"I'd just like to know," Weiss Schnee straightened her back against the lumpy cushion of the dark gray club chair, her blue eyes locked onto a pair of deep brown eyes behind a pair of tinted spectacles, "why you would allow the Faunus into this university."
Ozpin, the president of Beacon University and the man who had the final say in everything that went on in this fine institution, said nothing. He just looked at her, elbows on his large, circular glass desk, hands linked together to hide his lips.
Weiss waited. Just a little bit more.
Every single time that she had visited the president's office, his secretary would always supply her with reasons of why he was not available to speak with her, that he was on leave, that he was at a meeting, at a conference, at a seminar. Everything that he could think of until the time that he had run out of excuses.
Finally, she had paid them another visit, ready to find a more drastic approach that would make it clear that she meant business. Luckily for her, the secretary had greeted her warmly and had informed her that the president was going to meet with her at that very moment.
She had wanted to skip all the formalities and introductions. He was the president of Beacon University and she was Weiss Schnee, heir to the Schnee Dust Company with all its properties and fortune. Everybody already knew that. But she was raised better than that and there was always room to remind everyone of who she was in case they forgot.
"As you may be aware of, Ms. Schnee," Ozpin had finally said, pulling his elbows off of the table, "everyone has a right to education, the best that Beacon University can offer. It is our duty to share our knowledge and cultivate the younger generation into becoming upstanding citizens of society. That same right encompasses the Faunus. What good would it do to deny those who seek knowledge the right to education?"
Weiss was aware of that, "That still doesn't explain why you let them sit among your other students."
She saw Ozpin's lip twitch and his head tilt upwards by a mere centimeter, "Civilization has come a long way from such a barbaric suggestion. While there are many other universities that discourage the admission of the Faunus, Beacon University is not one of those."
She was aware of that also. She was also aware that educational institutions all throughout Remnant had been integrating the Faunus with humans for a little over a decade, but there were many of those that resisted, many of those that were not nearly as good as Beacon University.
"Aren't you worried that these Faunus would terrorize your students?" Weiss asked plainly, remembering the hostility that that cat Faunus had exhibited, just how close to a potential attack she had been.
It was because you incited it.
"The only terrorism here that involved the Faunus was caused by a human." Ozpin declared, daggers in his voice, "It is sad to know that many of our students have tolerated such heinous acts out of fear that their rights would be stripped away in an instant."
Weiss fought the urge to look away from his gaze. She understood fear, the fear of having something taken away, but she wouldn't give this man the satisfaction of seeing her squirm. But she also understood that universities didn't operate on its educators' duty to share their knowledge alone. They needed money and they knew that to take in the Faunus would increase the income of the school.
If Ozpin had said that, she wouldn't have argued, but she guessed he needed to make Beacon University shine a little bit brighter.
"If you would like a Faunus-free education, Ms. Schnee," he added before she could say anything, getting up from his seat, regarding her in his most neutral expression. Weiss couldn't help but feel hopeful. President Ozpin was going to give her an alternative, a way for her to avoid the Faunus and be able to continue her studies in peace. "You won't find that here at Beacon, but I'm sure there are plenty of fine institutions in Atlas that have no intentions of admitting the Faunus into their schools."
Go back to Atlas.
Weiss could feel her heart being ripped out of her chest, the fear rising to her throat, crushing her lungs and stinging her eyes. She stood from the lumpy chair so fast that her vision darkened a little bit, but she kept her composure. She was Weiss Schnee and nobody had to know that she was afraid, but most importantly, what she was afraid of.
"I'm sorry to have to cut our meeting short." Ozpin broke the silence.
No, you're not.
"But I have a meeting to attend to and I'm sure you have meetings of your own. Running a school and a company may be different, but the meetings are probably similar."
President Ozpin showed her the door after his soft goodbyes. She straightened herself, graceful as ever and never showing any signs of her outrage. She had seen her fair share of defeat and each of those times, she acted as regally as she could manage. She had left the room as calmly as she had walked into it. She was the perfect Schnee after all.
