Posted on: 2022/03/29
The first rays of the sun hit Weiss' skin as she stirred awake. She sat up and stretched with a graceful yawn as she looked around the room. Most students were still asleep, in fact, she could probably count with her hands, the ones who were already awake. The heiress gazed to her left and saw her two latest acquaintances sound asleep, though she did give a reprimanding look to the blonde who had somehow moved so much in her sleep that her covers were completely off the bed while the woman laid in what seemed like a very uncomfortable and slightly obscene position. Blake, on the other hand, clearly hadn't moved a muscle, but Weiss did wonder why she had slept with her bow on.
Her eyes then laid on the last bed of their row, Ruby's bed. She still couldn't believe that her idol was going to be here with her for the next four years not only as a fellow student, but as a teacher as well. The simple thought had her jump internally with excitement and made her thank god for allowing her to have met the silver-eyed woman. In fact, one of the reasons she chose Beacon was because of a conversation she had with the celebrity when she was her mentor.
A knock could be heard on her bedroom's door as a familiar voice called out. "May I come in?"
Weiss sat up in her bed and gazed at her linked hands in worry. "Y-you may."
When the door opened, she was greeted by the sight of a concerned Ruby Rose. "I was told that you woke up and decided to check on you."
"I'm fine." Quickly replied the heiress, harsher than she intended.
The raven-haired woman sighed. "Weiss, is something wrong?"
"Of course not. Why would there be?" She answered, yet the simple fact that she couldn't look into her eyes told her mentor what she needed to know.
"Winter told me about the fight you had with your dad." She said, making the white-haired teen stare at her in shock. "About you not wanting to join Atlas Academy."
Weiss looked down at her hands once more, fearing that she had disappointed her idol.
"Wanna talk to me about it?" Softly asked Ruby as she gently pushed the heiress onto her back while she laid down next to her.
The white haired teenager became flustered when she noticed how close her face was to the older woman, but managed to stay calm once she saw the comforting expression she had.
"I... I've always been just a Schnee. As a kid, whatever I did to please my father was always met with the same response. Everything was always as he expected of me, never once has he ever told me that he was proud of me or that I had done well." Tears were falling from the heiress' eyes, yet she did not wipe them away. "Then..."
Ruby passed one of her arms around the teen and brought her closer into a warm hug. "Your tenth birthday, right?"
Weiss buried her head into the woman's neck. "Winter also mentioned that? Dad never came for my birthday and when mom confronted him about it, he said that he only married her for her name." She clenched her hands into fists as she hugged the silver-eyed woman tighter. "It's all that ever mattered to him; the name! Not me, not Winter, not Whitley... not mom..."
She openly cried into the older woman's arms for a while before resuming once she calmed down. "All he's ever been after was the company. He turned an honest business into a market of oppression and exploitation. Dignity exchanged for money and favors, all under a name that isn't his, not caring in the slightest of what happens to those who share it as consequences to his actions."
Ruby kept quiet as she used a tissue to wipe Weiss' tears allowing the sixteen years old to continue. "I don't want to go to Atlas Academy as a Schnee should, I want to succeed somewhere else outside of the Schnee's name influence and show that Weiss is not her father's child; she's better and she will take back her name from him."
The silver-eyed woman hummed thoughtfully. "Then tell me, how did someone with such an incredible conviction and goal manage to get so distracted that she didn't even keep track of her own exhaustion before it was too late?"
A small blush of embarrassment appeared on the teen's face as she looked down, making her blush harder as her gaze was directly pointed down her idol's cleavage. "I... don't know where else to go..."
"Well, if not Atlas, you still have three choices don't you think?" Ruby suggested as she rested her forehead against the younger girl's.
"I wouldn't consider Vacuo a plausible choice considering the stories you've told about the place, Miss Rose." Chuckled the heiress as she finally let herself melt into her idol's embrace.
"I thought I told you to call me Ruby. Then again, your sister doesn't either and she's two years older than me..." The twenty-one years old sighed. "Anyway, that still leaves you with two choices."
"Somehow, that makes it harder to choose." Complained the Schnee as she rolled onto her back, out of the raven-haired woman's hug.
