Blake Bella—Nightshade's mind reeled as the Schnee bowed her head. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company was apologizing to… her… Not commanding for one. She wasn't wearing the ribbon, was she?

No, she wasn't. She abandoned it before arriving in Vacuo—the place where she thought such features would never matter. At least, that's what she thought, but now a Schnee stood before her, and the sentiment seemed worthless.

She adjusted everything of herself just to adapt to this new plain. Her skin had turned tan from Vacuo's blazing sun. She couldn't part from her long hair; only pulling it into a messy ponytail. She had abandoned her wardrobe as well. She kept her white top, but it was now underneath a yukata-inspired tailcoat. Her legwear turned into black, fitted pants with a violet belt around her waist. All of which led into combat boots colored in black with hints of violet.

Her hand landed on the katana on her belt, it still felt foreign, but she could damn-well use it upon a Schnee without a problem.

So, imagine her surprise when the heiress extended her hand, "I'm Weiss."

The ravenette eyed her hand with suspicion, "I know who you are."

Her features deflated as she looked off to the side, "Oh… I see…"

"Disappointment…? Guilt…?"

Weiss took a breath, maintaining her extension, "And you are?"

She looked between the heiress and her hand before slowly extending hers, "Blake." The handshake was fast and simple. She had let go within two seconds of taking her hand.

"Blake…?" Her voice told her that Weiss wanted her surname. Her silence was her answer. "I…" She coughed, "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Blake blinked for a moment or two. She then slowly nodded, "Nice to meet you, too."

Weiss seemed elated by the response. From what Blake could tell, there were no ill intentions or anything along those lines from the Schnee. Initially, her senses roared in Schnee's presence, but had quickly diminished. No self-entitled edge infected her voice. Hell, while the heiress looked at her like she was the first Faunus she had ever spoken to, there wasn't even a judgmental gaze upon her.

Nothing like she expected at all…

Headmaster West extended her arms before slamming her palms together. The action resulted in a thunderous wave of sound to roll over the room. Blake winced as the sound reached her. She blinked as her breath quickened and her heart raced. She couldn't explain it. Her mind numbed as the world seemed to darken around her. Her knees quaked as they tried to give out. Her stomach flipped as her mind turned to static.

Her gaze snapped to Weiss as she let out a cry and fell to her knees. The heiress's hands latched onto her head as she fervently shook her it. And then, suddenly, with the snap of the Headmaster's fingers, they were fine, and all of her suffering vanished. She blinked as her face contorted out of confusion.

The monochrome pair shared a look as they panted. Blake looked at her hand for a moment or two before extending her hand. Weiss took it without a hint of disdain nor disgust, accepting the help onto her feet.

She shook her head, "Wha… What was that?" She brought a hand to her forehead, "That was… just awful…"

The Headmaster chuckled, "Do I have your attention?" Silence was her answer, "Wonderful." She smiled, "Now, to each who retrieved a card, you felt its burn. Those who did, those cards truly belong to you. They'll only ever respond to their original holder, so," -her eyes narrowed, "-return them." Students shifted and moved towards the center of the crowd. It was once the movement stopped in which she spoke, "That means sixty-five of you are dismissed. Try again next year."

A wave of disappointed and angered voices came before students began to make their departure from the amphitheater. "Now, we will shift to the topic of partners. Amongst this crowd of your fellow students, there is a card exactly like yours. That will be your partner for the next four years." She smiled, "Come morning you will begin your initiation with new partners." She added with the tilt of her head, "Tonight, you'll be having a sweet sleepover with your current partner. Enjoy the tours." She exited the stage with a casual wave of her hand; followed by her black knight.

Weiss turned to the Faunus, "Are you okay?"

Blake waved the question off, "I'm fine…" She shook her head. The effects were gone in a snap, quite literally. And judging by her status now, there weren't any side effects… for now.

The heiress looked around the now mingling crowd, "Could that have been her semblance? I suppose it makes sense for a Headmaster to wield such a power." She took a breath, shaking her head. "But… What was she thinking, using that on us?"

