"Looks so small, doesn't it?" Ruby Rose, startled by the sudden voice, glanced up from the window she had been staring at her old school of Signal through, smiling as she saw her favorite cousin beside her.
"Luna, you made it!" Ruby cried, wrapping the pale blonde in a tight hug. Luna was technically her cousin, but they had been raised like sisters, and Ruby had grown slightly worried when she didn't see the older girl boarding their transport ship to Beacon.
"Of course, I couldn't leave you alone with the golden terror, could I? And at a brand new school, no less." Ruby grinned at the nickname for her other sister, but before she could say anything, a dark form moved behind Luna, distracting her. She opened her mouth to warn Luna, but wasn't quite quick enough, and the buxom blonde sneaking up behind them easily wrapped herself around Luna's neck.
"Aw, if it isn't my favorite cousin! And here I was afraid you would miss out on fall the fun and hot guys!"Stiffening only slightly in surprise, Luna turned and smiled at Yang, carefully extricating herself from the other girl's grasp.
"I doubt any guys would be interested in the girl they think is blind and deaf, Yang." She said gently, gesturing towards her eyes. Both Ruby and Yang winced slightly as they looked at the specially made glasses on their sister's face. They were a clinically opaque white, and tightly sealed over her eyes to block out all light, as well as looping around and into her ears to plug them just as completely and forming a sort of visor. The two sisters had long since grown used to Luna's special circumstances and were fully aware that she wasn't truly crippled, quite the opposite in fact, but they could imagine just what someone unacquainted with the girl and her abilities might think.
"Well you could always just…" Yang smiled slyly at Luna, and the younger girl shivered slightly at her tone of voice. Before she could ready herself though the grinning blonde reached up, and with a smooth motion, unhooked the visor from Luna's face and lifted it off, dancing away to dodge the hands which reached out for her. "Take it off!" Ruby and Yang just managed to see a flash of bright, brilliant blue eyes, until Luna's lids shut down over them, her face scrunched up tight as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"Yang! You know not to do that!" She cried, stepping towards the blonde. Yang didn't seem repentant, however, dodging out of her desperate grab and moving to hide behind Ruby, who was watching the whole scene with mixed feelings. For one thing, she knew Yang was being mean, stealing Luna's visor as she was, but on the other hand, she really did think Luna was beautiful without her visor, and the youngest of the trio of girls hated not being able to see her beautiful blue eyes.
"Come on Luna, just for a little bit! You're far too good looking to hide behind such an ugly thing all the time." Luna didn't answer, clenching her fists tightly as she stood there, struggling to keep her breathing even. Already she could feel a headache coming on, and her thoughts were slowly being scrambled by the overload of information washing through her. Now her eyes weren't so much screwed shut through anger and necessity as by pain, and she fought to keep from slamming her hands over her ears. With a sharp breath, Yang noticed her sister's distress, and as the mirth she had previously been feeling disappeared, she lunged for Luna, returning the visor to its rightful place.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't think it was that bad! You've had it off before at home!" She said, wrapping the girl in a big hug as Luna slowly released the breath she had been holding. As quickly as it had come, the headache disappeared, the overwhelming stream of data cut as if by a dam. With a gentle grimace, she hugged Yang back, instantly forgiving the blonde for her mistake.
"At home, it's just us, and quiet. Here… there's it's too loud, and bright. Without this thing, I have to see and hear it all twice, and sometimes more." Her voice was soft and kind, and within just a few moments, Yang was pulling back, grinning once again.
"Sorry, I didn't think of that. Will you be alright?" Luna nodded, then turned on Ruby, who was still standing nearby, biting her lips with worry.
"And what do you think you were doing? You're supposed to protect me from her!" Surprised by the sudden scolding, Ruby's flailed her hands in apology, eyes wide.
"I'm so sorry! I just really wanted to see your eyes!" Luna laughed at the response, grabbing her little sister into a tight hug of her own.
"Don't worry, I forgive you. Of course, there is something you can do to make it up…" She trailed off, and Ruby looked up to her, eyes shining at her suddenly sly tone.
"What is it? I'll do anything!" Ruby cried, eager to make up for her lack of helping before. Luna smirked and pressed a finger against her lips, throwing a glance in Yang's direction.
