"What are you doing?" A girl clad in white shouts at Ruby after she stumbled into a luggage carriage. One of the suitcases burst open in the fall, spreading a cloud of colorful particles into the air.
"Uh, sorry."
"Sorry? Do you have any idea of the damage you could've caused?"
"Uhh…" Ruby is still in a daze from her fall and the sudden onslaught of yelling. The girl in white picks up the open suitcase.
"Look at this! Several canisters of Dust, gone and ruined thanks to your stumbling around like a buffoon! You should count yourself lucky you didn't get blown up the moment these broke!"
"Oh no, not again…" Ruby has a depressed and dejected look on her face.
"Not to mention that this is my property that you've damaged! How are you going to repay me? You don't look like you've got much money to your name!" During this bit Ruby stands up only to start having a contorted look on her face. "Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?"
Then the scattered Dust particles in the air cause Ruby to sneeze, causing an explosion...one which mainly affects the girl in white. The explosion grabs the attention of bystanders, notably a nearby girl in black who had up until then been reading a book. "Unbelievable!" The girl in white continues. "This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"
Ruby begins to tear up at all of this. "I'm really, really sorry!"
"Ugh! You complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"
"W-well, I-" Ruby is looking down, away, and sniffling, clearly becoming more upset by the second.
"This isn't your ordinary combat school! It's not just sparring and practice, we're here to fight monsters! Some kid who can't even walk straight without crashing into something is just going to get in the way!" At this point the verbal abuse becomes too much for Ruby, who turns and runs away in tears. She bumps into the nearby girl in black in the process. A quiet "sorry" could barely be heard as she continued without stopping or facing the girl in balck. The girl in black then walks up to the one in white.
"You went too far, Weiss Schnee"
"Yet everything I said is the truth. If she can't handle being here then she shouldn't be here."
"That doesn't give you a right to publicly humiliate her! Just because you are some privileged heir to a mega corporation who carries her product with her wherever she goes, doesn't mean you stand above others!"
"You leave my family out of this! They have nothing to do with anything!"
"Aren't they why you carry around cases of Dust obtained through the exploitation of Faunus labor?"
"If all you are going to do is stand around and hurl insults then do me a favor and go away. I have enough of a mess to clean up thanks to the bumbling crater face without you wasting my precious time." With that the girl in black walks away, and Weiss begins to reorganize her luggage car from the scattered cases on the ground.
Elsewhere, Ruby is sitting alone next to a column, crying. "First I almost blow up a building, then I do blow up a person? I embarrassed myself in front of a whole crowd. Why does Dust hate me so much? I never do anything right, I'm not sure I should even be here." She says all this interspersed with tears and sniffles. Then the blonde knight man who threw up on the ship approaches her.
"Hey, are you alright?"
"Do I look alright to you?"
"No, I guess not. But I can guarantee I've done more embarrassing things than whatever you are crying about."
"Oh yeah? Like what."
"Like vomiting on the way here." Ruby lets out a chuckle.
"That was you? Yeah that is more embarrassing. You got some on my sister's shoe!"
"Aww man, really? I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry about it."
"I'm Jaune, by the way" he says, offering his hand to Ruby.
"...Ruby" she replies, taking his hand and standing up. "Thanks, Jaune. For cheering me up."
"Oh it was nothing. How about we head over to orientation?"
Cut to them walking around a bit, but start with an overhead view to show that nobody is around.
"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on."
"Yeah but aren't people usually more prepared for that kind of thing?"
"Hey, I've never been on a ship before, don't judge!"
"You've never been on a ship before? Do you not travel much? Did your combat school not do field trips for practical situations?"
"...No. My parents didn't really like the idea of me being in danger." A brief moment of silence.
"Um, so… I got this thing." Ruby breaks the silence by taking out her massive scythe.
"Woah! Is that a scythe?"
"It's also a customizable, high impact sniper rifle."
"A what?"
"It's also a sniper rifle." Moment of silence. "It's also a gun. You...don't know much about weapons, do you?"
"Not any fancy morphing weapons like yours."
"Fair, I did design and forge her myself. I love my Crescent Rose so much."
"That's cool! I don't really know how to make weapons. All I have is this sword and collapsible shield that my great-great-grandfather used in the war."
"Hey, there's beauty in simplicity! And I think it's great that you're using a family heirloom instead of letting it sit around collecting dust, weapons are meant to be used. Besides, the design of that shield is really clever, it doubles as a scabbard for the sword."
"I guess you're right, I've never thought about that before."
"Although it's not like it's perfect. If I were to improve upon it, let's see… I would probably make it a part of your arm instead of hanging from your waist. And there's always room to add a gun to it!"
