She smiled as she watched her sister defeat yet another competitor, before looking back down to the notebook in her hands, reviewing her notes. She would have normally been at home studying more intently, but it was the finals for Vale's National Junior Pugilist League, and Yang had made it so far, so she decided the exception had to be made.
Yang was a fighter, that was for sure. Definitely a far cry from herself, as she couldn't fight at all, and had never been in one, either. Hell, Ruby hadn't even unlocked her semblance, didn't see a need to as she wasn't going into a combative field. No, unlike her elder sister, Ruby had taken to law from a young age, and had proven herself a prodigy in that field, and despite only being 16 years old, had already been accepted into Atlas Law School under prodigy terms, despite the general acceptance age being 21 years old, with previous higher learning history to boot, and would begin there after the summer was up.
"Aaaaand that concludes the match, with Yang Xiao Long defeating Michael Floss in a landslide victory! Our next match between…" Ruby tuned it out there, standing up and heading over to her sister standing off to the side and offering her a bottle of water, one she gladly took.
"Great job with that, Sis. He didn't stand a chance!" Ruby beamed, getting a smile from her elder sister before the older girl started ruffling her hair.
"Thanks Rubes! Gotta say, his reach was a little concerning for me, though! Was a lot dicier than it looked!" She said, hugging Ruby lightly.
"Guess I wouldn't know, huh? Ah well. Anyways, have you been keeping up on your studies as well as your training? You've spent so much time training I haven't even seen you look at your notes in weeks." Ruby said, pulling a comb out from her pocket and fixing her hair.
"Ah, c'mon, Rubes! It's summer, a time for kicking back, slacking off, having fun! You always got your head stuck in the books, you gotta pull out of it a little! I mean, when are you gonna craft your first weapon, learn how to fight? Can't be a Huntress if you can't fight!"
"Well then I suppose it's a good thing I don't WANT to be a Huntress. That's your dream, not mine." Ruby groaned, dragging her hand down her face.
"Oh… yeah, that's right, I forgot, my mistake… but still, you gotta live it up a little more, Rubes. Can't spend your entire life at work."
"'Isn't work if you love doing it,' isn't that what you always say, Yang?" She rebuked, getting the older girl to sigh in defeat.
"Ugh, it's impossible to get through to you. Oh well I guess, at least you're enjoying yourself, but can't you like, pick up a hobby or something?"
Ruby ignored that and pat her sister on the shoulder, before looking at her watch and cursing under her breath. She had fifteen minutes until an important interview, one she couldn't afford to miss.
"Ah crap. Yang, I gotta go, important interview and all. Kick these last guys' teeth in, I'll watch the replays once the interview is done, cool?" Ruby explained, before darting off, not noticing Yang quietly reaching after her.
"Oh… yeah, okay, I guess I'll do that." Yang said in a dejected tone, before sulking back further into the prep room…
She took the tram to her destination, it being far more efficient than driving there, not that she had a car yet or anything anyways. Quietly, she held onto the bar above her as she stood, content with watching the passing city before her. It was nighttime, and the city bathed in it's own warm lights was beautiful in a way, though she couldn't help but wonder just how the view in Atlas would compare?
Ruby smiled as she tried to picture it in her mind. Sky-piercing towers, bright lights, snowy streets bustling with activity… it truly was something she was looking forward to seeing. Not to mention that General Ironwood had PERSONALLY sponsored her entry, she felt absolutely on top of the world, and Atlas would only be the start of all the places she'd see, surely!
"H-*hic*-hey there, girlie…" A sleazy voice came from across the cabin. Looking back, she saw three men in ragged clothes just barely holding onto the bar above them, each having a bottle in their other hand. "Not- *hic* too many p-*hic*-peheple ride the tram at-*hic* night… Not the-*hic*- shafest way to-*hic* travel, y'know…"
She could easily tell they were drunk, but kept quiet and paid them no heed. The last thing she needed was a trio of drunkards on her case. Besides, responding was probably more likely to agitate them than flat out ignoring-
"Woaw missh, yhou got a reel hot body…" She suddenly heard one of them say, and noticed them shuffling closer. Immediately, beads of sweat began to form on her brow. Looking left and right, she cursed her luck as the last person aside from herself and these three had departed at the last stop. Gulping lowly, she began to shuffle away slowly, hoping for them to get the message.
