Hello. In case you haven't noticed, if you care that is, I went back and revised the previous chapter a little bit. Mainly I extended the fight between Cinder and Ruby and made Ruby rant a little about her feelings of Hunters and Huntresses. As for the reviews, well, let's see.
FlamingGinger06- You think so? Thank you. I was little worried about writing him since I don't have as well of a grasp on him, but thanks for reassuring me. As for meisters sounding like a race, I simply made them individuals who are genetically capable of handling Demon Weapons. Okay, on second thought that does sound a like a race. Don't worry, I will put the manga on my to-read-in-the-future list. Your guess in episodes...errr... let's just say it was a off a bit.
Hakuryukou79- Thanks for the luck and the compliment. I will try my best. Let's found out how it changes, shall we?
Hazzamo- Hahaha short and sweet! Thank you!
garoorar- Good. I try for interesting. For your answers to my questions, A) ... shhhh. I also read the wiki a bit so it's not as bad as it seems. Sorry everyone. B) It's not so much that he is bloodthristy, it is more like he enjoys the thrill of combat a lot since it doesn't happen a lot for him. He really gets hung up on Auras because he consumes them even less than he engages in combat, making the delicacy so much more delicious. You know what I mean, right? Plus he won't be exactly the same as he was in Soul Eater. He will be similiar, but remember, he was born into this world, not brought here, and undoubtly somethings will have changed. I will explain the whole Grimm-Aura thing eventually, maybe even next chapter. Yes, they will do a variant of Soul Resonance with Aura. And don't worry, while Beacon won't be the best for him right now, but later, who knows? Either way, thank you for your feedback.
necrofantasia- Since upon reading your review I agreed with it I went back and changed their conversation a good portion. Thank you for the idea. Besides, think about it. If a girl years your junior suddenly popped up out of nowhere and did something you could never do, how would you feel?
pokemonallstarfan- Aww thanks. I try. Let's see if I can, shall we?
Now that I covered all da reviews 'n stuff, I should probably start this chapter. Enjoy (or not, your choice).
High above the colorful streets of Vale City, an airship was flying. Unlike the helicopter-reminiscent vehicle recently used by Roman Torchwick in his botched escape attempt, this one looked like a massive cruise liner, with three spaceship thrusters attached to the back and massive flippers connected to its sides. Within one of the lower decks of this massive behemoth the incoming students of Beacon Academy were relaxing, talking, or generally standing around, save for a specific few.
Near the center of the deck a girl with flowing blonde hair and light purple eyes was holding court. She was laughing loudly, bending over while shaking the shoulder of one of her friends as another one told the joke. Many people in the room seemed to gravitate towards the girl, most not even knowing her name. But by the end of the flight they would surely know it then and count her among her friends. She simply appeared to be that type of person, friendly, popular, funny, and pretty. No doubt she would be the life of any party, and no doubt will start quite a few as well. Beacon to her would be a hobby, a pastime, a game, simply a place to pass the time between the wild parties she attended. She was there just because that was where the party was.
A dark corner held another blonde within, this one male and wearing obvious armor unlike his leather-wearing fellow blonde. Also unlike the other blonde he seemed to be a nobody, a reject. He seemed that way because no one else in the room even noticed him, much less talked to him. He was gripping his stomach as if in pain, probably from motion sickness. His dark blue eyes darted around the room, searching for threats, most likely bullies in his case. In short, he seemed weak and cowardly, unprepared for this Academy of blood and death.
Finally, lurking within the darkest possible area that a deck with many large windows could have, a girl sat cross-legged as she read a black book matching her outfit. If asked, many in the room would have been hard-pressed to see that girl, blended in as well as she was. Atop her black hair she wore a black bow that seemed strangely out of place. Despite her apparent focus on the book she was tensed up, prepared at any moment for fight or flight. Her hand never seemed to move far away from the sheathe containing her weapon. Something within her amber eyes suggested experience gained with pain. She seemed to be the most prepared student on that entire deck for the strains of Beacon Academy.
"Not including myself, of course." Ruby thought to herself as she finished scanning the deck, face and eyes hidden beneath the red hood draped over her head. Since the moment she sat in her seat she observed all of the incoming students coming into the room and examined them more closely once the airship took flight. Out of the roughly twenty students on the deck, only those three stood out. Why, she wasn't sure, but something told her to watch out for them in the future.
That something was not the yammering sentient scythe on her back.
"Rubes, I want out! For the past week since we were accepted to Beacon you only let me out to eat and to relieve myself! Come on, I want to see if our new school is cool enough to go to!" Soul sounded almost pleading as he yammered to her while still sitting on her back. That entire week he had been forced to stay in scythe mode almost constantly "as punishment" while Ruby went out and trained a bit more. Spending most of a week in scythe mode did absolutely nothing in improving his sanity. At this point, he was willing to go out naked tied to a dog leash.
"Fine, when we get there and the coast is clear I will let you out. Now shut it, I'm watching my fellow students." Ruby murmured quietly to him while her grey eyes continued flicking between the others in the room.
Really, besides the fore-mentioned three, no one else stood out at all. To her they were only a background, things only seen, not heard or used.
Sighing, Ruby sat up straight, observation of the room complete. Nothing important to remember. At that moment the newscast at the side caught her attention. It was talking about recent events in the world and the one that just came on related to her.
"Shocking news has just been revealed to the press. Roman Torchwick, a well-known criminal, has escaped from prison after his capture during a failed getaway. The only clues to how he escaped are the burned corpses of the guards that was in his sector of the prison at the time. Apparently he had escaped the night of his capture but the prison declined to reveal the news until now. If you any information about his whereabouts, please contact the police immediately." The news report flashed a mug shot of Roman after his capture during their talk about his escape.
"Hey Rubes, wasn't that the guy we captured the other day?" Soul asked from her shoulder. His only response was silence and narrowed eyes. "Errr... nevermind. So how about the weather today, Ruby? Isn't it nice?" Soul eagerly asked in hopes of moving Ruby's thoughts away from the news, lest she start taking her anger out on someone, usually that someone being him.
Before Ruby could respond, no doubt in her coldly sarcastic way, the news report began talking again.
"In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted..." the news lady began while showing a picture of the protest in the background. The moment she said "White Fang" Soul audibly growled. Ruby reached behind her and patted the scythe as she kept her eyes narrowed. The Faunus terrroist organization was a lot of the reason Soul was bullied and beaten when he was young, so naturally the duo held ill will against them. Before she could continue calming Soul, however, the newscast shimmered and changed into a image of Glynda Goodwitch.
