As Ruby and Azure entered the Beacon amphitheatre, a voice called out to Ruby. "Ruby over here!" The two turned to see a blonde girl waving to Ruby. "I saved you a spot!"
"Oh! That's my sister, Yang, I gotta go! I'll see you after the ceremony!" Ruby said as she waved while running to her sister.
"See ya!" Azure waved back. "I better go find Weiss," Azure said to himself.
"How's your first day going, little sister?" Yang asked Ruby.
"You mean since you ditched me and I went crashing down!?" Ruby says with her arms crossed, clearly still pissed that she was left alone.
"Yikes, meltdown already?" Yang asked.
"No, I literally crashed and almost caused an explosion in front of the school," Ruby explains.
"Are you being sarcastic?" Yang asked in a teasing voice, not completely believing her younger sister.
"Ugh. I wish, I tripped and crashed over some crabby girl and a dreamy boy's luggage, and then the girl yelled at me! And then the boy helped me up! And then the girl yelled again! And I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!" Ruby rambled, not realizing that Weiss was right behind her.
"You!" Weiss yelled.
"Oh god, it's happening again!" Ruby shouted in surprise as she jumped into Yang's arm bridal style.
"You're lucky my Dust did not blow us off the side of the cliff when you crashed into it!" Weiss yelled at Ruby.
"Oh my god, you really did crash." Yang comments.
"It was an accident! " Ruby defended herself as Yang set her down. Weiss then pulled out a pamphlet with a headline that said 'Dust for dummies'.
"What's this?" Ruby asked confused.
"That is a pamphlet for new users using the Schnee Dust Company product." Azure chimed in as he walked to the group. Ruby smiled widely, which was taken notice of by Yang. "It's actually something Weiss could read herself."
"What?! Why are you even on her side?! I use Dust all the time! You know that!" Weiss yelled at Azure.
"And yet, when you were yelling at Ruby back at the front of the school, you were also shaking highly explosive FIRE Dust," Azure said as Ruby and Yang started chuckling.
"So that's Dreamy Boy, huh," Yang whispered into Ruby's ears, causing Ruby to blush immensely. She hadn't realized that she called Azure Dreamy Boy in front of her sister. Now that Yang knew, Ruby knew that her sister was going to make fun of her for a long time.
"I- ugh!" Weiss knowing she had lost to her brother, decided to focus her attention back on Ruby. "Read this and never talk to me ever again." Weiss gave the pamphlet to Ruby.
"Look uh … it sounds like you two got off the wrong foot! Why don't you guys start over and try to be friends?" Yang suggested, trying to defuse the whole situation.
"Yeah! Great idea, sis!" Ruby turned to Weiss and offers a handshake. "Hello, Weiss! I'm Ruby! Want to hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies."
"Yeah, and we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys, like tall, blonde and scraggly over there," Weiss said in a sarcastic tone while pointing towards a blonde boy behind her.
"Oh wow really?" Ruby asked, not picking up the sarcastic tone.
"NO," Weiss said sternly. Ruby looked down in disappointment while Azure facepalmed.
After Professor Ozpin gave his speech to the new students, which felt pretty weird to Azure, the students were sent to the ballroom to spend the night preparing for tomorrow's initiation.
"It's like a big slumber party!" Yang said enthusiastically as she lay on her sleeping bag next to Ruby. The two of them were in their pyjamas, getting ready to sleep.
"I don't think Dad would approve of all of the boys, though," Ruby said, who was busy writing.
"I know I do," Yang said as she purred while looking at some of the hot guys who were top-naked in the ballroom. But someone, in particular, catches her eye. Yang then smiled mischievously at her younger sister. "And once you see what I see, I know you definitely will."
"What are you talking about?" Ruby looked at her older sister curiously. Yang then turned Ruby's head to face someone in a certain direction. Ruby's eyes widened and started to blush immensely as she finally understood what and who Yang was talking about. Azure was top naked and was only wearing long light blue track pants. He has an average body build and toned muscles and abs. Ruby couldn't help but stare at Azure as he walked by, heading to his sleeping bag.
"Told ya." Yang winked at Ruby, earning a pillow thrown to her face. Ruby then returned to writing.
"What's that?" Yang asked curiously.
"It's my dairy. I thought it would be nice to write down the things that happened during our time in Beacon." Ruby answered as she continued writing.
"That's so cuteeeeeeee. Are you gonna write about Dreamy Boy?" Yang asked teasingly.
