She allowed herself to don a wide, toothy smile as her letter came in signifying her acceptance into Saunders Academy. Of course, she didn't scream and shout in joy, even if she wanted to, as the last thing she wanted to do was bring attention to herself. Finally, she wouldn't be living in an alleyway anymore! She'd have dorms, a real bed, real food, real clothes, a real life out of the slums!

To say she was excited might be the understatement of the year, after all, having lived in such a rough place for the last ten years of her life, even school food and stiff beds would be a huge improvement over trash can scraps and a bed of piled clothing scraps with a tattered old rug for a blanket. She could imagine it all now, air conditioning, a heater, a roof over her head that wasn't leaking, real friends, and new knowledge she could use to have a career after her years there were over.

"Let's see..." Ruby mumbled to herself as she read the letter. Having been kicked out of the house at six not even a week after her mother's death, she'd been forced to endure ten whole years with nobody looking after her. She learned quickly not to trust anyone, and that the only person she could rely on was herself, that she had to fend for herself. Nobody would help a pariah like her, someone who was physically incapable of manifesting an aura, much less a semblance.

"Classes start in one month, but for those in less desirable conditions, this letter contains a burn card with instructions to permit early entrance into temporary dormitories... nice!" She read under her breath, before looking into the letter and pulling out the card. "Okay, so... burn the card in a legal airship landing site, and await pickup. Upon bullhead arrival, show the letter to Bullhead Operators, upon confirmation, you will be allowed to board, and taken to the Academy following any other pickup requests that occur within the time of the burn card's activation. Seems straightforward, I guess."

Quietly, she stowed the letter in her jacket, put on her best clothes (which consisted of a dirty tank-top, a beat up denim jacket, and faded blue jeans that were torn along the knees), tied her hair back into a ponytail, grabbed her lighter, and headed off towards the airport...

She showed the airport staff the burn card, and while they accepted her request to burn the card at one of the landing pads, they first took the precaution of following her out, and burning the card themselves, then confiscating the lighter. In all honesty, she was fine with this, as it was just one of those cheap plastic ones that came a dime a dozen, and was almost out of fluid anyways. So, she followed them out to the pad and let them burn the card without question, then was more than content enough to sit on one of the benches and wait.

The pads were wide, spacious, and allowed for a total of eight airships to land on either side at any given time. The pad was currently empty, as it was usually only busy on weekends when hunters in training or normal students like herself would shuttle to and from school. Given today was a Wednesday, most Hunters in Training were either at the academy studying for the starting year, or sleeping outside the academy at a hotel or whatnot for a breath of fresh air.

"Oh, look. It's this little failure. Great." She groaned as she recognized the voice of a girl who used to be her older half-sister, Yang Xiao Long. The girl had always been an ass towards her since she was born simply because she was different. She only got worse with their mother's death, and she continued to constantly bully her even after she was kicked out of the house by their father. Sixteen years of torment, so much reason to hate the blonde bitch.

"Why the hell is this little slut waiting in a place for people that matter? Doesn't she know she's in the way?" This time the voice belonged to a girl around Yang's age that their father had become an adoptive parent for, who only came into the family a week after she herself was exiled. She was effectively her replacement, with red hair, green eyes, and was just as nasty towards Ruby as Yang was to boot. Turning around, Ruby gave them a bored expression, before shaking her head and continuing to gaze up towards the skies.

"Hey, moron. We're addressing you, you should be honored." Yang growled, getting nothing save a scoff from Ruby.

"I was accepted into Saunders, not that that's any of your business. I activated a burn card sent with the acceptance letter and now I'm awaiting an airship's arrival."

"Watch your tone, bitch." Yang growled angrily, not fond of Ruby's dismissive tone. "Would be a shame if someone were to... I dunno... tear up that acceptance letter of yours." She threatened, making Ruby laugh.

"Thin-skinned as ever I see. Go blow one of your simps, why don't you, we all know you give better head than you do punches!" Ruby taunted, before flicking her head towards a camera that was watching them. "Go ahead and try me. The moment you try to hit me, you'll be arrested before the thought of a follow-up strike can even cross your mind!"

The buxom blonde took a step forward, raising her fist with a look of pure anger playing across her face, but was stopped by her adoptive sister...

"Don't fall for such obvious bait, Yang. If the little failure wants to shame herself in front of an academy as big as Saunders, I say we let her go right ahead." She stated with a smug look, getting a chuckle out of Yang...

"Ah... You're right, Roxy." She said with a sigh, before looking down at Ruby once more. "You being shamed in such a way would be far more satisfying than simply punching you. We'll be awaiting your dropout eagerly, bitch!"

"You'll be disappointed." Ruby mumbled, before snapping her attention to her right as an airship began touching down, docking with the platform. On the door it bore a white star with a lightning bolt in the middle over a black shield, with a sort of banner running underneath the star bearing the name of Saunders Academy. Quietly, she stood upright and walked up the the bullhead as it touched down, not bothering to give the two bimbos any more attention as she pulled the acceptance letter out of the pocket in her jacket, handing it to a tall man as he stepped out of the Airship...