"Hello, and welcome to Beacon." The Huntress said to them. Ruby's response was to snort. Her opinion of the uptight professor was not very good. She didn't despise the woman but she didn't like her either.
"Who's that?" The blonde girl she saw earlier asked, stopping her merrymaking for the moment. 3...2...1... Ruby thought to herself. When she reached 1 the image said "My name is Glynda Goodwitch."
"Oh." responded the blonde in a tone of suprise. Ruby rolled her eyes as she sat back in her seat, eyes still concealed within her hood. Not too bright that one. was her thought as she ignored the still-speaking image on the window. It was probably some high-ho speech about they were going to protect the world and how Beacon was going to help them do so. Just the same peppy speech every school she ever went to said.
Instead she focused on the view outside her window. Currently they were high above Signal Academy, a well-known warrior's school located within Vale City. If she strained her eyes enough she could just make out the little shapes of the students far below them, many of them certainly wishing they were where she was now. Next to Signal was the river that ran through the city, with many trees and cafes lining its banks. Beyond that the many buildings and lights of Vale could be made out, stretching far out into the distance, almost as far as the all could see.
"Wow... so cool. I hope the view from Beacon is just as good." Soul whispered as he peered over her shoulder to see the view. Ruby went hmm in response, eyes still scanning the horizon.
They remained that like for a minute, only for them to hear the instantly-recognizable sounds of someone puking his breakfast all over the floor reached their eyes, as well as the cries of "Eww it's on my shoes! Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!". Soul started full-out laughing, creeping out the students nearest to her as they saw no one making the sound. Ruby didn't bother to smile nor turn around, for she knew who had puked and who had been puked on just from the noises.
"Hahaha Rubes, looks like the two blondes just got acquainted! Hahaha!" Soul managed to get out between his bouts of laughter. Ruby merely shook her head at the antics of her partner, used to him by now.
Unknown to the two in the corner, the girl in black from earlier turned towards them, eyes narrowed in curiousity as she examined the scythe hanging on the girl in red's back.
Errrrrrggggggg went the ship as it coasted to a stop. Over the speakers came the announcement that they had arrived at Beacon and are free to depart. Immediately the crowd of incoming students stood up from where they were sitting and moved out the doors in a babble of talk and laughter. Ahead of the crowd a boy with blonde hair ran off the ship quickly. One would think he was excited to arrive... until he dashed to a trash can and began introducing himself and the contents of his stomach.
Near the back of the crowd Ruby walked forward slowly, head ducked low. Just as she expected the blonde was experiencing motion sickness, badly if his meeting with the trashcan was any indication. She moved past him without looking in his direction, no sympathy or pity in her eyes. If he couldn't handle an airship, how could he possibly survive in an academy meant to train him to fight monsters? Walking past the still-upchucking boy (how much did he eat this morning? A truckfull?) she turned a corner, then stopped.
She saw Beacon Academy properly for the first time. She stopped in order to properly examine the sight. A cobblestone road lined with elegant streelights led up to the academy proper. Surrounding the central buildings was a white aqueduct split in the middle to accommodate the road. From this distance many of the high pointy buildings were coated in shadow. The only building that could be made out with any detail was the tallest one in the middle. It was shaped like a lighthouse with several chimneys while underneath its main roof was a green object whose purpose she could not identify. No matter her opinions about its administration and students, she had to admit that Beacon Academy was an impressive sight.
"Amazing! This has to be the coolest sight I ever seen!" Of course the moment had to be ruined by a certain red and black scythe. "Now I really can't wait to go here!" Soul was like an exuberant puppy at this point, that was how excited he was to be seeing Beacon for the first time.
"Soul... You are not going here. I am. No one can know that you are... you. Do you understand?" Ruby didn't particularly crush Soul's dreams, but she had to keep him grounded, otherwise who knows what he would do.
"Right, right. You told me before. Really, Rubes, you can be so uncool sometimes." He sighed as he spoke, depression evident in his tone. Ruby rolled her eyes as she said to appease him "If you are good, I will let come out for a bit and explore, okay Soul?" Before Soul could start ranting about how cool she was or how amazing Beacon looked Ruby felt something bump her back. She turned around only to see a luggage cart stacked high with white suitcases, except that the suitcases were falling to the ground. She lifted an eyebrow, wondering who would bring so much stuff to a Hunter's academy, only to hear an angry voice yell at her.
"Watch where you are going, you complete dolt!" The voice yelled from behind her. She turned around to see a girl with white hair and clothes glaring at her and stomping around. The girl opened her mouth to complain at her only to be cut off.
"Actually, your cart ran into me. And for the record you are going to Beacon Academy so you don't need so much luggage. You should only need your weapon and battle clothes, nothing else." Ruby retorted in her bland tone. The white-haired girl's face grew red in anger and she started gripping the rapier at her waist.
"Why you little prick! Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?! Do you know who I am?!" The girl shouted back at her in rage. Ruby thought for a moment then said:
"I don't know who you are, but I know what you are. A spoiled little princess, perhaps an heiress, used to getting everything she wanted. Whenever something doesn't go your way you simply stomp your feet and have someone despose of it for you. Someone who simply has everything handed to her, but hates it all the while. A sad and lonely little princess sitting on her throne of ice, without anyone to love or to be loved. That is who I think you are." The whole time she said this the same blank and bored face sat on Ruby's face, not even twitching as the girl in question grew enraged and pulled out her rapier to attack her.
"You stinking little-!" The girl yelled as she lunged forward, steel sword in hand, only to stop at the sudden disappearance of her foe. One moment she was there, the next she was gone. Next thing she knew a very sharp blade curved around the front of her throat as a glacial voice whispered in her ear, "If you ever want to hurt me, you will have to do much better than that." The heiress turned around slashing but no one was there. The heiress stopped her slash and straightened up in confusion. On the road no one could be seen, and the only sound that could be heard was the whistling of the wind. Huffing, the heiress placed her luggage back on its cart and continued moving in the direction of the school.
"Why did you do that Rubes? You aren't usually that mean to people." Soul asked as they walked in the small forest directly next to Beacon. After their confrontation with the white-themed heiress, Ruby had dashed into the woods to find a spot to let Soul regain his human form. They had been walking for a little while now in search of a clearing big enough for the tranformation. They had just walked past a particularly big tree when Soul decided to pipe up.