"Shut up!" Ruby threw another pillow at Yang's face. "I don't have a lot of friends, to begin with, and it's weird not knowing anyone here," Ruby said, choosing to ignore the Dreamy Boy comment.
"What about Azure? Despite your feelings for him, I'm sure you can count him as a friend. There you go, plus one friend!" Yang said in an attempt to cheer up her sister.
"I'm pretty sure his sister, Weiss, counts as a 'negative friend'. Back to zero." Ruby said in defeat as she lay back in her sleeping bag.
"There's no such thing as 'negative friends'. You just made one friend and one enemy." Yang said jokingly, earning yet another pillow to the face. "Look, it's only been one day. Trust me, you've got friends all around you. You just haven't met them." Yang said. A candle lights up, catching the attention of the sisters. They turned to see Blake in her pyjamas reading a book in a corner.
"It's Blake," Ruby said, recognizing her.
"You know her?" Yang asked.
"Not really. She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything." Ruby explained.
"Well, now's your chance!" Yang got up and started dragging her sister.
"W- wait! What are you doing?" Ruby tried to resist but Yang, being the stronger of the two, managed to drag her sister along.
"Hellooooooo!" Yang waved to Blake while Ruby continued to resist. Blake lowers her book to see what was going on. "I believe you two may know each other," Yang said while Ruby faced away with her arms crossed, still pissed at Yang.
"Aren't you that girl that crashed into the luggage?" Blake asked as she focused her attention on Ruby as she turned to face Blake.
"Uh yeah. My name is Ruby." Ruby offered a handshake, only for Blake to look back at her book. Taking the hint, Ruby took back her hand. There was a moment of silence, neither Ruby nor Blake spoke.
"What are you doing?" Yang whispered to Ruby.
"I don't know, help me," Ruby whispered back, clueless about what to do.
"So, you're Blake, right?" Yang asked with a smile.
"Yes," Blake answered, looking back up with an uninterested face.
"Well Blake, I'm Yang. Ruby's older sister! I like your bow! It goes great with your…. Pyjamas." Yang said, struggling to form a conversation with Blake.
"Right. Thanks." Blake answers in a monotone voice.
"Nice night, don't you think?" Yang still trying to form a conversation with Blake.
"Yes, it's lovely. Almost as lovely as this book that I will continue to read as soon as you leave." Blake said, hinting for them to leave her alone.
"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause," Yang commented while turning to Ruby, giving up.
"What's it about?" Ruby asked Blake.
"Huh?" Blake blinked while looking at Ruby.
"Your book. Does it have a name?" Ruby continued to ask.
"Well…. It's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body." Blake was a little surprised that someone was showing interest in her books.
"Oh yeah… that's lovely," Yang commented, finding Blake's taste in books a little weird.
"I love books. My mum and Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters. Yang would even, at times, add herself into the story where she's the hero." Ruby let out a small laugh at the last sentence while Yang scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "They're one of the reasons why I want to be a huntress," Ruby explained.
"Why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake asked with a hint of mockery, which goes unnoticed by Ruby.
"I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books. Someone who fought for what was right and who protected the people who couldn't protect themselves." Ruby said with confidence.
"That's very ambitious," Blake said with a smile. She was happy to see someone who still hoped and dreamed for a bright future. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale. We don't always get a happily ever after." Blake continued with a sad face.
"Well, that's why we're here. To make it better. To make those happy endings come true." Ruby smiled as Blake couldn't help but return the smile at Ruby's optimism.
"Oh, I'm so proud of my baby sister!" Yang said proudly as she bear-hugged Ruby. Ruby, however, was embarrassed by this.
"Cut it out!" Ruby exclaimed, throwing a punch at Yang. The two sisters started to have a mini brawl while Blake chuckled at the two sisters.
"Well Ruby, Yang. It's a pleasure to " Blake got cut off by a sleepy and extremely annoyed Weiss, who was in her pyjamas.
"What in the world is going on over here!?" Weiss exclaimed while rubbing her eyes as the two sisters stopped their fight. "Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep!?" Weiss said in frustration, not yet realizing who she was talking to.
After taking a second, Weiss's eyes open wide, recognizing Ruby and Yang.
"Oh, not you again!" Both Yang and Weiss exclaimed in anger.
"Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!" Ruby said, siding with Weiss.
"Oh, now you're on my side," Weiss commented sarcastically.
Blake rolled her eyes in defeat. She knew she was not going to be able to stop them, so she was going to get ready to sleep. She placed her book down and blew out her candle.
"I was always on your side!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Yeah, What's your problem with my sister!? She's only trying to be nice!" Yang yelled, defending her sister.
