Disclaimer: This chapter introduces a variation of the ever-popular Neopolitan that can only be described as OOC. A modern-AU leaves little room for most of her canon details, so I'll be improvising as I go. Bear with me. Oh yeah, and I don't own RWBY.

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… … …

One month went by in a blur.

Ruby was pretty much running on auto-pilot the entire time, at least as far as school and home life was concerned. Go to class, come home, do homework, eat dinner, etc., etc. Her grades stayed pretty good, despite the fact that she would not have been able to recall her lessons even if you handed her a fat wad of cash. Nobody paid too much attention to her distant attitude.

Weiss Schnee, on the other hand, demanded Ruby's full attention.

After that first date, things didn't change too much. They still shared the last class of the day, of course, but other than a few conversations there wasn't much to report. Ruby had started to wonder if they were really an item after a week of almost nothing.

And then Ruby gathered her bravery once again and gave Weiss another kiss – this one after class, with no one else in the room. The platinum blonde seemed to consider this some sort of signal, as they snuck in a secret kiss every day after. Each time they did it, the redhead found herself on cloud 9.

Time began to blur around this point. Ruby didn't really count the time by days, but rather by when she got to kiss Weiss. It was only in those moments that she really felt alive. Really there.

It was a Friday afternoon, one month after their first date, when it happened.

They had found the perfect spot – around a hidden corner, just behind a thick oak tree, shadowed at almost all times of day. Their own personal nook. Nobody else came here. As far as they knew, no one else was even aware this spot existed.

The weather had finally gotten to a point that could be called cold. Ruby wore her usual red hoodie, and Weiss her sparkling white jacket, but neither could resist gathering just a bit more warmth from each other. Weiss was currently leaning against the building, with Ruby leaning against her. The redhead's face was nuzzled in the crook of Weiss' neck.

"…"

Neither of them said anything today, nor did they any other time they met in private like this. Both teens were fine just holding each other and 'sucking face,' as Yang so eloquently put it.

Sensing it was time, Ruby pulled her gaze up to stare into Weiss' gorgeous ice-blue eyes. They always reminded Ruby of glaciers – cold, deep, and surprisingly strong. She could have stared into them all day. Literally.

Weiss brought one hand up to Ruby's face and brushed a bit of dark red hair from her ear. Ruby leaned into the touch, closing her eyes to enjoy the contact. Weiss let her hand linger for a few moments, caressing her cheek lightly. Ruby then took the hand and moved it closer to her mouth to give it a slow kiss on the palm. Weiss blushed lightly.

This was how their meetings had been progressing over the last week or so. Ruby had been 'researching' ways to be more romantic now that she had reason to be (just research, dammit!), and was slowly trying to do a little more each time. Another kiss here, a touch there. She could tell it was working – Weiss was starting to reciprocate.

Eventually Weiss' other hand came up and gently pulled Ruby's head closer, her fingers buried in those dark red locks. Their breathes tickled each other's noses as they lingered, hovering close. Letting the emotions build up. It always added to the eventual passion once the dam broke.

Both girl's faces were quite flushed by the time they finally kissed each other, their breaths heavy and ragged. After doing this enough times, they'd started to learn how to get themselves quite worked up. Ruby absently wondered how much further they'd have to go before clothes started to come off…

The mood was suddenly shattered by a brief flash of light, followed by the distinctive sound of a camera shutter clicking a beat later.

They'd been caught.

"Hey, jerk!" Weiss moved first, firmly but gently moving Ruby out of the way so she could charge after their peeping tom. The redhead nearly collapsed to the ground from sheer embarrassment – they'd chosen this spot to stay hidden, yet someone still found them? Dammit!

After a few moments, Ruby went after Weiss. The platinum blonde was simply standing in place and looking around. Ruby couldn't see any sign of another person in the area, much less hear anything. It was like they'd been photographed by a ghost.

"It can't be… … … she already found me…?"

Ruby looked over and found Weiss holding something and muttering to herself. The item looked like an umbrella, but it was a rather fancy one if the delicate lacework pattern was anything to go by.

"Weiss…?"