"Simple, Soul. If I didn't say such things she would have tried to steamroll all over me and others in the future. And I wanted to get further than a day before I send anyone who tries to perform stunts like that on me to the infirmary." Ruby murmured as she caught sight of a clearing that would suit their purposes very well. Striding to the middle of it she pulled Soul off her back and sat him on the ground. She turned around as a bright light filled the clearing. A hand gripped her shoulder and she turned around again to look straight into Soul's grin and striking red eyes.
"Thanks Ruby. Man I am really stiff right now. Let's start walking to the Academy so that I can get the kinks out." To prove his point Soul stretched his arms above his head and several audible criiicks and pops could be heard. Ruby nodded and turned back towards the road, walking along with Soul beside her. They moved out of the forest and walked along the road towards the academy that was looming ever closer.
"Hey, look at that guy. He seems kinda lonely." Soul pointed in the direction of a nearby bench as he talked. Without turning her head Ruby saw in the corner of her eye the same blonde from that puked on the ship staring down at his hands. He looked so sad and so dejected that of course Soul would have noticed him. He was someone who cared for others like that.
She shrugged as she continued moving towards the buildings, only to realize that Soul had vanished from her side. She looked around for the human that could turn into a scythe and noticed that he had started walking towards the blonde on the bench. Sighing she turned back to retrieve her kind-hearted weapon of mass destruction.
It was not a great day for one certain Jaune Arc. First he had to wake up super early to get to the airship on time, then he almost missed it anyway, next he had experienced some of the worst motion sickness in his life, after that he threw up all over a pretty blonde girl, and now he was sitting alone on a bench because he didn't know where he was supposed to be going. All in all, he didn't know if the next thing that will happen make it worse or better.
"Hola, amigo. Como estais?" he heard suddenly. He looked up from where he was looking downwards in sadness and jumped at how close this newcomer was and the very sharp teeth he could see coming out of his mouth. He calmed as he realized this guy was smiling at him, meaning he probably won't bully him, and noticed that near the stranger someone was standing still in a red cloak. Deciding that since the red-cloaked figure was silent he could ignore whoever it was for now, Jaune responded to the sharp-teethed stranger in his usual elegant and well-spoken manner.
"Huh?" The stranger laughed (those teeth! They look like they can snap through bone!) and chuckled to him, "Haha I'm just messing with ya, no one understands that. The name's Soul, nice to meetcha." At that he stuck his hand out. Jaune stared at it, trying to tell if it was a snub or not. Based on the eyebrow that the stranger just raised, it wasn't.
"Jaune Arc" he said as he grasped the hand in a (he hoped) firm fashion and shook it. "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."
The stranger chuckled again. "If that was the case with names, then I would be swarmed by the ladies by now. Nice to meet you Jaune." He grinned as he finished shaking Jaune's hand.
"Sooo... who's your friend?" Jaune asked, nodding at the figure. The figure barely moved at the mention of her presence. "Ruby" the figure said back to him, emotion absent from her tone. Jaune felt a bit... uncomfortable when the figure responded, so he moved back to his more expressive companion. "So you both are attending Beacon?" he asked in an attempt to get his mind away from the fact that a shiver was currently running down his body from the figure's tone. He mentally facepalmed himself, of course they both were attending Beacon, why else would they be here?!
"Naw, I'm just 'visiting'. Ruby here, however, is. In fact she's a new student like you." Soul told him. Out of his entire response, Jaune only focused on a few words. "Wait, she? You are a girl?" By then he had turned to face the fgure, only to be suprised as she pulled the hood back from her face and revealed a girl who looked two years younger than him with the blankest expression he had ever seen. "Err... h-hi... my n-name is Jaune." he stuttered out when he saw the girl's face. The girl, who had black hair with red and white highlights, didn't change her expression at all as she said "I know."
"Umm...right..." he stammered before he remembered something. "Hold on, what do you mean by visi-" he cut himself off as he realized that Soul was already walking away. "Wait, where are you going?!" he shouted as his new (and currently, his only) friend was about to vanish from sight.
"I'm heading off to wherever we're supposed to go, you comin'?" Soul shouted back right before he disappeared behind some trees. Jaune didn't even have to think as he took off running towards Soul, leaving the girl named Ruby standing alone on the road.
"Pant...huff...pant...huff... I finally caught up to you Soul- WHAT?!" Jaune had finally caught up to Soul, who suprisingly already reached the campus by the time he caught up, and started talking to him before he realized that Ruby was walking next to him.
"I thought I left you behind in the forest! Wait a second... oh. I'm sorry. I forgot about you. But how are you already here?!" Jaune had ran hard the entire time to catch up and he was positive that no one passed him the entire time. The only answer he got was a small shrug from Ruby, so small that it almost didn't count as one.
"Okay... don't tell me. I will figure it out eventua- oh who am I kidding. I never going to find out, am I?" Jaune slumped down in defeat as he realized this. He was rewarded though in the form of an almost miniscule smirk that the girl gave him. Soul visibly jumped when he noticed that. He slid next to Jaune and cupped his hands around Jaune's ear, whispering, "Feel very very triumphant right now. She almost never smirks for anyone but me." WHAM! Soul was flat against the ground, holding his skull in pain. Jaune whipped his head around only to see Ruby walking as if she didn't just decked Soul straight to the ground. Jaune was about to ask when he saw Ruby starting to raise a hand and decided to drop it. Then he remembered another question he had.
"How did you know I was a new student?" he asked Soul, who stood back up and acted like nothing ever happened or that there wasn't a lump sticking out of his white hair. He shrugged. "We saw you on the airship we were on for new students." Jaune frowned. He vaguely remembered seeing a figure in red on the ship but he didn't see anyone with white hair on it or sharp teeth. He definetly would have remembered those teeth.
"But where you on there? I think I saw Ruby but not you. Where you another deck or something?" He asked. Soul appeared to not have heard the question as he continued to walk along with his hands behind his head. Jaune went to ask again when he was interrupted by the random question of " So what is your favorite food?" Caught off guard by the seemingly out of the blue question, Jaune nevertheless answered "Pizza."
"Really?! Mine too! Some are so good they almost taste like Au-" WHAM! Once more Soul got to enjoy the taste of dirt. He stood back up and shook himself off, as if this happened all the time.
"What is your favorite part of it? Mine is the sauce." The rest of the conversation went something like that. Jaune and Soul talked about various foods the whole time as Ruby led them along.
"So where are we going?" Jaune suddenly addressed Ruby, who didn't respond. "I thought you knew!" Jaune thought to himself for a second and said "Y-You think there might be a directory? Some kind of recognizable landmark? Maybe a food court?" His answer was a loud laugh from Soul. "Is, uh, that a no?"