Out in the corridor, she pulled her Scroll out to call Klein, but the number of missed calls and who they were from made her skin crawl. Whitley Schnee had been calling her since she arrived in Ozpin's office. That very moment, he had called her again and Weiss knew she had to answer it before the calls turned to visits.
"Whitley." She said dryly.
"Weiss." He sounded so happy, as if he was indeed happy to hear her, but Weiss knew better.
"How sweet of you to call." The words felt like ashes in her mouth.
"The SDC-V manager called yesterday." That was how it was with Whitley Schnee, he never bothered to say hello or ask her how she was doing, "Why didn't you tell father that a couple of Faunus attacked the office?"
That would mean I'd have to talk to you… or father.
"The issue has already been resolved," she made her way out of the building, irritated that she couldn't call Klein, but hopeful that he would be outside, waiting for her, "The broken window has already been replaced and a the security footage has been submitted to the police for investigation."
"That's not what I asked." He chuckled over the phone, he was capable of producing the most innocent sound that a human being could make, "Why didn't you call?"
"It wasn't necessary. I had it all under control."
"He still would've wanted to hear from you though. You are, in fact, his only daughter left. He was worried about you."
Weiss Schnee bit her tongue and tightened her grip on her Scroll. She hadn't bothered to call home at all and the morning she had left Atlas, her father had gone to the Dust factory early for a business meeting. Of course, he had brought along Whitley and that angered her.
The only goodbye she had ever uttered were to her intoxicated mother and even that was not heard.
Would it have killed her to let them know that she was alright, that she did handle the situation in the best way possible?
"Is that all?" she managed to say as she let herself out of the building. There was nothing else to say.
"I'll let him know you're unharmed." The line went dead.
Whitley ought to learn some manners. Their family had invested a lot of their finances in the Schnee children's education, much more on Whitley alone, but that seemed like a complete waste with the way he behaved. Then again, the same could be said about Winter. And, at the back of her mind, Weiss knew she wasn't better off.
Weiss was relieved to be sitting in the back seat with Klein driving them out of Beacon University. He had greeted her warmly, kindly. That was the kindest greeting she had heard all day and she bitterly thought that it would be the only one. The employees at SDC-V would display kindness and courtesy, but those were fueled by obligation and fear. Nothing genuine. Manufactured respect. Pretty as filigree, but cold as metal.
"Miss Schnee?" Klein had broken the silence in the vehicle. He knew when Weiss was upset, knew when to leave her to her thoughts. He was always aware of the things that she needed, the things that she wanted.
My love will be just like you.
She sighed, expelling all of her previous irritation before she addressed him, "Please, Klein. It's just Weiss."
"Weiss." He said carefully. For many years, this was how their conversations started. Although he knew that Weiss would rather he call her by her first name, he never forgot that he was still her butler, a servant employed to the Schnee family, "I think I may have a way that you could contact her."
Weiss Schnee was silent.
She studied Klein through the rear-view mirror. She had the perfect view of his eyes and he had the perfect view of hers. Her gaze was expectant, daring even, for him to say more. She knew exactly who he was referring to and they both didn't need to say her name. She wouldn't allow it.
"That's not necessary, Klein." She broke eye contact, "She will come to me when the time comes."
Weiss Schnee, heir to the Schnee Dust Company, was not going to make the first move. She wasn't even going to make any moves at all. The last time she had done so, she had gotten hurt. No, she was going to play this waiting game, knowing very well that the other one would get tired eventually.
Thankfully, Klein said no more. He knew when to leave her to her thoughts.
Just as she had expected, the staff of SDC-V greeted her as warmly as they could and had exchanged whispers and snickers behind her back. She had run out of energy to deal with such matters long ago. Time was money and she'd reap in twice as much if she kept her head up and focused on her own duties.
She was glad that the glass window had been replaced, but was disappointed that the Schnee logo was bigger than it had been. Not that she wasn't proud of her own name, but she knew that it was an invitation for another attack. She would have to tell someone go to VPD and have patrol cars circling this block to scare off any potential threat.