She shrugged, "Who knows?" She pulled her card from her pocket, "We should go see who our partners are." She looked off to the side, "I guess this is where we part ways."

Weiss spoke, looking over the cat's shoulder, "A five of Spades?"

Blake's eyes narrowed, "Yeah…" The heiress held up her own card, "Oh…"

The heiress nodded with a small smile, "I suppose we're partners then."

-\ X /-

Weiss and Blake walked down one of the halls of the academy's main building. Mostly to avoid the heat, and to enjoy the cool conditioning of the interior. The setting sun was bleeding from the windows and painting the halls with oranges and reds.

Blake's nose was currently in a book while Weiss tried to make conversation. "The library was bigger than I thought it'd be."

Yet, the Cat proved a poor conversationalist, "Hm."

Her smile faltered, "That card drawing was a strange way to divide everybody. A team shouldn't simply be left to chance, right?"

Or, perhaps, she just wasn't in the mood, "Sure."

Weiss pondered aloud, "Do you think all the academies are like that?"

Or, perhaps, it was the name, "Maybe."

In the end, Weiss recognized the wall before her. She couldn't help but deflate, "Is there… Is there an issue between us?"

Blake opened her mouth to speak, but she hesitated before closing it. She shut her book before turning to her, "To be honest… I'm not sure." Her brow furrowed, "When I saw you, I thought you'd be disgusted by me. That you'd treat me as some… lower life form…" She sighed, "But you haven't."

Weiss let out a sigh, "My connection to the SDC, no doubt…" She raised her head, "I…" but deflated quickly after. "I don't know what I could say to make you more comfortable." She shook her head, "If you had spoken to me a few months ago, you might've received that, but…"

She gestured to herself, "I've distanced myself from the SDC—I even doubt that I am still its heiress. My brother has more than likely taken my place." She shrugged, "Which is good for him, he seemed to enjoy the Atlesian Game more than I ever did." There was a hint of bitterness at the edge of her voice.

Her lips began a thin line as she raised her head, "I refuse to share my father's views anymore. I refuse to believe everything he's ever told me." She shook her head, "I am not my father. I doubt I'm even his daughter." She slowly smiled, "I'm… Weiss—Weiss Sieben."

Blake blinked, "I…" She shook her head, "I never heard about you leaving or running away."

Weiss's smile shifted into a confident smirk, "My father would never advertise his inability to control his own daughter. He'll try and find me quietly. Luckily, Vacuo and Atlas have a very poor relationship and the SDC barely has any anchor points here. The resource cost outweighs the benefit of simply me. It would be easier to announce my brother as his heir."

"So, you're… here on your own?"

"Not completely." She smiled with an unprecedented warmth, "Klein… I consider him family—real family." She nodded, "He's staying in the city. He's been with me ever since we left."

Blake blinked, slowly raking in all the new information. "Weiss Schnee isn't a Schnee anymore… I…" However, her scroll buzzed before she could travel on her new train of thought. "A school-wide text."

A buzz came from Weiss's "Ah!" She fished out her own scroll, "Indeed." She tilted her head, "Our dorm number?"

-\ XXX /-

Sun and Ruby made their way through the warmly colored halls of the academy's dorms. Ruby looked at the metal plates that were riveted onto the doors, "Six-Eighteen… Six-Twenty…" They slowed to a stop, "Six-Twenty-Two."

Sun brought his tablet to the door handle, "This is us then." Its lock clicked, but he didn't open the door. She blinked, raising a brow before he turned to her, "Oh, uh… You know, I could just sleep in the hall if ya want." He shrugged, "I get it if you're not comfortable with sleeping in a room with a guy."

She blushed slightly, shaking her head, "N-No, I'm fine." She chuckled, "I mean it's not like they'll make us share a bed or something." She blinked, tilting her head, "Right?"

The local pondered for a moment, "Eh…" He shrugged before pushing open the door, "Probably not."

