Location: The Velvet Room

It was Melanie's voice I heard first (I think) as I finally sit up and move towards the edge of the bed. "About time you came to." Her voice pierces through my head like a needle does to cloth. Before she could carry on talking, I interrupt her.

"Can't you guy let me sleep in peace?" I groggily say I rub my eyes of any sleep that might have formed.

"Our master wishes to speak with you, it's for your own sake that you take his words to heart." Miltia speaks with a softer tone from the other side of the cell door and ignoring my question altogether. I shift my gaze from Miltia to Ozpin, waiting for him to speak in that oddly deep tone.

"First off, let us celebrate our reunion." Ozpin said whilst never getting up from the desk, I ask my question again.

"Can't you guy let me slee…" The sound of metal on metal rings throughout the prison cell and I wince at the sound.

"The Velvet Room is a room located between consciousness and subconsciousness, only those who have formed a contract may be granted residency here." Ozpin continued. "It's seams that your powers have awakened. Your rehabilitation can finally begin."

"This is the second time you've mention that, what is going on?" I asked and I tense slightly as I half expect another strike of the baton from Melanie against the cell door, but then I hear a chuckle from Ozpin.

"There is no need for you to understand it all for the time being. For now, you will be training in the power of Persona, which you have awakened to. Personas are, in other words, a mask of the heart when confronting worldly matters." He pauses and those wide bloodshot eyes bore into me. "I have high expectations for you."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" I asked as I stand and move over to the cell door.

"There is no need to worry. You will learn when the time comes." He says with amusement in his voice.

"I think I would like to learn it knoOWW… Do you mind Melanie?" I said even though I know she won't talk to me and rubbing my hand. 'Note to self: her baton hurts'

I notice Ozpin shift and lean on the desk a bit more than normal in the corner of my eye and his oddly deep tone of voice sends chills down my spine. "By the by… have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator? Using it will allow you to come and go between reality and Palaces."

"I'm sorry, the What Navigator?" I asked and I hear a collective sigh from Melanie and Miltia.

"The Metaverse Navigator…" Ozpin says again. "I bestowed it to you as a means to train you as a thief."

"The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master! You better take care in using it, Inmate!" Melanie turned to me as she spoke, her voice still piercing through my head.

"Devote yourself to your training so that you may become a fine thief." Miltia speaks with the same soft tone as before that seems to soothe the pain.

"It must be disheartening to make use of the Metaverse Navigator alone." Ozpin speaks straight after her in that deep tone that I was starting to dislike.

'Well seeing as I've accidentally used it once, I wouldn't say that I'm alone in using it.'

"Should there be others who would prove beneficial to you, I shall grant it to them as well. This is all for you to grow as a most excellent thief." As Ozpin finished speaking and the loud ringing noise returns and the feeling of darkness surrounds me as the floor gives way.

Date: 4/12

Location: Leblanc, Yongen

Hearing my alarm going off, I sit up in bed and reach for my phone to check the time and hopefully turn the noise off. After turning the alarm off, I realize that I slept in my uniform, but the more worrying thing was, was that my blazer was draped over one of the chairs and I immediately start checking to see if anything of mine was missing, I was happy to see that I was fine.

I stop all motion when I hear someone start to walk up the stairs, only to see James holding a cup of coffee and a small plate of curry. "Finally." He said as he walks into the attic proper. "I was wondering when you were going to turn that alarm off."

I watch with slightly wide eyes as he walks over to the small table near the booth like seat and places the cup and plate down and turn towards me. "I don't know what you did yesterday, but you were out like a light when I came up here to tell you that I was leaving and to tell you not to touch any of my coffee jars."

I don't respond and I kept on looking at him with the same expression as before, I probably looked like a right mess but I didn't care, I felt exposed knowing the fact that he (a person that I don't now at all) took my blazer off.

"Why… why did you remove my blazer?" I asked in a meek voice.

"I've slept like that before and a very close friend wasn't too happy when she found me." He says with a distant look in his eyes and a smile playing across his lips. Within an instant, the expression is gone and was replaced with a stern and annoyed look.

