The low hum of a large transportation airship's engines could be heard in the sky over Vale as it lumbered across the sky to its destination – Beacon Academy. Inside, a black-haired teen sat in one of the private rooms that contained amenities aplenty from a bed to one of those fancy wall-mounted holoTVs that droned on with some news report in the background.
Raku sighed to try to ease the bit of nerves he could feel coiled up in his chest as he gazed out the window as the massive wings of the ship slowly oscillated up and down not unlike that of a bird's. The luxury of his current environment was odd to him. He was by no means used to having a private room all to himself on one of these big transport airships. It was more likely to find him stowed away in the cold depths of the cargo storage, or out in one of the seating areas with the rest of the common folk. But apparently, Professor Ozpin took quite the interest in Raku and wasn't sparing any expense on him. He couldn't help but feel like he was being buttered up for something.
"-a rise in White Fang activity throughout the city."
The reporter talking on the screen broke the former criminal from his thoughts and he was willing to let the cynicism rest for a bit.
"Dust shipments, Dust shops, military equipment. None of it safe from the thieving hands of the once peaceful organization..." the man, who appeared to be reporting from one of the shipping yards in Vale, continued on. "But the most bizarre detail is that their efforts seem to be spearheaded by renowned criminal Roman Torchwick."
That got Raku to raise an eyebrow. He knew of Roman Torchwick because of his previous line of work, and who didn't know of the White Fang nowadays? Those two did not seem to mix in the slightest.
"Why in the world would the White Fang be in business with a human?" he asked himself aloud.
"The White Fang definitely weren't this active last time I was here. I wonder what has them worked up in a tizzy, and why it has them collecting so much Dust," Raku thought.
A notification sound from his new scroll pulled Raku's attention away from the news as he pulled it out of his pocket. The scroll was waiting for him in the room when he had boarded and a stewardess had told him that he should expect a message from Professor Ozpin when they arrived in Vale. Seeing that the airship would be landing at Beacon in just a few minutes, this must be what Raku was waiting for.
It hadn't been very wordy and it wasn't some extravagant welcome to the school. All the message had told him was that he was to immediately report to Ozpin's office at the top of the CCT tower and that if anyone asked, he was a transfer student from Haven Academy in Mistral.
"Hm. At least it was straight to point," Raku commented with a shrug.
The folding of the wings caused the airship to lurch ever so slightly as it came in for its final approach.
"One of the White Fang's more recent attempts at stealing Dust from Vale's shipping yards was broken up by a team of huntresses-in-training from Beacon Academy know as Team R-"
The news report was cut off when the holoTV was shut off by a departing Raku as he gathered his bags and left the room.
With one large black duffle bag hanging from his hand at his side, and another slung over his shoulder, Raku waded through the sea of hopeful and excited Haven students that gathered near the ship's exit doors. As far as they knew, he was one of them; a bright-eyed huntsman-in-training looking to compete in the Vytal Festival tournament and win big.
Thankfully, he blended in. Raku had been worried that the students would have been dressed in their uniforms and he would have been sticking out in his casual wear consisting of a dark red, crew neck thermal, black skinny jeans, and black skate shoes. Ozpin had insisted that he used that "transfer student from Haven" cover story and he wanted to look the part. Though Raku couldn't help but wonder why he needed a cover story in the first place. Sure, the circumstances surrounding his admission to the school were a little strange, but couldn't he just be another Beacon Academy student?
Whatever murmurs Raku could pick up on in the crowd suggested that there were already plenty of students from Haven at Beacon, and that students from the other schools had been arriving in "waves" or "batches."
Truthfully, the former criminal didn't have much care for the tournament. Well, that's not entirely true. Gambling on matches had been a solid way for Raku to earn some lien in the past. Maybe he should start caring, though. he is a student at Beacon now, after all. Then again, he was pretty sure you needed a team to even qualify, and something told Raku that he wasn't going to have one.
Suddenly, the doors of the ship slid open with a hiss and the crowd of Haven students surged forth down the ramp onto the landing pad. Raku had made it a point to hang back so he didn't get swept away by the antsy crowd.
Leisurely strolling down the ramp in the wake of the crowd, he was greeted with the extravagance of Beacon Academy. Flying buttresses sweeping every which way, archways dotted among them, and tall spires sprouting up among the architecture. It didn't take much to deduce that the tallest of them all was the CCT. In his admiration of Beacon's campus, Raku had subconsciously continued on away from the landing pads down the long walkway leading to the entryway out in front of the school.
The entryway was a thing of beauty itself. The wide path cut through what seemed to be a large pond with archways circling around. A statue of a huntsman and a huntress standing triumphantly over a beowolf stood in the middle of the path and red trees from the fabled Forever Fall forest stood in a decorative circle around the pathway.