"What do you say we get some revenge, huh?" Her eyes going wide in surprise, Ruby nodded vigorously. Luna wasn't one to prank often, but when she did, they were always the best. It came with knowing exactly when and where to set them up. "Alright. Just stay right there for about… three seconds." Ruby frowned, unsure what Luna could possibly mean by that, but just as her mind had formulated the question, the older girl was suddenly pushing her away, throwing Ruby backwards. Arms pinwheeling, the teenager flew through the air, until she crashed into Yang with a heavy thump. The impact sent the blonde stumbling backwards, while Ruby used the sudden halt in momentum to catch herself. Before she could turn and glare at Luna for tricking her, however, she saw a sight which would stay with her for the rest of her days, and she was helplessly frozen by it.
When Ruby had bumped into Yang, the older girl ended up falling back into the large glass window that kept the transport ship's passengers from falling into the open air. Surprised, she caught herself, before turning a confused eyebrow towards Luna. She had heard the two younger girls plotting something, but if merely making her stumble was Luna's idea of revenge, then she must be slipping. Perhaps Yang could take the time for remedial pranking lessons once initiation was over… The blonde was drawn out of her plans, however, by the surprising sound of someone retching, and her feet being assailed with the sensation of being both warm and wet. Horror shooting through her veins, Yang turned, and saw the true depth of Luna's cruelty.
Not three feet away, there was a young blonde boy on his hands and knees, and while normally Yang would probably be ecstatic at the thought, all she could muster at the moment was revulsion. Although, that may have had something to do with the fact that he was currently puking his guts out, and she was standing directly in what appeared to be a puddle of his bile.
"My shoes!"
XXX
Luna was still grinning mischievously as the three girls finally stepped off the ship, and Yang was fuming. Ruby was just thankful that the eldest had an extra pair of boots in her bag, or there might have been a brawl right then and there, and she wasn't certain the transport ship would have been able to survive the fight. They had made it, however, and were now free to admire Beacon and all its students… as well as their weapons.
"Ooh, a collapsible staff! And look, he's got a fire sword!" Squealing in delight at the vast array of weapons before her, Ruby made to dive into the crowd., intent on appreciating every single one of them. She didn't get far, however, suddenly dragged back by Yang's hand on her hood.
"Woah, there little sister, don't go running off like that."
"But Yang!" She complained loudly, glaring up at the blonde. Yang just smiled back.
"Oh come on, I am not feeding your weapon fetish. Besides, aren't you happy with your own weapon?" With a blush, Ruby touched the black rectangle hanging off her waist, releasing the catch that kept her most precious ally compressed in an easily carriable state and allowing it to unfold into a massive scythe.
"Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose. It's just that I like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people… only better."Yang sighed at her little sister's comment. She loved the girl to death, but Ruby was way too introverted for her own good. Meeting Luna's eye, she nodded slightly, and received one in return. Time for plan 'force Ruby to socialize' to start.
"And why don't you try making new friends? Actual friends, not weapons." Luna asked as Yang slowly started to edge away, distracting the younger girl.
"Why would I need anyone else? I've got you guys." Said Ruby, and Luna smiled sadly at her naivety. Truly, it hurt to do this to the younger girl, but it was necessary. Ruby had always been sheltered by her older sisters, and what few friends she had managed to make she had been forced to leave behind at Signal. Now she was in a new place, knew absolutely nobody, and was even far younger than almost anyone else in the school. There was no way she would ever break out of her shell on her own, so they would just have to shatter it by force. At least Luna knew that her little sister would be in good hands.
"About that…" Yang started to say, drifting even further away from the youngest of the trio. "Thoseareourfriendsgottagobye!" With that, both Luna and Yang stepped into the crowd and were swept away, faster than Ruby could , the younger girl spun, trying to see where they went, but she only made herself dizzy as she shouted in surprise.
"Wait, where are you going? Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we even have dorms!? ...I don't know what I'm doing." With a sense of finality, Ruby allowed herself to fall backwards, feeling completely lost as her sisters abandoned her. She wasn't given long to question that decision, however, as when she fell backwards, she did not land on the hard cobblestone as she expected, but instead fell onto a trolley full of suitcases.