"Probably not, but I like the way you think!" Soul answered with a grin that would frighten sharks.
After another five minutes of searching the two students and the Demon Weapon found their way to the courtyard where everyone was gathering. They walked in. Ruby noticed a girl in orange and red that stood out to her, but since the other two didn't see her she kept quiet as they walked past her. Seeing as there was no one she really wanted to stand with, Ruby stood by Jaune and Soul as they finished their conversation about the pros and cons of white meat vs red meat.
"And so, in conclusion, white meat tastes better and is healthier than red meat. And anyone who thinks otherwise is a chicken." Soul started guffawing at his own joke as he wrapped up his finishing argument. Jaune opened his mouth to for his rebuttal but stopped and shrugged.
"Fine, you win. White meat is better than red meat." Soul cheered for a moment but suddenly stopped and stared slack-jawed somewhere into the crowd.
"Soul? You there Soul? Remnant to Soul, do you copy?" Jaune waved his hand in front of his sharp-toothed friend's face but got no response. Jaune turned to Ruby despite avoiding her most of the trip. "What's wrong with him Ruby?" he asked her. Ruby turned to face Soul for a second, then faced Jaune again.
"He sees a girl he finds beautiful." she said as she returned to examing the crowd.
"How can you tell?" Jaune asked in confusion. Ruby snorted in response.
"Look at his nose." Jaune turned around and leaned close to Soul's face. There, out of the corner of one of his nostrils, was a small trail of blood leaking downwards. He followed the path Soul's eyes were following and saw a blonde girl in leather laughing and joking with her friends. He could see why Soul's nose was leaking blood. The girl's oufit was a bit... revealing. The blonde girl seemed to notice Soul staring at her and gave him a smirk and a wink. The blood flow increased to become a thick torrent.
"Soul, focus. Stop oogling the blonde girl." Ruby interrupted Soul's one-sided staring contest. "I was not staring at her, I was just... watching to see if she was a threat, that's it!" Soul desperately replied back to his red-hooded partner. Ruby calmly told him "That blood trickling from your nose begs a differ."
As Soul loudly and vehemetly protested that he wasn't staring at the girl, Jaune chuckled. He hadn't been around the two for long, but he could tell that they were good friends despite Ruby's cold demeanor. He just hoped he could one day have a friend as close as these two were.
Somewhere in the crowd a magenta-eyed boy sneezed before being hounded by a girl in pink about if he was okay and was he sick, maybe she could do something, like find a doctor or take his mind off of it or get him pancakes or-
Imagine something like that happening for five minutes and that was their conversation at that point.
Before Soul could finish his tangent about his innocence to his silent companion they heard the noise of a microphone being tapped and someone saying "I'll keep this brief." They looked towards the stage where they saw Professor Ozpin standing at the front with a microphone and Professor Goodwitch standing beside him.
"You have traveled here today in search of knowledge - to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have 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." After he finished he moved towards a door at the stage's rear while Professor Goodwitch stepped up to the microphone.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." At that she left the stage as well.
Outwardly Ruby didn't react to the speech, only kept her head down as she let her hood cover her head, but inwardly she snorted. I'm sure they came to get new skills, but I highly doubt all of them plan on protecting the people. I also doubt that knowledge can only carry you so far. It has carried me a long way for the moment. In fact, in the entire speech, there was only one thing I thought was true. That all he sees is wasted energy. Ruby was suddenly shook out of her thoughts by a certain red-eyed weapon of hers.
"Hey Rubes, annoying heiress at your six o'clock." Soul whispered into her ear. Meanwhile Jaune stood to the side, confusion written on his face. What was Soul whispering to Ruby? Ruby, on the other hand, only nodded as Soul moved away, her head still concealed within her head.
"You!" The shout rang through the courtyard, echoing off the sides, causing many people to look around in suprise. Jaune could only look on in shock as suddenly a white blur dashed past him and stabbed Ruby. Or at least where Ruby had been standing because by then she had vanished. The heiress immediately whirled around, rapier at the ready as she prepared to block a slash by her enemy. Seeing no one, she made a full 360 as she turned around and around searching for her foe. Panic entered her mind as she realized she couldn't see the girl anywhere. Where did she-? NO! Focus Weiss! Don't let the dolt get to you! You can do this! the heiress thought in an attempt to reassure herself as she continued scanning the arena for a flash of red. Suddenly her feet left the ground as the same voice from last time whispered in her ear "You still need to do better than that." She shivered and closed her eyes at how glacial and chilly it sounded, expressing less emotion and care than she thought possible, so much more disarming than her's could ever be. Then she stopped moving. Opening her eyes she saw what position she paled before reddening and screaming to be let down.
Jaune, along with many others, felt his jaw drop as he saw Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee company, one of the most powerful companies on the face of Remnant, hanging upside down from the top of the archway leading out the courtyard, skirt flipping downward to reveal her underwear. Despite Weiss screaming for them to look away and her attempts to cover her underwear with her hands, almost everyone in the crowd noticed that she was wearing black lace. A few, either really brave or really foolish, even cat-called and wolfwhistled at the sight. She hung there for a few minutes, screaming, yelling, and finally breaking down and sobbing before the janitors found a ladder big enough to retrieve her from her position. The moment she came down she ran off, sobbing and screaming about how she will sue them all and have them locked up for life, starting with the red-hooded prick that put her up there. The prick in question was nowhere to be seen. Neither was a certain white-haired human shark.
"Again Rubes? Why won't you leave the poor girl alone? She may be uptight and annoying, but she didn't deserve that. That wasn't very cool at all." Soul was the one to bring up, naturally, as the two walked along the various corridors of Beacon after their escape from the courtyard. Of course, the next thing Soul said erased any idea that he had pity for the girl.
"Of course," he began, blood dripping from the corner of one of his nostrils, "not that I'm complaining at the sight. Black doesn't seem like her color but hey? What do I know?"
"Soul." said Ruby as they walked past rows of dormitories.
"Yes, oh meister o' mine?" He asked in a faux-innocent tone.
"Shut it."
"Right."
"Anyways," Ruby told Soul as they walked past a window showing the main fountain of Beacon, students gathered around it in gaggles, "I was merely setting an example. Anyone who thought they could have dismissed me or used me to their own purposes just because I am younger than the average student now knows that I am one not to be crossed. Besides, if the heiress didn't leave me alone under the threat of violence, now she will avoid me for fear of humilation. I really should have thought of that the first time."