She shrieked as suddenly a pair of hands came out from behind her and started groping her chest through her suit, and a second pair came about to do the same with her thighs. Panicking, she tried to swat them away, but felt a rough grip on her wrists, keeping them held in place.
"Stop! Let me go, Perverts!" Ruby screamed loudly, though was shut up as the third who'd restrained her wrists forced himself in for a kiss, forcing himself upon Ruby. Tears started flowing from her eyes as she struggled uselessly against the three men, and her panic only intensified as she felt the man groping her chest pull her suit apart, revealing her breasts in her lingerie.
She cried out into the kiss as she felt the second man's hands start exploring her nether regions, roughly squeezing her butt with one hand while the other slipped down the front of her panties. Out of instinct, she started trying to kick out with her legs, though found this a mistake, as she lost her balance, and fell completely into these perverts' grip. As if in response, they only intensified their groping, the third man pushing his tongue deeper into her mouth, the first slipping his hands beneath her bra, and the second finally moving his hands to probe her womanhood.
"Nonononononono! I can't move! These Perverts, I can't-" Her mind started racing at a thousand miles a minute, her thoughts incoherent and panicked as they intensified their groping. There was nothing she could do, the drunkards would steal her innocence tonight without her having any say in the matter, and there was nothing she could do…
"No, no! Stop it! Get away from me! Stop touching me!" Ruby was screaming in her mind, hands curled into fists as she opened her eyes to see one of the men reaching into his pants…
"No No No! They can't do this! Stop it! Stop it!" The man reached into his pants, before using his spare hand that he'd been probing her womanhood with to pull her panties down.
"Get away from me! Get away!" Her eyes welled up with tears as she saw him pull his manhood out, and hold Ruby up by her thighs as his flagpole stood fully erect.
"This is wrong! No, No! Stop it, Cease! Cease!" The man pulled himself closer, rubbing himself against her a few times, before propping himself up, and preparing to fully penetrate her and steal her virginity…
"I… Said… STOP!" Suddenly, as if in response to her desperate pleas, a loud sound seemed to echo through her ears, like that of a bass boosting, but scratchier, and the sound of a ticking clock. The world's colors all shifted to negative, shades of grey, and everything but herself just seemed to grind to a halt. Looking at her assailants, she growled angrily before forcefully shaking herself free of his grip.
Looking up, she saw her wrists still firmly in the man's grasp, and the man still had his tongue invading her mouth. Pulling her head back as much as she could, she rammed her forehead into the man's nose, before taking a moment to free herself from his grip.
Finally free of the third man, she carefully removed herself from the man groping her breasts. She worked slowly so as to not accidentally damage any of her own clothes or accidentally hurt herself, but eventually freed herself from her first and final assailant. Scrambling away, she fixed herself up as to recover if just a shred of decency, and looked for an out.
She didn't know what was going on, but she was certainly thankful for it. Sighing, she looked to her side to see they were passing one of the stops, but it looked like it was abandoned. Probably was closed up for one good reason or another, but it was better than staying in the tram with these perverted drunkards. It looked about twenty feet down, and while it would certainly hurt to fall from such a height, she knew her aura would protect her.
