(chapter 5) [Ruby Rose pov]

My eyes fluttered open. Blinding light filled my vision. I recoiled away from the light, but someone held me against them. I realized I was being given a piggyback ride. I wanted to ask what was going on, but all I could manage was a tired "whaa-h" but a voice answered the question I couldn't articulate. "what were you thinking? Doing something so stupid. You are really lucky it worked, you could have killed yourself!" was the slightly angry voice of my partner, she was talking behind me. I didn't have the energy to move, so I just accepted my fate and listened to her scolding. "I can't believe you ran out of aura, you're lucky there was only one Grimm to fight" so that explained my tiredness, my aura was drained. At least we beat the nevermore. "Weiss! Let it go. Let Ruby recover some more before you talk her to death" Yang's voice said, she was definitely the one carrying me. Yang's voice vibrated through me, I was on her back and being carried just like she had always carried me as a child. I always liked getting piggyback rides.

My eyes still didn't have the energy to open themselves when we all encountered a new set of voices. "congratulations on completing the trials, you four are the last group to be accepted into Beacon. Please proceed to the infirmary if you have any life threatening wounds, team grouping will be held in the same hall as before. Proceed with hast" I remembered the voice, it was Glynda. The other three with me agreed to her and we set off again. After some time, I heard Yang ask me something "hey, Rubs. You think you have the strength to walk? I need to go stand with Blake, and you have your own partner to stand with" she asked in a voice that regretted her having to leave, but sounded like she didn't have a choice. "sure" was what I could manage saying, I slid down her back falling to the floor in a pile of unresponsive arms and legs. I managed to move my arms enough to grab a hold of someone.

My eyes finally opened to show me Weiss, I was able to really look at her for the first time. Long white hair, put into a ponytail that sat just off to the side of her natural part line. Her face was perfectly smooth, the only thing that didn't naturally belong on her face was a faint scar, I started at her forehead, then went straight down across her left eye ending just before her cheekbone. It fit her perfectly, it looked like she almost lost her vision from getting it, but her eye isn't clouded like a normal blind eye, so I guess it could still see. "do I need to carry you? Or can you manage to stand on your own?" she asked, I was still sitting on the floor, my hand still in hers. I wanted to talk, I wanted to tell her I could manage it on my own. But just as I was looking into her eyes, my mouth dried up and my brain shut itself off.

"I, uhh. I" was all my brain could throw out of my mouth. Weiss took it as me saying I needed help. She squeezed my hand tighter, and lifted me up. my legs were stronger than I expected, but if they had to hold me up on their own, I would wind up back on the floor. Weiss showed she was stronger than I guessed, she held me with her shoulder, lifting most of my weight off of my legs. "thanks Weiss" I said. She looked away, but our closeness prevented her from hiding her face, her honest and sincere smile. "dolt" she whispered.

We were directed by a teacher to stand in a certain place in line. Because we were the last group to pass, we were in the vary back. The line was broken up into four groups. Yang was with Blake in the line across from us. Ozpin walked out on stage once all of us students were in place. "Ladies and gentlemen. Allow me to start off by saying, congratulations. You are the select few who has the potential to excel and prosper in a future life as a huntsman. You will all one day join the forces of an army that was battled darkness since the dawn of time. Through the use of your weapons and tattoos, you have the power to hold back the darkness that threatens every man, woman, and child. Your individuality is what defines you on this path, not too long ago that was attempted to be taken away, the thought was, if you didn't have a sense of strong will, the Grimm wouldn't see you as a threat. It was a grave mistake. But your parents fought back against the threat on individuality, you were given special names. Names are a powerful tool, being named after a color gives you the power to be whatever you set out to be, it allows you to find your own goals in life. You all have fallowed your desire and arrived at my school. You are all still an unpolished rock. But given time and education, I will see you all graduate as colorful gems" he finished his speech.