"What are you doing!?" The screech shocked Ruby out of her sudden stupor as she rubbed her head, which had banged against a sharp corner on one of the suitcases, and she looked up to find a face startlingly close to hers. Icy blue eyes were glaring sharply at her, framed by stark white hair and a dull red scar over the left one.
"Uh, hi?" She said, not completely sure why exactly there was an angry girl in her personal space.
"Do you even know what you've done!?" The girl suddenly screeched, making Ruby cringe back. Wow, that was a really high pitched voice.
"Umm… no?" She said, her voice unsure as she wondered what she could possibly have messed up this time. For a moment, she even thought it had worked, as the white-haired girl pulled back suddenly, but that was a short-lived hope. With angry motions, she opened one of the scattered suitcases, pulling out a small bottle of red Dust and waving it in Ruby's face.
"This is Dust! Pure, refined Dust straight from the Schnee quarries!" As the girl waved her bottle at Ruby, clumps of the Dust came flying out of it in little clouds, having obviously not been properly secured, and a sliver of fear shot through Ruby as she felt a slight tickling at the back of her nose. "Do you even know what I'm talking about? Dust! You know, fire, lightning, ice!"Ruby really didn't appreciate being talked to like a child, but there was little she could do, as she was desperately trying to fight back the tickling in her nose. Perhaps she shouldn't have bothered, however, as just as the screeching girl reached the end of her rant-or maybe it was the beginning, Ruby wasn't quite sure- she lost the war, and with a great burst of air, a sneeze tore through her, igniting all the red dust that had been caught in her sinuses as it went. Only a split-second activation of her aura kept Ruby from blowing her own head off, and even then just barely.
The blast resulting from her sneeze knocked Ruby off her feet, throwing the tiny girl to land several meters away. The screeching girl, however, didn't appear to get off so easily, as when Ruby finally managed to regain her senses and look up to view the damage she had caused, the girl looked like a chipmunk had attacked her head. The white hair was a mess, although it didn't appear to actually be damaged, and there were soot marks under her eyes, making it look like she hadn't slept in days. Her fancy white combat dress, too, was rumpled, although Ruby couldn't see any tears or holes, so at least she wouldn't have to pay for damages.
"Look what you've done!" She shrieked, and Ruby felt a surge of anger rise in her. Normally, the scythe wielder was a fairly calm and friendly person, if a bit hyper. Everyone had their limit however, and she had hit hers. Her sisters, who she had been depending on for security in the new school, had abandoned her, and now she had to deal with this posh, rich girl shrieking at her, when the whole mess hadn't even been her fault. No, Ruby was done.
"Well I'm sorry, okay! Maybe you should be more careful with your stuff, Princess!" Ruby glared at the girl, silently daring her to continue shrieking at her. She was just begging to pull out Crescent Rose and give the little harridan a haircut to match the scorch marks, but before either girl could say or do anything else, they were cut off by a low chuckle.
"Not quite, but close enough." Shocked, Ruby reeled back as a veritable giant stepped between them, blocking her sight with his considerable girth. Seriously, the guy was massive; Ruby's head only came up to his chest!
"And who do you think you are?" Ruby heard the other girl say, her tone derisive, although she could swear she heard something else there. The young teen was too busy staring up at the newcomer to notice, however, her eyes wide as she took in his entire form. His bulk wasn't grotesque, luckily for her eyes, but actually quite nice, the majority of it being made up of hard, well-toned muscle that somehow still looked sleek and lean despite the sheer mass of it, almost reminding her of a lion. His stance was easy and relaxed, but in it she could see his warrior past, every move he made holding the same grace and power she recognized in her own uncle Qrow, Luna's father, and Ruby's mentor in everything combat and just general badassery. Surprisingly, his face looked to be about the same as Yang's age under the dark sunglasses he wore, but she wouldn't be surprised if he was actually much older. He was certainly big enough for it. What really caught her attention, however, was his clothes. Contrary to popular(her sisters' and dad's) belief, she was a teenage girl, and knew how to appreciate a fine member of the male specimen such as this, especially when he was draped in very tight clothes, which matched his sinfully silky black hair. As she looked at him, her mouth suddenly went very dry, and for a moment, she wondered just how handsome he would be without those glasses in the way. She had a very strong suspicion that the answer would not be good for either of her sisters' sanity, let alone her father's.
