The day finally came for Ruby and Yang to leave Patch for the start of Beacon's school year. It had been a few weeks since her first meeting with Professor Ozpin. It was early in the morning, and the two were at the Patch airport with their dad and Zwei. They had attracted a small crowd. Ruby wasn't the biggest fan of the attention, but she appreciated the fact that people liked them enough to see them off.
"Knock 'em dead!" Someone cried.
"Show them that the people of Patch are just as impressive as the rest of the kingdom!" added someone else.
"Don't be a stranger, you two," Taiyang told them.
"We'll be in touch, dad," Yang replied.
"I'll call you later tonight when we're settled, okay?" Ruby said.
A cheery jingle began to play over the airport's intercom, before a message began to play, saying, "Flight 864 to Beacon Academy will begin boarding in 30 minutes. Flight 864 to Beacon Academy will begin boarding in 30 minutes…"
"We should get going, then!" Yang said. "Later, folks!"
Yang waved as she walked into the airport, her luggage trailing behind her. Ruby was right on her heels, giving the crowd a meek little wave as they cheered the two on. With how small Patch was, it didn't take long for the two to get their bags checked and through security. They arrived at their gate ten minutes before boarding began.
Not even an hour flight and they would be at Beacon. Even before she got her acceptance S-Mail, Ruby dedicated her free time to training herself day in and day out. A few weeks of intense training with Yang, their dad, and her uncle Qrow when he did have a bit of time between missions couldn't make up for the years at Signal she was just skipping over, but better to make some headway than sit on her hands the entire time.
"Loosen up, you'll be fine! It's just school. You survived Signal, so you'll be able to survive this," Yang said, lightly slapping Ruby's back.
"But everyone, and I mean everyone, is going to be older than me!"
"They won't notice! Even if they do, who cares if you're a few years younger? It isn't the end of the world."
"I hope you're right…"
Then the call for their flight to board came. One by one, the passengers lined up and showed their tickets, either printed or in the form of an S-Mail that could be scanned. Ruby found a seat as soon as she was on board and leaned back. This was just a regular old flight, so it wasn't as if the journey itself would be much different to any other of the times she's made the flight. Beacon drew students from all over Remnant. There was no special Beacon shuttle because of that. Flights from all over descended on Beacon, and it was then that these students from the four corners of the world came together as one.
Ruby looked through the window, as she often did. The island of Patch grew smaller the higher they flew and the town she knew so well became nothing but dots of brown wood, red bricks, and gray stone amidst the sea of green trees. Most of the flight was spent above the crystal blue sea. Ruby always loved the view. There was something weirdly calming about the still blue expanse of water that spread out below them as far as the eye could see.
They flew past the capital, which looked so weirdly small from so high up. They flew right past it. It wasn't often that Ruby got to see it from so high up for so long. Ruby had been idly watching the scenery, but she twisted in her seat when a massive spire swirling with green light entered her view. The more of the surrounding buildings that came into her view, the more it looked like some sort of castle with all of the turrets, towers, and spires she saw.
"Damn…" Ruby heard Yang whistle beside her. "So that's Beacon Tower? Just as impressive as I thought it would be. We're finally here, Ruby!"
The airship pulled up to a large, impressive looking dock. Several airships were all docking at once. Ruby followed Yang off the airship, and for a moment she forgot how nervous she was. The sheer size and splendor of Beacon campus took her breath away.
"Wow… this place is beautiful…" Some of the others disembarking from the airships were walking by, and Ruby noticed just how many of them were carrying weapons. "A three-section staff! But wait, it looks so normal… maybe the end sections are blowguns? Oh, and that girl's sword! It's so red! Is there fire Dust forged into the sword itself, maybe…?"
"Like a kid in a candy store, I swear." Yang chuckled.
"Yang, come on!" Ruby grabbed her sister's arm. "Let's go explore the campus! I'm sure there are a lot more cool things we could see!"
"So…" Yang smiled awkwardly at Ruby. "I think I might have to say no to that…"
"What? How come?"
"I mean, we're around a whole bunch of new people! There can't be that many of them who know each other like us. We're all new kids here. It should be easy for you to make friends on your own instead of needing to lean on me."
"Huh? Bu- we-well, if you want me to make new friends, then you can help me!"
"And help you I will!" Yang spun Ruby around and gave her a firm shove. "I'll be right here cheering you on, but you're going to have to do the heavy lifting yourself, dear sister. I believe in you!"