They laid still, in silence for a while until Ruby mimicked the younger girl's pose. "Only your sister knows of this, but I'm from Vale." She revealed instantly catching Weiss' attention. "And I have this adorable little sister named Yang. She has beautiful golden blond hair and cute lilac eyes. She might seem like a tomboy at first, but once you get to know her, you'll notice that she's no doubt still a bit girly at heart. In fact, you both have the same age. I wouldn't be surprised if she enrolled into Beacon once she's eighteen."
They both sat up as Ruby talked. "I'm not telling you to choose Beacon, but if you do, I think you could do with some friends, Weiss." The older woman stood up as she caressed the white-haired teen. "Think about it okay? I'll support whatever you choose."
She leaned into the woman's touch before watching her leave with a blush. Ruby had not been wearing her drape today, allowing anyone to witness her sensual hips and perfect behind as she walked away.
Weiss shook her head to dismiss the heat that grew on her face before leaving the ballroom to get changed.
Once she came back to pick up the few belongings she left near her bed, she could see that Blake and Yang had woken up at some point and were already dressed into their combat attire. The blonde was doing something on her scroll while the hidden faunus read a book.
"There she is!" Called out the blonde as the heiress approached them. "We were waiting for you, but you were gone for so long, I almost thought you were already waiting at the cliff for our initiation."
Weiss stopped in her tracks as she stared at the two women in shock. "They waited for me?"
"You okay?" Asked Yang when she noticed that the white-haired woman was frozen in place.
The heiress shook her head before glaring at the blonde. "I'll have you know that looking like this isn't exactly achievable in five minutes."
Blake looked up from her page with a raised eyebrow. "You know we're going to be fighting for our lives, right? This isn't some kind of fancy party."
Weiss turned her glare towards the ashen-haired woman. "Well, you certainly look dressed up too. How long did you take?"
"Five minutes." Blake replied with an assertive smirk.
Yang snorted while the heiress groaned. "Anyway, the cafeteria is open, I'd suggest a light meal before our test begins."
The blonde perked up as she headed towards the ballroom's entrance, dragging Weiss along with her. "Alright! I'm starving here!" The blue-eyed woman screamed various protests as Blake followed them with a smirk on her face.
They were close to their objective when Yang noticed that the ashen-haired woman had stopped following them. "What's up, Blake?"
The hidden faunus could be seen smelling the air as she walked towards a different room. "You girls smell that?"
The other two followed her lead as they both mimicked her action.
"Damn, that smells good." Commented Yang as they neared their new destination.
"Certainly better than what awaits us in the cafeteria..." Sulked Weiss when they read the room's name.
"Student kitchen? Well that's neat" Followed Yang bucking her hips to the side. She was surprised when Blake reached for the handle. "Hey, wait-"
All three of them were rendered speechless when they saw what awaited them in the room. Most stations were being used by students older than them, yet the curious thing was that they were all staring at one particular station in the middle of the room. There stood Ruby Rose, almost dancing as she cooked various meals while humming a song to herself.
Blake spotted a familiar student with rabbit ears whom she approached. "How long has she been here?"
Velvet jumped, having been too entranced by the older woman's movements to notice the three girls' arrival. "Oh, it's you, Blake. I don't know, she was already cooking when most of us got here."
"Which was...?" Asked Weiss.
The faunus gazed at the room's wall mounted clock. "Almost forty-five minutes ago."
Before any of them could say anything, they were distracted by the satisfied moan that came from Ruby in the distance. Immediately turning towards her, they saw that she had helped herself to some cookies she had made and was now chewing with a grace that had the onlookers weak in the knees. Her eyes then landed on the trio.
"Oh, perfect! You girls are just in time!" She reached towards her station's oven and opened it, filling the room with the rich scent of bacon and ham. "I made you breakfast~" She lilted while setting her tray on the stove.
The whole room did a double take towards the trio before switching to expressions of envy.
"Who are they?"
"I know that one of them is her sister, but the other ones..."
"Isn't she Weiss Schnee?"
"Why is a Schnee in Vale?"
"Who's the third one then?"
Seeing that the girls were frozen under their peers' stares, Ruby went behind them and carefully pushed them towards her station's counter, where three empty plates were already placed.
"Alright! First, we have Blake. I know you don't like modern breakfasts, so I made you a small plate of sushi with a bowl of miso soup on the side." Presented the celebrity as she served the hidden faunus who became quite excited at the mention of sushi.
