The girl nodded proudly. "Indeed," she said. "I was wondering if you'd given any thought to who you wanted to be on a team; I'm sure someone as skilled as you must be able to get anyone they want."
"Well, I really hadn't thought much about it yet. I was thinking I'd just let the pieces fall where they may; it always seems to work out best that way."
"Well, I was thinking we could being on a team together. What do you think?"
"I think it sounds like a grand idea!" Pyrrha replied cheerfully.
"Great!" Weiss said. What she said internally was slightly different.
"What's great?"
Weiss jumped a little at the voice from behind her. She turned and saw Jaune, who had finished getting his stuff.
"We were talking about being on a team together," Pyrrha explained.
Jaune stared at her. "What are these teams again?"
Weiss gave Jaune a brief unimpressed look before turning back to Pyrrha. "Should we find each other again after breakfast?"
"Sure," Pyrrha replied with a nod. Weiss began to walk away after nodding happily. Pyrrha turned back to Jaune. "The teams we get today will be our partners and our roommates during the time we're here, if what I've heard is correct. Some teams will stay together to go on missions, but others may split up after their time is done at Beacon. Did you not hear or read about these things anywhere?"
"Uh… no…"
"Well, the teams are four people each, so I can probably help you with this stuff if we become teammates."
"So, uh… I'd be on a team with you and her?" Jaune asked, pointing to where Weiss had gone.
"If it works out that way, yes. I'm not entirely sure how the process to select teams works, though."
Jaune's eyes seemed to light up.
Pyrrha noticed nearly everyone had left. "We should probably head out before all the food gets eaten."
"Oh, right! I'm starving," Jaune said as he began walking off, Pyrrha following close behind.
"Why are we just wandering around the tables?" Ruby asked her sister. It seemed like they had just been walking in circles for a while, carrying their trays of breakfast.
"I agreed to meet up with a friend from back at Signal at breakfast today. I'm looking for where she's sitting…"
They walked around a bit before the two heard someone call out Yang's name. "Yang! Over here!"
Yang grinned as she ran over to the voice, leaving Ruby to chase after, almost spilling the contents of her tray in the process.
As Yang arrived at the table, she exclaimed, "Well, it's about time you said something!" She took a seat facing a group of four, and Ruby cautiously sat down with her.
The girl who had called them over grinned. "Well, I didn't see you."
"Oh, please," Yang said with a roll of her eyes, "you and I both know you can recognize me just by my hair."
The other girl chuckled. "It's good to see you again, Yang."
"Same," Yang commented. She looked at Ruby, who was making an effort of not getting noticed. "I guess I should introduce you guys." She looped an arm around Ruby's shoulders, pulling her close. "This is my sister, Ruby. Ruby, this is a friend of mine. Her name's Coco; she's a second year here."
Ruby pushed off Yang's arm and scooted back over to her original seat. as Coco spoke up, looking over Ruby. "I remember you saying your sister looked very different from you, but I wasn't expecting THIS much difference."
"Good difference or bad difference?" Ruby wondered quietly.
"Hm… I'm not sure. You're a bit too different to compare," she said with smile and shrug. "On a different note, have you heard they let the upperclassmen see live videos of the first years during the 'team selection process?'"
"Huh?!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Really?" Yang asked.
"Yeah; I know a lot of the people in their last year here like to see it to remind themselves of how they started off. I wanted to see it to watch how you and another new student do, and I think I'll try to see what your sister can do too."
"Who's the other one you were gonna look at?" Yang asked as Ruby seemed to try to turn invisible again.
Coco nodded her head past Yang. "Red-haired girl behind you. Walking around with the blond guy." Yang turned to see Jaune walking around with a red-haired girl, looking for a table. Ruby looked back as well, and when she thought Jaune and her eyes met, she turned back to her meal.
"That girl does look familiar…" Yang noted as she turned back to Coco.
"I'd be surprised if she didn't. It's Pyrrha Nikos. Her coming here has caused a lot of talk throughout the school. The media too. She's quite the prodigy."
"And she's coming to sit with us, it seems," said the girl sitting to the right of Coco. Ruby and Yang had both already noticed she was a rabbit faunus, but knew it would've been weird to bring it up in a place where faunus weren't uncommon. The ears were actually pretty cute.
Coco looked back up at where Pyrrha had been. "So it seems."
"Is it alright if we join you all?" asked Pyrrha from behind Ruby and Yang.
"I don't see why not," Coco replied.
"Thanks," Pyrrha replied.
She sat down next to Yang, the side opposite Ruby, and Jaune sat on the other side of Pyrrha.
Pyrrha looked towards Coco. "You four are team CFVY, right?" she asked.
"I'm surprised you know that," Coco commented.
"You were the most famous team to come to Beacon last year; it stands to reason I'd know your team."
"You guys are really that good?" Yang asked.
"We broke the record for how far a first-year team made it in the Vytal tournament, so I'd say so."
"But you didn't win? I'm disappointed, Coco," Yang claimed with a smirk.
"Yang…" Ruby sighed.
"'Bout time you said something!" Yang said, nudging Ruby.
"Shut up," she muttered.
Jaune leaned forward to see the two. "So, I assume this is the sister you ran off to?" he asked Ruby.
"Huh? Oh, um… yeah," Ruby awkwardly replied. "Sorry about that…"
"Not a people person, huh?" Coco asked Yang. Ruby seemed to shrink further into her seat.
Yang gave her a "what're you gonna do?" face.
Ruby quickly finished what was left of her food and hurried away from the table.
Yang sighed. "She really needs to get over this."