"Just don't expect this kind of treatment all the time. You got that?" James said and I remain quiet and nod my head. "Good." I watch as he turns and heads towards the stairs but stops when he reaches the top. "You should probably get changed, eat and drink that and get going, or you're going to be late."

I nod and mouth thank you and wait for him to disappear downstairs. When I hear the sound of some kitchen equipment start-up, I make a move to untangle myself from my quilt, when I finally do I remove the school jumper that I slept in and throw it on the booth seat and regret it as soon as it lands on the seat. I move quickly over toward the bit of Inaba that I brought with me to find one of the red shirts that I loved some much and an umbrella.

With a change of shirt, skirt, underwear and a pair of tights, I sit down and eat and drink the curry and coffee that James brought up for me. How he manages to be able to create such amazing food and drink that complement each other so well still baffles me.

With the curry and coffee gone, I realize that I must have kicked my school shoes off at some point during the night, I get up and go to the table by the stairs to grab my combat boot and begin the process of lacing them up. Once that task was done, I grab and put my blazer and my glasses on, with my bag, the plate and cup in hand, I head downstairs.

When I get downstairs, I saw James standing behind the counter with a frown on his face and a newspaper in his hands and a white-haired woman wearing an equally white suit sitting at the bar slowly drinking from the cup in front of her. 'You, are not Weiss, so I'm going to say sister?' I see James look over towards me when I walk past the TV and he nod over at the sink that is just inside the kitchen and I return the nod and place the plate and cup in there.

When I get the front door I stop and turn around to face James and say. "Thank you again, James-san." The look he gives me at first is of shock but then turns to happiness as he smiles wide and brightly and I can't help but think that I can change his opinion about me.

I hear a small chuckle come from the woman in white before she speaks up. "Even though she is not your own, you still treat her like she is."

'You know my name so who, the fuck, are you?'

Me and James look at the white-haired woman, him in shock and me with more questions being asked than answered. I was glad that James spoke up before the silences got too awkward. "I'm surprised to hear you say, Prosecutor Schnee. Just the other day you were in here threatening to take Penny away from me due to false accusations." By the time James had finished, he had crossed his arms with the newspaper forgotten on the floor and anger clear in his voice.

When I hear the word 'prosecutor', I feel my heart start to beat faster and my palms start to feel sweaty. 'What the hell is a prosecutor doing here? Did Weiss tell her sister about my criminal record and now she's here interrogate me?' Before my brain could continue down that train of thought, Prosecutor Schnee speaks up.

"Those accusations were made by her uncle, a blood relative nonetheless. But I've come to enjoy coming here for coffee and frankly, that uncle of hers is becoming a nuisance anyway." Blue eyes turn to look at me before she speaks again. "And yes, I know all about you and your situation Ruby Rose. The knight in shining armour look does not suit you at all."

'I'll show you'

I watch her check her watch and then look back at me. "Shouldn't you get going, school starts soon." I pull my phone out of my blazer pocket and see that she is right and with another thank you to James, I open and close the front door, pop my umbrella and jog to the train station.

Location: Shujin Academy, Aoyama-Itchome

How I manage to school on time was beyond me, but as I climb the stairs, a thought crosses my mind. 'What the fuck was that castle all about though?' As I reach the main entrance, I could hear the chatter of the students from outside and with a shake; I put the umbrella away and enter the school. That is when it goes quiet and whispers and rumours start up again.

"Wow… she actually showed up on time."

"Really, shit, I was hoping that she wasn't going to show."

"I've heard that she's' been having "fun" with the track traitor."

"WHAT! Really? I've heard that Belladonna-san is cheating on Taurus with her."

I manage to block the rest of them out and I start to wonder if it was the right choice in speaking to Belladonna-san the other day and dragging her into the fray. I keep my head down and my eyes locked to the floor, with the whispers and eyes following me as I make my way to classroom 2-D.

When I walked into the room, I notice that there was another student already sitting at one of the desks and he must have heard me open and close the door as he physically yelps in his chair and turns to look at me. Short blond messily hair frame a pair of shocked, dark blue eyes that lock on to me and a look of dread washes over his bruised and banged face.