A dozen calls and a mountain of paperwork later, Weiss Schnee had found herself in her tiny office, elbows resting on a stack of liquidation forms, budget requests, reports from the contractors and meeting minutes, her Scroll inches from her face, thumbing through the photos of beaches and lunch dates.
Relationship goals. Friendship goals. Wedding goals. Fitspiration. Travel. Throwback Thursday.
This was probably the closest she could get to feeling like a teenager and the closest she would want to be. Weiss Schnee was not like a teenager. She was heir to the Schnee Dust Company, a young lady at the least and preferably a woman.
Still, the pull of social media is hard to resist and this was her way to connect with the rest of Remnant.
The spark of curiosity was gnawing at her though and she had found herself on the Search tab, the digital keyboard had already popped up. If she did put in a name, what would she find? What type of photos would she have posted, what kind of life could she be leading? Would there even be an account in the first place?
Once more, she had pushed the thought out of her mind as she put her Scroll away. That was enough getting in touch with the rest of Remnant for the day. There will always be more photos of sunsets, of beaches and idyllic dates on rooftops. Same concept, same photos, but with different names and different circumstances.
Weiss decided that she's also had enough with SDC-V matters and carefully filed the documents away, ready to be opened tomorrow, when she would come back. For now, she would have to return to being a student, to return to Beacon. She'll have to try and ignore the Faunus in the school.
There weren't really a lot of them, but having more than two or three was something that the Schnee family would not stand by it.
They're not going to find out.
The drive back to the university was quiet. Weiss was unsure whether or not Klein's silence was due to her attitude earlier or not. She wasn't too mean, was she? And it wasn't as if he hadn't known what her response would be.
She made sure to be as sweet as possible when she bid him goodbye and had told him that she would call when she was ready to return to the apartment. Klein was his usual jolly self, cheeks burning red at the smile that he had always flashed her.
Everything seemed fine, but everything didn't feel that way. Just a little bit.
It was all she could think of the entire afternoon. Her professors' words were an auditory mess, the numbers were all symbols she hadn't seen before. After the first half-hour, after the three attempts to pull her attention back to the present, she would give up and distract herself with anything she could find and, once again, she had found her eyes glued to her Scroll.
She would have to at least hear what Klein had to say, to give him a chance to say his entire piece. After all, she knew that he was doing this for her own good. Klein had always known her better than she did. There has to be a good reason why he would even mention her in the first place. After all this time.
As soon as her last lecture ended, Weiss rushed out to speak with Klein. He would always forgive her for her harsh behavior towards him in an instant, but for her, the forgiving took a little more time. She called him, made sure to sound happier than earlier.
He was, after all, the only person who cared.
Before the call had ended, she had found herself in front of Johnson Hall again, but this time, she didn't want to think about how the sun had cast a golden glow over the pink building, how she wanted to stand and wait for her life to change. That would have to wait another day.
"Madame Leona has already seen it, child."
And Weiss will too.
But she couldn't help but stop for a minute or two, standing in front of the building and stared at the faded paint and the moss growing here and there. This wasn't exactly how the building looked in her two-thousand-lien vision, but then again, she wasn't really paying attention. All she knew was that she was standing right here.
She stared into the doorframe, waiting for a familiar silhouette, but there was nothing there. A part of her was scared that the two Faunus would walk out of the building and glare at her, but she would know if they would. The tailed-Faunus seemed to talk so loud and that would be enough of a warning for her to leave as soon as she could.
The minutes flew by and Weiss had resigned herself to thinking that today was not the day, but before she could even turn to go back to Klein, she heard footsteps. It was actually more like feet being dragged across the floor, but footsteps no less. So, she waited and in the blink of an eye, she had seen a small girl, dressed in oversized clothes, eyes to her Scroll.
"Hello." Weiss greeted her.
Weiss Schnee hadn't meant to be a little loud, but she thought that the earphones plugged into the girl's ears would impede her greeting. Perhaps she wasn't really listening to anything because she quickly locked her silver eyes on Weiss.