"It might be better if you don't put her in situations with a large number of people she doesn't know," Pyrrha commented.
"I never liked taking the slow route," Yang replied.
"I can confirm that," Coco said with a smile.
As the group continued to talk, Yang noticed Jaune eventually left the same direction Ruby had. She was starting to think Jaune would be the one to get Ruby to open up. It was both a pleasant and disappointing thought.
"I think she went this way," Jaune mumbled to himself as he wandered off in the direction he thought Ruby went.
He exited the cafeteria into a hallway. As he reached the end, he noticed it split left and right instead of continuing forward. He saw Ruby huddled into the fetal position against a wall in the left hallway. He cautiously walked over.
"Hey… Ruby. Are… are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she mumbled between her knees. She didn't even look up. It didn't seem like she was crying, at least.
Jaune gently sat down next to her. He said nothing, unclipping Crocea Mors from his belt and setting it next to him. He pulled up his knees to rest his arms on them, his head tilted to the ceiling.
The two sat in silence. The only noise was their breathing and the sounds of the people in the cafeteria.
"Why do you care?" Ruby mumbled.
"Hm?" Jaune turned to look at her.
"Why do you care?" she asked again, louder.
"I...I don't follow."
"You came up to me yesterday, and now you have again, almost the exact same way. Why?"
Jaune looked to the wall and pondered the question momentarily. "I don't know," he admitted. "I think it's because I understand what it's like. Being alone, that is."
"I really look that alone?"
"I mean… curling up against a wall doesn't exactly...I mean, you seem really…" he searched for what he was trying to say.
"Alone," Ruby finished.
Jaune sighed. "I'm not being helpful, am I?"
Ruby mumbled something quietly.
"What was that?"
"Just having company is… nice," she mumbled, a bit louder.
"Oh. So you want to be around people, but you don't know how?"
Ruby nodded in response.
"I can understand that," Jaune said.
Ruby pulled her head away from her knees and looked over at him for the first time since he got there.
"I have a really big family," Jaune explained, "and it's almost all girls. I have seven sisters, so…" He sighed. "I couldn't get along with the boys my age when I started school; I had grown up with too many girls around me, so I had more feminine tendencies. Even when I did know what to talk about and how to act around them, I had already convinced myself I needed to avoid them to avoid being embarrassed or humiliated. I did eventually get a few friends, but when we reached a… uh… a certain age, then they…" He cleared his throat. "… they started having a bit more interest in talking to my sisters than me." He chuckled humorlessly.
Ruby looked back at the floor in front of her. "I'm… sorry," she told him.
"It's in the past, now. Always gotta keep moving forward, y'know?"
Ruby stared at him in silence. He stared at the wall with an expression she couldn't quite describe.
She rested her chin on her knees as she turned her gaze to the wall as well. Time seemed to slow to a crawl in the silence.
A voice over the P.A. system made both of them jump slightly.
"All first-years please finish eating and gather at the main entrance within the next 10 minutes. I repeat, all first-year students must be at the main entrance in 10 minutes, at 10:00 B.M. Be sure to wear your combat outfits and bring your weapons."
A.N.: Their time is in B.M. and A.M., short for Before Midday and After Midday. It works the exact same as our A.M. and P.M., however their days are 30 hours long, so the time goes to 15:00 instead of 12:00.
"Well, I guess we're doing this," Jaune said. Ruby thought he might've sounded a bit nervous. He got up and grabbed his sword and sheath.
He clipped the sheath to his belt as Ruby got up and did the same with her scythe.
"Guess we should start heading over there," Jaune commented.
"Yeah," Ruby quietly replied.
Jaune turned away and began to walk out from the hallway. As he walked, he wondered if he should've come there to begin with. It seemed like Ruby wasn't doing any better than before. For all he knew, he made it worse.
As he walked away, Ruby stayed in place and started to ask if he would be willing to be on a team with her, but she hesitated before she got any words out.
She closed her mouth and looked at the ground in front of her. By the time she looked up again, Jaune was gone.
Even if he somehow had agreed to, she'd missed her chance to ask.
A few minutes later, Ruby stood behind a large group of students crowded near the main entrance. She tried to see through the crowd to see Yang, but most people there were taller than she was.
After a brief wait, the doors opened, and the students began to funnel through. They fanned outward, and eventually Ruby could see what was in front of them.
Four adults stood in front of all of them. Ruby recognized Glynda and Ozpin, but not the other two. One had messy green hair and glasses, and the other was a larger man with a big moustache. There was a fair distance between each of the four of them.
Glynda stepped closer to the group and spoke with a voice that rolled over all of them.
"Today you will officially become students here. You are going to be getting your partners, teams, IDs, dormitories, schedules, and any other things you will be needing while here. Right now, you will be split equally into four groups. Form groups in front of Director Ozpin, Professor Port, Professor Oobleck, or myself; after that, you may be requested to move to a different to create an equal number in each. Once each group has exactly 16 of you, we will begin. Whichever group you end up in, you must listen to and obey everything your instructor says. Do you all understand?"
There were many bored-sounding responses. Satisfied, Glynda walked back to where she originally was. "Please get into orderly groups in front of one of us now," she said.
Ruby watched as everyone began to walk towards one of the four teachers. She searched intently for Yang, and believing she saw Yang's hair, went in the same direction, towards Ozpin's group.
After a few minutes of evening out the groups, Ruby was still in Ozpin's, and she was almost positive Yang was too.
Each of the teachers nodded to each other.
Ozpin watched as the other teachers spoke to their groups and walked off.
He took a sip from his mug. "Follow me," he stated simply.
