Blake Belladonna was a reclusive girl who had always preferred the company of a good book over actual people. That wasn't to say that she totally disregarded all people, but she did enjoy these last months spent alone in Vale, away from everyone she had spent the last few years of her life with. Was that because she had spent that time surrounded by books, or because she had finally escaped from a terrorist-organization-slash-cult was anyone's guess.
Blake liked to think it was more of the former than the latter.
But all that changed when she received an admissions letter from Beacon Academy. Did she apply to Beacon? Not that she could remember. Somehow, a letter addressed to her, from the most prestigious huntsmen academy in the world, had found its way to her doorstep. Actually, that was incorrect. It had found its way to the doorstep of the house she had been squatting in. But there it was.
Addressed to Blake Belladonna, daughter of Ghira and Kali Belladonna, signed by the headmaster himself, as all admission letters were. Thinking it may have just been some scary prank by her ex and his band of terrorist thugs to tell her that they knew where she was, Blake had thrown the letter in the trash and burned it. Then switched to a different house across town.
Only for another identical letter to arrive the very next morning.
Blake had been beyond worried at that and decided to confirm her suspicions that it was a fake by calling Beacon directly. A quick scroll-call with student services had left her gaping, mouth open and too stunned for words.
"Hello Ms. Belladonna. Yes, I have your name and records right here. Congratulations on being accepted to take the entrance examination. Do you need any help from the school in reaching campus or the nearest bullhead pick-up location?"
That woman's words were engrained in her memory. They were just too shocking to be real. And yet they were. And here she was, riding a Beacon Academy bullhead along with fifty other potential students towards the potential of a new life. Did she want to be a huntress? Deep down, she knew that she didn't. She enjoyed fighting Grimm. And sure, she knew she would enjoy whatever she learned at the academy, were she to complete Initiation. But the idea of actually spending the rest of her life in the field wasn't something she had truly dreamed of. Even though she left the White Fang terrorist organization; it was what she had always wanted to do with her life.
Not the terrorizing or stealing or assassinations that the White Fang had become famous in recent years for, but the human-faunus relations and legal discourse that the group had started as, when it was led by her parents. She had almost missed the bullhead to Beacon because of this indecision. That was, until she began reading articles on her scroll about future career prospects of those who possessed huntsman training and credentials.
She had not known that the current head of Vale was a huntsman graduate from Tower Academy. Plenty of politicians and diplomats had at least some huntsmen training, if not from the academies, then at least from the training schools. Having qualifications or even experience as a huntsman gave a person enough notoriety and prestige that people were bound to listen to them.
Blake imagined herself as a graduated Beacon Huntsman. She would have name power, coming from the most prestigious academy in the world as well as the technical skills to do whatever she wished. And being shoulder-to-shoulder with others who would eventually become famous themselves? Well, her father always did say that who you knew was just as important as what you did. If she played her cards right, Blake could truly change the world for the better.
Become a politician or a speaker for Faunus rights globally. It was that thought; of finally doing what her parents had always longed to do, that swayed her choice for the positive.
And once again, that brought her to today, to the here and now, surrounded by other people; her potential future classmates if all went well. They all seemed to be talking with friends they knew. It made sense. The vast majority of Beacon candidates came from the many training schools around Remnant. Very few would be granted letters of admission without previous fighting experience at these schools.
Blake snickered quietly to herself. She doubted anyone in Beacon would have a story similar to her own. And that brought her to the final thing she realized. Most of those around her were human. Very few Faunus ever chose to become huntsmen and that could clearly be seen by gazing around the open-spaced bullhead. Blake could spot only two other Faunus in the mix of people. That was extremely low, in her opinion. Then again, maybe other Faunus were hiding their traits, just as she was; having hid her cat ears beneath a dark-purple bow.
With a small rattle, the bullhead landed on its assigned docking station. As the back doors opened, letting in the first bit of natural light all of them had seen in two and a half hours, Blake let out a silent yawn, arching her back in a manner that only the most flexible could. Then, she stood up, fixing her belt, which carried her sword, and swung her two bags over her shoulders.
One of them was much heavier than the other. It made sense, since one was filled entirely with hardback books while the other only had clothes. It wasn't like she needed a whole lot of clothes anyways. She knew that the school used uniforms, and even if she didn't make it in, it wasn't like she ever had much choice in clothing to begin with. Her money had always been better spent on books than those pesky essentials.
Letting a group of five chattering girls pass in front of her, she made her way off the ship and out into the greater world. Blinking back a few tears which came from being exposed to such a bright light, she allowed herself a few moments to look around. Just taking in where she was and would hopefully stay for the next few years of her life.
Among the rowdy teens, teachers and various other staff, was a young girl, probably no older than ten, running around and laughing, arms wide, as if she was soaring through the clouds. It made Blake smile slightly. Whatever she was doing there, it didn't seem to bother any of the staff, who only paid her passing glances and sometimes a quick wave 'hello' before they got back to work. It was also clear from the way she ran around the students, that she was fascinated with them. Well, maybe not with them. She did not seem to pay any attention to the actual potential-students. Just their weapons. Her gaze lingered on each colourful blade or powerful gun.
Some of the teenagers laughed along with her excitement, holding their weapons out to her for a better look. While Blake could not hear what the young girl was saying, after a few words from her mouth, the teen holding his weapon seemed to draw back in surprise and confusion.
Blake chuckled at the sight, especially when the girl turned to leave, still with that same smile on her face, like nothing strange had happened. And then she was off once again.
