*Author's Note**Hey, welcome to chapter 7. A few of you said you liked how I did the team names. I do too. But allow me to say something about those. There have been no reactions from the teams yet for their names, but I do wanna use team NNWB's name as a joke plot later on. RAYR, well, they're fine as is, right? Anyhow, now starts the slice-of-life portion of Love is a Knight-mare. Expect some more comedy, some better interactions between Ruby and Jaune, and maybe another pairing (to be announced later) (or two(maybe)). But I digress.*
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of the snow beneath my boots is oddly comforting. I walk this familiar and seemingly endless forest. I know this place. I know it. I know I do. But I just can't seem to remember. I forget a lot when I'm here. I can remember most of what I need to, but here it all escapes me. Taken away by this cold wind. Just taken away.
But there is one thing I remember. One thing I always remember here. It's not a memory. Not a name, not a face either. It feels more like an instinct. An instinct encouraged by that familiar weight on my back. A bloodlust that grows evermore restless as I continue. I know that a battle will be coming. A great one. And I also know that I will not lose. That I can not lose.
Bright lights ahead. My body tenses up. This must be it. This must be where I am to fight. But it's odd. Something is missing. There's no feeling of paranoia. Am I usually not stalked up to this point? But no, it feels the same. And my adversary should be awaiting me. No, my adversaries. And I will meet them. Head on like I always do. I will not lose. I cannot lose. And so with this, let me face them.
But what is this? I walk into the clearing, and where there should be some great beasts or figures of terror, there is only a figure. Just slightly taller than me, it doesn't move. As the clouds cease to obstruct the moon, the figure is revealed. It appears to be a young man, maybe my age. Black hoodie and armor, and blonde hair. I don't feel right. I ready my Crescent Rose, my only true friend, and I face this unknown boy down.
But despite the sword at his waist, he doesn't tense up. No, he just slowly walks my way, at ease. Hands slightly raised, as though to calm me. All this while, holding a smile. This smile, and his eyes. His deep blue eyes. They seem so warm, even amidst this blizzard. Without realizing it, the boy has reached me. I pull my scythe back to cleave his body apart, but I can't do it. I can't fire and cut him. While I express my shock, he slowly leans down to my face. A foot. Eight inches. Five inches. An inch. So close. Wait, what is he planning? Is he going to ki- . . .
"Wha-? What just happened?" Woken by the shock of where her dream was going, Ruby Rose bolted up in bed. Pulling her sleeping blindfold off, Ruby looked around and tried to get her bearings. Checking the clock on the wall, Ruby saw it was only 5:15 am. Where was she though? Oh, right. She was in Beacon. She had just formed a team yesterday, and this was their dorm. To her left was her older sister Yang. Sleeping in her bed in the same sloppy position she always does; arms splayed out, hair a mess, and covers thrown all over the place.
To her right, on the opposite side of the room were her two male teammates, Ren and. . . Jaune! Oh wait, why am I blushing. It's just Jaune! After calming herself down, Ruby took note her her sleeping teammates again. Ren was lying still, not too much movement from him. He seemed to be a pretty normal sleeper, unlike her big sister who's snore could scare even an Ursa. Yeah, the only abnormal thing about how Ren slept was tha he was so quiet it almost seemed like he was dead. Wait, he isn't dead, is he? Oh my god, is my teammate dead?! Oh my god oh my god ohmygod! While causing herself all kinds of worry, Ren turned slightly in his bed, reassuring Ruby that he was not dead. Oh, thank goodness. I though he was dead! Calming herself once more, Ruby took note of her partner, Jaune. He seemed comfortable. He was curled up under his covers looking all snug and warm. Ruby assumed he was hugging his teddy bear from yesterday too. Ren and Yang seemed not to notice, but Ruby had seen Jaune try to hide the stuffed animal under his covers while he unpacked.
Giggling to herself, Ruby thought about her new team and the events that had unfolded the previous day. The nightmare, though not as bad as usual, waking up to Yang and her teasing, partnering up with Jaune during the initiation, and fighting the Grim in the Emerald Forest. On top of that, being lucky enough to get the same artifact as her sister, landing them in the same team. Well, she wasn't going back to sleep now, so she decided she would just stay awake for another hour or so before waking the others up. Since there wasn't much else to do, Ruby simply grabbed her bags. Reaching in, she grabbed a sketch pad, a pencil, and her desk lamp (a gift from Yang).