Sarcasm thy name is Ruby, "T-That's comforting."

The dark room was soon illuminated by the flick of a switch. The carpet was green. The walls were made up of an off-white dry wall with spruce wood markings its frame. The far wall contained a large window frame made up of spruce wood. A dark-green curtain shielded its view from the pair. On the left wall, there was a white shutter door, and, on the right wall, there was a spruce-wood door.

Ruby peeked over his shoulder and saw that, on the floor, were two sleeping bags. "Huh? There's no furniture."

Sun stepped into the room, "Yeah… I wonder if our stuff is even here?" He stepped over the sleeping bags before making his way to the shutter door.

She stepped into the room after him, tilting her head, "Are we expected to buy furniture?"

He pulled open the shutter doors, looking within to find a closet, "I guess that's possible." He crouched before two duffel bags, reading their tags, "This is Vacuo. Some people take that survival mentality to weird levels." He looked over his shoulder, straightening, "Our stuff's here."

Ruby nodded, "Great!" She chuckled, "It'd be awful if we didn't have any pajamas."

Sun turned around, backstepping into the closet, "But, I'm pretty sure a place like this can afford a bed or two." He ran his hand along the upper interior wall of the closet.

Her face contorted with confusion, "What're you doing?"

He was silent for a few moments as he finished his examination. "Nothing." He stepped out of the closet and shut it behind him, "Just… checking." He jogged over the two sleeping bags and stopped at the opposing door, "What's behind door number two?"

Her head tilted, "Checking for what exactly?"

He pushed open a door, "It's a bathroom. Black tiles… Dark-green marble… Fancy."

Ruby went silent for a moment or two—frowning at the Faunus. His tail flickered for a moment or two as he went through the bathroom. "Sun, what are you looking for?"

He closed the door, not meeting her eyes, "Nothing." He turned, smiled, and put his hands up, "Really. It's nothing. Just scratching my curiosity." He turned away from her, making his way to the curtain, "I never really lived in a place like this before." He pulled away the curtain and unveiled the view of the night sky and the ocean of sand beyond the cliff of the mound. "Eh, the views are kinda nice…" He shrugged, adding, "I don't really like staring at the wastes, though" He then chuckled, "But, it might be with it to see 'Big Bertha'."

She blinked, "What?"

He turned to her, slightly confused at her confusion. "That train? You know?"

"It's called 'Big Bertha'?"

"I mean we call it 'Big Bertha'. It was a gift from Atlas… Maybe… I think… It might be stolen—who cares. I'm sure they named it something else."

Ruby slowly nodded, "Oh, but why 'Big Bertha'?"

Sun grinned, "It has a giant-ass cannon on it." He shook his head, "Gigantic thing. It takes up four train cars! I've seen it fire once." He shook his head, "Man! That thing could rip this rock a new one."

Her eyes glittered, "Really?"

"Yeah!"

She blinked, "But, why do they need it?"

His face contorted out of confusion as he answered matter-of-factly, "Jörmungandr."

"Gesundheit."

He chuckled, "No, I ain't sneezing. I'm talkin' about 'The World Serpent'." Once he saw the lack of resolution on her face, he concluded, "You don't know much about Vacuo, huh?"

Ruby shrugged, "I-I did some research, but uh…" She twiddled with her fingers, "Not enough—apparently."

He turned to the window, gesturing to the dunes of sediment, "Well, if you want to know, it's this giant Grimm-snake that swims through the sands." He shrugged, "Could probably swallow this building whole if it wanted."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah, but I've only really seen it from the edge of Vacuo."

"Why hasn't it been killed?"

Sun shook his head again, "It's too fast. Big Bertha can scare it off, but it's not fast enough to really follow the damn thing."

"Why hasn't it attacked the city?"

"Beats me—all I know is that it never has."

Ruby put a hand on her hip, raising a brow, "You know, you know a lot, but you don't know a lot."