"You're kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, aren't you."
"Heehee, yeah, I am." A brief moment of silence. "So why did you help me out back there?"
"Eh, why not. My mom always says, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet."
"Hm. Hey, where are we going?"
"Oh, I don't know. I was following you."
"Wasn't it your idea to go to orientation?"
"Yeah but I was kinda hoping you knew how to get there." At this Ruby begins to laugh lightly, with Jaune joining in moments later.
"So why are we laughing?"
Ruby and Jaune jog into the arena to Goodwitch welcoming the freshmen class to the academy. Yang can be seen gesturing to Ruby from further in to come and join her.
"Oh Yang!" Ruby jogs over to Yang.
"Hey, wait up!" Jaune awkwardly follows after her.
"And now for a few words from our headmaster, Ozpin." These are the words spoken by Goodwitch when Ruby and Jaune join Yang.
"I'll keep this brief," Ozpin begins speaking. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you are finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy. In need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." He then walks off stage, replaced again by Goodwitch.
"You will gather at the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
"Well that was weird," Yang says following the speech.
"It felt really ominous," Jaune follows up.
"I thought it was inspiring!" Ruby finishes. A brief pause as the two turn to face Ruby.
"So how's your first day going, little sister?" Yang asks Ruby.
"You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?"0
"Yikes. Meltdown already?"
"I literally exploded a hole in front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice..."
"Are you being sarcastic?"
"Ugh, I wish! I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage and then she yelled at me! And then I sneezed, and then I exploded! And then she yelled again! And I felt really, really bad! And I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!"
"YOU!" Weiss approaches and interjects into the conversation.
"Oh god, it's happening again!"
"You're lucky I didn't get blown off the side of the cliff!"
"Oh my god, you really exploded." Yang finally understands that this conversation is about reality.
"It was an accident! It was an accident!"
"If you really want to make it up to me, stop talking to me and make sure that this never happens again."
"Sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot," Yang suddenly interjects. "Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?"
"Well I can try." Ruby takes a deep breath before continuing. "Hello, I'm Ruby! What's your name?"
"Weiss. Remember it." She curtly replies.
"Want to hang out?" Ruby somewhat hesitantly continues. "We could 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!" Weiss replies sarcastically, pointing to Jaune who, while present, has not yet had anything to add to the conversation.
"Wow! Really?" Ruby replies while Jaune has a surprised look on his face. A pause.
"No."
"Well at least you tried." Yang says to a now dejected Ruby while Weiss walks away.
"That girl…"
"You know her?"
"Not exactly. I ran into her this morning after what happened but didn't stop to apologize. Not a good first impression."
"All the more reason to make a strong second impression! C'mon!" Yang grabs Ruby's arm and forcefully drags her along towards the girl in black (pajamas). "Helllooo!" Yang calls out. The girl in black only glances up from her book. "Nice to meetcha! I'm Yang!" No reaction. "...And this is my sister, Ruby!" She looks up again, but this time her gaze remains up.
"...Aren't you that girl who exploded?"
"Ugh, please don't remind me."
"Sorry, I didn't mean anything by that. I saw how upset you were and I do think that she went too far."
"...Thanks." A pause as the girl in black resumes reading her book.
"...So what's your name?" Yang attempts to continue the conversation.
"Blake." Another pause.
"Yang, what do I do next?" Ruby quietly asks Yang.
"I'm working on it." Yang says back. "I like your bow!" she says to Blake.
"Thanks."
"It goes great with your...pajamas!"
"Right." Another pause.
"Nice night, don'tcha think?"
"Yes, it's lovely. Almost as lovely as this book. That I will continue to read. As soon as you leave."
"Yeah this girl's a lost cause."
"What's it about?" Ruby pipes up.
"Huh?"
"Your book - I'd love to know what you're reading."
"It's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body."
"Oh yeah, that's real lovely." Yang replies.
"I love books." says Ruby.
"Look, you don't have to force yourselves. You can just go back to whatever you were doing before. Or to sleep, I don't care. And I can go back to reading this book."
"No really, I love books. Especially the ones about weapons! There's this one where a man creates a gun with homing bullets and uses it to assassinate important people around the world. And one about a sword which absorbed the souls of everyone it killed, until it became sentient and all the anger its victims had when they were killed causes it to attack anyone who comes near it!"
"I like both of those books, but I think for different reasons."
"Sorry about her, she just can't help herself when it comes to weapons." Yang then says. "You should see her when she gets her hands on my Ember Celica. She keeps trying to add modifications when frankly they're perfect as is."