"Wha-" Ruby wasn't prepared for that, and she wasn't a big fan of it either. She looked back at Yang, who just gave her a thumbs up. Ruby started walking and sighed, her shoulders slumping. She wasn't good at talking to people. Not at all. She only made a few friends back at Signal because of Yang. It was having a cool upperclassman like her for a sister with actual people skills to help introduce Ruby to people that led to her having any friends. How would she be able to go up to people on her own and just talk to them like that? She lowered her head, dragging her feet along the ground.
"Ruby, look out!"
She raised her head just in time to see a flash of white before bumping her head against something hard. Ruby rubbed her forehead where it was the least bit sore. She was looking at what looked like a hotel luggage cart, piled high with snow white luggage. A few of them had fallen. Ruby saw a young woman wearing a white dress kneeling down to pick them up.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" She knelt down and reached towards one of them. "I'll help y-"
The young woman slapped Ruby's hand away. "Don't touch that!" She opened the case, revealing vials of Dust. She picked up a few of them, inspecting them closely. She closed it and placed the case back on the cart, still holding one of the vials. "What is wrong with you?!"
"I'm sorry! I guess I just wasn't looking where I was going…"
"Well, you should!" She wagged her finger in Ruby's face, her clenched fist holding the vial. "You can't be so careless! Not somewhere like here! With all of these weapons around! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
"No, ma'am…" Ruby squeaked.
"And people are walking around with their luggage! Some of their most important belongings that they decided to take here with them! What if an oaf like you broke something fragile they had tucked away in their suitcase?! Not to mention Dust like this!"
The more she wagged her finger, the more of the red dust-like Dust filled the air. There must've been a small leak somewhere, but it didn't look like she had noticed. The Dust irritated Ruby's nose. She tried to hold it in, but she felt a sneeze coming on.
"Hey, hey!" Ruby heard Yang say. "How about we try and cal-"
Ruby sneezed, and the two of them exploded.
"-m down…"
The blast knocked Ruby over. Pulling herself up, she saw that the one who was yelling at her was knocked over too. Her luggage didn't look any worse off than it had been after Ruby bumped into it.
Ruby pulled herself up, ready for another tongue lashing. The girl in white looked about ready to tear into Ruby again, when a hand entered her view, holding the vial of red Dust.
"I couldn't help but notice you dropped this,"
The two turned to see a girl dressed in black. Ruby noticed her striking eyes first, the same amber as the young woman from the Dust robbery a few weeks ago. Then she noticed the cat ears sitting atop her head. A brief motion drew Ruby's attention to the tail flicking back and forth behind her.
"Well…" The girl in white just stared at her for a moment before taking the vial. "Thank you,"
"I'm surprised." The girl in black opened a book that she was holding. "I wasn't expecting to see Weiss Schnee going anywhere other than Atlas Academy,"
"Schnee?" Ruby mused. "I know I've heard that name before…"
"Like 'Schnee Dust Company'?" Yang asked.
Pride appeared to wash over the anger Weiss had been feeling, as she put her hands on her hips and popped out her chest. "The very one! The foremost Dust production and distribution corporation in all of Remnant!"
"And with its fame comes an equal amount of infamy." The faunus girl started to walk away, reading her book.
"Hey!" Weiss cried. "Do you really think I'm just going to let you walk away after insulting my grandfather's company like that?! Just who do you think you are?!"
"I think I'm Blake Belladonna," she said, stealing a glance over her shoulder. Then she continued on her walk.
"Hey!"
"You asked me who I was," Blake said. "I answered your question, so you aren't entitled to any more of my time."
Weiss huffed and picked up the rest of her luggage that had fallen when Ruby bumped into her. She wanted to offer her help again, but Weiss glowered at her, so Ruby just kept her mouth shut. Weiss started wheeling her luggage away, grumbling under her breath.
"Yang!" Ruby latched onto her sister and nuzzled into her shoulder, just about ready to cry. "I try talking to someone on my own, and look at what happened!"
"Just one screw up isn't the end of the world, Ruby," Yang gently pried her off. "There are other people who won't be as… forceful with their words." She lifted up Ruby's chin. "Just keep your head up and keep looking forward. Literally, and figuratively. Now…" She looked after the girl who called herself Blake. "I'm just as new to Beacon as you are, so I'm going to see if I can make a friend or two of my own."
