The blonde haired boy banged on the bathroom door furiously, trying his hardest to not vomit all over the floor. He hated flying as it always made him sick. He heard a man giggling and a different male voice shout out "Occupied!" The blonde boy stepped away from the door and looked around the ship's deck, trying to look for an open window or anything that he could throw up in. There, near the entrance, a trash can. He sprinted towards it as he felt the ship start to slow down and come to a halt all together as he threw his head into the basket and vomited out his breakfast. He heard people gagging, and laughing as he slumped to the floor, bile and bits of undigested cereal running down his chin.
"Please gather all of your belongings, exit the ship and make your way toward Beacon Academy." The mechanical voice repeated itself several times as Ruby grabbed her duffle bag and followed Yang out of the ship. She saw a blonde boy zoned out next to a garbage can, mumbling about how he they wished they had taken a bus instead.
They strode down the gangway, Ruby bounced from her spot to try and get a look at Beacon. Her amazon of a sister however, blocked her sight no matter how high she bounced. Yang reached the end of the gangway and turned around to face Ruby.
"Close your eyes, 'kay?" Ruby scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.
"Why?"
"I want your first up close look of Beacon to be something you always remember. You've wanted to come here your whole life and I don't want the view to be spoiled by a huge crowd of people blocking your sight." Ruby smiled at Yang before closing her eyes. She stepped off the gangway and took Yang's hand.
Yang led her forward; Ruby could hear the huge crowd of people walking around her and the she could smell sea salt. After a short while she felt Yang come to a halt.
"Okay, open your eyes." Ruby opened her eyes and felt her jaw drop. Beacon Academy was huge, gigantic even. The school resembled an ancient castle and was steel gray. Black tiled roofs covered the towering spires and statues of ancient Remnant heroes littered the courtyard. The grass was a healthy green color and looked incredibly soft. A moat surrounded the courtyard and Ruby could see water gardens further ahead, along with a forest filled with pine trees. Red banners fluttered on lampposts, each one barring the school's crest; two crossed battle axes. A gigantic tower stood in what seemed to be the center of the school, green stained glass windows covered the tower and it was decorated with yellow orbs that floated through the columns and pillars.
Yang watched her sister with a smile. "Is it everything you dreamed it would be?" Ruby continued to stare at the school as she vigorously nodded her head. Yang chuckled and closed Ruby's mouth. "Might wanna keep track of that Ruby, don't need you drooling all over the floor." Ruby looked away from the school and sheepishly scratched the back of her head.
"Sorry. It's just…" She turned back to the school "I'm really here. At Beacon. I still can't believe it." Yang grabbed her sister's shoulder and pulled her in for a half hug.
"Believe it sis, cause you're about to own this school." Ruby rolled her eyes and broke the hug. A beeping noise came from Yang's jacket and she pulled out her scroll. She read the message on it before putting it back. She looked over at a group of people standing beneath a tree. One waved at her and she waved back. "So, uh, I gotta go. My friends are here and we sorta already made plans for the day. See ya later, 'kay?" Before Ruby could give her response Yang ran over to her friends and they started to make their way towards the school. Ruby stood looking confused before backing up.
Ruby bumped into something and she heard a girl scream. She spun around and saw a girl standing before her, an empty Sundoe cup in her hand, the contents spilled all over her white dress. The girl looked up from the stain on her dress and glared at Ruby, her icy blue eyes filled with wrath.
"What do you think you're doing?!" the girl screeched, tossing the empty cup to the ground. Ruby flinched and backed away, nervously trying to stammer out an apology.
"I'm sorry, I-"
"Sorry? Sorry?! You think 'sorry' is going to fix my clothes? It's going to stain and do you know how expensive this combat skirt was?!" Ruby twiddled her fingers.
"Really expensive?" The girl glared at her. The coldness radiating from her sent a chill down Ruby's spine.
"You have no idea." The girl took a step towards her and Ruby noticed for the first time the rapier at the girl's waist. She gulped and tried to back away.
"Leave her alone, Schnee." Ruby looked over the girl's shoulder and saw a new girl standing there, dressed in black. She was tall, with long legs and arms. A worn out hiking backpack was slung over her shoulders and she held a book in one hand. The girl in white spun around at the mention of her name. She glared at the new girl.