"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss exclaimed in anger.
"Alright, that's enough!" Azure yelled, catching the attention of Ruby, Yang, and Weiss. "Tomorrow is a big day for all of us. So instead of fighting each other, let's all get some sleep." Azure finished sternly.
Weiss stared at the two sisters for a moment with anger. She walked away and headed back to her sleeping bag.
Azure sighed out loud while pinching his temple. He turned to Ruby and Yang mouthing 'sorry' to them before following his sister.
"I don't understand! How can you tolerate those people!? They're so annoying and noisy, and they are nothing but a bunch of dimwits!" Weiss complained to Azure as she lay in her sleeping bag.
"They're just trying to be nice. Besides, if you ask me, you're not that much different from Ruby." Azure said, digging through his bag.
"What! I'm nothing like her!" Weiss said as she folded her arms and looked at Azure, shocked that her brother would even say something like that. "Name something that dolt and I have in common."
"Well ….you're both left-handed," Azure said jokingly.
"Yeah, and we both have noses, hair, and fingers," Weiss commented sarcastically.
"I mean, you both do," Azure replied, earning a pillow thrown to his face. "Look, it's just the first day. Give her a chance. You may never know. She might surprise you." Azure said, trying to persuade Weiss.
"You're only saying that because you have a crush on her," Weiss commented as Azure blushed and looked at Ruby, preparing to sleep.
"That may be true, but that shouldn't stop you from giving her a chance," Azure continued to dig through his bag until he finally found what he was looking for. "Here." Azure passed a small box to Weiss.
"What's this?" Weiss asked.
"Open it," Azure said as he lay down on his sleeping bag.
Weiss opened the box to find multiple sets of earplugs. She then looked at her brother, who was smiling back at her. "I'll agree on one thing. They can be pretty noisy." Azure said as he took a set for himself, preparing to sleep.
"Thank you, Azure." Weiss thanked her brother with a smile before taking a set for herself. Despite their differences, she could always count on Azure.
"You're welcome," Azure replied as the twins put on their earplugs and fell asleep.
The next day, before anyone else had woken up, Azure started training outside the ballroom. He had always been an early riser. With nothing better to do, he might as well get some training and exercise in. He was currently practising his semblance and skills with Ocean.
For his final move, he held Ocean in a reverse hand grip and channelled his aura into it. He sliced the air, firing an arc of aura into the sky. Azure then sheathed Ocean back into its sheath.
"You've improved greatly since we last met, Lapis Snow." A voice called out from behind. Azure smiled, recognizing that voice. There's only one person who called him that.
"Well, it's been 5 years since we met. It would be pretty embarrassing if I didn't." Azure turned to face the person. "After all, I still haven't had my rematch with you, Pyrrha." The two laughed as they embraced each other in a quick hug.
"It's so good to see you again, Azure!" Pyrrha exclaimed in happiness as they pulled away.
"It's good to see you too. How have you been?" Azure asked in excitement.
"I've been great! Though life as a celebrity can be pretty tough. The media keeps asking me about my personal life." Pyrrha answered.
"Tell me about it, the media are always asking me about being the 'ostracised son'. It gets so annoying!" Azure complained, relating to Pyrrha's problem.
"Guess that is the life of being famous," Pyrrha commented. "Although I haven't had a decent challenge ever since we fought in the Mistral tournament 5 years ago," Pyrrha said with a smirk.
Picking up the hint, Azure stared at Pyrrha for a moment. "Is that a challenge?" Azure asked with a big smile on his face.
"What are rivals for?" Pyrrha answered with a question and drew her weapons, Miló and Akoúo̱. Azure unsheathed Ocean and gets ready.
"First hit wins," Azure said, and Pyrrha nodded.
The two got into their battle stances. They charged at each other as their swords clashed with one another. Azure channelled his aura into his arms, overpowering Pyrrha. Pyrrha got knocked back and took a step back, while Azure tried to back kick Pyrrha. Pyrrha blocked the kick with Akoúo̱, though the attack was strong enough to push her back.
Not giving her time to breathe, Azure fired multiple blue aura blasts at Pyrrha. Pyrrha changed Miló into its javelin form and blocked and deflected the aura blast. Azure then formed an energy blade in his left hand. Channelling his aura into his legs, he dashed toward Pyrrha and unleashed a fury of slashes from all directions.
This was bad for Pyrrha, she would normally use her semblance to slightly shift any attacks ensuring she would not be hit. Since Azure was using an energy blade made out of his aura, not metal, she could only rely on her skills to block or deflect his attack.
