"Ruby, what are you doing?!"

"Didn't you hear that?"

"No, and even if I did, that does not warrant mucking around in this alleyway!"

"Come on Weiss, someone could be in trouble!"

Ruby chose that precise moment to speed down said alleyway in her rose form, leaving trash, bottles, and boxes labelled "Breakable Things" tumbling in her wake. Weiss quickly threw up a glyph to shield herself as a few pieces of litter hit the glyph and slid down its surface. Ugh, does she always have to be the hero? We're supposed to be back soon. She knew the answer of course. Apparently, from the time Ruby had been able to crawl she had dreamed of being a Huntress. And frankly, Weiss couldn't have imagined Ruby as anything else. She could be annoyingly obnoxious and extremely childish, but Weiss couldn't deny that this girl had the makings of a true Huntress. Her combat ability, tactical analysis, and courage were all admirable qualities that Weiss had quickly learned to respect. She was glad to have such a partner, not that she ever would have said that to Ruby's face. And though she had been rather…disagreeable at first, Weiss was now determined to follow Ruby's lead. After all, someone needed to keep the hyperactive redhead in check.

Unwilling to leave her partner to face the baddies alone, Weiss produced a black glyph that propelled her forward and up into the air. From her vantage point, she spotted the red blur and maneuvered her way down with her signature white glyphs until she landed gently on the ground. Ruby was crouched in a fighting stance, facing one of the large trash bins.

"What are you—"

A loud rattle from inside the trash bin cut Weiss's query short. Silently, she drew Myrtenaster, even as Ruby unclipped Crescent Rose from her back and aimed its folded form at her target. Ruby crept forward, pausing as the trash bin rattled a second time. Ruby glanced back at her partner, who nodded back at her and assumed her usual fighting stance. Alright, Operation Open Garbage Bin and Semblance Back to Weiss, underway! Ruby clipped Crescent Rose, snuck up to the bin, and with one swift jump lifted the lid.

"Gotcha—whoa!" Her foot got caught on the edge of the bin and she toppled inside.

"Ruby!" Weiss screeched. She ran forward, ready to skewer whoever dared to mess with her partner and…was that…laughter? She leaned forward.

"Ruby—"

"WEISS LOOK!" Ruby popped out, a giant grin on her face. Weiss stumbled backward.

"Ugh! You absolute dolt!"

"But Weiss, look!" It was only then that Weiss noticed the bundle of black something Ruby was holding in her hands. It wriggled a little, and Weiss could see it was covered in fur. She bent over a little closer.

"What is it?" No sooner had Weiss asked than the bundle turned about, revealing a little black kitten. It had lime green eyes that seemed to glow a little in the twilight. It blinked, and Weiss blinked back.

"Isn't it cute? Look at its little ears. Oh, I can't wait to show Yang! And Blake too! We can get some fish from the cafeteria if we rush back right now! And it can take turns sleeping with each of us. "

"Stop!" Weiss shrieked. Ruby froze. "I lost you at cafeteria. What are you saying?"

"Umm, we're taking this cute little furball to stay with us?"

"Ruby, you can't just bring a cat into Beacon!"

"Why not?"

"First of all, you don't even know if this animal belongs to someone."

"Yeah I do."

"How?"

"Uh, no collar? Duh!"

Weiss facepalmed. Of course. That was stupid of me. She should have known better than to think that Ruby wouldn't notice something like a collar missing. She might be simple-minded and naïve, but Weiss had come to realize that her partner had an uncannily high level of observational skill. It usually manifested itself most in weapons and cookies, but often leaked into other areas of the young girl's life. Including black kittens, apparently. Alright, time to try a different tactic.

"Even if that is the case, I'm sure it's against Beacon's policy to have pets. Professor Ozpin certainly won't allow it."

"But she's not a pet! She's a…helper animal! Or something…" Ruby trailed off sheepishly.

Weiss glared at Ruby. "We are not taking it. Come on, it's time to go."

"But look, she hasn't eaten in days," Ruby whined. "Look at how her ribs are showing." To her chagrin, Weiss saw that Ruby was right. The poor thing looked like skin and bones, and as it looked up at the heiress it gave a soft mew. Weiss's eyes softened a little.

"Plus, to be a pet they have to technically be owned by someone, and we don't own her! We're just helping her get better."

"Since when has anyone taken home an animal not as a pet?"

"It happens!" It can happen, hypothetically, Ruby thought to herself.

Weiss sighed. "Ruby, I know you want to help. But you have classes, projects, training…we all do, and we're barely keeping up as it is. How in Remnant are you going to manage all of that and keeping this thing a secret, let alone well-fed and cared for?"

"We'll figure it out!"

"This isn't something you can just 'figure out'! You need a plan. Otherwise, you might as well just leave it for the Grimm."

Weiss had a point. Could they even do this? There wouldn't be a point in taking this kitty home if they couldn't properly care for it. She thought aloud. "Well, cats are definitely less maintenance than like, a dog, or—or a horse. We'd just need to feed her at least three times a day, which we can do during breaks between classes. She'll need stimulation to grow into a healthy cat…aaand we take breaks during our studies anyway, so we can just play with her then! She looks like an older kitten, so it'll be fine to leave her alone during class. We could leave the window open too so she can go do her business during the day."

That sounds…actually manageable. I think. Weiss had never had a cat. She'd never had any sort of pet, so she wasn't sure what would be required. Ruby at least seemed to know something. And didn't she and Yang have a dog at home? Maybe Ruby did know what she was doing.

She definitely was not about to admit that though. And there were so many things that could go wrong. "I'm still not sure this is a good idea."

"We're Huntresses, Weiss!" (Weiss gave her a look, and Ruby quickly corrected.) "Huntresses in training, sure, but we're only a few years away from being real Huntresses anyway! We can handle it. And this is exactly what being a Huntress is all about. Didn't Professor Goodwitch just tell us that a Huntress should never leave someone in need?"

"But—"

"Consider this training then! We can't just leave her. If we do, she…she might not make it."

Oof. That hurt. Neither of them said it, but Weiss knew that Ruby's mom…wasn't around anymore. And not the "oh, I'm living somewhere else" kind of not around, like Winter. The permanent kind. Weiss bit her lip before remembering it was unbecoming of a Schnee to do so.

"I don't know…"

"Aww, please Weiss! Pretty please?" It was hard to tell which was more overpowering: Ruby's eyes or the kitten's. Thus far, Weiss had never quite been able to resist Ruby's puppy-dog eyes. And now that there were two pairs…well suffice it to say she couldn't handle that level of cuteness overload. She sighed.

"Fine."

"YAYY!" Ruby cheered happily.

"But this is temporary!"

"Of course!"

"And if we get in trouble, it's going to be all your fault."

That was a sobering thought. Ruby didn't want to get in trouble. But there was no way they would! They were being helpful people and huntresses, saving this poor little soul. Plus, it wasn't technically against the rules anyway. "We'll be fine!"

Weiss seriously doubted it, but she also couldn't say no to Ruby. Maybe Ruby's eyes will work on Professor Good-no. Well, it's only if she finds out. I'll just blame it all on Ruby if it comes to that.

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! There's more chapters to come, and this will pretty much take place in the Volume 1 universe. I don't have a consistent update schedule, because I work in healthcare, and you all know how that's going right now.

I need some ideas for the name of this cat. Please message me or leave a comment if you have any ideas. Also, if you have ideas on scenarios you'd like to see, let me know. This story is fluid enough for that.

Also disclaimer, I do not own a cat, nor have I ever owned one. So if things are not correct, sorry.