"Ruby, you really are very uncool sometimes. Well, all this talk of humilation and uncoolness has made me hungry. On that note I'm going to find the cafeteria okay?" He said to her as they came to a junction between corridors going in four directions including the one they just came from.
She sighed. "Always, always food, isn't it Soul? Even when you just met Jaune it was still all about food."
"Hey! He happened to be a fellow connoisseur of the almighty pizza! It was destined to come up!" He protested as they lingered there for a moment.
Sighing again Ruby replied in a weary tone, "Fine, but in a hour come to the empty classroom adjacent to the ballroom. They said that the first year students will be sleeping in the ballroom tonight and I would like it if you remained hidden close at hand so for now you will be sleeping there. Along that vein of thought don't make a racket in the cafeteria or eat them out of house and home. And no fighting on the way!" She said that last part in a much stricter tone than the previous part of her statement.
"Aww man, fine! And it would have relaxed all of my kinks too!" Soul complained and pouted as he set off in a random direction in search of the awe-inspiring wonderland known as a cafeteria. Ruby shook her head as she set off in another direction, well aware that Soul was going the complete opposite direction from the cafeteria. "He's bright enough to figure it out." she thought as she moved towards the library. Right then a cry of "Ow! Move out of the way- oh. It's a pillar. My bad!" reached her ears. "Then again," she thought as she reached the doors to the library, "perhaps not."
After giving the standard welcome-to-Beacon speech Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch headed towards Ozpin's office to fill out some last minute paperwork. As per usual after every welcome speech the two talked about what they thought of the incoming students. They dismissed the usual students that came in every year, the ones that seemed to blend into the background, and had moved on to the students that stood out to them. They had just finished discussing Pyrrha Nikos, the three-time Minstral regional champion, and was about to start talking about Yang Xiao Long, the blonde brawler well-known on the underground circuit, when one of the jantors ran up to them and interrupted.
"Professor Ozpin!" he shouted, panting and out of breath. Ozpin frowned at seeing one of his staff, albiet a non-teaching one, act in such a non-professional way.
"Yes? What is it?" he asked the man, who by that time managed to regain some air and straightened up again from his hunched-over position.
"Quickly! Look on your Scroll! It's about Weiss Schnee! Camera 23!" he shouted to the two professors.
Once more Ozpin frowned as he pulled out his portable Scroll and went to the camera feed indicated by the janitor. He didn't care about the Schnee heiress in particular, but Mr. Schnee would get his backside if something happened to his daughter while she was on his campus. After all, even a school designed to train warriors to kill monsters needed some donations from time to time. Especially with that anger management class. Seriously, how do they run through fifty droids in an hour?! And that's was when everyone but one was away sick! How is that even possible?!
"Ahem." Professor Ozpin shook his head several times, to clear his brain of his internal tirade about the costs of the anger management class, and turned to his assistant. "The Scroll, perhaps?" she continued, nudging his arm to get his attention.
"Err... ahem. Yes, the Scroll." Struggling to regain his calm and collected air he turned to his Scroll and looked at the events happening outside in the courtyard. Professor Goodwitch and the unnamed janitor started leaning closer to look at the tablet only to leap back in shock as the esteemed headmaster of Beacon fell to the floor laughing and rolling around.
"Pr-pr-Professor Oz-Ozpin?!" Professor Goodwitch stammered out as the janitor glared at the man still rolling on the floor. "Wh-what are y-you doing?!"
Grasping his stomach as he climbed onto his feet, Ozpin passed the device to Professor Goodwitch as he continued laughing his socks. Professor Goodwitch took one look at the device before reddening in rage. "You... Ozpin..." she growled in an irritated tone as she lifted her riding crop in a slow and threatening manner. Ozpin took off, still laughing full-throttle the whole time, dodging bolts of Dust and energy as if he did it every day as Professor Goodwitch chased after him, firing out of her riding crop and yelling "Come back you oaf! Here's what I think about your laughter at your students suffering! What type of headmaster are you?!"
They left behind the janitor with the Scroll at his feet as the dust (the regular sort) kicked up in the air around him. He bent over and picked up the Scroll still showing Weiss Schnee hanging upside-down at the archway and screaming. He sighed as he walked away towards Ozpin's office to return the Scroll.
"Why do I always work for the crazy ones?" he grumbled as he went down the corridor leading to the headmaster's office.
After taking his punishment and a quick detour to the infirmary, Professor Ozpin continued making his way to the Initiation cliffs to do a few last-minute adjustments to the initiation test. Professor Goodwitch walked along with him, still a little red and steaming from earlier. To stop her from dwelling on those thoughts (and hoping to prevent another beating) Professor Ozpin spoke up, grabbing her attention.
"You know that was Ruby earlier, right? Who did that to the Schnee heiress?" he told her, to her great suprise.
"Hmm. I would not have thought it. She seemed too... indifferent to such things to bother with doing that type of thing to someone." She said in a curious tone, much to Ozpin's secret amusement.
"Well, I can see why. By embarassing and humilating the heiress in public, she insured that said heiress would not bother her again. I saw that little scuffle on the lawn earlier, so it comes as no suprise that this would have popped up again. If anything I thought it would have happened later. Weiss Schnee didn't strike me as one to rush in recklessly." he said as they reached the top of the cliffs and scanned the emerald-green canopy of the forest.
Most years they usually didn't bother with adding in lesser Grimm, the forest did that naturally, but they would add in one or two higher-up Grimm as a test to the students' teamwork and skill. This year, though, they didn't need to. The Deathstalker that had been slumbering for a long time, since almost beyond recent memory, within a cave in the forest had shown signs of stirring. Add in a few clumsy Hunters/Huntresses-in-training and they wouldn't have to worry about supplying a higher class Grimm at all. With a large Nevermore spotted in the area recently as well, this would be an interesting initiation this year.
"One thing does intrigue me though." he murmured as he observed the forest through the Scroll he retrieved from the janitor. Hearing Professor Goodwitch go hmm? in an interested tone, he elaborated. "As I spoke to the students this year (You sounded unfocused and off this year, Professor Ozpin. Glynda, I am trying to tell you something important. Condone my lack of public speaking skills later.) I noticed something odd. Before I left the stage I saw that near Ruby was a boy with white hair and red eyes."
"Yes, I think I know who you are talking about." Professor Goodwitch butted in, stopping Ozpin's chatter. "Was he wearing a yellow jacket and black pants?"
"Yes. He was." replied Ozpin, sipping at his coffee. (Odd. Glynda thought to herself. I didn't see him bring his coffee mug.) "You know I personally check all of the incoming student's files, and I didn't recongize him from any of them. How could he sneaked on campus if the only way here is the airships and you only could get on one with proper identification? Despite that, that was not the strange thing. The strange thing was his Aura."