With a gulp, Ruby leapt out of the tram, breaking into a roll as she hit the ground. Looking back up as she rose to her feet, she watched as the sound of a clock resuming its course echoed in her ears, color returned to the world, and finally, everything began to move again.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips, as the situation she'd just so narrowly escaped kept replaying in her mind. It didn't take a genius to say that what just happened wasn't normal, but it does take an idiot to look a gift horse like this in the mouth. That being said, the whole situation had left her with so many questions, questions she had no answers to…
It didn't matter. She had an interview to get to, and missing it just wasn't an option…
A shocked gasp echoed through the room, accompanied by the sound of a coffee mug shattering against the floor. Holding a hand to his temple, he rested his weight against his desk, as he contemplated upon this feeling that had just washed over him. Surely, it wasn't true. Surely, this must just be his imagination running wild, and someone DIDN'T just stop time, right?
He was about content to let it go… until he felt it again. There was no doubt this time, not a single doubt in his mind. Someone in Vale could stop time. He didn't expect anyone else to know, nobody else could feel the winds of time as he could, but nevertheless, whoever this person was, he could track their presence as they used their semblance, and he needed them in his side.
Rising to his feet, Ozpin called Glynda up to his office, telling of the situation, and departing to find this new player on the field…
Ruby was breathing heavily as the ability had come to an end once more, resting her back against a wall as she thanked her luck. Half a second later, she would've been hit by that truck. Grumbling under her breath, she looked up at the small building just one block away. That was where her interview was, and she couldn't afford to miss-
A man suddenly walked out, flipping a sign to say "Closed" and locking the door behind him. Her jaw slacked as she watched, before looking to her watch and seeing she was… twenty minutes late. Of course, all the delays that happened, she'd be surprised if she wasn't a little late, but twenty minutes?
"...crap." She grumbled, before turning about and hailing a cab, content on heading home and putting this whole miserable night behind her…
Ruby quickly stripped down, and started the water. It was initially cold, as always, but quickly warmed up to a more comfortable temperature, bubbles rising with the water level as she lounged back in the bath. A stressed sigh escaped her lips as she allowed herself to unwind, and with the smell of lavender permeating through the air from the several candles she'd lit, Ruby was able to fall into a relaxed state somewhat swiftly.
She was still shaken by that whole ordeal on the tram, but at least she got out of it all mostly unscathed. Pulling up her scroll (that she was very glad was waterproof), she started sifting through the various bits of mail she'd gotten.
Requests and offers from random colleges and academies that she had no interest in, a few social emails and requested interviews from people she had no actual connection to. Honestly, it was all really just to distract her from the events of today. She could honestly care less about it all…
Suddenly, her scroll started ringing. Looking at the caller, she rolled her eyes upon seeing the caller and pinched her brow. It was her boyfriend, Chase. Their relationship had been a somewhat rocky one of late, though more on account of his jealousy than anything else. She'd been accepted into Atlas Law School five years early, and here he was struggling with the basics of algebra at his high school, and apparently that didn't sit well with him.
Pressing the button to answer, she didn't even get a chance to say anything before he started talking.
"Heya Ruby. We need to have a chat, don't you agree? Kinda rude to just leave me in the dust like this, you know. And leaving to ATLAS LAW SCHOOL of all places? Where's my invitation, huh? I can't believe this…"
"Chase, if you haven't called to congratulate me or ask when I'm available…" Ruby grumbled in response, getting a growl out of the boy.
"I haven't come here to congratulate you, I came here to ask what the hell you were thinking, accepting the offer without even running it through ME first! Do I mean nothing to you?!" He yelled into the scroll, getting a groan out of her.
"I don't need to run everything I do through you, Chase. You're not my dad, you're my boyfriend, and the decision was mine to make, not yours." Ruby answered with a bored tone. To be perfectly honest, she was about expecting for this all to happen. Sure, Chase was sweet most of the time, but damn it all if he wasn't overbearing, quick to overreact, and fell prey to jealousy easily.
"What?!. How dare you, you selfish bitch! God, I wish I'd never met you and those men you texted me about had had their way with you, you stupid slut!" He yelled back, genuinely shocking her. It took a moment for his words to sink in, then she started to sniffle a bit, something he clearly picked up on. "I… Ruby, I-"
She didn't give him the chance to apologize, hanging up, blocking him, and throwing her scroll across the room. She was breathing heavily with tears streaming down her face, it also being buried in her hands a moment later. Nobody had ever spoken to her so viciously, and it truly stung to hear those words directed at her coming from someone so close to her.