The giant monitor Ozpin stood under, lit up. "you all will be assigned teams of four, the relics you selected are what will determine your team. Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. You four retrieved the black bishop" the four boys mentioned stepped up on stage. "you four will be team CRDL, cardinal. Led by, Cardin Winchester" Ozpin announced. The one in armor had a smirk on his face, as if he felt the title of leader was his entitled right.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren. You four are to be known as, team JNPR, juniper. Led by, Jaune Arc" The boy on stage looked confused that he was chosen as leader. But the tall red headed woman looked thrilled. She smiled brightly and playfully punched the newly named leaders arm. With a pathetic show of balance, he plummeted to the ground with her hit. The redhead looked worried, but kept up her happy expression and waved to the crowd. Then they all walked off the stage.

We were up next, Weiss was still supporting my weight, but by this point I felt I could a walk fine by myself. But my body refused to separate from Weiss. I didn't understand what I was feeling. It was like my stomach was flipping itself over and over. Every step we took together felt like it took a lifetime, but once we arrived on stage I was wishing for a longer walk. 'I need to get some rest. I'm going crazy' I thought. Ozpin started talking "Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long. You will be known as, team RWBY, Ruby. Led by, Ruby Rose. 'What!' I thought in a panic. "oh, I'm so proud of you!" Yang yelled as she grabbed me in a bear hug. I was lifted away from Weiss, and my body ached from the loss. Yang set me down and we all walked off stage.

Weiss was looking at me with an annoyed look on her face. "what's wrong Weiss? Are you mad about not being chosen leader?" I asked, the only thing I could think she would be upset about. "yes, but that's not what I'm currently looking at you for. I was just thinking that it's good to see you being able to walk" she said, at first sounding annoyed, but shifting into a nice and mostly comforting tone. "oh, I guess I healed up pretty fast. Sorry if I was being a burden earlier" I said, wanting to continue to be a burden if that meant I could be held by her again. 'what the heck am I thinking!' I yelled at myself.

"it's okay. I didn't really mind. We are partners, so I will have your back" she said. I was surprised by her acceptance of me. From our first meeting, I would have never expected to be anywhere near this close to her. I assumed we would never be able to get along. But now, she was almost nice to me. Sure Weiss was still callous, but the more I talked with her, the more I saw who she really was. A girl who cares about others, but either doesn't know how to express it, or was never allowed.

"are you ready to go Dolt. We need to head to our assigned room. I'm exhausted, and I really want a bath. A bed sounds nice too. The floor yesterday didn't promote a good night's sleep" she said, we all walked to our team room. It was simple and bare. Our stuff was already stacked in a corner, five white bags stood out as Weiss'. But we mostly ignored them, only grabbing our sleepwear and one by one getting ready for bed.

(first day of my new life) [Weiss pov]

*ssseeeeeeeeee*

A high pitched sound screamed in my ear. Throwing me out of my dream. "wuahha" I yelled as I fell out of my bed in real life. 'dangit, it was just getting to the good part' I thought, my brain trying to pull in the memories of my dream. Like always with a dream, once you wake up your only left with a vague summary of what you dreamed about. 'Ruby' my mind told me. 'Ruby?!' I thought in confusion. 'why would I be dreaming of Ruby' I asked myself. The vary person now filling my head spoke aloud in the real world "Gooooood morning team RWBY!" she yelled. I was using my bed to stand up, wanting to crawl back into it and forget today already.

*ssseeeeee*

the whistle Ruby was holding blasted me again. "what is your problem!?" I snarled. Ruby jumped back, but unfazed by my outburst. "it's time to start our first mission" she declared. "what are you talking about?" I asked in confusion. She adopted a heroic pose "we are going to make this room our own!" she joyfully said. Blake stepped forward and added. "we need to unpack and decorate" she held up her bag, which decided to explode open and spill its contents all over the floor, seeing this she added "and clean" I noticed something as I looked at the three other girls in the room, I was still in my sleeping gown. While they all had on their school uniforms. 'did I oversleep? Or did they let me sleep in?' I wondered. "Yeah Weiss. We're going to make this place look amazing. So let's get to it! Bonsai!" she yelled "Bonsai" Blake and Yang also added in their own "Bonsai!" right after. 'did they practice that?' I thought. "fine, I'll help. Just let me get changed first" I said, suddenly uncomfortable being seen in my sleepwear.