You see, Ruby loved to draw. She saw drawing as a way to express herself. Well, she saw many things as a way to to express herself. Expressing herself was one of Ruby's favorite things to do. She loved to randomly hum or sing, cook, and draw. Things she'd learned and practiced growing up with a lazy sister, and very encouraging parents. With a sister that appreciated her talent with a pencil or a rolling pin, Ruby had plenty of opportunities to hone her skills.
Pencil in hand, sketch book on the bed, and the lamp set up to give her light, Ruby began to think of what she could draw. Looking back at her sleeping partner, she was struck by inspiration. With this, Ruby began to draw. A cute little squint in her eyes, her tongue poking out from the corner of her mouth just slightly, and her pencil racing across the paper. This was how she usually drew. Yang would often sit with her as she drew, saying Ruby looked so adorable with her tongue sticking out like that.
Around half-past six, Ruby went to wake Jaune up. Bringing her sketch book with her, Ruby crept up on her sleeping partner. Holding the book over her face, she began to gently shake Jaune, trying to wake him up.
"Jaune. Hey Jaune, wake up."
"Huh? Oh wha-? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
What met Jaune's sight as he opened his eyes was not the visage of his partner and team leader, but rather a Beowolf! After letting Jaune freak out a bit longer, Ruby pulled the sketch away from her face, and beaming said "Goood morning Jaune."
"Ruby! What was that?!"
"Oh, this? It's just a simple Beowolf face I sketched an hour ago. The quality isn't so good because I was in a rush to get it ready to wake you up with. So, how do you feel? Heart still racing?" inquired Ruby with an impish grin.
Oh, Jaune's heart was indeed still racing. But not just because his partner had scared the aura, and maybe some others things, out of him. No, it was actually because of a few things. The first is the dream he had just been woken from. He couldn't remember the specifics of it, but he remembered something about roses. There was something else he couldn't quite put his finger on, but it made him more conscious of Ruby. Another thing is that glancing around, he realized they were the only two currently awake, and that Ruby was in close proximity to Jaune's bed. In her night clothes, he could see things he normally didn't notice with her black combat dress. How the pajamas hugged her body, showing off curves that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Slender waist, delicate arms, and a decently sized bosom for a girl her age.
Ruby looked worriedly at Jaune, because not only did he still look a little shaken, but he was also looking a little flushed. Was he alright? Did he maybe have a cold? Yes, that's right. Ruby had no idea the effect that she was having on Jaune. She simply thought he was still a bit off from being scared.
"Err heheh, yeah, my heart's still racing a bit," began Jaune. But he caught himself, remembering that Ruby was only 15 and trying to convince himself that she's too young. Looking for a way out, he changed the subject. "So Ruby, you drew that Beowolf? It was amazing."
"Really? Even though it was only a rough sketch?"
"Yeah. Did you seriously draw that?"
"Yup. I've been practicing since I was 5. I love drawing. And Yang likes my pictures too. She's one of my biggest supporters."
After a bit more small talk, Ren began to stir. Deciding that he'd slept long enough, Ruby went over and shook him awake, pulling her little Beowolf sketch/mask over her face like she did with Jaune. A freaked out "W-what?!" later signaled that Ruby's little prank had, again, been a rousing success.
After the three of them had gotten up and worked the sleep out of their systems, they decided on who got to use the bathroom first. After a very short period of deliberation, Jaune and Ren agreed to let Ruby use it first. After the three of them had gotten ready for the day, it was around 7:15 am. Looking over to his slovenly sleeping partner, Ren had to wonder.
"Uhm, should we wake her up?"
"I guess. Want me to do it?"
"Sure Jaune."
"No wait, Jaune! Don't-"
But Ruby's warning came a bit late. Leaning over and shaking Yang's shoulder, Jaune was suddenly sent flying across the room would a loud smack. A crash and a thud later, Jaune was on the floor, sitting under a newly formed crack in the wall.
"-do it. Ugh, sorry. Yang has a habit of occasionally punching people who try to wake her up too early." And that she did. This was a lesson Ruby had learned the hard way. Said hard way being two broken ribs and plenty of bruising. "There's a certain way you have to wake her up if you want to completely avoid this. Just watch."
Without warning, Ruby had pulled out her precious scythe, Crescent Rose. Extending it to the full six-plus foot length, she took a stance.
"Wait wait wait! Ruby, we can't kill her!"
"Yeah. I don't think she'd deserve that."
"What? Kill Yang? No, I'm just going to waker her up." And with that, she swung Crescent Rose down on her sisters head, lightly. After a few knocks, and not having anything to punch, Yang sat up.
"Well Yang. Now that you're awake, begin preparing for the day. You've got to get cleaned up and get ready for classes!"