But, with the clack of boots outside the door, she steeled her emotions and exhaled deeply, rubbing her temple as whoever was outside knocked on the door. Suppressing a sigh, she stood up and wrapped a towel around herself, cracking open the door to see just who was calling…
Before her stood a man with white hair in a green suit with a cane and spectacles. The appearance and face made it painfully obvious who this was, that being the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, Ozpin. An Academy for warriors like Yang, a place Ruby really had no business being at, and by proxy that would relate to the headmaster of it, right?
"Oh, Headmaster Ozpin!" Ruby exclaimed with some surprise, looking up at the man's eyes. "You must be here for Yang, since she's enrolled to start at your Academy come the end of summer. Her room is just down the-"
"No, Miss Rose, it's actually you that I'm here for." He interrupted with a smile, making a confused expression overtake the girl's features.
"Eh? I'm sorry Headmaster, but I don't follow?"
"I understand you recently unlocked your semblance, an exceptionally rare one, too." He answered, before stopping and looking back at his Vice Headmistress. He nodded once to her, as if they were in some sort of silent conversation and had just finished. "We can continue this conversation once you've finished your business in the bathroom. We'll be waiting in the living room." He finished, before walking off, leaving Ruby to finish her bath with no small amount of questions racing through her head…
She finished within the next small handful of minutes and redressed in just as short order, before walking down and taking a seat on the couch across from Ozpin, and right next to her sister.
"Well, now that I have you here, ready to listen, Let's begin… but first, Miss Xiao Long, a pleasure to meet you in person, from what I've read, you have a very bright future ahead of you, young Miss." Ozpin complimented, getting a bright smile and a thumbs up out of the older girl. "Now, Miss Rose, I'm sure you're familiar with the Semblance Ranking and Classification System, or, SRCS, Yes?"
"Umm… what? No, I've never heard of that." Ruby admit with a curious look, receiving a bewildered look out of the Headmaster.
"Truly? I've never heard of a Hunter-in-Training over age 7 that hadn't heard of it!"
"I'm not a huntress in training, sir. I've never been in a fight my entire life."
"Ah… yes, my mistake. I saw your record, and I must say, I am deeply impressed. Youngest ever accepted into Atlas Law School, and if the consistency of the math holds up, you'd probably be the fastest graduate ever, too." He remembered aloud, nodding. After a few seconds of silence, he looked back at the girl in question. "The SRCS is broken up into ten tiers of power, a large handful of classifications, and type. This is not taking into account a user's individual skill using their semblance, just a test of raw power."
"Yup! I'm rated at Tier Four, Assault class, and Fire type!" Yang beamed, eliciting a ghost of a smile out of Ozpin.
"Most semblances rank from tier seven to ten, the lower the number on the tier, the more powerful the Semblance, the more rare, too. Classes and types fall into this category of rarity as well, but theirs is measured differently." He explained, before adjusting his glasses. "Having a Tier 1 semblance is almost unheard of. It's absurdly rare, nobody in the last millennia has had a tier one semblance… until today." Ozpin stated, getting a curious glare from the girls across from him.
"What do you mean, 'until today'?" Ruby inquired, leaning forward a bit.
"Allow me to elaborate…" Ozpin sighed, before pulling out a tablet-like device and pressing a button. Immediately, some sort of light activated, and started scanning Ruby up and down in a pale green glow. After about twenty seconds, it stopped, and a small Ding! Rang out from the pad, and even Ozpin's eyes widened.
"What is it?" She asked, caressing her face for a few seconds while he recovered.
"It's even more powerful than I thought…" He murmured, before straightening out and smiling at her as he read off it's readings. "Semblance Tier: 1. Classification: Special. Type: Time." He read off, leaving Ruby no less confused than she was before.