"What about it?"
"Through these (he tapped the side of his glasses as he talked. While he wears the glasses he could literally see people's Auras.) I saw that his Aura was unusually large." Professor Goodwitch was about to cut in again when Ozpin raised his hand to quiet her. "No that's not it, otherwise Jaune Arc would be held in much higher regard than he is currently, even including the fact he is an Arc. No, that boy's was unusual because I have seen that exact Aura before."
"But you say haven't seen him before?" Professor Goodwitch questioned him in a confused way. Throughout this entire conversation they remained atop the cliffs, examining the forest far below.
"I haven't. His Aura, however, I have. I have seen it on a certain red-hooded student's scythe. The exact same signature that was on that scythe is also on that boy."
Professor Goodwitch gasped. Normally nothing could faze her, but for some reason that did. "Then what does it mean?" she breathed out to the headmaster. He chuckled.
"That I do not know. For now all we can do is just continue with initiation as normal. You may resume your regular teaching duties now." Professor Goodwitch grumbled at the slightly-rude dismissal but still left, leaving Ozpin standing alone atop the cliffs, silhouetted against the setting sun.
He leaned against his cane and sipped his coffee (Seriously, where did he get his mug?!) as he reflected upon the recent discovery.
"So..." he whispered so quietly that he couldn't hear himself against the gentle breeze, "there are several possibilities. For one thing maybe he lent the scythe to Ruby that night, but why? How could he have used it enough at that point to leave such a distinct signature on it? One problem with this theory is that Ruby had it today. Maybe that's why he came today to the ceremony? To get it back? Ruby doesn't seem like someone who would borrow a weapon... or attempt to take it with her to Beacon. Overall this idea doesn't add up."
"Perhaps, (sip) he is just a random bystander who somehow wandered onto campus and happened to stand next to Ruby? But why would his Aura signature be on her weapon? Maybe one of them stole it from the other?" He shivered as a massive wave of pure rage and hatred rolled over him from somewhere. "No. Not continuing that line of thought. So that's out."
"Or maybe... just maybe... I did not think they still existed but maybe..." he slowly grew quieter and quieter as he said the sentence, the final words barely a breath into the wind. His tone was calm but undercurrents of fear and awe could be made out as he spoke the final words.
"... maybe he is a Demon Weapon."
"AAACCCHHHOOOOO!" Soul wiped off his nose with his hand as he looked around the hall. He had been walking for a little while now when suddenly he sneezed for no apparent reason.
"Huh. Maybe someone is talking about me? I hope it was the pretty blonde girl from earlier." He chuckled quietly at the thought as he continued on his way. Then he sighed as he realized probably not. He was cool, but not that cool. "Still," he shrugged as he thought, "one can dream."
He was interrupted from his musing by a couple of boys talking loudly and roughly while turning a corner towards him. Upon seeing them he slouched down, stuck his hands in his pocket, and started whistling. As the boys neared Soul he looked in their direction and gave them a nod and a grin. Fulfilling his obligation to spread the "cool among the school" he continued on his quest for the almighty pizza.
The boys had other ideas however. They stopped and turned to face him. One of them, a boy in heavy armor with orange hair, poked his head out and barked at Soul, "Hey you!"
Soul frowned. The boy's tone sounded arrogant and full of himself, with a streak of demandance lurking within. "Yes?" he asked in back in an even tone. He may have said he wouldn't fight, but if they attacked it wouldn't be a fight it would be "self-defense." Despite what Ruby thought he didn't go around picking fights with everyone he saw, but he was willing to use "self-defense" as necessary. He just happened to use "seld-defense" a lot.
"Are you a Faunus? Your teeth seem really sharp to not be." was his answer. His frown deepened when he heard them comment on his teeth. It has been a sour point for him ever since he was little. People would just point at his teeth and back up in fear or they would beat him in anger. In fact, no one ever said anything positive about them until he met Ruby and she said they were cool. He thought of what he should say back, thinking it wouldn't be wise to say a simple "yes or no". Coming up with few other ideas, he countered with his own question. "What does it matter?"
"Because we don't like those freaks around here. That means if you are a Faunus, you are a freak and you need to be taught a lesson." The boy smirked in a way that suggested supreme arrogance as his three friends laughed at his comment. They each wore some form of armor, either heavy or light, and they had tanish brown, light-blue, and lime-green hair. Based on his first impression, they didn't seem to have a independent bone in their body as they said nothing at all as the orange-headed boy insulted all Faunus-kind, only laughed.
Inwardly Soul's frown grew into a grimance of anger and rage but outwardly he grew a smirk of his own. "Aww why so mean to your fellow human beings? What have they ever done to you?" The bully, as Soul could now see that he was one, scowled as he snarled "They are no humans! They are freaks! Monsters! They are little more than animals that deserve to be kicked around!" He ended his rant with a malevolent laugh full of malice as his friends joined in.
Soul's only response was to deepen his smirk. "Oh. Now I get it. Sometime when you were little a Faunus had beaten you, and it drove to to distraction. It clawed and pried at you until the only thing to do was to convince yourself that they were freaks, animals, and that you were naturally better than them, just to erase the shame of defeat from your mind. Maybe you even convinced yourself that you let them win, just so you didn't with the failure. Aww you poor baby. Did the little carrot-head lose to some itty-bitty Faunus child? Aww..."
"Why you little-! Let's get him guys!" The bully roared to his friends and they all ran in, battle-cries ringing in their ears. They charged in, weapons already swinging at his body. He jumped back as he avoided them. From what he could see the orange-haired one wore heavy armor gilded with gold and had a large bird-like crest imprinted in its middle as he swung a demonic-looking mace, with the spikes angled around a large red cyrstal, straight at his mid section. The guy with the green mohawk's outfit struck him as barbaric, being mainly fur armor with a spiky shoulder pauldron. He used two green swords that he slashed at Soul's head, whick ducked underneath quite easily.
The other two wore armor similiar to a standard man-at-arms without the helmet, the only differences between the two was that the armor was colored to reflect their hair color and that the blue-haired one's armor set was slightly more angular than the others. He used some sort of halberd while the brown-themed bully used a simple bronze short sword. Overall, they used equipment and armor that, if there one was such a thing, would be considered standard to most Hunters and Huntresses. They, however, seemed skilled with their weapons of choice and would cause any ordinary unarmed person a good deal of trouble. Fortunately for Soul, he was anything but ordinary. (Dang it my cliche alarm just went off!)