"Uh…" the small girl balled up her earphones and shoved it into the pocket of her jacket, "Hi, Weiss."
Finally, some recognition.
Weiss just stared at her. They had run into each other a few times in the most uncivilized ways and not once had she gotten a name. Before she could ask her what her name was, Weiss found an outstretched hand in front of her and a bright smile on the other girl's face.
"I'm Ruby Rose." She said, her voice soft but brimming with… joy?
Roses.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Ruby Rose." Weiss snapped herself out her own thoughts, gently wrapping her long fingers around Ruby's hand and giving one brief shake, "I believe you and Penny are friends."
"Yeah," Ruby drawled, burying her free hand in her short hair, "she told me about you."
Of course, she did.
"She's overreacting." Weiss tore her hand away from Ruby's, the same way she tore her eyes away from her silver pair and the warmth of her smile, "We just haven't seen each other in years."
"She told me that, too." Ruby nervously giggled.
Weiss bit her tongue. What else did Penny tell this girl? What sort of lies did she shove down her throat and how much of them did this Ruby Rose believe? Weiss studied the girl in front of her. She was smiling, as nervous as a duck, but still smiling, still standing in front of her.
This was a kindness she had not seen in another person before.
"She said you used to be very close." Ruby said before Weiss could think of anything useful to say.
"We were." Weiss admitted.
That was the truth. She and Penny used to be inseparable and at some point, Penny was the only person who she had ever opened up to, much more than Klein, Winter, Whitley and her parents.
"Maybe…" Ruby started, eyes darting left to right, her posture seemed as if she was ready to bolt at the first sign of danger, "if you guys talked to each other, you could be, I don't know, close again?"
Weiss did not like the idea. Sure, she and Penny might have been very close when they were younger, but it had been almost a decade since they last saw each other. A lot of things have happened and given how their most recent encounter turned out, she had no interest in trying to get along with her.
But she looked at Ruby Rose again, the kindness in her eyes and the gentleness in her voice and remembered the way those two Faunus had retreated when she had told them to.
Penny and this Ruby were friends and every time she had seen Ruby, Penny was in tow. If she wanted Ruby to stick around, she would have to just tolerate the presence of Penny. Every opportunity had its setbacks and she had more to gain by having Ruby around.
"Do you think she'll even talk to me after what happened?" Weiss willed herself to sound apologetic.
The look on Ruby's face was the reaction she had been expecting: worry. Her silver eyes, the ones Weiss thought seemed cold when they first met, actually held a little bit of warmth in them, a warmth she had never before seen on anyone else.
Why does she have to look at me this way?
"Of course, she will!" Ruby cheered her up, hands firmly grasping Weiss' shoulders, unexpected, but completely welcome with each passing second. For a moment, she felt… safe.
"I'll talk to her for you, if you want." Ruby offered, silver eyes widened to the size of saucers. Weiss did not recall anyone having eyes as big as hers.
"Thank you." Weiss said softly.
"No prob, Bob!" Ruby finally took her hands away and shoved them into her pockets, a toothy grin on her face.
Weiss mentally giggled at the strange response. Nobody had ever spoken to her so freely before and quite so informally. There was no note of condescension in her voice and Weiss couldn't find a trace of ill intention in her demeanor.
"I have to go though." Ruby added, "I still have some things to do."
"That's fine." Weiss forced herself not to smile. It wasn't that difficult. The conversation was ending. "It was nice talking to you."
"Yeah, you too. See you around!" Ruby waved and turned away, walking to where Weiss had been.
Weiss Schnee couldn't help but stare as she went. This Ruby Rose was different from what she had initially thought she would be. She had expected her to be colder, to not even speak to her after what she had seen and after what Penny must have told her. Her behavior towards Weiss was strange, but she couldn't feel but want more of it, to bask in that ray of kindness and sunshine and warmth and something so unfamiliar.
Weiss pushed the doubt back as she pulled her Scroll out, checking messages and emails to keep herself from thinking anything more of Ruby Rose.