"Sorry, but I should go. See you on Monday, Ruby." And with those parting words, Weiss Schnee turned and walked back to the entrance to the school. Ruby Rose was left standing there, totally flummoxed.

Was she upset that they had been photographed? What did that umbrella have to do with anything? Who was 'she' …?

Too many questions, not enough answers. With any luck Weiss would at least feel like chatting over the weekend.

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…

Or not.

The next Monday morning found the redhead still in the dark about what happened. Weiss never even logged in once.

The usual morning routine played out pretty much without her. Now that Yang and Blake had made up, the tall blonde had started making time to join them in front of the library at least once a week (when not in her club meetings). Blake seemed glad to see her, but valiantly tried to hide it. Ruby wasn't fooled.

Ruby also couldn't help but notice an odd feeling of …tension between Coco and Blake this past week or so. Almost like something had happened, but it lay just under the surface. As though one word could spill everything out like a popped water balloon. Considering the gravity of Blake's previous deep-dark-secret, Ruby decided not to approach this one at all. Best to let things like this work themselves out, yes?

And then came first period, where Ruby found herself face-to-face with the new transfer student.

She stood several inches shorter than Ruby, but was not any younger. In fact, she was the same age as Weiss (according to the records). She was dressed in what could only be called 'formal-casual' – a white button-up shirt tucked into Capri-length black slacks, high-end sneakers, and a set of odd, black fingerless gloves. She also carried herself with an air of arrogance, of high-living. That sort of I'm-better-than-you attitude that made Ruby's hackles rise.

What stood out the most to Ruby, however, was her hair colors. The base color was clearly brown, but this girl had taken the time to dye half of her hair a bright pink. In addition to that, a small section of her bangs shone a grayish-silver color.

There was also the matter of the girl's eyes – the right one was brown, but the left was a pink that matched her hair. Truly bizarre.

Upon their first meeting, all the girl said to Ruby was, "You… have silver eyes."

"Um… … … okay?" Ruby's patience was not rewarded with an explanation, however. The girl said nothing else for the rest of the class. She also seemed to make a point of ignoring Ruby every chance she got.

During fourth period, Ruby learned a bit more from a nearby conversation – the girl was known simply as Neo, and she had been asking about Weiss. A lot. It seemed as though she might have been a stalker for the young Schnee.

Neo, huh? Better keep an eye on that one…

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… … …

Weiss knew full well who Neopolitan was.

That's why she made a few phone calls over the weekend.

Her hunch turned out to be correct – Neo really did get herself transferred to Oum High. Thankfully the midget was unaware of just how much pull Weiss had if she chose to use it, which she did as soon as she could.

A few words to the right people was all it took. Weiss could rest easy knowing that Neo would never share one single class with her. Not one.

She only hoped Ruby was as lucky.

Weiss glared at the parasol on her desk, irritation building within her just as it did every time she saw it. Neo. Of all people to have caught the two of them having a moment, it just had to be her.

If Neo was truly attending Oum High now, Ruby was probably in a bit of trouble. Weiss didn't expect the midget to do anything violent, but there was really no telling with that girl. She had done some rather …nutty things in their past.

"Weiss Schnee, you are my soulmate! We belong together… for eternity!"

She shuddered at the memory of that declaration.

Weiss sat herself down at her desk with a huff, trying to get her mind back on more pleasant thoughts. Like her painting, her friends, or…

Ruby.

The platinum blonde took a small photo from beside her computer monitor, gazing at the dark red hair and silver eyes pictured on it. Ruby Rose. Her girlfriend. In the actual sense of the word.

Ever since foiling Ruby's attempt at running away from home, Weiss had found herself thinking of Ruby every night. It was purely memories at first, but she soon found her thoughts drifting into fantasy land. In her mind, Ruby was quite …forward about their relationship. Aggressive, even. Weiss often blushed as her mental scenarios played out.

Much to her delight, the real Ruby seemed to be taking the hint – every time they kissed, the redhead seemed to open up more and more. Her mood was lifting progressively higher with each of their encounters. And she was getting more bold.