Soul ducked and jumped over the various slashes that came to him, sometimes leaning back to avoid the occasional attempted stab. Finally he jumped back and grinned because currently the four boys that were attacking him were hunched over and huffing to regain their breath. "Not bad." he said as his left arm began shimmering. "But let me show you how to really teach somebody a lesson." Sorry Ruby, but I have to make sure they never mess with any Faunus ever again! he mentally shouted as his left arm was engulfed in a bright light. The onlooking boys watched in suprise, then shock as the light dissipated and it was revealed that his left arm had become a red and black scythe blade.
Uh oh. They thought as Soul strode forward. This was not going to go well... for them. The leader of the bullies finally pulled himself back up from the ground and yelled at his friends "Come on! He's just a freak with a weapon for an arm! I bet he cuts himself every times he moves! GOOO!" Having rallied his fellow oafs, the leader charged with his mace outstretched, his friends closely behind him. As for Soul, he laughed inside. He's right. I did cut myself, quite a lot actually, when I first achieved this. But now... he smiled without any real pleasure in it and readied himself for the coming fight.
He jumped to the side as a bronze sword flashed through were he was moments before. He did a forward roll underneath the mohawked kid's swords as they tried to mince him into pieces. He stood up, only to parry with his arm (blade?) an mace that came smashing down. He grunted as his foe applied more pressure to the strike, causing him to back up. He saw the halberd coming in and knew his opportunity had come. He suddenly shoved the bully off his arm and spun, arm-blade flashing in the light. His blue-haired foe wasn't expecting the move and had to stop his blow in order to avoid Soul's slash.
He didn't notice Soul's other arm coming in until it had grabbed the top of his chestplate. By then it was too late because Soul's momentum had spun him around until Soul let go, causing him to go flying into his brown-haired companion. He crashed into him, causing their weapons to fly out of their hands as they collapsed to the ground. The halberd went flying to the side as the sword went sailing to Soul's feet. Soul dropped to the ground to avoid a especially vicious set of slashes coming from the green dual-wielder and picked up the discarded blade in the process. When he rose from the ground he swung the bronze sword at the green-dressed boy, who blocked it easily with one sword while stabbing with the other. Soul knocked it aside with a well-timed slash of his scythe-arm.
As the two began an intense sword duel, the dual-wielder with his green blades and the Demon Weapon with his accquired blade and scythe-arm. The dual-wielder would slash violently but Soul would duck under them or lean back, avoiding the strikes entirely. But when he tried to counter-attack the dual-wielder would block with one blade while attacking with the other. All the while during this stalemate the orange-haired leader sat back and watched them fight. He wasn't too concerned because the Faunus-loving traitor forgot about him, or at least he thought he did. Seeing an opening he charged in, yelling at the top of his lungs as he swung his mace in a blow that could crush skulls.
Unbeknownst to the two, Soul smiled when he heard the over-confident leader coming in with a strike. When the green boy's next strike came in he deflected it instead of blocking, causing the dual-wielder to be off-balance as he slipped to the side. He tripped the orange-head on his way out of the strike-zone so that the blow would not crush the green-head's skull. He may want to teach them a listen but he didn't wan them to die. That isn't usually very cool. The blow struck and the dual-wielder screamed as he dropped his blades, hand grasping at his skull as blood trickled out, staining the bottom of his mohawk a light pink hue over the green. Before th two could react further Soul reverted his arm to normal and picked the two up by the collar, tossing them into their friends that had just shakedly made their way back to their feet. The quartet collapsed into a collection of limbs, metals, and curses.
Soul smirked as he dropped the bronze blade and moved towards the quartet slowly. "You see," he began, catching the bickering group's attention, "if I had been a Faunus, you would have just lost to one of you so-called 'freaks' a moment ago. The next time you try to bully someone based on their race (at this his smirk grew demented and full of madness, to such a level that even Grimm would be frightened and causing more than one pair of pants to feel unusually damp.) I will find you. You decide among yourselves what will happen next."
Then suddenly his smirk grew light-hearted and humorous again,scaring the quartet on the floor further. "Rubes may not want me to fully eat your Auras, but that does't mean I can't have a little snack." He moved closer, causing the group to collectively try to shimmer away only to be caught in each others' limbs. They gasped as he made a little cut on each of their arms (why are his fingernails so sharp?!) and an odd red energy seeped out and surrounded each cut. They all felt weaker as Soul moved away, hands once again in his pocket as he said to the group as he departed, "Thanks for the snack fellas. Let's do this again sometime."
Just as Soul was about to move out of hearing range the one with orange hair managed to regain his voice and shout after him, "We won't forget this you traitor! On my name as Cardin Winchester, I will have vengeance upon you!"
Soul chuckled as he moved out of hearing range. "Sure, whatever you say. I'm always up for a little snack. Which reminds me, where is the cafeteria?" He sniffed the air around him and set off in the direction of the most promising smell, leaving behind the quartet to curse and yell as they tried to untangle themselves and reclaim their weapons.
Soul came back from his trip to the cafeteria while munching on a pizza slice, so Ruby assumed it was a success. By the time he had returned, however, night had fallen and the moon had risen in the sky, shattered fragments gleaming against the dark ground. While Ruby was waiting for Soul in the empty classroom she had changed into her pajamas, so that was the sight he saw upon entering.
She wore a white tank-top with her stylized rose emblem emblazed in black on the upper center. Her pants, on the other hand, were black with white polka-dots and her slippers were black as well. In fact, the only splash of color in the outfit came from her cloak, which she wore even to bed. The hood in particular was useful as she used it as a eyemask. Since she never went anywhere, even to bed, unarmed she wore her holsters around the tops of her arms instead of her legs. She sat on top of a rolled-up sleeping bag in the middle of the room, reading a book.
"You are late." Ruby said, not even glancing up from the book she got from the library earlier that day. The librarian was a little suprised that a new student had came in on the first day, but Ruby knew that Soul would be late, as always, and prepared accordingly. If she was going to wait might as well gain some knowledge while at it.
"Sorry." Soul replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I got lost on the way while trying to find the cafeteria. But I found the pizza in the end, so it's all good!" On that note he lifted his pizza slice into the air reverently, gazing upon it with awe-stricken eyes. Ruby chose to look up at that moment, blank expression on her face as usual, and returned to her book.
"You have fought and have eaten part of someone's Aura. Multiple Auras, if I assume correctly." Ruby muttered, all the while reading the book as if she was lying on the beach with it.