"Harry Potter, at your service milady." Ruby was pulled out of her appreciation of the new boy when he suddenly bowed low with a flourish, and after a second's confusion realized he was answering the white-haired girl's question, although she did giggle when she heard the highly sarcastic tone in his voice. "And you are Weiss Schnee, heiress of Schnee Dust Company, the largest Dust mining and shipping corporation in the world." Weiss, as it appeared the white-haired girl was named, gaped for a moment, as if unsure whether he was complimenting her or not, before finally settling on a light curtsy and smile.
"Thank you, I-"
"The same company infamous for treating Faunus like utter pieces of shite, of course. I can see you inherited the high and mighty attitude of your father." Ruby was shocked just as speechless as Weiss was. That… had been unexpected.
"Why-you- how dare you!" If Ruby weren't still too surprised by the sudden turn in the conversation, she would have giggled as Weiss sputtered at Harry, the boy grinning like a lunatic the whole while.
"Simple, really. I'm not afraid to speak my mind. Funny how easily it cuts through your haughty attitude, isn't it?" For a moment, Ruby watched Weiss glare at Harry, and she was almost convinced the girl was going to either slap him or shriek again. That didn't seem to be the case, however, as she only huffed loudly, before turning and stalking away in anger. Ruby watched her go, before turning back to Harry, who was still grinning, his hands now tucked snugly behind his head.
"That. Was. Amazing!" She yelled, bouncing in glee. "Ohmygod, you just, like told her off, just like that! That was so cool!" Harry offered the bouncing girl an amused look, unsure of how to deal with what appeared to be a hyper puppy in human form.
"Uh… are you alright?" He asked tentatively, amazed as the girl who he could swear was far too young to be going to Beacon suddenly stopped bouncing and stared up at him with her striking silver eyes, glowing in excitement.
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine." She replied sheepishly, blushing brightly as she realized what she had been doing. Oum, she was acting like a child! "I just… that was really cool." Harry smiled softly at the sight, and driven by some unknown instinct, reached up to ruffle her hair.
"If you say so, little one. I just gave her a taste of her own medicine, that's all." Ruby closed her eyes as Harry's hand brushed her head, memories of Qrow and her father making a similar motion swimming up from the depths of her mind, and before she realized it, she was leaning into the touch, sighing contentedly. A moment later, however, the feeling was gone, as Harry finished the motion and withdrew his hand. She opened her eyes just in time to see a sliver of emerald green peeking out from under his glasses as he smiled softly down at her, before his head tilted once again to hide it. Realizing just what she had done, her face burned red with embarrassment. What on Remnant had just happened?
"Oh my Oum, I'm being so rude! I haven't even introduced myself!" She cried, her face morphing into one of terror. Her mom would have killed her if she had heard Ruby had been so ill-mannered to a boy she just met! "I'm Ruby Rose, but you can just call me craterfa- actually, just call me Ruby." Again, the girl's face burned as she stopped herself and offered her hand, looking at the ground as she fought desperately against her embarrassment. Oum, what was wrong with her today? Luckily, Harry didn't seem to notice, letting out a low, rumbling laugh.
"Of course, Ruby. I'm Harry Potter, at your service." This time, the line carried far more respect, and even more blood rushed to Ruby's face as rather than bow like he had for Weiss, the boy took her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing her knuckles gently. "It was a pleasure to play your shining knight." For a moment, Ruby just stood there, too shocked to speak, until Harry laughed once again. "I'm kidding! Merlin, you should see your face right now. I don't think I've ever seen a rose so red before." Ruby didn't respond, still trying to process his words as she stared at her fingers. After a few moments of waiting, Harry started to worry that maybe he had broken the girl, and suddenly tentative, he pushed her shoulder gently.
"Uh, Ruby? Anyone home?" At his touch, the young girl jumped in surprise, and Harry rocketed backwards, hand reaching unconsciously towards his shoulder. He stopped himself, however, when he saw the girl looking around wildly.