"But-"
"No buts, Ruby! Call me if you're on the brink of tears, but wait a few minutes. I'm not going to pick up if you give up right away. You have to try, at least!"
"Fine… I'll try…"
"Good. I'm proud of you, sis. Now, go show Beacon what you're made of!" Yang gave Ruby a quick hug and then hurried off after Blake.
Ruby turned and took a deep breath. She had to try, at least. Even if the idea of taking out her Scroll and calling Yang was already tempting.
Ruby wandered around, looking for people that interested her. She mainly just looked out for weapons that she thought were cool. She had hoped her love for weapons would override her fear of making herself look like a fool, but she had overestimated herself. If there was a pair or a small group already talking, Ruby would just hover around them for a while, trying to see how she could organically insert herself into their conversation, but nothing seemed like a good time to her. Even if she found someone alone just standing there she was worried that they'd think she was some annoying little girl or a lost little sister if she just came up and tried to talk to them.
At her wit's end, Ruby fell to her knees right off the main avenue in the grass. Yang leaves her alone and she just falls apart. She was just disappointed in herself. She pulled out her Scroll and opened it. It had definitely been more than a 'few minutes', so Yang was probably going to pick up.
"Hey," she heard someone say, "are you okay?"
The voice seemed too close to be some other conversation she was just overhearing. Ruby looked up, and saw someone looming over her. The young man before her was tall. He looked like he would be a fair bit taller than her as is, but her being on her knees only made him seem even more massive. Despite the height difference, there was a soft, worried look on his face. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Was she okay?
"Here." He offered her a hand. "Let me help you up."
Ruby took his hand, and when she was on her feet, she saw that she was right about their size difference. He really did tower over her.
"I guess I feel a little better, actually talking to someone now,"
"Well, happy to help! Are you a new student, too?"
"Oh, I am. I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose. It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, Ruby. I'm Jaune Arc. You might've heard the name before." He was looking at her expectantly. Her raised brow and tilted head hurt his pride. "I guess you haven't."
"Are you the son of some corporate bigwig too?"
"Wait, 'too'?" Jaune started walking, and Ruby followed after him.
"I… met a Schnee earlier," 'Met' might not have been the most appropriate word, considering what had happened, but she was able to match the name to the face now.
"Really? You met a Schnee?! I wouldn't have thought one of them would be here…"
"Yeah, Atlas is so much closer. But I guess money wouldn't be a problem for people like them," Ruby said.
"What were you doing on the grass anyway?"
"Oh, um… about that. I was… trying to talk to people," Ruby told him.
"On your knees, in the grass, with your head down?"
"Yeah…"
"Okay… not really good with people?" Ruby shook her head. "Well, ever since I showed up, it isn't like you've gone all quiet on me. No need to be scared of strangers, if you ask me. My mom's always told me that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. I mean, we were strangers until just a few minutes ago, weren't we?"
He had a point. Starting a conversation or joining one was a daunting task for Ruby, but talking to Jaune like this, she was just fine. Even with Yang to help her out, she found it a lot easier to talk after the ice was initially broken. Though, also like a jinx, once Jaune said Ruby was better at talking to people than she gave herself credit for, she found her mind blanking on things to say. The two walked in awkward silence. Another person walked past them. Ruby couldn't quite see what their weapon was, but not knowing just made her all the more curious about what it was. She couldn't just run off and leave Jaune, though, could she? Before she knew what she was doing, she had grabbed Crescent Rose and shifted it into its scythe mode. She only realized what she had done when she heard Jaune let out a little squeal.
"Why did you pull out a scythe?!"
"I just thought that we could talk about our weapons!" She blurted out. "I mean, we all need them, since we want to be Huntsmen and all. I wanted to tell you about my baby…"
"Your baby?" Jaune chortled. "I haven't seen many scythes, but this is definitely the most wild one I've seen."
"It's also a customizable high impact sniper rifle." Ruby cocked Crescent Rose for added effect.
"Where did you get that thing?"
"I made it!"
"You what?"
"All students at Signal forge their own weapons during their first years. I put a lot of thought into it. What do you have, Jaune?"
He just stood still, dumbfounded, then he finally gripped a scabbard that was hanging on his left hip and drew a sword. It was a painfully plain sword, by Ruby's standards. Then Jaune picked up the scabbard, and it expanded into a shield.
"I have these!" He did a small, extremely clumsy flourish with the sword. "This is Crocea Mors! My great-great-grandfather used this during the Great War."