"Allow me to elaborate…" Yang groaned. "Despite never having worked for this semblance in your life, you just suddenly pulled the luckiest cards possible, and fate gave you the rarest, strongest possible semblance… I worked my ass off for my semblance, but you got a far more powerful one based off sheer luck!" Yang roared angrily, pushing Ruby away as she stood up, shoved the couch out of her way, and stormed off back towards her room, leaving all in the room more than a little surprised…
"...I didn't even want this…" Ruby sighed, before turning back towards Ozpin.
"Well… I suppose on a level that should've been expected… anyways, Miss Rose, It's my pleasure to accept you into my Academy's roster this coming school year!" He beamed, making ruby suddenly lose composure.
"Waitwaitwait! I'm already enrolled at Atlas Law-" she began, but was cut off by Ozpin's subordinate.
"We've already made the arrangements for the transfer. We're sure you don't mind." She said, adjusting her glasses and straightening out her riding crop.
"Actually, I do mind! A lot! I'm not a Huntress, I've never trained for combat a day in my life! I don't wanna be a Huntress, I wanna be a Law-"
"It's settled then. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Beacon Academy's Roster!" He said with a smile, ignoring the devastated and teary-eyed look dominating Ruby's face as he delivered the news of his destroying her dreams.
"Hey! Do I even get a say in-"
SMACK!
"No, you don't. After all, your Father signed off on it. When we delivered the news that you had been accepted into Beacon, he seemed completely ecstatic, and was more than happy to fill out the paperwork. That being said, desertion will be treated as treason of the highest magnitude." Glynda stepped in, smacking her with her riding crop to straighten her out.
"You may not know this, Miss Rose, but we selected you to become Humanity's Champion, the first one in the last couple millennia. With your semblance, the power and skill of all opponents becomes irrelevant. One's aura cannot protect them while frozen in the realm of stopped time. They cannot react to your attacks, they can't do anything, for that matter. With such power, the choice to make you Champion was an obvious one." Ozpin explained, making the girl clench her teeth as she shot up again.
"But I don't wanna be your Champ-"
SMACK!
Ruby recoiled as the riding crop came down across her cheek once again, this time harder and leaving a furious red mark. Tentatively, Ruby raised a hand to her cheek, wincing as it stung horribly, before looking back at the two adults looming over her. She quietly began to sob as she hung her head low as she unwillingly submitted to her fate...
She went to bed without eating dinner, opting to just lock herself in her room and curl up under the sheets of her bed, cry herself to sleep, and try to forget this day ever happened. First she had that traumatic encounter with those drunken men, then she nearly got hit by a truck, then she missed her interview, then her now ex-boyfriend happened, her sister was upset, and now her entire dream and passion since she was a little kid had been torn to ribbons. As if to rub salt in the wound, her own dad, who had known and supported her passion for years, had essentially stabbed her in the back the moment Ozpin said so much as "Hello There!"
To say her day had been awful would be the understatement of the decade. To top it all off, she failed to get any sleep, so just laid there curled up in a ball until the sun's rays finally started pouring through the slits in her window's blinds.
Pulling herself up, she slumped downstairs with a dead, exhausted expression playing across her face. Pulling the milk out of the fridge, a bowl out of the cupboard, and a box of cereal out of the pantry, Ruby quietly prepared her breakfast and settled down at the table. Sighing, she looked down at her food, before realizing she hadn't grabbed a spoon yet.
It was at that moment that she heard someone walking down the stairs. She didn't need anyone to tell her who it was, as Yang would be sleeping longer than the rest of the family. Though knowing just who it was made her furrow her brow even further. The very man who so casually allowed headmaster Ozpin shatter her dreams. To say he was one of the last people she wanted to see right now would be a gross understatement.
"Heya, Rubes, we noticed you hadn't come down for dinner last night. I can't remember a day in years where you missed dinner, is something wrong?" He inquired, resting a hand on her shoulder.
"Like you don't know." Ruby growled lowly, yanking her shoulder away from his hand.