"This doesn't concern you. This, this child-!"
"Was just standing there minding her own business when you ran into her, spilling that overpriced swill all over yourself." The girl turned red before turning on her heels and storming off.
"Just leave me alone you dolts!" she shouted as she left. Ruby sighed and turned towards the girl in black.
"Thanks. Don't know what that girl's problem was." The girl in black watched the girl in white before looking at Ruby.
"She's a Schnee; what else can you expect." Ruby cocked her head.
"Schnee? Like the Schnee Dust Company?" The girl in black nodded her head.
"That's right." She looked back at the girl in white, her amber eyes narrowing in disgust. "That piece of work was Weiss Schnee, heiress to the company." Ruby looked at Weiss, who was now just a white dot in the sea of people she had lost herself in.
"So, uh, if you're not busy do you want to hang-" Ruby looked over at the girl to find that she had disappeared. "Out." Ruby sighed and looked down. She heard someone walk up to her and clear their throat. She looked up. Before her stood a boy wearing tattered jeans, a black hoodie, and worn out sneakers. He had sky blue eyes and messy blonde hair. He was smiling. He looked oddly familiar.
"Need a friend?" Ruby smiled and nodded. It clicked in her mind and she blurted out
"You puked on the ship!" The boys smile became a grimace.
Weiss shoved the bathroom door open and stormed inside. She threw her suitcase on the floor and unzipped it, pulling out a pair of blue jeans and a white blouse. She angrily took off her bolero jacket and stripped off her dress. She folded it neatly and shoved it into her suitcase. She glanced at the mirror and stopped when she saw her reflection. It was still in her dress and was smirking at her. She sighed and stood at the sink, staring at the mirror.
"What do you want?"
"Oh nothing. Just enjoying the fact that you haven't been here for more than five minutes and have already made two enemies." The reflection laughed. Weiss looked down at the sink.
"It's not like it's my fault. That little brat spilled coffee all over my clothes." The reflection cocked an eyebrow.
"Right. And you going ballistic over a coffee stain was her fault too." Weiss glared at her reflection.
"So what if I overreacted? That was an expensive dress. Besides, that other girl had no right to get involved." The reflection threw up her hands in mock fear.
"Oh no, the big evil Schnee is assaulting an innocent bystander over a simple mistake. What will I, a good natured and decent human being, do?" The reflection lowered her hands and glared at Weiss. "You want to know what you are to everyone here? A cold hearted bitch with no redeeming qualities besides having a ton of money. Don't be surprised that people want to see you taken down a peg." Weiss looked down at the sink.
"Whatever, I don't need anyone anyway. I can make it all on my own just fine." She looked up at the mirror. A sad girl in her underwear looked back at her, an ugly scar trailing down her left eye. Weiss sighed and hastily got dressed before leaving the bathroom.
Blake seethed with rage as she quietly walked past the trees. She had left the Goth girl behind and had wondered into the pine forest on the school's campus. A Schnee. A fucking Schnee would be going to school with her. She grit her teeth and stopped in front of a tree, sitting down at its base. She sighed and rested her head on her arms; her ears twitched involuntarily underneath her bow. She listened to the birds chirping in an attempt to calm herself down.
She wasn't with the White Fang anymore, what ever happened to the Schnee's wasn't her business anymore. If that bratty heiress wanted to get herself killed trying to fight the Grimm that was her business.
That thought made her smile.
Yang pounded on a punching bag as her friends talked to her. She and her friends had scoped out the school and found the most important building; the gym. They didn't know if they were allowed to use it but fuck it they were going to use it anyway.
"So Yang, that girl in that red cape on the news was your sister right?" Her friend, Drey, asked. She was spotting for Jet, who was busy on the weight bench. Yang didn't stop pounding on the bag as she answered,
"Yeah! Pretty cool huh?" Her friend holding the bag, Sterling, nodded his head silently.
"You think she's going to make it tomorrow?" Jet asked. Yang paused before resuming her beat down.