He turns away from me just as quickly as before and I'm great full for silences as I make my way to my desk and sit down and wait for the inevitable onslaught of the day.

I was glad when lunchtime rolled around as it meant two things: 1. Food and 2. I could find somewhere that is nice and quiet. And seeing as food was the top priority, I grab my bag and headed for the only place I know where I can get food.

As soon as I make it to the ground floor I saw Sun walking straight towards me holding what looked like fried bread in its plastic bag in each hand. When he stops in front of me, he hands me one of the bread and tells me to follow him and then he walks in the direction of the stairs and starts to climb them two at a time.

I watch him disappear and I look at bread trying to remember what Sun wanted and when my brain clicks on to what he was on about. When I turned around to make a beeline for the stairs, that is when I feel a cold shiver down my spine and with a quick glance around and seeing most of the student body looking at me, I just duck my head again and walk as fast as I can to catch Sun up.

Arriving at the rooftop door, after having to ask the blond hair boy from before if he had seen Sun and finding out that Sun likes to hang out on the rooftop, I find a sign that states that the roof is off-limits but looking at the door, it looked unlocked. 'Strange to leave the door to the roof unlocked when it's meant to off-limits… then again Yasogami High allowed students on the roof all the time so…'

When I open the door, I spot Sun sitting there in one of the many chairs up here looking at his phone and with a foot resting on top of a desk as well, with the empty plastic bag sitting there nearby. With the noise of the door closing, he looks up at me with a furrowed brow and a steely gaze.

"Finally, there you are." Sun says as he puts his phone away, his face softens a bit. "Sorry for callin' you up here like this."

"No worries." I said as I moved over to one of the desks, put my bag down and lean against it. "I was planning on trying to find someplace quiet and out of the way, the library was my first thought."

Sun laughs before he speaks again. "Really? What are you a nerd?"

"I enjoy reading ok!" I said with a bit of offensiveness.

After Sun had finished laughing, he lifts his foot off of the desk and places it on the floor, leans forward and clasps both of his hands and looks up to me before speaking again. "I bet Toyoguchi-sensei already told you stuff like "don't get involved with him," huh?"

"She did mention something like that, that and that you're trouble." I respond.

"Toyoguchi-sensei is a great teacher and all, but she can get swept up in the rumours, she probably dislikes you already." After Sun said that, a long pause hits. 'What do you really want to talk about Sun?'

"So… What was all that that happened yesterday? You know, how we almost got killed in a castle… it wasn't a dream, right? You remember it too, yeah?" Sun finally ask me.

When he mentions the castle, the events of yesterday play out before like they just happened. I nod and weakly said. "Yeah."

"Well, just 'cause we both remember it doesn't mean much though. I mean, even if it was a dream you saved me from Taurus. So yeah… thanks, Ruby." He looks briefly at with a dusting of red on his cheeks and then looks down to the floor. 'Aww, he's embarrassed'

"It's nothing," I tell him. "You would have done the same thing if you were in my position."

"But man…" Sun starts, but we were interrupted by the door opening and I see Sun stand up with a scowl on his face and venom in his voice as he spoke. "What do you want Prez?" As I turn to face Weiss, fierce baby blue eyes burn into me and another cold shiver runs through me.

"You," She extends her left arm and points at Sun, who stood to the left of me. "…Wukong-san, should know by now that the rooftop is off-limits to almost everyone.

And you" She points at me briefly before she lowers her arm to her side. "…should know better than to hang around delinquents like Wukong-san."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sun take a step forward and before I knew what I was doing, my left arm snaps in front of Sun. I feel slight pressure against my arm before I see Sun step back and out of my sight. I take a couple of steps forward and after performing an over the top bow I spoke with a bit hostility in my voice. "I don't know what Sun has done to be labelled a delinquent, but other than you my Snow Princess, Sun has treated me like a normal teenager. So please don't judge a book by its cover."