Anybody not used to Ruby would have been flabbergasted to hear her say that just from taking a look, but Soul just slumped and sighed. He should have known better than to try to pull one over Ruby.
"Yes I did Rubes. But I actually had a reason this time!" he explained, only to receive a raised eyebrow in response.
"No it wasn't just 'self-defense' this time, I promise! Shesh. Have a little faith. (Soul chose to ignore the fact he used the excuse of 'self-defense' almost everytime he got into a fight, even the ones Ruby specifically saw him start.) But no, instead they were insulting the Faunus, calling them 'freaks' and 'animals." By now Soul's fists clenched as he glared, not at Ruby, but at his memories of the encounter. "I could not let them continue to do so."
Ruby nodded as she read her book. She was well aware off Soul's feelings involving the Faunus, and while she didn't cooperate with his methods of beating those who insulted them, she didn't stop him either. "However..." currently a cocky smirk was growing onto his face, "they attacked me first, so this time it really was self-defense."
Ruby didn't bother acknowledging his last statement as she stood up and went to the door leading to the ballroom, but stopped as Soul called after her.
"Ruby." he called. She turned around to see him already in the sleeping bag she brought along just for this purpose, yellow jacket lying to the side. "Good night. See you tomorrow. I will miss you."
She gave him one final nod as she turned around and exited the mostly-vacant classroom. Soul sighed as he snuggled deeper into his sleeping bag.
"Baby steps, Soul, baby steps. One day she will say it back, I know it." On that note he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of cheesy wonderlands and tomato oceans.
A little while, back in the ballroom, Ruby sat in a corner watching her fellow students prepare for bed. Most of the girls were wearing tank-tops like herself or t-shirts while the males mostly went shirtless. Pretty much everyone either wore pajama bottoms or shorts.
She noticed that in one corner the girl in black from the ship was reading next to a candleholder, still wearing black in form of a short kimono and the same black bow from earlier. Every now and then Ruby saw the bow twitch and stored that information away for later.
Near the center of the room the blonde girl also from earlier lounged abut, still laughing and joking around with her friends.
Ruby's eyes continued scanning the room until she saw a certain boy wearing blue footie pajamas wave at her. She ignored him in favor of watching the rest of the room.
She was so focused on her task she almost didn't notice the blonde girl marching over and waving as well. Almost.
"Hellloooo!" she cried in a sing-song as she moved right in front of Ruby. Ruby remained seated in the corner, not acknowledging the girl's presence. Maybe if the blonde saw that she didn't respond, maybe she would leave her alone.
"My name is Yang! Yang Xiao Long! What's yours?" she said with a smile, bubbling over with sheer enthusiasm. (Warning. Cliche Alarm moved to Level Two.) Then again, maybe not. The girl now known as Yang leaned over and cocked her head at Ruby, expecting an answer. Knowing that she wouldn't leave her alone until she replied, Ruby said in a emotionless tone:
"Ruby."
"Nice to meet you Ruby! So what are doing here all alone in the corner?" Why was this girl still talking to her? Couldn't she see that Ruby was busy?
"Watching."
Yang seemed to be caught off guard, smile faltering for a second, before her smile returned, albiet a little smaller than before.
"Okay. What are you watching for?" Her eyelids lowered in a suggestive manner and whispered as she nudged her in the arm, "Are you looking for the cute boys? If so then I think I could be of some help in the manner."
Ruby ignored the eyelids and the arm-nudging as she replied, "No. I am watching for threats and obstacles."
"Ohh..." the girl's smile grew smaller again as she asked, "What will you do if you see one?"
The look Ruby sent her was so full of apathy and so cold that she literally had to take a step back, lest the look froze her to the spot. Then Ruby said in a tone filled with nothing at all, not even the slightest hint of sadism or paranoia, "Eliminate them."
"Uhh...um...well...uh..." Yang stammered. She was moments away from making an excuse and bolting away when an unlikely ally came to her intervention.
"I have you now prick!" someone shouted as a razor-sharp blade stabbed in Ruby's direction. She seem to vanish, only to reappear at Yang's side just as a girl dressed in a white nightgown ran into view, grey rapier at her side.
"Heiress, I thought you would have gotten the message by now. Or was the underwear flashing for everyone to see not enough?" Ruby replied as she vanished again to avoid another thrust from the heiress. Said heiress squealed as she attempted to cover her privates and still hold her weapon in a threatening manner. Needless to say the attempt failed miserably.
Something clicked in Yang's brain as the words hit her mind. "Wait, that was you?" she asked in a disbelieving tone as Ruby appeared behind the embarassed girl's shoulder. Ruby nodded as again she disappeared to avoid the heiress' blade. Yang burst out laughing.
"Bwahahahaha that was awesome! You, my dear, are amazing! I must know how you did that!" she managed to get out between bouts of belly-hurting laughter and soft giggling. Ruby sighed as she vanished again, only this time to not reappear.
"That is enough for tonight." they heard as the two looked around for the mysterious and cold girl who called herself Ruby. "I will see you all tomorrow at Initiation." Weiss stomped off while Yang giggled as she returned to her friends. That she thought to herself as she was welcomed back with cries of "Yang, you're back!" is a girl I wouldn't mind learning more about.
The sound of a door creaking open reached his ears, making Soul wake up and turn to face the door, prepared to flee if need be. He grinned his sharp-toothed grin as he saw his best friend walk into the room. Without saying anything he scooted over in his sleeping bag to make room for her, which she took without comment as she turned to face away from him. Soul only smiled as he turned away as well. He fell asleep moments later with that smile on his face, as the broken moon shone in through the window, highlighting the two partners as they prepared for the new life awaiting them tomorrow when they awoke.
Wow. That was very easily my longest chapter yet. It is somewhere over ten thousand words, maybe even eleven thousand. But it's all worth squat if none of you like it, so I honestly hope you do. Well I have have a question to ask real quick before you go, or if you want just go now, but either way here is is.
I know it is probably really early to be asking this, but if anyone is bored and has some artistic talent could you perhaps draw a picture of Ruby as described last chapter for me please? I would really like to have a picture like that for the cover image and would be very grateful is somebody could supply it. Feel free to add in whatever little details you want. Please?
Well, even if you don't want to, thanks for listening to me anyway. I hope you all have a swell (insert time of day here). You know what to do: hate, read, rant, enjoy, review, curse, or any combination of said actions. Well, that is all. Bye.
P.S. Thank you very much for betaing this chapter for me, FlamingGinger06! I appreciate it!