"But Yang, think of how much better they'd be if you added spikes, or extended the gauntlet farther up your arm. Actually now's as good a time as any, maybe I should go take a look-"
"Oh no, don't you dare touch my girls. Come back here!" Yang grabs Ruby, who is trying to walk away, by the arm, and then they begin fighting.
"Well, Ruby, Yang, it's a pleasure to-" Blake attempts to speak before she is interrupted by an angry Weiss.
"What in the world is going on over here? Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?" she says very angrily. "Oh not you again!" both her and Yang yell, Weiss at Ruby and Yang at Weiss.
"Shh, guys, she's right, people are trying to sleep." Ruby interjects
"Oh, now you're on my side?" asks Weiss.
"You're the one who hasn't been on my side!" Ruby replies.
"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice." Yang says.
"She's a hazard to my health!"
"So Pyrrha, have you given any thought as to whose team you would like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself." Weiss speaks to Pyrrha in front of the lockers.
"Hm... I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."
"Well, I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together!"
"If things turn out that way then sure, I don't mind."
"You don't think it would be smarter to try and form teams now?"
"I'd love to be friends with everyone, but I'd rather not get my hopes up now only to be disappointed later." Suddenly Jaune appears and interrupts the conversation.
"Hiya ladies, were you talking about forming teams? Name's Jaune Arc, nice to meetcha, and I think it'd be great if we were all on a team together."
"You again?" says Weiss.
"Nice to meet you, Jaune."
"The teams consist of 4 people, right?" Jaune continues. "Well if we three are together that just leaves one more spot. Maybe I should ask Ruby and that would make 4. What do you say, want to be on team Jaune?"
"Between you and crater face I'm gonna pass," Weiss replies. "But are you sure you have any right to be asking her?" she gestures to Pyrrha.
"Why would I not?"
"This is Pyrrha."
"Hello again!"
"She graduated at the top of her class at Signal and won the Mistral-"
"Hey, could you stop?" Pyrrha interrupts. "It's embarrassing to have my past recited like that, especially by a stranger to a stranger, and I'd like to be treated just like everyone else here."
"But you're not just like everyone else here, you're a step above, a level they could never hope to-"
"And with that I'd like to formally decline your offer to be on the same team. I hope we can be friends, but I don't want to work with someone who treats me like I'm special."
"Hmph, fine." Weiss walks off in frustration, and the other two watch her leave.
"Hey, wait a second…are you on the front of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes cereal box?" Jaune suddenly asks Pyrrha.
"Yeah, that's me. It was pretty cool. Sadly the cereal isn't very good for you."
"Wow, that's so cool! You should tell me all about it!" At this point the intercom comes on.
"Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."
"I'll tell you about it on the way there." Pyrrha and Jaune then walk offscreen together.
"Who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, and…" Ruby then skitters to a stop in front of Weiss. They lock eyes for a moment before simultaneously turning around and walking in opposite directions. Weiss then stumbles across Jaune pinned to a tree by Pyrrha's spear, struggling to break free. He awkwardly laughs and waves before Weiss turns back around and heads towards Ruby. She catches up to Ruby, gabs her hood, and starts dragging her in a different direction.
"Hey, wait, what are you doing stop!" Ruby struggles for a little bit before breaking free and facing Weiss. "What was that all about?" she asks aggressively.
"Believe me, I like this even less than you do, but it's better than the alternative. But by no means does this make us friends."
"Agreed." They then continue walking in the same direction.
Meanwhile, Pyrrha arrives at Jaune to collect her spear and let him down.
"Jaune?" she calls to him. "Is it ok if I'm the second member of Team Jaune?"
"Second? Who's the first? Oh wait, that's me, right."
"What's the hurry?" Ruby asks Weiss as they trek through the forest.
"I will not be delayed because you're too slow. I swear, if I get a bad grade because of-what the?" Weiss exclaims because Ruby suddenly appeared in front of her.
"I'm not slow, see! You don't have to worry about me!"
"When did you-"
"Weiss, just because I'm clumsy around people doesn't mean I'm clumsy in a fight. I'm really good at killing Grimm! You're about to see a whole different side of me today!"
"Just stay out of my way and try to keep up. I don't want to babysit you or be held responsible if you can't handle yourself out here."
"Look, I'm not happy with this either, but apparently we have to be together for 4 whole years, so the least we could do is try and get along, right?" Weiss just continues to glare at her. "Fine, since you clearly don't want me around right now I'll scout ahead a bit with my super Semblance speed. When I get back can you try to be nice to me?" And with that Ruby speeds off into dense woods.
"Finally, some peace and quiet." After Weiss says this she finds herself surrounded by pairs of glowing red eyes, which then reveal themselves to be werewolf Grimm. "...or not."