"So... you're Ruby Rose, eh? Bit dirtier than expected, but that's fine. We got new clothes and showers aboard, we'll take you to the academy after we stop to pick up a few more requesting a lift. Should have you at the academy by tomorrow though." He responded to the letter, before gesturing for her to come aboard. She did so without question, more than content to leave her ex-family in the dust for now...

Lounging around in the airship wasn't entirely boring, having a fresh change of clothes after a nice hot shower using plenty of stuff in it to get rid of her horrible smell that she'd gone blind to was nice, especially since this was the first time she'd had a shower or clean clothes in years. Her new clothes consisted of a white dress shirt, a light gray suit jacket, a black tie, a red skirt that reached about midway down her thighs, stockings that reached up to about two or three inches below her knees, and finished with a pair of black uniform shoes. To top it all off, she was finally able to clean up her hair thoroughly, ultimately deciding to let it run loose as long as it was brushed out of her face, ending about midway down her shoulder blades.

Taking another look at herself in her reflection, she smiled contently with how she'd cleaned up. Whistling a small tune to herself, she stuffed her hands into her pockets while nonchalantly gazing out the window of the ship at the passing lands a few kilometres below them. They were on their way towards Atlas as of that moment to pick up another person accepted into Saunders, though if she were to guess, them being from Atlas probably meant they were in an advanced class or something, not that they wouldn't be sharing a few core classes together or anything.

She wasn't worried, after all, it's not like it mattered, it wasn't like she was eager to make friends or anything like that. All she had to focus on was her own success at the end of the day. That and that alone was all that mattered, all that would ever matter... but she certainly wouldn't mind making friends in the process.

The next couple of hours flew by without much to say, but finally, around 7:30 PM, they touched down in Atlas ever so briefly, touching off as soon as the five boys and girls stepped aboard, most prominent among them a boy of slim build, short white hair, pale skin and icy blue eyes. He wore a grey suit vest over a dress shirt of a much lighter shade of the same color with sleeves that ended just before his elbows, dark grey dress pants, and black dress shoes similar to the ones she herself was wearing.

She didn't know why he drew her eyes, nor was aware of who he was, but it only took about a minute for her to find the moving landscape interesting once again. The last thing Ruby needed on her mind was a boy she'd never even interacted with, much less a boy who looked so fragile. Hadn't he ever even tried weight training, she wondered? Perhaps that was just the mind of a girl who'd grown up on the streets most her life, a large man was generally far more imposing, demanded more respect when face-to-face.

"Well, hello there." A soft yet unmistakably male voice called to her from behind. Turning about to see who called, she was surprised to see the boy she'd previously found interesting to be approaching her.

"Oh? You're approaching me? Instead of speaking with those you came aboard with, you're coming right to me?" She inquired just loud enough that he'd hear her.

"I can't interact with the only mildly intriguing person here without getting closer, now, can I?" He replied smugly, getting a slight smirk out of Ruby.

"Oh ho! Then come as close as you like!" She replied boisterously, before turning back towards the passing scenery as he stood beside her. They both shared a small moment of fleeting silence before he turned his gaze from the scenery back to her face, raising an eyebrow.

"You... do not have the air about you that most I've met have." He opened, successfully capturing her attention. "I wonder what it is though..." He took another moment to look her up and down, before narrowing his eyes and scratching his chin, finally snapping his fingers and widening his eyes as he donned a look of realization. "Ah, you're an orphan, right? Living off the streets most your life, I'd say. Am I wrong?"

"Hmph, you're not, but I'm not exactly an orphan, more... disowned, if you will. I have at least one parent alive, even if we hate each others' guts." She answered, getting an intrigued look out of the boy.

"Ah, interesting... I should introduce myself, yes? Whitley Schnee, youngest of the Schnee family."

"Ruby Rose. A pleasure." She responded in as polite a tone as she could manage, raising out her hand for him to shake.

"Likewise." He met her grip, giving her hand a firm shake before letting go. "I rarely get to interact with those born into less fortunate families like yourself. It's rather boring always dealing with the spoiled brats of wealthy politicians and business owners, though I suppose I myself have rather little room to speak being that I might be considered one myself."

"Well, you're the first I've met that had the balls to approach me, so, bonus points." She remarked sarcastically, getting in kind a small chuckle from Whitley.

"And you're the first person I've met that didn't suck-up to me the moment you heard my name. I like that." His face held a full smirk across it, and his hand was formed into a tight fist with thumb upright. "Let's be friends, I think we'd both do well to have a friend unlike the norm."

"I suppose you're not wrong about that..." She finished, before looking back out the window, somewhat unsure of how to carry the conversation. While she grew up on the streets and had all the street smarts she needed to survive in such a place, she'd always preferred to keep to herself if it was at all possible. Socializing wasn't her strong suit, so she'd rather stick to her guns instead, keep to what she was good at.

"So, what clubs are you joining?" He inquired.

"Eh?"

"You know, clubs! You have to try out for at least three to stay, they make up our mandatory electives for the eight years we'll be there... well, you can change clubs, but that's a lot of boring paperwork." He answered, adorning a surprised look. "I must say, I'm shocked that you didn't know about that. I mean, I get that you grew up on the streets, but how much about this Academy do you not know about already?"