Looking at Weiss's face and seeing the blush spread across her face in a rapid formation, it's then that I realize what I had just called her. 'Oh god, why did I have to call her that, now she's going to think that I'm a perv.' Feeling heat rise across my face, I start to feel warm whilst standing on the roof and the silence becomes deafening till she finally gains some composure.

"I-I'm g-going to pretend that I didn't that, but just be careful. Okay." We lock eyes for the briefest of moments but I could feel the warmth from her and I let a sunny smile dance across my lips and as turns to head back inside the school, my eyes follow her till the door closes and they remain there till I see Sun standing in front of me.

"Yo, what was that all 'bout? And calling the Prez "Snow Princess?" ...Wait, really? You have a thing for the Ice Queen?" Sun said and I couldn't help but feel like he has hit the nail on the head with that.

"I find her cute. Okay." I rub the back of my neck and look at the floor. "I've only met her twice, but I kind of like her." I look back up with a stern gaze at Sun. "Why did you call her Ice Queen?"

"She doesn't have that many friends because of her childhood, but other than the odd rumours, she top in nearly all of her classes and she only speaks to people when it helps her or the school out." He states and I try to commit it to memory.

It's then that I realize that this topic might become strange, so I change the subject. "I might know a way back to the castle." I said pulling my phone out and showing him the eye icon. "Its call the Metaverse Navigator, apparently it will let us travel to places like the castle. So if you want, we can go back there and try to figure out what that place is all about."

"Isn't that, that app from the other day?" I nod and the look he gives me is one of content and determination. "After what Taurus did to me, there has to be a way to take him down."

"Well let's meet up after school and we can find a way in." I said with a bit too much enthusiasm.

"Sure, we can… wait, what? You don't know how to use that Meta whatever?" A shocked look appears on Suns face.

"Of course I don't, I wasn't given an instruction book when I was told the name of the app." I said with pure annoyance.

I hear a loud groan from Sun as he turns around and forcefully pushes the chair that he was sitting on and into the others behind it, and with a clatter and clang of plastic chair on plastic chair, my danger sense flares up and I take a few steps back and raise my hands in defence.

"Woah, easy there Sun, we got there somehow, I'm sure we can get back there." I said in a hope that he clams down.

He turns around with a look anguish and I see him visible slump. "Fine." He said as he walks past me and back into the building, leaving me alone on the rooftop.

As I grab my bag, I take a brief look around the roof. "Yeah, this could do. Just need to move those vegetable plots and the chairs and desks and it should be fine." I then head back inside.

When the final bell rang to signal the end of the school day, I could be pleased as it meant no more chalk being thrown at me from Mr Oobleck. When I finally get outside the school, I saw Sun leaning up against the wall near the gate. As I make my descent down the stairs, I notice Sun motion to follow him into the alleyway and after arriving in the alleyway is when he finally speaks up.

"About time, was starting to think you were trying it on again with the Ice Queen." He said with a smirk.

'Please stop calling her that' "Nope, nothing like that. I don't even know where to begin with girls, to be honest." I replied and the look I get back from Sun is of disbelief.

"Don't look at me like that Sun, I thought we were here for another reason?" I asked hoping to try and change the subject once again.

"You're right. Let's try and take that bastard Taurus down!" Sun responded in a serious tone and look that I was not expecting from him.

I take my phone out of my pocket and find the Metaverse Navigator app. "So, last time, the app opened suddenly before you showed up Sun." I open the app and was greeted by a weird-looking UI. When I look up, I see Sun leaning up against the wall, with his bag on the floor and a half-eaten banana in his hands.

"So how'd we end at that castle then?" He asked as he eats the last bit of the banana and throws the peel into an open trash can and after a fist pump when the peel goes in, he turns and grabs my phone out of hand and starts to press way on the screen.

"Oh, hay! I found your search history." He turns my phone around and shows me that, yes, there is a search history. "Oh man, I'm such a genius!" He said with so much enthusiasm that I decided to let him have this one. "Let's try usin' it." After he said that the synthetic voice speaks up from my phone again.

"Taurus… Shujin Academy… Pervert… Castle… Beginning navigation."