"Did I do something wrong, sweetie? Please, let's just talk-" He pleaded, and in that moment, the sound of her stopping time kicked in, and the world around her ground to a halt, surprising her. She didn't quite know yet how her semblance worked, or even how to control it, but if she was as powerful as Ozpin said she was, then all her father's years of training would be irrelevant, right?
Standing up and looking at her father, Ruby allowed an enraged look to overcome her features. He had the gall to think he did nothing wrong? She'd show him she wasn't to be taken so lightly! After all, it was all the information she needed to know that those frozen in her realm of stopped time couldn't do anything to defend themselves, not even raise their aura. Cocking her fist back, she struck him in the face as hard as she could. But, of course, knowing that her punches individually had little effect, she continued to lash out on her father. Face, chest, abdomen, groin, anywhere she could punch or kick easily, she struck for about a minute, before time began to move once more…
And like that, her father went sailing about a meter back, a spurt of blood following after as he fell. Groaning as he hit the floor, he looked up to take in the utterly pissed off expression his youngest daughter held on her face…
"Did you do something wrong? DID YOU DO SOMETHING WRONG?!. What the fuck is wrong with you, signing off on the transfer papers to put me in FUCKING BEACON!?." She screamed down at him, taking him off guard with her anger.
"I-I thought you'd like to attend Beacon, become a Huntress like your Mother and Sis-"
"YOU DAFT, STUPID, IDIOTIC, MORONIC TROGLODYTE! YOU KNOW I'VE NEVER WANTED ANYTHING TO DO WITH FIGHTING IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! YOU KNOW I DREAMED OF ATTENDING ATLAS LAW SCHOOL! AND NOW YOU'VE FUCKING RUINED EVERYTHING! I HATE YOU!" Ruby screamed down at him in a fit of rage, before storming past him and back up into her room, slamming and locking the door as she entered.
Back down with Taiyang, he continued to just lay there for a moment with shock written across his features… before quietly wiping the blood off of his face, and chasing after his daughter.
"Oh geez… Ruby! Come down here, we can talk about this!" He pleaded loudly, though was stopped at the top of the stairs by none other than Yang, who'd apparently just woken up…
"Why is everyone yelling so much? I'm trying to sleep in a little here…" She questioned, then saw just how bloody her father in fact was. "Wow, you look like crap. Who handed you your ass so efficiently?"
"Yang, please, step aside-"
"Better question though, is why did I see Ruby race into her room bawling her eyes out like that? I may have gotten a little upset and pushed her last night, but I've been caring for her longer than you actually have, so needless to say, seeing Ruby like that gots me more than a little on edge, and not in a very trusting mood." She continued, crossing her arms.
"Yang, please, this doesn't involve you, just step aside."
"On the contrary, if it involves Ruby in a way that's hurting her, you can bet your ass it does involve me, now, tell me WHAT exactly is going on?"
Taiyang sighed, before scratching the back of his head. "I… kinda signed off on transfer papers to transfer Ruby into Beacon this coming School year."
"...What. The. Actual. Fuck... What is Wrong with you?!. I jokingly get on her case about becoming a huntress but I wouldn't go behind her back like that! Why?!. You know she's wanted to go to Atlas Law for years!"
"It was an invitation from Ozpin personally! I thought she would be ecstatic! Beacon is FAR more prestigious than Atlas Law, if anything, I don't understand why she's so upset!"
"You can't seriously be that stupid! Beacon is a Combat Academy, Atlas Law is a Law School!" Yang exclaimed, before her father finally straightened out, and steeled his expression.
"Fine then, I guess I should tell you the real reason... You wanna know why I transferred her out the first chance I got? Our family has always historically been hunters and huntresses, married hunters and huntresses. Being a warrior is in our blood, and she was squandering that gift! Law School… How pathetic! No child of mind shall bring such weakness upon our family!" he admit, making Yang take a step back in shock.