After I got dressed, I unpacked all of my clothing, everyone else was doing the same. Yang had hung a few posters from what I assumed was a teenage boy band. I don't really fallow music like that, so I wouldn't know if that's what they really were. Blake was filing up the bookshelf our room had. Ruby was hanging a curtain that matched her cape in color. 'there must be a story behind her wearing that' I thought as I stared at her. 'we all have dark pasts, that must give her motivation to keep moving forward, just like you and me. Right Weiss?' a familiar voice asked, reminding me of how I used to cope with my father. I fought the urge to curl up into a ball and found the one thing I brought with me from my old house. The painting my mother drew. It was a portrait of a burned forest, but littered on the ground were saplings and fresh life. I hung it up so I could see it wherever I was in the room.

We all stood back and looked over the room after we finished unpacking. It looked like a typical teenage girls' room. The only problem was we brought too much stuff, and once it was all laid out there was no more room for our four beds. Currently all four were piled together in the center of the room. "well this isn't going to work" Yang said, talking about the bed problem. "we do seem a little limited on space" Blake added. "unless you want to get rid of the beds, we're going to have to get rid of some stuff" I said. But I felt that no one, including me, wanted to get rid of anything. "that's a great idea Weiss!" Ruby said. 'what? getting rid of the beds?' I thought. "we'll ditch those beds. And build totally awesome bunk beds!" she said in a childish but ecstatic tone. "that sounds incredibly dangerous" I said, but it went unheard by the others. "Great idea sis" "it does seem efficient" Yang and Blake said, in favor to Ruby's plan. "I say we put it to a vote" I asked aloud. 'one of us could get hurt, Ruby could get hurt' I internally said. A pain running through me at the thought of ruby being hurt in some way.

"I think we just did Weiss" Ruby offhandedly said. Yang and Blake nodding their confirmation. I sighed and begrudgingly agreed with this new plan. We sprang into action. Me and Ruby were on one side, while Yang and Blake were obviously on the other. I chose the bottom, mostly because Ruby begged to be the top bunk. 'those eyes are impossible to say no to' I told myself. We stood back and admired our handy work. Blake's bed was on bottom, with dozens of books that didn't fit in the bookshelf, holding up Yang's bed. It looked very stable for a bed built by teenagers. My bed however looked like a death trap. Ruby's bed was free floating above mine, only being held up by a few ropes tied by questionable knots to the ceiling.

"Okay! Now onto our next mission!" Ruby announced. Then plopped down onto my bed and sighed "classes. We have a few together today, first is at 9:00" I panicked as I looked at my watch "did you say nine?! It's 8:55 you Dolt!" I yelled as I ran out of our room and down the hall as fast as possible. Not stopping until I reached the classroom. I made it with seconds to spare, the other three were only slightly behind me.

[Ruby pov]

Our first class was a class every hunter had to take to move onto real hunting. Tattoo 101. After arriving right on time, Weiss insisted we sat in the front row. I didn't object, I liked tattoos so I was eager to learn more about them. Yang and Blake didn't like the idea, but we stuck together as a team. The class started out simple. Just a rough explanation of Tattoos and their history. Professor Port was our teacher. A round man with a big mustache and military looking uniform. He had tons of tattoos, I could see a few peeking out from his collar and sleeves. "Future Huntsman and Huntress' it is my pleasure to welcome you on this first step down the long road to being a hunter. I know it's already common knowledge but I have to start somewhere. Why we use Tattoos to fight Grimm" he started his lecture, Weiss was already taking notes and had an intense look on her face. 'better not disturb her' I thought and got back to listening.

"back before mankind found dust, we were the bottom of the food chain. It was unheard of to fight Grimm and win. There are some stories of people fighting with only physical weapons and saving their own lives, but never keeping a city such as Vale or the three other kingdoms safe for long. The discovery of Dust changed that. It opened up whole new doors for mankind. One of which is still used to this day, Firearms. But those were thought of as inefficient back when villages were only protected by a small number of men. Mankind started to fuse dust with their own bodies instead. That is where tattoos come from. It gave an ordinary human or Faunus the power to slay the mightiest of Grimm. It became such a common thing after the centuries, that we as mankind could actively go out and hunt Grimm, no longer fighting a losing battle against them"