"Huh? What was that about glasses?" asked a half drowsy Yang.
"No, Yang. She said classes. As in learning."
"Oh."
Going through the motions of waking up, Yang took upwards of an hour to get ready. Ruby explained to the guys that this was due to Yang taking extra precious care of her hair. The boy looked to each other, wondering between themselves why exactly someone would spend so long on just their hair. Girls. Who could understand them?
After the four of them were good and ready, they all went down to the cafeteria for breakfast. Today's menu seemed to be pancakes. Filling their plates up with two plain buttermilk pancakes each, Ren and Jaune grabbed a table. Following them seconds later were Ruby and Yang. Yang had her plate piled with half a dozen chocolate chip pancakes. But what was even more surprising was Ruby's plate. It was piled high with eight strawberry pancakes, positively dripping with strawberry syrup and butter. Astounded, the two boy could only wonder where she put it all.
"What?" began Ruby, beginning to blush slightly. "I like strawberries, okay?" And that she did. Yang knew that if Ruby ever smelled a strawberry, or strawberry flavored goodie, she would find it and consume it. Or she could just as easily use it to make some awesome desert. Yang knew from experience that letting Ruby in or near a kitchen often produced some wonderful results.
"Yeah boys, she loves her strawberries. One time, this friend of our family gave us a whole bunch of strawberries as they'd grown far too many to use. Ruby took them all. And before you knowit, the entire house smelled like strawberries. She's made strawberry cake, strawberry pie, strawberry glaze covered doughnuts, strawberry jam. She practically turned our diet for the next couple of days into strawberries. Not that I complained."
"Wait," interrupted Jaune. "Ruby can cook too?"
"Hmm? Yeah, she can, and she's awesome at it. I love her creations, especially the strawberry based ones." thought Yang, as she began drooling over the many thing Ruby had cooked up (pun not intended) over the years. Snapping back to reality, Yang asked "And what do you mean too?"
"Oh, well uh. This morning, Ruby kind of woke me up with a picture of a Beowolf. When I asked her where she got it, she said she drew it herself." This seemed to even catch Ren's attention.
"Oh, well yeah. Ruby is incredibly good with that kind of artistic stuff. You know how she built Crescent Rose, right? Well, Ruby's always been good with those kinds of delicate things." At this, she received a look from Jaune and Ren, as if asking 'Are you calling that thing delicate?' "Well, the delicate work that goes into making things. She can draw like a pro, cook better than most chefs, and her ability to craft weapons is second to none. She even crafted my Ember Celica for me."
"Oh Yang, don't try to oversell me. They're just hobbies is all." Ruby desperately wanted Yang to stop talking. She couldn't handle Ren and Jaune's stares. Was that wonder? Amazement? She didn't know, but still. It was embarrassing.
After a little more teasing of Ruby, Yang went back to her pancakes. The others followed suit, finishing up their meals to give them plenty of time to reach class. Oddly enough, despite having had the most, Ruby was not the last one to finish. That, oddly enough, went to Jaune. He seemed kind of occupied, but whatever. Maybe he was still hung up on the events from this morning.
With Team RAYR finished with breakfast, they headed to their first class of the day. Grim Studies, taught by Professor Peter Port. Eager to get to her first class at Beacon, Ruby almost began to run, all but forgetting her team. Grabbing her sister by the hood, Yang pulled her back, and got her to walk along with them.
Beacon, bustling with the new students on their way to class for the first time. This team didn't seem out of place at all. Well, one member did. Jaune Arc. Walking at the back of the group, nobody noticed that, instead of being bright and smiling, he was nervous and lost in thought.
*After Note* *Well, there you have it. Chapter 7. Whew, it's been about a week since I started this. Due to some upcoming events in about a month, I'm gonna try and update this as frequently as possible. For now, it's a daily schedule, but it may be evert other day at some points. Anyhow, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'll let you guys decide in the comments if you want me to put Professor Port's lecture in. Personally, I think he's the coolest teacher at Beacon. But hey, that's just my opinion*
*So, I used a dream sequence again. If anyone finds those to be as pointless as lorem ipsum, let me know an I'll maybe not do it again. Those do take up some space, and I wouldn't want them boring you. Anyhow, as a heads up, the next chapter will not be in Ruby's perspective. I'm going to try it from Ren or Yang's perspective, to give a different person's view on the Ruby and Jaune relationship. If you want, you can decided who you'd rather see narrate a day in their lives by throwing a comment on it. Anyways, big plans. Big plans. I hope you look forward to chapter 8!*