Weiss' face flushed yet again as another thought occurred to her – she was close to tugging Ruby's hoodie off during their last makeout session. Close to running her hands up Ruby's naked back. Close to doing something totally inappropriate for her age group.

Good God… when did she become such a hornball?

Taking a drink of water to calm her nerves, Weiss laid down and focused on cute, fluffy kittens. That worked every time; she was asleep within minutes.

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…

Monday came and went without incident. No Neo. Mostly.

As the final bell of the day rang out, Weiss quickly gathered her things while offering muttered apologies to Ruby about their last encounter. "Sorry about last Friday, Ruby. I had a lot on my mind."

The redhead simply nodded, "I could tell. Are you okay, though?"

"I am. I should warn you – if you meet a girl with half-brown, half-pink hair, be careful around her."

"Pink? Actually, I…"

And that was all the time they had. Ruby never got to finish her sentence before the door to the art room was thrown open to admit the tiny pink-and-brown form of Neopolitan.

"WEISS SCHNEE…! There you are!"

Weiss' face fell as she muttered, "Oh goddammit…!"

Neo took a full three steps towards the young Schnee before stopping and giving Ruby the stink-eye. "You…? … … …I see… … … so you're the one…"

The short teen strode over and placed herself directly in between Weiss and Ruby, glaring daggers at the redhead and earning raised eyebrows from every onlooker in the room.

One hand came up and pointed a finger directly in Ruby's face as Neo declared, "Ruby Rose, I am taking my soulmate back from your evil clutches! Weiss is mine!"

Coco, who hadn't quite made it out of the room by this point, had been taking a drink of water from a bottle during that outburst – she promptly sprayed it against the door, coughing a bit.

To say that was …unexpected… would be a massive understatement. Other than the epic spit-take, nobody else in the room reacted. Or made any noise. This was just too much. By this point the entire art class was aware that Weiss and Ruby were together (thanks to the Coco Gossip Train), and learning of a third party to the relationship was sure to send the rumors flying.

Weiss had just about had enough. She quickly grabbed Neo's unguarded ear and pulled them away, quietly growling, "What the hell are you doing here, Gabby?"

Ruby instantly gagged, fighting down a grin. Gabby was Neo's real name – Neopolitan was just a nickname. Nobody else overheard it, though.

Neo whispered just as harshly, "My name is Neo… don't you remember me, Snow Angel?"

Ruby choked again. Weiss fought back a rising blush. Why did she have to hear that name?

"Yes, I do remember you …which is why I'm asking what the hell you're doing here?"

"When you vanished from RTA Academy, I simply had to find you. My life is not complete without my snow angel, after all…"

"I transferred here to get away from you people… if you follow me, then that becomes pointless."

"So you'll come back with me?"

"I'm staying here, and there's nothing you can do to change my mind."

"Damn… … … then I guess I'll have to stay, too."

"I'd rather you didn't."

"It's strange, though… I don't have any classes with you. I only found out you were here by …persuading a young man to tell me."

"He isn't bleeding, is he?"

"Not anymore… tee-hee…"

*sigh* "Why haven't you been arrested yet?"

"Because I am smol and kawaii."

"Humble, too…"

Neo suddenly and abruptly turned her attention back to Ruby. Her gaze was steady as she stated, "I understand you've been trying to date my Weiss. I should tell you, she is completely out of your league. No one is smarter or more talented than Weiss Schnee. No one could possibly match up to her brilliance, her absolute magnificence."

An idea struck Weiss at that moment, and she blurted it out long before she stopped to consider the consequences. "Actually… she is better than me at drawing."

The reaction was instant – Neo whipped her head back around and gave Weiss a wide-eyed look of shock. She then whipped that look around to Ruby, then back again to Weiss. "No way…" she said quietly.

No going back now. "Indeed. She's probably even better than you…" Weiss had no idea why she was saying these things, but there was no stopping them anymore.

Neo hesitated only moments before turning to once again face Ruby, one hand pointed defiantly at the redhead's face, and declaring, "I challenge you to a drawing contest!"

"You know…" another voice cut in, this one dripping with barely-controlled patience. "…If you people are done here, I'd like to go home."