He took a seat on the windowsill, "Heh… Never claimed I was a smart cookie." His tail flicked and turned, "Just a…" -he tilted his head, "-knowledgeable cookie."

"I could go for a cookie…" She blinked, "Wait, if they expect us to buy our own furniture, what about food?"

"Guess someone needs to brush up on their scavenging skills."

Ruby chuckled nervously, "Any advice?"

Sun blinked before pondering, "Eh… If you see something nice, it's probably shit or poisoned."

The reaper blinked, "Did… Did you get poisoned a lot?"

Casual as ever was the reply, "Like twice."

She paled, "Oh…"

"You okay?"

Sarcasm soaked her tongue, "Vacuo's such a nice place."

Sun smirked with a shrug, "Nah." He peered out the window, gazing at the night sky, "It's jack-shit, but, hey, home is home, ya know?"

Ruby looked at him for a moment or two; a smile slowly gracing her lips. "Yeah…" Her gaze drifted from his profile and downward, spotting his exposed chest.

If she was a normal person, it would've been one of the first things her mind latched onto when she met him, but this was Ruby Rose. All implications and scandalous thoughts were thrown to the wayside as she was more concerned with his staff, and with the Headmaster's semblance coupled with the card-hazing, it wasn't on her mind. But now, she was his partner—now, they were sharing a room.

Her cheeks flushed as she coughed into her fist, looking off to the side, "So, um… Do you… wear… shirts?"

He blinked, turning to her, "Huh… Uh…" He shrugged, "Sometimes, I guess, but I usually don't feel like it."

She fiddled with a lock of her hair, tucking her other arm behind her back, "So, you're just… going to walk around shirtless."

Nothing was wrong with that. "Well, yeah."

"H-Hm…"

He pouted, "Is something wrong with that?"

Ruby shook her head, "N-No!" Her face shifted into the same shade of her cloak, "I… I mean…" She coughed, "It… uh… It looks good." Her mind screeched, "AAAAAHHHHH…! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT CAME OUT OF MY MOUTH…!"

The Faunus smiled innocently, flicking his tail, "Thanks!"

She turned away from him, yanking on her hood and pulling it over her face, "How does he not see anything wrong with that…!? Is he that oblivious…!?"

He turned back to the window, "So, it'll just be you and me in here, huh?"

She turned to him, "Y-Yeah?"

His tail twirled, "Thank Oum, I don't sleep naked, right?" He shook his head, "I would hate to do that in the same room as a cute girl."

"C-Cute…!?" Her mind swirled, "I… um…"

He turned to her, blinking, "Oh, you don't sleep naked, do you?"

"N-N-No! N-No way!"

"You know, I don't mind if you do." He smiled, "I'll just sleep in the hallway."

"You don't have to! I-I don't sleep naked!"

"Well, what a relief, huh?"

She slowly deflated, "W-Wha… Y-Yeah, what a relief…"

He relented before he tilted his head, "Do you want to use the bathroom first? Take a shower before we hit the sack?"

"W-We…?" She quickly shook her head, "Y-Yeah! I'll… I'll go first!" The space she filled was suddenly occupied by the falling petals of roses before the bathroom door slammed shut.

His tail flicked as he smirked, "Well, that was fun…"

XXX

"There are some that only employ words for the purpose of disguising their thoughts." - Voltaire

AN: Howdy, everybody! How's the quote? I just felt like doing it. And I'll keep doing it... until I don't.

Chapter-wise, our pairs have been formed. Blake Bella-Nightshade and Weiss Sch-Sieben are our first pair. Blake's appearance is slightly shared with her mother's, skin-tone wise. Her weapon has been lost; due to an altered backstory like everybody else. I'll admit that I was tempted to work with the 'hate each other so much that everybody will call it sexual tension' angle, but I don't really like angle to begin with so I went against it. Sun and Ruby's dynamic is probably expected: a shy reaper x a mischievous monkey.

Of course, everything's fun and games until Initiation hits!

And so, thank you for reading and criticize away!