Deciding it was best not to stand still while people-watching, Blake allowed the flow of people to push her forward. And that's when she heard it. Everyone's heads spun as they looked towards a girl with white hair and the little girl explode in a dust cloud. There were a few laughs from the bystanders once they saw that nobody was hurt. Blake, who had immediately recognized the Schnee heiress, almost let out a laugh of her own.
That was until she saw the Schnee start berating a child for a simple accident. That brought a frown to her lips. If Blake hadn't been trying to hide and keep herself from being recognized as a former White Fang terrorist, then she would have gone over there and put the girl in her place. Even if she knew she was not going to get involved, Blake could already feel herself walking towards the ensuing battle until she could hear the two talking.
And that's when she heard that young girl's words which made the Schnee freeze in place. "Hi, I'm Ruby! Ruby Goodwitch!"
It was at that, that Blake started to chuckle. Everyone coming to the academy knew who Professor Goodwitch was. She was the face of the 'welcome to Beacon' video that played during the last ten minutes before the bullhead had landed. If they knew about Beacon, they would know about the famously strict deputy headmistress.
"Ya, That's mommy!"
And the Schnee had just insulted her daughter. Blake had never believed in karma before, but now she was that this this would be a perfect time to start. The Schnee looked like she was either about to puke or collapse.
Then, Blake watched as the Schnee shook her head and glare at the girl. "You know you shouldn't be lying about such things. You look nothing like her, so stop pretending to be her daughter. I'll have you know that I'm Weiss Schnee. And if you don't want me to have your parent fired from whatever expendable job she works at, you will treat me with the proper respect."
And that's when Blake had enough. "The same respect you and your family give all the people working for you do? Even the ones Faunus who are forced to work in Schnee mines with less than stellar working conditions, or the people forced to give up their holidays or risk being let go? The Schnees really do live up to their less than stellar reputation. Is yelling at a child how they start off as, before becoming experts at shady business practices?"
"I… well… I'll have you know… Ugh!" Weiss fumbled her way through her sentence before stamping her foot, giving one last glare to each of them, and then shoving her way past them and towards the rest of the student body.
"Hey!" Blake turned to look at the high-pitched squeak which came from the little girl. She could barely hold back from squealing in delight at the adorable pout that was on her face. The girl's piercing silver eyes were extremely cute. "I'll have you know that I'm not a child. I'm ten! I drink my milk."
Blake smiled, crouching down to be at eye level with Ruby. "But thank you for helping me. Even though I don't think you were saying very nice things to her. You should say sorry."
Holding back an eyeroll, Blake instead chose to nod. "Okay, I'll be sure to apologize when I see her. So, your name is Ruby Goodwitch?"
At the girl's nod, she held out her hand. Ruby quickly grabbed it and gave it a few shakes. "Well, hello Ruby, I'm Blake."
"Hi Blake. Oh! You're a cat Faunus!"
Blake stumbled, falling back onto her palm to hold steady. "H-how…"
"Mommy always told me that some Faunus like to hide their animal parts so the humans would treat them better. We like to play spot the Faunus sometimes. She says it will help me become better at spotting hidden things when I go out on missions as a huntress. Don't worry, mommy always said not to tell anyone, so your secret is safe with me."
That girl looked too honest and pure to have a mean-bone in her body. There was no way that Blake could run from this conversation without hurting the little girl's feelings. Also, Blake was amazed at how quickly the girl had seen through her disguise. It had taken her only a handful of seconds to recognize the bow, realize it was hiding a pair of Faunus ears and wasn't just for decorative purposes, and then figure out what kind of Faunus she was. It was beyond incredible. "O-oh, okay then. Thank you for not telling anybody. And in the future, you should know that Faunus don't like it when people call our… animal parts, 'animal parts'. Try calling them features, in the future."
"Okay, sorry Blake."
Blake smiled, "no problem at all. You are a very perceptive young girl. Maybe I will see you again?"
"Of course! Mommy works here with Grandpa Ozpin and I live here. I will say hi when you pass Initiation! And we can celebrate with milk and cookies!"
Blake let out a soft chuckle, "maybe we will, maybe we will."
Ya... so this one is still going to be crazy weird. Now, before I get ahead of myself, I'm still on the fence whether or not Ruby will be joining Blake and Weiss as an actual student at Beacon, or just as a girl wandering through campus. If it's the former, then all is easy and I can just have the regular pairs of RW and BY. If the latter, then I am going to need to figure out who to stick with either Blake or Weiss.
Either way, I haven't thought that far ahead. All I know is that next chapter is most likely going to be from Yang's perspective, because I have a pattern and damn it all will I stick with it! (At least for next chapter. Who knows what will happen further down the line?) Well, I hope you enjoyed this, because I can only see it getting stranger as we start to see more of Ruby.
Oh, and please remember that I am writing/posting this as it comes to me, so there is bound to be plenty of plotholes and inconsistencies. Pretty please, if you spot one, or have a question, let me know so I can try and close it.
And lastly, before anybody gets too excited, Yang and Ruby will not be related in this story.
Sybaen - Thank you! If the world is going crazy, might as well use it to your advantage!
badbloodkiller1 - Yup! Yang is definitely going to show up (next chapter), but won't be related to Ruby in any way.
Midnightwolf64 - I've always enjoyed adopted Ruby/Mama Glynda stories, so I'm happy to have started this one. Who knows where it will go, because I sure don't! And I'm always open to chatting, about new fic ideas or otherwise. Feel free to shoot me a PM or just respond to a fic and I'll be sure to reply!
IcyDoom - Do you remember the name of that fic? I'm always curious what others wrote when starting with the same basic premise.
merendinoemiliano - Thanks!
Jason169 - I plan to! At least for now.
Until next time!