"You… you never cared about what she wanted, did you? All you ever cared about was what YOU wanted for our family, and not what she wanted for herself… Why? Why did you bother acting like you cared for all these years?"
"I foolishly assumed that it was just some childish interest that would fade away after a short amount of time... but then she actually got passionate about it! She wouldn't shut up about her stupid, stupid, stupid dream! And yet, here I was unable to come out and tell her that her dream was terrible, and that she should've abandoned it long ago!"
"But it wasn't stupid at all! You've seen her at work, she's a prodigy! All over the internet, in everything law, she's prevalent! All over the news, everything that has to do with law, she's famous in! Why would you do this to her?! Don't you care about what she wants?"
"I care about what she wants, and that's exactly why I think this desire of hers is retarded! All that raw talent she has could be put towards ANYTHING, and she squanders it there? She's wasting all her potential! At least Ozpin was able to realize that much!" he roared down at Yang, before shoving her aside, and pressing on towards Ruby's room…
Only to realize that the door had been open that entire time, and that Ruby was listening…
The cabin of the transport ship they were on was noisy, far more noisy than Ruby would've preferred, filled with people she didn't wanna be around… but, at least she had Yang with her. A few months had passed since she was strong armed and backstabbed into joining this academy, and she'd spent those few months teaching Ruby swordplay, and how to fight. Sure, she was no expert with swords, but it was the first weapon every hunter learned how to use, so she could at least teach her what she DID know… that being said, Yang had to give her father credence to one thing. He was right about Ruby's untapped potential. Just given the short period of time training that they'd had, she was easily skilled enough with the blade to hold her own at Beacon without her semblance, at least on the low end of fighters.
That being said, the habit of wearing a suit everywhere she went persisted. It really wasn't as much of a problem she thought it'd be, but she still ran the risk of such nice, and expensive, clothes getting damaged.
For her weapon, she'd crafted her own arming sword. There was nothing special aside from its durability and sharpness, and even then, it was only just good enough to be considered a hunter-grade weapon. Alongside that, she had a simple .45 caliber handgun she'd bought that she could use in her offhand. To top her gear off, she had a thruster pack that she could wear under her suit, and the suit was custom tailored to fit it and open up where the thrusters were. It was mostly just to make sure after falling from tall heights that she didn't become a stain when she hit the floor.
But at the end of the day, despite being a far better fighter than Ruby, the girl's ability to stop time was utterly unbeatable. Not only could she enter a phase where everyone but her was frozen in time, but they were also all completely at her mercy when she did so. And on top of that, as far as Yang knew, Ruby could sustain this ability indefinitely.
She was both envious and glad that Ruby had that semblance though. On one hand, she wished that she could've been so blessed with such an overpowered Semblance. On the other hand, it practically guaranteed that Ruby was invincible if she did have to fight. She wouldn't have to protect her… as much, at least. According to the girl, she still didn't have a perfect grasp on using her semblance.
And on the note of Ruby being forced to attend, she was still livid about how their father sold her little sister out like that. It was just awful, and Ruby didn't have any say. If she were to liken it to something, Ruby was essentially just a glorified slave-soldier now… but hey, with Ruby here, she'd never have to worry about doing poorly on her homework, so there was the small upside.
Finally, the transport docked with the academy grounds, opening its doors and revealing the wide-open courtyard of Beacon Academy. Yang only needed to cast a glance towards Ruby to know she was unimpressed, and from a structural standpoint, she could understand that. They both had already seen Atlas Law School in person when Ruby was being given a tour of the campus in the early Summer, and it was easily more impressive than Beacon, more grand-looking.
Stepping out, Ruby shielded her eyes from the sun and groaned, following closely behind Yang with her suitcase in her spare hand. The bored expression on her little sister's face never failed to leave her behind as they made their way down the courtyard, stopping beside a tree for some shade.
"Hmph." Ruby sat down with a light grumble on the bench, setting her hands behind her head and lounging back.
"So… Knowing you, something tells me you've got a plan in mind to make life hell for Ozpin for all this…" Yang inquired as she took a seat next to her little sister.