"Of course she will." She heard Jet grunt as he pumped iron. "She's a tough little cookie. Some stupid Grimm aren't enough to kill her." She punched the bag too hard and it fell off its chain and came crashing to the floor.
Ruby laughed as the boy tried his best to explain why busses should be used for universal travel instead of airships. They had left the school courtyard and had gotten lost in the water gardens. Butterflies, bees, and dragonflies flied past them as they walked along the grassy pathway. The boy's name was Jaune Arc and he was apparently real impressed by Ruby's act of newsworthy heroism.
"Maybe you could work on not getting airsick."
"Hey it's a common sickness. Besides you don't see me making fun of you for hitting a guy in his no-no square." Ruby laughed.
"His what?"
"You know. His…" Juane pointed at his crotch. Ruby snorted.
"But it's such an easy target."
"Couldn't you at least beat him up with… whatever that thing is?" Juane pointed to Crescent Rose. Ruby pulled it out pressed the button to disassemble it. The scythe sprang out and she twirled it around before slamming the butt of the staff into the dirt. She smirked; she loved showing off her baby. Jaune's eyes widened at the sight of the weapon.
"Cool scythe!" Ruby pressed a button and the scythe collapsed into its sniper form.
"It's also a customizable high impact anti-personnel sniper rifle." Jaune stared at her blankly.
"What?"
"It's also a gun." Realization dawned on Jaune and his jaw fell.
"That's so cool." Ruby nodded in agreement. She collapsed her weapon and holstered it, noticing the scabbard at the boy's hip.
"So what do you have?" Jaune looked down at his sword. He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Just a sword. It's a family heirloom. Oh! And the scabbard becomes a shield when I need it to! So that's pretty cool, I guess." Ruby nodded her head; she loved crazy awesome weapon combination's but there was no denying that a simple sword was good too.
A mechanical voice echoed all around them. "Attention potential First Year students. Please meet in the Great Hall to listen to Headmaster Ozpin for the opening ceremony." Ruby and Jaune looked at one another before taking the path back.
Yang stood waiting at the entrance of the Great Hall. Her friends had already gone inside and taken their seats but she wanted to be with Ruby for a little bit. She crossed her arms and propped a leg against the wall.
Ruby was an amazing fighter; she had no reason to worry about her. She looked up and saw Ruby strolling up with a blonde boy. Yang smiled and waved. Ruby waved back before running up to her sister.
"Hey Yang. You have fun with your friends?" Yang grinned and ruffled Ruby's hair.
"Yeah. They're already inside. Who's your friend?" Ruby looked back at Jaune. She motioned for him to come over. He sheepishly did and put a hand out in front of him. He had a nervous smile. Yang grabbed his hand and shook it, shaking the poor boy's entire arm.
"The name's Jaune," he said, while massaging his hand.
"Nice to meet ya Jaune. Soo I was hoping to spend some time with my sis so later, 'kay?" Yang grabbed Ruby's hand and led her inside, leaving Jaune standing there confused.
Yang held onto Ruby's hand as she led her through the hall, finding them a pair of seats. Yang sat down and patted the seat next to her. Ruby sat down and looked at her sister.
"Something on your mind?" Yang grinned at her sister.
"Not really. I just wanted to know how my little sister's day was going." Ruby grimaced.
"Not great. I ran into some girl and made her spill her coffee and then she started yelling at me and she was really mean and she made me feel really bad and I just wanted her to stop looking like she wanted to kill me and then some ninja girl came up and scared her away and then she ran away and then," she paused for a breath "I ran into Jaune and he's the guy who threw up on the ship and he's cool, kind of, and he showed me his sword and-" Ruby stopped and stared off into the crowd in front of her. Yang furrowed her brow and waved her hand in front of Ruby's face.
"Um, Remnant to Ruby?" Ruby swatted her hand away. She pointed into the crowd at a girl with a side ponytail who sat by herself; an open chair on either side of her.
"That's the girl. I think that other girl said her name was Weiss Schnee." Yang followed her line of sight. She saw Jaune walk up to the empty seat on her left. He said something and flashed a pair of gun hands. Weiss turned and scowled at him for a moment, causing the boy to rub his arm and slowly back away. Weiss returned her attention to the stage after he left.