The two massive doors that stood as the entrance to the school were left open and led into an atrium that was well populated with students. A glass roof covered the stretch of the main hallway that opens up to the heart of the campus, while seating areas sat off to the sides of the hall, beyond towering pillars, under a closed roof. Raku weaved his way through the throngs of students in the atrium, many of them awaiting the arrival of their friends and teammates from the other schools. To say the teen was eager to get a good look at what was going to be his home for the next four years could easily be seen as an understatement.
Home. That was a strong word, at least for this former vagrant. It had been twelve years since Raku had actually had one. Twelve years spent as a wanderer and a criminal. Having that change in a matter of months was certainly a shock. The offer to attend Beacon Academy had kicked in the door on Raku's life, and he still couldn't be sure if it was for better or worse. He wasn't sure if he could handle another Ajisai or Tsutsuji.
Descending the large staircase at the end of the grand atrium, Raku found himself standing before the campus of Beacon Academy, and what a place it was. Students strolled about the pathways going about their daily business, as others sat and conversed on benches or in the shade of a tree. The various buildings were nothing to sneeze at and were just as large and grandiose as the view from the outside would suggest. The school almost felt like a city in and of itself.
The dragon-souled boy could feel the energy rolling over him in waves, threatening to sweep him away at a moment's notice. It was all completely foreign to him. All of these people were around his age and were here simply to learn and become huntsmen and huntresses. They didn't want to rob people, they didn't want to steal Dust, they didn't look down on him because he was younger, and most importantly, they weren't looking to kill him. Everything about this place just felt better, and it was easing the slight nerves in Raku's chest with each passing second.
Every bit of his being was telling Raku to explore and find out what Beacon had to offer, but he had somewhere to be, so he was forced to stay his curiosity for the time being. At least that's what he was trying to do before said curiosity was piqued by a large crowd gathered near what appeared to be the school's cafeteria. Typically, that wouldn't be strange at all. People get hungry, and at a huge school like Beacon, it was understandable that there would be a sizeable crowd at the cafeteria at any given time. That didn't explain why that sizeable crowd was gathered outside of the cafeteria rather than inside, eating.
"You know who started it?" One student asked another.
"I think it was Team RWBY and Team JNPR," was the reply.
"Aren't they first years?"
"Yep."
"Of course..."
Alright. Something went down inside and that's why everyone was out here looking in through the windows. A food fight, Raku imagined.
Suddenly, something was sent rocketing through the cafeteria's roof up into the sky.
"A pretty serious food fight it looks like..." he mumbled.
Raku squinted his red eyes as he tried to make out exactly what was sent up into low orbit from the lunchroom, but all he could really distinguish was a lively yellow color. It seemed to be hair, so was it actually blonde? It was definitely a person, that was for sure. Hopefully they weren't having too bad of a time up there...
As much as he should have continued on his way, Raku couldn't help but watch the commotion going on inside the lunchroom. Food, drinks, and furniture flew every which way, the occasional student along with them. By the looks of it, they even managed to knock over some massive pillar inside. Then again, that shouldn't be too surprising since one of the cafeteria combatants was seemingly launched into the stratosphere.
After one of the groups of Beacon students was caught in a whirlwind of various foods and drinks, and splattered against the wall, the food fight seemed to be over. The end of the war in the lunchroom was promptly followed by a sharp voice breaking through the crowd, causing the students gathered outside to disperse in every which direction. Raku couldn't make out what it said over the chatter of lingering people, but figured out the source as a tall blonde woman in business dress stormed past him into the mess hall. She threw the doors open, causing a resounding bang, and with a few waves of her-wait-is that a riding crop?
Whatever qualm Raku could've had about the authority figure's choice of weapon was swiftly put to rest as overturned lunch tables and benches flew into the air and tumbled over each other to come to rest neatly back in their original rows. Plates and silverware clattered and clanked as they stacked and organized themselves on a table at the end of the hall. The colorful, splattered mess that covered the cracked wall seemed to disappear and the wall fixed itself; while entire entrées disposed of themselves into the numerous trash bins. Even the massive fallen pillar righted itself. Huh. Even that hole in the ceiling was fixed now.
"Hang on a second, what happened to that one-" Raku's train of thought was cut off as a yellow human-meteor came crashing back through the roof, creating a gaping hole in the ceiling once more.
The blonde woman looked as if she was about to unleash the tongue-lashing of a lifetime, but her rage was placated by a grey-haired man before she could let loose. Funnily enough, everyone outside was ousted rather quickly by the angered woman, but those inside didn't seem to really pay her much mind as they were caught up in laughing with their friend who just returned from her trip from the edge of Remnant's atmosphere.
"If there's anything I can say after being here for only twenty minutes, it's that this surely isn't a dull place..." Raku muttered to himself as he went on his way, away from the battlefield that was Beacon's cafeteria. What more could one really say after witnessing a food fight after not even half an hour of being at the school?