"Huh? What?" She asked, looking confused, until her eyes landed on Harry, still crouched slightly. "Oh sorry Harry. I was just…" Ruby's voice trailed off as suddenly the memory of what had occurred just a few seconds before came rushing back. "Um nothing, never mind! Let's… talk about something else! Yeah, that sounds good." Harry, allowing his hand to drop back to his side, raised a bemused eyebrow. He was starting to think that this girl was seriously weird, but at least it was a fun kind of weird. At least it was better than some of the friends he had before, and if he stuck with her, he doubted he would ever lack for laughs.
"If you want. What should we talk about then?" For a second, Ruby bit her lips, struggling hard to think of something other than the fact that the boy before her had kissed her hand like some kind of noble hero from her fairy tales.
"Uh… well do you know where we're supposed to go? I didn't get a directory." Glad to finally be getting somewhere, Harry grinned, before nodding in the direction of the school.
"I believe we were meant to be going to the welcoming speech in the auditorium. Shall we be off then?" Smiling her own smile, Ruby nodded vigorously, and they started towards the school's main building, walking side by side. After a few steps, however, Harry's smile twisted into a frown, and he paused mid-step.
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, noticing the change. Harry turned his face towards her, and not for the first time, she wished she could see under the glasses he wore.
"I thought I recognized someone, but… I must have been mistaken." Frowning, Ruby glanced around. The courtyard was almost entirely deserted, except for them.
"Who? There's no one else here." For some reason, Harry's lips quirked at the question, but instead of answering he shook his head.
"Never mind. Let's just get going, yeah?" Ruby nodded slowly, but as they resumed walking, she kept her narrowed gaze on him. He still walked gracefully, surprisingly light on his feet, but there was a tension to his steps now that hadn't been there a second ago. She didn't know what had changed, or who he could have possibly seen, but with a shake of her head, she pushed the thoughts out of her head. Somehow, she had managed to make a friend, and she didn't want to spoil it by pushing him on something personal like that. She would figure out whatever was bothering him eventually.
XXX
DadadadadadadadadadadadaDUM!
Welcome, one and all, to the first real chapter of HLHD! Yes, I know that technically, the Trailers count as chapters, but in reality, they are just that, Trailers. At the point of writing them, I saw them as essentially concept art, since I wasn't even sure if this would become an official thing. Now though… well, here we are. HLHD is officially a go, and Oum help us all for it.
Alright, introductions out of the way, I shall start by apologize if anybody is out of character, except for Luna who I purposefully made OOC for several reasons. This is my first time writing the RWBY characters for anything, and I hope that I lived up to the standards set by the actual show. As for Luna, as I said, there are several reasons for her change in personality. Firstly, we already have a weirdo insane girl with Nora, and since this is set in her home universe, it would feel wrong having Luna try to force her way into that role. ALso, since this is not only a different life, but Luna was actually raised by at least somewhat sane people this time, it only made sense that she would be more stable than she was before.
Okay, so something I wnated to mention, since this was acutally a first for me, is that last chapter I received a troll review from a guest. Now, I'm not upset; quite the opposite, actually I find it quite amusing and highly flattering that I'm both good enough and wide spread enough for people to feel me worth insulting. It actually gave me quite a laugh, but I wanted to ask some advice from you readers, since I didn't quite understand what it was supposed to mean. For that, I will qoute it here. "Well, this chapter was incredibly masterbatory. Consider trying not to be awful." So, I understand the last bit pretty well. Obviously he is trying to say I suck, despite the fact that even from just a grammatical and syntax standpoint I outclass pretty much ninety-eight percent of Fanfiction, not to mention several published authors, but hey, if he thinks my plot and story sucks, that is his god(read: old white men fed up with tea taxes)-right. What I really want to know though, is what the fuck the rest of it is supposed to mean. Like, seriously, is he trying to say this was something he would jer k off to, or is he trying to say I just jerked off all over the keyboard and that was what came up? If anyone has any ideas, feel free to mention them, because I'm incredibly confused at the moment.
Other than that, I don't think I have anything else to say except I hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to Review. I shall be working on putting up more of this story soon, but for now, I will see ya'll later!