"Eh, I was just planning on adapting to situations as they came my way. No point overthinking things."

"That... is a most amusing strategy. Let me know how it works out for you, yes?"

"Sure, why not. Anyways, what about you?" Ruby bounced the question back, receiving a smirk in response.

"Oh, nothing particularly unique, I assure you. Business marketing and management, economics, and political science. I'm planning on joining a few more clubs since three is the minimum, but none that are worth mentioning." He replied smoothly, before bringing up his scroll and bringing up the list of clubs.

"Club listing, eh?"

"Yes, see any that strike your fancy?"

"Not really. Not much here that really strikes me as interesting." She thought internally, scanning her eyes over the listings. There had to be at least two or three hundred clubs to choose from, though so many just seemed so... dull. Eventually, her eyes wandered over a tab titled "Cheerleader Club," which slightly piqued her interest as something that at least looked fun and engaging. "Cheerleader club looks kinda fun..."

She continued to scan over the list, stopping on another that seemed like it would be fun, that being Arms & Armor Development. "Arms and Armor Dev. looks like it would be fun, and..." She continued to scan over the list, though everything else just seemed so... dull. There was nothing else worth mentioning in her eyes, none that would satisfy her bore-

"Why not the Mercenary Guild?" Whitley offered, getting Ruby's genuine attention and a wide grin.

"Oh? Mercenary Guild? THAT sounds Fun!" Ruby exclaimed, though got a quiet chuckle from Whitley in response.

"Only thing is, the Merc squads are VERY selective in those they accept... Being that you're a Pariah, getting in is a really slim chance. You'd have to beat someone who has an aura, and quite possibly a semblance in hand-to-hand combat to even be considered. I'd recommend something like Guitar as a backup."

"Hmmm... yeah, that sounds good. I can already play the guitar without any issue, picked it up when I was around... nine?" She thought back, before shaking the thought off. "Eh, guess taking a guitar class wouldn't hurt anyways. Practice makes perfect, after all, and I do enjoy playing a 9-string."

They continued to idly converse about small things, hobbies and the sort, for the next few hours, before eventually nodding off and hitting the hay in the respective rooms they were assigned to while on the airship, each's mind filled with thoughts of their respective interests as they drifted off...

Ruby awoke only about thirty minutes from touch-down, quickly fixing her hair and and uniform and washing her face before stepping out to greet the morning sun out the window. They'd stopped in Vacuo and Mistral while she'd taken Z's, and now they were on the furthest South island of the world, "bottom of the world" some called it. Weather in Fall, Weather and Spring was pretty much just one thing. Stormy. And Summer brought light rain, a bright sun and cloudy skies. Best part of the island? There wasn't any Grimm. It was first inhabited by the people who'd made the city that the Academy got it's name from, New Saunders, and they were already rather selective about who they let on the island anyways, so it wasn't as if a bunch of people from the kingdoms could just migrate there and expect to not be warded off.

Stepping off the airship, she was greeted by the fresh smell of boiling magma and the sea breeze. It was a pleasant change of scenery, she had to say, especially coming from downtown Vale. The Academy, however, was easily the most imposing thing there. Several large rings circling around Mt. Vulcan, the towering cinder cone volcano in the center of the island, made up the majority of the facility, with the central entrance to the academy being almost castle-like opening up to a wide central road that lead all the way down to the docks. If she remembered correctly, the first three rings were the dormitories, the fourth was the cafeteria, the fifth was the Rec center, and every ring over that was reserved for classes and clubs, with the very top being for student council and staff stuff. On top of all else, every ring was five levels, and there was a total of 21 rings.

"105 levels... I'm glad the layout of this academy is really straightforward, because I'd be doomed if not for that." She muttered to herself, before sauntering forward, eventually breaking into a jog to catch up to her first friend...

"Yo, Whitley, wait up!" Ruby called, successfully making Whitley slow his pace so she could catch up.

"Hello Ruby. Glad you woke up in time." He snarked jokingly, getting a coarse laugh from the little redhead.

"Pfft. As if I could miss this. I really can't wait!" Ruby was pumped, and one didn't have to know her well to see that. Today she'd put in for the clubs she was interested in and try out for the Mercenary Guild. Fortunately, the only other thing on her list that required a tryout was cheerleader club, but since she was already extremely flexible, agile, and had great balance on top of good looks, she wasn't concerned in the slightest.

The Mercenary guild was the only one she was slightly worried about. Sure, she'd fought her fair share of fights. She'd taken down guys WAY bigger than she was, but those were all street fights, and she didn't always win, in fact she learned how to fight from getting her ass kicked so many times. Now she was entering something else entirely. Surely, some of the people trying out would be from academies like Signal, so some match-ups might just be really, really bad...

No matter. she had her goal, and she'd be damned if she blew it. If there was one thing she had above anyone else, it was the relentlessness and determination to win. There was no other option, she had to win, and keep on winning. Only when she knew total victory and stood upon the summit would she know real satisfaction, and she swore she'd crush anyone who stood between her and that much.