"but overtime the power of dust alone wasn't enough to combat Grimm. The more man expanded and populated, the more emotion the Grimm could feed off of. Thus came the idea for using the Grimm's power to fight off Grimm. Mixing blood into tattoos. No longer were we bound by the 8 basic elements. Grimm blood gave the ability to out match Grimm Because unlike Grimm, mankind had aura. We could utilize the full power that Grimm possess. Without Aura Grimm are nothing but mutated animals, but when we use their power we can achieve limitless power. But it always comes at a cost. Which moves me on to my next point. How many of you wish to be a tattoo artist in the future?" he asked the class. Weiss' hand shot up in an instant. 'I didn't know that about her' I thought. "I do!" Weiss called out. The professor seemed thrilled at the thought of having a student that wanted to be a tattoo artist. I looked around class, no one. Not one other person had a hand up 'is it really that uncommon to want to tattoo instead of fight?' I thought. "well come on young lady, why don't you help give me a demonstration" the teacher asked Weiss. Said girl jumped up and grabbed a bag I didn't even see her have a moment ago, and walked out to the center of the room.

I looked back to the other students, most were either asleep or distracting each other. The teacher rolled up his shirt sleeve, showing off dozens of tattoos of varying size, shape and color. "why don't you give me a Power tattoo. Show everyone it's just as cool to be an artist as much as it is being a hunter" he said sitting down on a stool that allowed Weiss to sit at the right level for giving a tattoo on the top of his arm. Weiss sat down and took out her tools. 'that's why she freaked out when I bumped into her. I knocked that bag to the ground and it spilled open. She must really like that stuff' I thought to myself as Weiss got to work. she started by mixing lightning dust in a pool of yellow colored ink. She mixed a type of blood into a pool of black ink. Once she seemed satisfied she fired up her tattoo gun and got to work.

"ahh! Interesting choice in dust Ms. Schnee. I'm thrilled to see the result" Professor Port exclaimed to Weiss. "why are you so willing to get a tattoo from a starting student?" Weiss asked. 'that is a really good point. It could turn out really bad if an incompetent student gave a tattoo' I wondered. "well Ms. Schnee, as you know it's a teacher's job to grow and guide a student. This is how I do that. Whenever I am able to teach a student who has a passion for tattooing, I choose to receive a tattoo from them, then after I teach them and they grow as an artist, I get another one. You'll see later how much you've grown and how much you have bettered yourself" he explained, he said it in a slightly loud voice as if her were giving a lesson to the class, but only me and Weiss were actually paying any attention.

"Okay, its done" Weiss said and stood up. pride showing on her face. I looked as best I could from my seat at the tattoo. It was a lightning bolt with a Ying Yang symbol in the center. "Ms. Schnee, where did you learn this tattoo?" Port said in a serious but not bad tone of voice. "it was in an old eastern mistral tattoo book. I read it had the power to allow the user to use their own Aura to produce an electric field around the body part that the tattoo is located on. Most of the eastern tattoos I found used a tattoo that projected Aura to have power" Weiss explained. "My, my. Young lady. I have never seen an eastern tattoo artist before. Where ever did you find such a book?" he asked. Weiss' face hardened, she didn't look happy about having to answer "my father's library. It has a vast array of tattoo knowledge. Even some that are considered lost" she said, almost going into her robot tone of voice.

He seemed to understand her voice as a message not to bring up the subject again. But another student from the class spoke up in his place. "Does it work?" the boy asked. I turned my head and looked at the new boy. Lie Ren, I remembered his name from the team naming yesterday. "excuse me?" Weiss asked, slightly annoyed that someone was questioning her ability. "eastern tattoos are a specialized type of tattoo. Only a few families are able to still do them" he said. In answer to his question Port punched the air. His arm arced and buzzed with a glowing and swirling electric field. "I'd say it's a successful tattoo" the teacher said. Ren seemed flabbergasted for the briefest of moments,but cought himself and went back to a blank face, he was even faster than when Weiss hides her emotions. "Ooo, Ooo. Ren! That looks just like yours do!" the pink haired girl said to him.