Azure tried to go low and aimed for her leg, only for Pyrrha to backflip into the air. Pyrrha threw Akoúo̱ at Azure, which Azure knocked aside with Ocean. Pyrrha then changed Miló into a rifle and started shooting at Azure. Azure dissolved his energy sword and formed an aura shield blocking her shots. Pyrrha did not let up and continued firing.
Azure found this weird, Pyrrha had always prefered close combat. Before Azure could figure out what was going on, Akoúo̱ came in from the side and knocked on Azure's hand, which was forming the shield, causing the shield to dissolve. Using this chance, Pyrrha charged in and did a flying sidekick at Azure. Surprised, Azure barely blocked the kick with Ocean. While still in the air, Pyrrha changed Miló back into its javelin form and fired it at Azure. Having no time to react, Milò hits Azure in the chest, knocking him to the ground.
"Ow," Azure said as he lay defeated. Pyrrha laughed as she called back her weapons using her semblance. She then picked up Ocean and offered a hand to Azure which he accepted.
"That was fun. You almost came close to landing a hit too." Pyrrha said with a big smile.
"I probably could've if your semblance wasn't so annoying to deal with! Like seriously, polarity!?" Azure said as he dusted himself off. Pyrrha then passed Ocean to Azure where he sheathed it.
"At least you managed to figure out a way to overcome it," Pyrrha said, trying to cheer Azure up.
"Yeah, I know. I'm still gonna beat you one day." Azure says with conviction.
Pyrrha let out a small chuckle. "I'm sure you will. Come on, it's almost time for breakfast. I heard the school pancakes are to die for." Pyrrha said as the two head to the cafeteria.
Ruby was sitting on the bench in the locker room, looking at the floor with a depressed face. Yang approached her, recognizing that Ruby was pretty down in the dumps.
"What's wrong sis?" Yang asked. Ruby looked up at Yang and sighed.
"It's just that yesterday was a bit of a mess. Rumour has it that they're using today's initiation to split the class into teams." Ruby explained.
"Ah right, that. I hear your teammates become your roommates too. It's gonna be rough for you, given how shy you are." Yang commented.
"I just don't know what I'll do if you're not on my team." Losing confidence, tears started to form around Ruby's eyes. "I'm just not sure if I can do this," Ruby admitted.
Yang looked at Ruby with sadness, she didn't know what to say. So Yang did what she does best and changed the mood of the situation.
"How about teaming up with Dreamy Boy, Azure?" Yang teased Ruby.
"Yang!" Ruby yelled at Yang with a bright red blush on her face. Yang started laughing at Ruby's reaction.
"Just remember what you're here for. This is all to become the huntress of your dream, right? If you want to grow, you're going to have to meet new people and learn to work together." Yang said, encouraging and comforting Ruby.
"Ugh, now you sound like dad," Ruby whined, her mood brightening up a bit thanks to Yang. Something then caught Yang's attention, and she started to giggle.
"Hey look, I think vomit boy is trying to flirt with Ice Queen," Yang said. Ruby turned her head to see what was going on.
"Would you mind not sticking to me like glue, Jaune!?" Weiss yelled at a blonde boy holding a flower, trying to flirt with her.
"Aww, don't be like that, Snow Angel. The instant I spotted you yesterday, I felt it. The call of destiny." Jaune continued to flirt as Weiss actively tried to walk away from him. "Don't you see? You are a princess, and I am your knight in shining armour."
"When I find myself in need of a knight who reeks of vomit, you'll be the first to know," Weiss said, blowing Jaune off.
Jaune's self-esteem shattered at Weiss's comment, causing him to fall back comically. Luckily, Pyrrha was behind him to stop him from falling.
"Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked.
"I'm fine, thanks. Um, who are you exactly?" Jaune asked.
"Ah sorry, my name is -." Pyrrha was about to answer, only for Weiss to interject.
"Really Jaune? You don't recognize Pyrrha Nikos?" Weiss asked in disbelief.
"Not in the slightest, Snow Angel," Jaune said while still trying to flirt with Weiss.
"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum Academy. She's won the Mistral regional tournament four times in a row, a new record." Weiss explained, only for Jaune to not recognize any of the achievements Pyrrha had made.
"She's on the front of the Pumpkin Pete's Packaging." Azure chimed in as he walked towards the group.
"That's you! They only do that for star athletes to go on those boxes!" Jaune exclaimed in excitement.
"Yeah, it was pretty cool. It isn't very healthy though." Pyrrha said.