"Really? That sword must have a lot of history, then! That's really cool!" Jaune definitely basked in the attention Ruby was giving him. "Is that why you asked me about your family earlier? Because one of your grandpa's was a war hero?"
"Well, yeah."
"Sorry, but me and history don't really get along. I'm more of a historical fiction girl myself."
"Oh, yeah, that's fine, I think." Jaune collapsed his shield and sheathed his sword. "By the way, where are we going?"
"Wait, what? You don't know?"
"No? I thought you knew where we were going!"
"How would I know? I told you I was just as new as you!" Ruby exclaimed.
"I don't know!"
"Oh, great, now we're lost!"
"No, it's fine!" Jaunse started looking around. "We'll just find someone to ask. There has to be an upperclassman around somewhere we can ask. I mean, they have to be around, right?"
"Hey, how about her?"
Ruby pointed towards a small crowd. The group was clustered around a striking young woman. She looked tall like Jaune, and with her carmine red hair and golden armor, she was extremely hard to miss. Jaune started walking towards her and gestured for Ruby to follow after him.
"Hey there!" Jaune called.
The young woman just finished signing a shield and handed the person she was talking to their pen. They thanked her and scurried off as she turned to address the two.
"Why, hello. Do the two of you need something?"
"Um, yeah. You see, we're new to Beacon, and we have no idea where we're going for orientation."
"You're looking for the amphitheater, then," she told them. She pointed towards the direction of Beacon Tower. "It's in the main school building. It's near the tower. It isn't nearly as tall, but it's just as impressive and imposing. When you're inside, I think it'll be easy enough to follow the crowd."
"Alright, thanks! Come on, Ruby!"
"Thank you again!"
"I'll be seeing the two of you around!" She called after them.
Jaune and Ruby ran through the courtyard in search of the main building she had pointed to. When they noticed a large crowd funneling into a large building, they fell in line with them. Before long, they found themselves in a wide open space with a single raised stage at the back. All attention was directed at the stage, not least of all because Professor Ozpin and Glynda were standing atop it.
"Ruby!" Yang tackled Ruby from behind and almost knocked her over. "I see you've made a friend!"
"Hey, sis…" Ruby groaned, "This is Jaune. He helped me out earlier."
"Thanks, man!" Yang said.
"Oh, no problem." He blushed faintly, avoiding Yang's eyes.
"What happened to that Blake girl?"
"She sort of brushed me off. Really into that book of hers."
"Well, you'll get her next time," Ruby said. "Besides, there's plenty of friends out there, aren't there?"
A spotlight focused on Professor Ozpin up on the stage. The sound of it turning on drew everyone's attention in his direction, and the light drew them to him specifically. He looked out over the crowd, holding a mug, just like when he first met Ruby.
"I'll try to keep this brief," he said, "many among you may be from Vale, but I know a significant number of you have traveled to our campus from abroad. No matter where you may call home, you have all coalesced here with a common goal: to amass knowledge and wisdom, and one day count yourselves amongst the Huntsmen and Huntresses who keep the people of our world safe.
"I know not your motivations, nor your hopes, your dreams, your hardships, or your triumphs. No matter how easy your life may have been before you arrived here today, or how much you've struggled and faced adversity, you have come before me with the same goal, and the same determination to see that goal fulfilled.
"Death is the great equalizer. No matter the life you've led, or who you may be, when we die, we all return to dust. And when we mortals do, our loved ones weep, without exception. The poor are not mourned more than the rich. The rich are not mourned more than the poor. Humans, no more than faunus, and men no more than women. Death is death, and we have all banded together to fight against the malevolent forces that seek to spread death and destruction across the reaches of Remnant, with no regard to the status of the people we save.
"That is to say, we as the students and faculty who make up Beacon stand for openness, and tolerance. It was by banding together that the people of Remnant were able to initially ward off the Grimm, and it's by standing together that we shall continue to do it. People with different cultures and beliefs learned to put their differences aside for the greater good. They learned to understand those differences and respect them, and this mixing of ideas is what gave rise to our modern world.
"You will be grouped into teams of four during your time here at Beacon. To facilitate the idea of tolerance and working with people who may think differently to you, you will have no say in these teams. You will live with strangers. You will work with strangers. In time, you will come to see these strangers as your teammates, your friends, your family. They will be your primary instructors here at Beacon, for no matter what we who are paid to teach might tell you, there is no greater teacher than life itself, or the people who stand by your side as you march along its winding road."