"Well she seems friendly," Yang said. She heard a tapping on the microphone and looked at the stage. Ozpin had appeared on the stage; leaning on his cane for support while he fiddled with the microphone.
"I do not wish to bore you so I will keep this brief. I see before me close to two hundred bright and smiling youths. Come tomorrow most of you shall be dead," a hush settled over the crowd as Ozpin took off his glasses to clean them. He put them back and resumed his speech. "You came here to learn how to be Hunters; to fight the monsters that hunt us and to preserve the sanctity of our kingdoms. I will not lie to you, it is a thankless job and often dangerous. Those of you that believe they have what it takes to survive are welcome to stay and take their first steps towards a new life; a life that myself and my instructors will mold you for. Those of you that do not think they can handle this are welcome to leave." He stepped away from the microphone and hobbled off the stage. Glynda stepped from the shadows and up to the mic.
"You shall be fed dinner in the cafeteria and go to bed in the ballroom at twenty hundred sharp. At O five hundred in the morning you shall be woken up and you shall begin your initiation test. Gather your things and head to the cafeteria. You are dismissed." The crowd of students murmured to themselves as they tried to find their way to cafeteria. Having already scoped out the campus Yang led Ruby to the cafeteria.
Blake followed the crowd as they made their way towards the cafeteria. The headmaster definitely had a way with words, most of the people around her were talking about how there was no way they could all die during the test. Most of the students around her looked like they had never even seen a Grimm up close before. She let out a sigh and buried her nose in her book again. She occasionally looked up to make sure she didn't run into anyone. Once she got into the cafeteria she got in line and grabbed a tray with one hand, she was in the middle of the book's climax, and she was not about to stop reading.
Her mouth watered as the smell of the huge variety of food washed over her; steamed vegetables, roast beef, glazed ham, fried chicken, smoked fish, cold salads, a variety of fruit, hot and heavily seasoned pasta, sweet pastries, and crunchy bread fresh from the oven. She heard her belly grumble and helped herself to a variety of fruits, a salad, some pasta, and a whole smoked salmon. She loaded up her tray and made herself a hot black tea before taking her seat in the emptiest part of the building. She continued to read and ate her food while occasionally looking up to people watch.
The Goth she had saved earlier was sitting next to a large, muscular girl with long golden hair. The Goth had a plate loaded with cookies, cake, and strawberries with cream. The blonde amazon had a plate loaded with beef, chicken, ham, fish, and pasta. They were both drinking soda. The Goth laughed at something the blonde said and Blake returned her attention to her book.
Blake couldn't help but notice how the humans were sitting together, and the Faunus by themselves. She chortled darkly.
She looked up again when she heard a chair scrape against the floor near her. The Schnee had taken a seat in the table in front of her. She had dainty amount of food on her plate; a salad with some pasta and fruit with a side of yogurt. A coffee sat on the table; she didn't see any steam so Blake figured that it was iced. Schnee sat rigidly and her eating was proper but oh so mechanical looking. Blake narrowed her eyes in disgust before returning to her book.
Ruby put her tray away and followed Yang to the ballroom, where she saw hundreds of sleeping bags scattered on the floor. People were talking to one another, dressed in their pajamas. Some people were getting changed into them right there in the open and Ruby looked away in embarrassment. There was a line to the bathrooms, and Ruby felt her stomach knot in concern. She grasped Yang's hand, and Yang looked down at her.
"Um, Yang?"
"Yeah, Ruby?"
"Could you… I don't know, stand guard or something when I get changed?" Her sister smiled reassuringly.
"No problem, sis." She said. Ruby let out a breath, feeling relieved.
They stood in line for what felt like an eternity before they finally got to the bathroom. Girls were getting changed in the open, and none of the stalls were open. Ruby stood waiting in front of one of the stalls, fidgeting slightly as she waited for it to open.
After several minutes the door opened and a crimson haired amazon walked out, giving her a smile before she walked away. Ruby looked back at Yang, who gave her a thumbs up, and entered the stall.
She locked the door and quickly, and shakily got changed.