Walking around towards the front of the cafeteria, Raku popped open his scroll to see if he received anything new in regards to his arrival. He really should have learned to not stare at his scroll while walking from all the people he's pickpocketed, but he had to learn the hard way when he was bumped into, and the device was sent clattering to the ground out of his grip.
"I'm so sorry! I was just in a rush to catch up to my friends! I hope I didn't break your scroll." the person's voice oozed sincerity and concern, and if Raku was honest, it wasn't hard to listen to. If he had to put a word to it, it would have to be 'vibrant'.
"Don't sweat it. I should've been paying attention to where I was going instead of staring at it like a moron," Raku replied as he stood upright from picking up his scroll. He wasn't entirely prepared to be met with a blonde girl who seemed to be wearing more food than clothes despite being in her school uniform. Her blonde hair was frizzed and frazzled with strands shooting up every which way with something that resembled mashed potatoes matting some of it down. Raku imagined that her mane was something she was rather meticulous about in any other occasion. Her face held an undeniable beauty with an easy-going smile that never seemed to completely go away, giving her a warm and welcoming air that surrounded her.
"Rough day?" He finally asked, realizing again that yes, this girl was still covered in food.
The student raised an eyebrow like she didn't understand what Raku was getting at. A quick glance down at her own appearance was enough to bring a bashful chuckle out of her.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that." The blonde tried to at least brush some of the bits of food off, but it only served to smear it further into her clothes. "Welp, despite what all of this may lead you to think..." she motioned to herself "...today has been great!"
A chuckle escaped Raku as he smiled at the girl's exuberance despite being, to put it bluntly, a mess. It was actually pretty contagious.
"Yeah? How's the weather up there?" Raku joked with an obvious glance to the sky.
"A bit chilly, but the view was pretty sweet,"
"If you're not big on cold weather, stay far away from Atlas."
"Have you been to Atlas?"
"Yeah, unfortunately." Raku sighed and grimaced as he recalled his last visit to the Kingdom involving Atlesian military personnel shooting at him.
"Not a fan of the cold?" the girl asked.
"I can handle the cold, it's just that Atlesians aren't the most...welcoming of people at times."
"I know what you mean. One of my teammates is from there, but thankfully she warmed up to us. Anyways, my name's Yang!" the sunny girl offered her hand seemingly forgetting that it was covered in meat of some sort. If he had to guess by the slight aroma, Raku would say turkey.
He looked down at the hand and raised a brow before looking back up at Yang's face with a lopsided grin. In turn, she looked down at her turkey-slathered hand before pulling it away and letting it fall back to her side where it clasped the hem of her skirt.
"Sorry! I typically don't meet new people while I'm covered in my lunch." Yang said as she looked off to the side in embarrassment.
"Eh. A little turkey never hurt anyone. I'm Raku." Raku replied as he shot his hand out and grabbed a hold of Yang's and gave it a firm shake.
Yang chortled. "You clearly didn't see the entire food fight, turkey can do some serious damage. It's nice to meet ya, Raku."
"Was it turkey that sent you flying through the ceiling?"
"Nope. Watermelon on a flagpole."
"Nice."
"So, you here for the Vytal Festival?" Yang asked, changing the topic.
"Not exactly. I'm actually transferring here from Haven. The Festival just provided a good excuse to hitch a ride here."
Yang cocked an eyebrow. "Transferring is a thing? What about your team?"
"We didn't exactly get along. It's part of why I transferred here to Beacon," Raku lied, feigning a somber tone.
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear about that," Yang offered her sympathies with small frown.
Raku smiled at hearing a bit of genuine sympathy for once. That wasn't something you'd often see in Mistral due to the disparity between the social and economic classes. To see someone so crestfallen at his own misfortune, despite it being a lie, was a refreshing and welcome experience.
"It's in the past," Raku shrugged. "I'm here at Beacon now, that's what matters."
The blonde's cheerful demeanor seemed to return just as quickly as it left. "I like the mindset!" She said with a grin. "But, I can't help but wonder if you'll get a new team here?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't. I'll likely be exempt from a lot of things that I would need a team for, but as long as I graduate in four years, I don't really care."
"I guess that's one way to look at it. Doesn't sound too bad as long as you make some friends along the way, and you've already made one!"
"Looks like I'm on the right track then." Raku smiled before checking the time on his scroll. "Well, I ought to get going. I have somewhere to be and I'd hate to make a bad first impression."
"Don't let me keep you! I should be in the shower now anyways..." Yang huffed while picking some food out of her hair.
"Well..." Raku chuckled as he very deliberately picked a stray bit of turkey off of his hand "It was nice meating you, Yang. I'll see you around."
The cheery blonde gasped in surprise, lilac eyes shooting wide open as they followed Raku's departing form. "I think I just found my new best friend."
Raku couldn't help but feel a bit of warmth from that.