"That obvious?" She chuckled, before pointing at Beacon. "All I gotta do is… Nothing!"
"...Pardon? I'm not sure I understand, you mean you're just gonna take it-"
"No no no no… I mean in a much more literal way. Assignments come my way? Paper shredder. Get called to duel? Refuse. Classes? Skipping time! The gist of my idea is to act as much the delinquent as I can without breaking the law, make Ozpin look real bad for selecting a useless little priss who can't even be bothered to turn in a blank paper as 'Humanity's Champion.' Eventually, I'll end up failing out of Beacon, and free again to pursue my OWN dreams."
"Ah, so that's what she was planning… clever girl! Simple, but if there was ever a surefire way of getting out of Ozpin's little trap…" Yang thought idly, before looking to her left and seeing a girl in all white with a rapier and a bunch of cases on a luggage cart standing there with a curious look on her face.
"I… was expecting the selected champion to be a little more… responsible…" the girl spoke up, successfully nabbing Ruby's attention. "You're… why would you even enroll at Beacon if you're just gonna fail out of it? I don't understand that at all!"
"Oh, I recognize you. Weiss Schnee, right? Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, right? For your information, I was voluntold into being both Humanity's Champion and a Beacon student. Never enrolled at this dump. Today was supposed to be my first day attending Atlas Law School, but here I am, attending a Hunter Academy because of my fucking Dad screwing me over and Ozpin being a bitch." Ruby groaned, before standing up and stretching a few times.
"Wait… but you're… Oh. You must've been that super young girl attending then, weren't you? Ruby Rose, right?"
"Bingo. Here's to hoping Ozpin croaks before the day is out."
"Anyways, nice to meet you, Weiss. I'm Yang, Ruby's older half-sister." Yang cut in, successfully drawing in the attention to herself. "Ruby doesn't have any experience in actual combat yet, but with how her semblance works, it really doesn't matter."
"So I've heard. I look forward to testing myself against her… If she'll even give me the chance..?"
"No." Ruby replied quietly, reclining once again and shutting her eyes.
"Well, it was worth a shot… so, should we get going? The opening ceremony will be starting in about ten minutes."
"You two can get going. I'm comfortable right where I am and don't feel like moving."
"Ruby, attendance is mandatory." Yang groaned, though she quickly realized that'd work just fine for the girl, made extra evident by the devilish smirk on her face…
"And that's the point."
The Ceremony went by with Ruby nowhere to be found, much to the staff's chagrin. It was especially grating on Ozpin, since he'd attempted to call her specifically up to the stage and just made himself look like a fool in the process. The girl continued on being missing well into the night, and only showed up right in front of Yang the very second that it hit curfew, nearly making the girl jump out of her skin in the process.
As much as she knew that it wasn't teleportation, the nature of how it allowed her to move in the perception of others very much made it seem that way. Nevertheless, after a few more moments just talking about nothing in particular, the two went to sleep, content to end the day there...
A/N
Was finally able to confirm stuff, November 2nd I head out for Basic training. For anyone wondering about my other stories, I've been working on the next chapter to Inquisitorial Rose for awhile, but I'm probably on my 25th or 26th rewrite (I just can't produce something I'm satisfied with), and Summer's Clones is currently on hiatus due to writers block and a need for new inspiration.
That being said, this is a story I spitballed the idea for like four years ago during my freshman year and meant to publish around that same time, but never got around to it (mostly due to forgetfulness on my part). Thankfully, with the help of another author by the username of SugoiRaccoon, I was able to refine and finish the first chapter to my first story that Ruby ISN'T the main character of in little more than two or three hours.
Anyways, go ahead and give their work a looksie, personally, I REALLY enjoy her story "Pariah of Saunders", and if any of you guys like my stories for the fighting, I think you'd enjoy her work a great deal as well.
Now, with all that out of the way, Thanks for reading, and hopefully this WON'T be the last chapter of this story.