She exited the stall, and let Yang take the stall next. She exited the bathroom, the knot in her stomach unraveling.
She walked through the ballroom for a bit before she set her bag down next to a sleeping bag and laid down, pulling out her scroll. She started to text her friends back at Signal about the crazy day she had and how she had been accepted into Beacon. She was about to send the message when Yang flopped down next to her.
"Watcha doin'?"Ruby closed her scroll.
"Talking to my friends back at Signal."
"Oh cool." Yang looked around at the room before looking back at Ruby. "Any boy here catch your eye?" Ruby made a gagging noise. "Girl then?" Yang winked. Ruby threw her pillow into her sister's face.
"You know I'm not into all that love-dovey stuff." Yang smirked.
"I know sis but it's my job as an older sister to tease you." She paused to ogle a beefcake that walked past them. She shook her head. "Anyway, make any new friends today besides John?"
"Jaune. And no not really. I think that Weiss girl still hates me." Yang shrugged.
"Forget about that bitch. Oh what about that ninja that saved you?" Ruby sat up. She hadn't seen that girl again since that incident. She hadn't even caught her name. She noticed someone reading in the far corner of the room. Ruby got up and started to walk over to them, Yang following after her.
Blake had finished the book she had with dinner and was working on a new one. She was loving this author's writing style.
"Um, excuse me." She looked up and saw the Goth was standing before her, the blonde amazon stood behind her.
"Yes?" The Goth fidgeted.
"I never got to thank you for saving me from Weiss earlier. My name's Ruby." She held out her hand. A handshake, an odd human custom she never quiet understood. She returned her attention to her book.
"Blake," she said.
"I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister! I love your yukata, where'd ya get it?" Blake could hear the girls smile.
"A store. Just like where I got this book that I'm trying to read."
"What book is it?" Blake looked up at Ruby. She could see that the girl was genuinely interested. She smiled.
"The Strange Case of Professor Hyena and Hyde."
"That's the one about the guy with two souls? And they fight over who gets to be in control, right?" Blake was surprised.
"Yeah. You've read it?" Ruby nodded.
"I love books. My favorites are the Garry Potter series." Blake bookmarked the book before setting it down.
"Would you like too… Stay and talk about books for a little bit?" Ruby looked at Yang who nodded her head.
She sat down and started to chat with Blake, and Blake noticed Yang walk away.
Weiss was busy brushing her teeth when she heard the bathroom door open. She paused, foam around her mouth, and looked over at the door. Two dog Faunus walked in. One had purple hair and long purple dog ears. The other had hazel eyes and short brown dog ears.
They took the sinks next to her and started to talk to each other, ignoring Weiss. The purple haired dog started to brush her hair, as the hazel eyed dog started to brush her teeth.
"Violet, you're not going to believe who we have in our class."
"That girl in the red cape from the news?"
"Well, yeah, but she's not important. Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos are here!" Violet's eyes widened.
"Hazel, no way! I thought Pyrrha lived in Mistral, and Weiss in Atlas, what are they doing here?" Hazel shrugged in response.
"Beats me, but we have go to get on a team with at least one of them. With Pyrrha on our team we probably could just coast by without even fighting that much. I've never been too good at that." Violet grinned.
"And if we end up with Weiss, just imagine all the stuff she could buy us."
Weiss narrowed her eyes in disgust; like she would ever buy anything for a disgusting Faunus.
"Yeah, she could even buy us a surgery to make us human. That's about the only way she would buy us anything." Violet giggled.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about how racist her family was. Doesn't her dad kill his Faunus employees for fun?"
"Like he would even hire a Faunus." Hazel spat into the sink, and rinsed her mouth. "But hey, maybe we can change her mind." Hazel said as she started to leave, holding the door open for Violet before closing it.
Weiss turned back to her sink, and spat. Of course her father would never hire a Faunus, he was above that. She saw her reflection smirking as she looked up.
"Pleasant people here, wouldn't you say?" Weiss scowled.
"The Faunus aren't people. And no, not pleasant in the slightest." Her reflection shrugged and disappeared.
Weiss rinsed her mouth and went to her sleeping bag.