The class bell chose that moment to ring. Within seconds every student was gone. Leaving my team and the team that Ren was on. Weiss grouped back up with us and we all walked to lunch together. Once there we sat at a table Team RWBY, and team JNPR. 'my first ever table during lunch with friends!' I thought happily. "you were so cool in class Weiss. I didn't know you were such a good artist already. You totally have to give me a tattoo someday soon" I said, bouncing in my seat. "You-you really think so?" Weiss said a little hesitant. "Oh yeah ice queen. You looked totally badass earlier" Yang said. "I think it's a huge advantage to be able to tattoo tattoos just by reading about them. You really have a gift Weiss" Blake said. "see. You're amazing" I added in after my teammates praise.

Ren spoke up "Eastern tattoos are unique, the ability you showed today is remarkable. Hundreds of people back from where I'm from are trying to learn what you just showed" he said, his smooth voice hiding the real praise he was giving. "oh, I had no idea. I knew eastern tattoos were special, but I had no idea they were so sought after" Weiss said, not sounding happy to be talking about the subject. Everyone seemed to notice the way she said that and moved on to a different topic, we all talked about random things, until lunch ended.

Our next class was Grimm studies. It was going really well, we all sat in the front again. Not that I minded but this time all of the students were awake and paying attention. 'it's like they have a six-sense for which teachers are strict' I thought as the teacher slammed the desk of a student that was sleeping. I was too excited to even think of sleeping. This class was awesome, so much information about Grimm and their weaknesses'. "Hey Weiss" I whispered to her, being stealthy so I didn't get caught "which Grimm do you think is strongest?" I asked. She gave me a quick annoyed glance, but went right back to taking notes. "do you think I would be able to give tattoos as good as you do?" I asked another question, she looked back over at me, her eye twitching in frustration 'oh, she looks mad, I better leave her alone' I thought and went back to my own notebook.

I was taking notes the best I could, but it was all brand new to me. I moved ahead two years to be here. So it makes sense I would be behind the other students. I may have had the best grades in my old school, but what I knew and what every other student here knows, is a two-year difference in schooling. I missed a few parts of the lesson that the teacher already moved on from. 'Weiss is taking great notes. Maybe she can let me see that last part' I thought. Leaning over I asked "Weiss? Can you show me your notes?" I asked in a low voice.

*SLAM*

Weiss slammed her hand on the desk. I jumped in my seat out of surprise. Weiss was giving me a look full of pure hate and annoyance. "WHAT? Is your problem?!" she yelled out in the middle of class. My mouth opened and closed in fear and surprise from this unexpected outburst. "Ms. Schnee! You and Ms. Rose may head to detention. I will not tolerate any outburst's in my class" the teacher said. Weiss angrily grabbed her bags and stomped out of the room. I shook out of my shock and fallowed her moments later.

About halfway down the hall I caught up with her. "Weiss!" I called. She turned on her heels to face me and gave me a 'go die' look. "what is your problem?!" I exasperated "what happened in there?" I asked. "You! You are my problem. You're a child. You're an incompetent leader and you apparently, are a horrible student!" she listed off in a rant. I shrunk with every word 'she's right. I don't belong here' I said to myself. Weiss turned around again and walked away. I did my best to not allow tears to fall.

"well. That could have gone better" a voice said behind me, a very familiar voice. It was Ozpin I confirmed so when I turned around to face him. My emotions got the better of me in that moment. "Is. Is she right? I don't belong here, and I don't deserve to be the leader" I said, wanting to sound like I wasn't devastated by the thought of leaving this school. "he-he" he chuckled to himself "I don't believe so. I see greatness in you. i was actually on my way to get you out of your class" he said, he took a sip of coffee and started walking. I followed and asked "what for?" I asked. "it was the idea of Glynda to move you into some specialized classes. Seeing as you skipped two grades, she thought it would help you catch up to the remainder of the students here" he said "so you will remain in your current classes, but Glynda will teach you a fast paced class so you can keep up with the students. I don't think it should be a problem for you, you were top of you class back in Signal" he explained. "that sounds great. That's what got Weiss and I in trouble. I couldn't keep up and asked for Weiss' notes. The teacher didn't like us talking" I said, leaving out the real reason for being kicked out.

Ozpin walked me to detention. I entered and went to sit next to Weiss. But her ice cold glare pushed me to the other corner of the room. Where I spent the rest of the day.