"Where have you been?" Weiss, in a slightly frustrated voice, asked Azure.
"I er…. might have had too many pancakes from breakfast," Azure said in embarrassment while Weiss facepalmed. Sometimes she can't believe that Azure is her brother.
"So, after hearing all of this, do you think you can get her to be on your team? She's my top pick, and I doubt I'm the only one." Weiss asked Jaune with a stern voice.
"I guess not.. sorry," Jaune said as he gloomed over.
"Actually, Jaune, I think you make a great teammate," Pyrrha said, trying to cheer Jaune up.
"Ohhh, stop it!" Jaune said, flustered by Pyrrha's comment.
"Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behaviour should not be encouraged." Weiss said, reprimanding Pyrrha.
"Sounds like Pyrrha is on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quickly. So what do you say, wanna join my team, Snow Angel?" Jaune continued to flirt with Weiss as he moved closer to her.
"Alright, that's a bit too close," Weiss said as she tried to step back, clearly uncomfortable with Jaune's approach.
"Come on, Snow Angel. I assure you, I'm worth it." Jaune continued flirting and moved even closer to Weiss.
"Hey, back away from my sister!" Azure pushed Jaune away and stepped between him and Weiss. "Look, I understand that you find my sister attractive, and you're doing the whole confidence act. But there is such a thing as overconfidence, and you're making her uncomfortable. So tone down a little and back off!" Azure glared at Jaune.
"Woah, okay. I'm sorry. Message received." Jaune backed away in fear. If there was one thing Jaune knew was to never fight with a brother who was protecting his sister.
"Thank you, Azure," Weiss said from behind Azure.
Before things could go on, Professor Glynda, announces, using the speakers, that all first-year students were to report to Beacon Cliff.
"It was nice meeting you, Jaune," Pyrrha said as she left the locker room with Weiss joining her.
"Likewise," Jaune replied.
Jaune sighed and looked down gloomily. He faced up and looked at Azure. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to make your sister uncomfortable." Jaune apologized to Azure.
"Oh, don't worry about it." Azure smiled at Jaune. Jaune looked at Azure with a surprised face.
"You're not mad?" Jaune had expected Azure to be pissed at him for being too close to his sister. Azure being friendly towards him was the last thing he expected.
"Only a little. Guys have been flirting with her because of the perks of our family name. You're the first to approach her because you genuinely find her attractive. Although your approach is a little excessive," Azure explained.
"I can't believe there are guys that shallow," Jaune commented. "Then do you think I have a chance?" Jaune asked. It was risky to ask Azure about his chances with his sister, but he knew Weiss the best. In Jaune's mind, it was a risk worth taking.
"Try getting to know her first, then see how it goes from there," Azure said, giving Jaune advice. Normally, Azure would not give out advice to guys trying to flirt with his sister. However, since Jaune was the first to genuinely like Weiss, he thought he might as well give Jaune a chance. He did seem like a good guy to Azure.
"Thanks. By the way, how did you know I wasn't flirting because of your family name?" Jaune asked curiously.
"You didn't know who Pyrrha was, there's no way you would recognize that my sister is a Schnee," Azure explained.
"What's a Schnee?" Jaune asks, clueless about the family name.
"My point exactly. We should go, we don't want to be late," Azure says as the two leave the locker room.
Ruby and Yang watched as Jaune and Azure left.
Ruby sighed out loud. "I wish I was as sociable as Azure," Ruby commented.
"Why? So you can get closer to Dreamy Boy?" Yang teased her sister.
"It's not like that!" Ruby said as her face blushed again. "It's just that, if I was as sociable as Azure, I wouldn't have a hard time talking to people," Ruby explained as she looked at the floor.
"That's why we are here, Ruby. We are here to learn. Learn to make friends, learn to talk to people, learn to work as a team." Yang explains in an attempt to cheer her sister up. "We should probably go too," Yang said.
"Yeah, we should," Ruby said depressingly, still unsure if she could do this.
A/N: This is the best time to explain Azure's semblance. His semblance is enhanced aura control. This allows precise aura control, channelling his aura into his arm or legs for extra strength or speed. He can even shoot aura blasts and form simple weapons made out of his aura. The downside to his semblance is that it takes up a lot of concentration and focus, creating tunnel vision. This makes him easily open to counterattacks. The more aura he tries to control, the more concentration he requires. He could try to form more complicated weapons like Crescent Rose, but it would also take up too much concentration. His weapon, Ocean, since it can be easily imbued with aura, eases his concentration.