Cinder Fall had been listening to the entire exchange, waiting for her delinquent students to get the hell out of the room so she could lock up.

Neo looked like she was going to argue the point, but a yellow-eyed glare cut her off. Nobody spoke as various bags were gathered.

Oddly, Ms. Fall's glare softened before they all left as she said, "If you truly want to do this contest, you can use this room after school Friday. I have a free weekend, so I can even judge the contest for you."

Ruby started to say, "I don't know if I…"

"The winner gets to give Weiss a kiss, and the loser has to watch," Neo added with a smirk.

Weiss was ready to sputter an objection, ready to argue against them using her as the prize, but was cut off by a rather enthusiastic, "You're on!"

Ruby had the most determined look Weiss had ever seen as the redhead and the midget shook hands. The agreement had been made.

Weiss couldn't even get the words out as they went their separate ways.

What had she done?

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Blake was …not happy.

These last few weeks had been rather tense between her and Coco. And small wonder – ever since she'd been called out on this 'Sun Wukong' thing, Blake had not been able to relax around the tall brunette. At all.

Coco was one of the only people who knew that Sun Wukong didn't actually exist. He was a character in one of Blake's fanfictions.

This had become the cause of near-endless anxiety. All it would take was a few choice words from Coco to bring the whole lie down around her head. Blake wanted nothing more than to keep this a secret from Yang, but with Coco, secrets did not come cheap.

And who could blame her? When Yang implied that she might still have had some lingering feelings for her, Blake panicked. Pulling her own character out of her ass as a makeshift boyfriend could have been nothing more than a joke if Yang knew who he really was… but she didn't. Her look of fear more than confirmed that she had never heard of him.

That was both a blessing and a curse.

Blake hated having to lie to her one-time best friend, but if it kept the blonde on her toes then that was a good thing. She really didn't want Yang to get too close. Not again.

Otherwise her true feelings would be revealed.

To be perfectly honest, Blake had never fully recovered after that first kiss. Thoughts of Yang often interrupted her daily life for several years after. Boys had come and gone, she had seen councilors, and even taken various medications… to no effect. Nothing short of massive head trauma could get Yang completely out of her head.

And that scared her.

"Earth to Blake… … … anybody home?"

Amber eyes blinked as she remembered where she was. Coco stood in front of her waving one hand an inch away from Blake's face as they watched Yang walk down the hall.

"Oh… … … sorry. Distracted."

"I can't imagine why…" she replied sarcastically.

"Coco… please don't."

"Don't what?"

"You know what I mean… PLEASE don't tell her…"

"And why wouldn't I tell her…?"

"Because you are a glorious, radiant human being with the generosity of a thousand Buddhas…?"

"And… … …?"

"And… … … because you greatly respect your friend's earnest pleas for mercy…?"

"And… … …?"

*whimper* "And… because I'll send you those photos… later tonight. Dammit Coco, why must you be so evil?"

"I thought I was a glorious, radiant human being?"

"Not when you want photos of me in my freaking underwear …you sick pervert!"

"Relax, kitten… I don't post them online. And it's not like I haven't seen you like that before…"

"Please don't bring that up again. I told you, I was just drunk!"

"I'd wager Yang would love to hear that story… heh heh… Oh relax Blake, I'm just messing with you! Besides, you know I prefer the nerdy types."

"… … … … …Hmm…"

"…?"

"Would you promise not to tell Yang anything if I introduce you to someone who might just… tickle your fancy?"

"While I enjoy having my fancy tickled, I can't promise anything until I see her. It is a her, right?"

"I do know who I'm talking to, remember?"

"Hmm… … … … … very well, I accept your proposal."

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… … …

At that very moment, Velvet Scarlatina came close to dropping her bottle of water before she could hand it off to one of the runners. A savage chill ran down her spine for no apparent reason. She glanced around, but found no one watching her as she expected.

"I've suddenly got a bad feeling…"

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Story Note: Welcome to the first chapter of the Neo arc! Regarding the decision of whether or not to have Sun appear as a real character, I just flipped a coin - I could easily have written him in as a real person, but I chose not to. I think it adds to the complexity of Blake's mental state, personally.

=^..^=