[Weiss pov]

After getting out of detention. The first ever time I've ever received such a thing. I walked around campus. I didn't want to go back to the room. I feared Yang would beat me to death, so I was going to return later in the night, hoping she would be asleep by then. 'I can't believe her. That Dolt, her past grades were excellent, why the sudden drop in knowledge. Did she cheat her way to the top?' I wondered to myself. 'no, she doesn't seem like a cheater. But why couldn't she keep up then' I wondered into the tattoo shops that are on school grounds. A voice took me out of my thoughts.

"Ms. Schnee!" I looked over to the man who called me "Professor Port, what are you doing here?" I asked. "I always spend my time here. I find it relaxing" he said, gesturing out to the small group of tattoo shops. He did have a point. The more I looked around, the calmer I felt. "what has you so troubled child, it's written all over you face?" he asked. "it's just. I don't think it was wise for headmaster Ozpin to appoint Ruby as team leader" I blurted out, knowing it sounded childish. But lately I haven't been to caring with my childish tendencies, the fear of my father didn't reach this far, so I felt I could act differently. Like when I gave Professor Port his tattoo. I would have never been brave enough to tattoo so openly, my father would have locked me away if I did. But here I felt safe.

"ha-ha-ha-ha" a roaring laughter sounded from Professor Port. "my dear girl. Whatever makes you believe you are wiser than Ozpin. I have known him for a long time, and I have never known a man as wise as him" he said, only slightly talking down to me. I've been talked down to my whole life, so this little amount didn't even phase me. "but sir, I don't think she can handle this level of curriculum" I said. "I've been told about your leader. She was moved ahead two years was she not?" he asked. "yes! So shouldn't she be an outstanding student? She was able to skip because of her grades" I said, still confused by it all. "that is where your wrong. She was moved ahead because of her skill, not because of her grades" he said.

Suddenly everything made sense. 'no wonder she couldn't keep up. she needed help. She wasn't being lazy or trying to cheat. She really needed my help' I thought. "I'll see you next class Professor. I have to go" I said. He gave a wave goodbye and I hastily walked back to my room. It was already late, and when I reached the room it was well past the time for students to be asleep. I silently walked into our room. I was surprised to find a light on. It was coming from Ruby's bed. I stood on the corner of my bed and looked up at her. She was sleeping with an open textbook as a pillow. 'she's so adorable' I thought. 'stop thinking that!' I demanded of myself. I reached out and flicked her forehead 'Ha, payback for the whistle' I joyfully thought. She jumped up in surprise "what goi-!" I cut her off by putting a finger over her lips. "how do you take your coffee?" I asked. "Weiss!" she whispered in surprise "I'm so sorry about today. I didn't mean to get us in trouble" she whispered around my finger. "I know. I'm sorry for yelling and saying those things. I realized my error too late. I hope we can both get past today and become better teammates in the future" I took my finger off her lips, not realizing how much I enjoyed it being there, until it wasn't. "so if you work your hardest to be a better leader and student. I will work harder to help you in school, and be a better teammate to you" I pronounced.

We both blushed at my words "now how do you take your coffee?" I asked again. She poked her fingers together in shyness "five sugars and three creams" 'HOLY COW! That's sweet. Way too sweet to be healthy' I yelled in my mind. I wanted to say that. But she has the right to drink it however she wanted. I rushed away and made her cup. Handing it to her moments later. "thanks Weiss. I hope we can become great friends in the future" she said. 'that's not right' "what do you mean in the future? We are right now?" I said. I've never had a friend before. But this tickling feeling in my stomach whenever she was near, that had to be what it felt like to have a friend.

Ruby jumped up and tackled me to the ground, the coffee expertly placed on the desk as we fell. It was a long hard fall to the ground. "oww you Dolt. That hurt" I said. "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop myself. I've been worried all day you hated me. I'm so happy you still want to be with me" she was whispering still, but it was getting close to being loud enough to be a talking tone. "yes you Dolt. You can't get rid of me that easy. I'm stuck with you for four years" I said, making it sound like I wouldn't mind those years, and I knew right then, I wouldn't mind one bit.