"For Weiss, I have this lovely plate of various things like waffles, bacon, ham, eggs and some fruits." Weiss gave an awkward yet thankful smile as she accepted the plate, clearly not in favor of the choice but not willing to tell her idol.
"And for Yang." She slammed down a bowl filled with a generic salad. "Don't worry, I put some bacon aside and mixed some bits in it." Yang stared at her bowl and then shared a glance with Weiss before they both turned towards Ruby.
"Uh Rubes? You sure you didn't mix my plate with Weiss'? 'Cause they both look like something the other would eat." Questioned the blonde which the heiress hesitantly nodded to.
The silver-eyed woman leaned onto the counter with a menacing smile. "Have I? Dad told me that you guys have been eating rather carelessly after your graduation and that's on top of the feast I made when I came home."
Yang looked away as nervous sweat ran down her forehead while she nervously chuckled. "Ah, have we? Y'know, it's hard to remember these kinds of things these days and whatnot."
A short eep escaped the blonde when her sister suddenly glared. "Eat." Was the only thing she said in a dangerous tone, making the younger sibling dig into her meal instantly.
Weiss raised a tentative hand. "What about my plate miss Rose? This isn't really what I usually eat."
Ruby lost her harsh expression before looking at Weiss with sad eyes. "But you seemed to like it so much when I took you to that one restaurant in Mantle."
The whole room suddenly stared at the heiress who's face had become completely red as she bowed, mumbling a small thank you.
The older woman smiled. "Don't worry about finishing your plate, I'll eat what remains." She then turned to wash her dishes. "Also, I made you girls some lunch that you'll be able to reheat once you're done with your initiation." She glanced over her shoulder with a grin. "Don't worry, they're things that you'll actually want this time."
That is how the trio spent their breakfast; with Yang crying over a salad bowl, Weiss timidly eating a common breakfast and Blake savoring every bite and sip of her meal. Meanwhile, their seniors looked on with the same thoughts in their mind.
"God, I wish that were me."
Once fed, the first years were reunited in the locker room as they retrieved their weapons.
"That was so embarrassing." Whined Weiss pitifully to which Yang nodded still saddened.
"It wasn't that bad." Defended Blake, walking alongside them while reading her book.
"Easy for you to say, you got what you wanted." Growled the blonde as she glared at the reading woman.
"Now, now, Yang. I promised that you would like your lunch so why don't you stop complaining?" Asked Ruby with a chuckle from behind them.
The brawler groaned once more before opening her locker. "I'll take your word for it..." She seemed to realize something as she strapped her shot gauntlets to her arms. "Are you going to be part of the initiation, sis?"
This caught the attention of the other students who were now fully paying attention to the four women. Despite the situation, Ruby simply chuckled as she shook her head. "Unfortunately, I was deemed an unfair advantage for whomever would end up partnered with me during the test, so my 'initiation' was part of my licensing exams."
Weiss strapped her multi action dust rapier, Myrtenaster, to the belt of her combat skirt as she approached the siblings. "Have you received your results for those?"
The silver-eyed woman stuck her tongue out and did two peace signs with her hands. "I passed everything except history and plant sciences."
"That's awesome, sis!" Exclaimed Yang as she hugged her older sibling.
Ruby chuckled. "Yeah, but I was still asked to assist to the first class of every teacher. To familiarize myself with my technically colleagues and would be teachers."
Blake had remained silent, not finding anything particularly pertinent to say; opting to make sure her weapon changed forms properly in the meantime.
"Might want to lube up the mechanisms for the katana form. Sounds like it's grinding a bit." Informed Ruby as she reached into her sister's locker and tossed a tube of lubricant to the bow wearer.
She blinked a few times before verifying the older woman's claim, finding it to be true. "Oh, thanks."
"Excuse me." Someone said from behind the celebrity, making her turn around.
"Oh my! You decided on Beacon in the end, Pyrrha." Exclaimed the silver-eyed woman as she hugged the spartan looking girl who stood in front of her.
"Jeez Ruby, is there anyone you don't know at this point?" Jokingly commented Yang.
The ravenette hummed playfully. "Who knows?"
With a short laugh, Pyrrha separated herself from Ruby. "Anyway, I have a request for you, Miss Rose."
The silver-eyed woman's playful expression turned into a deadpan as she stared at the spartan. "Oh, this again..."
Ignoring the older woman's comment, Pyrrha deployed her Shield, Akoúo̱, while planting her javelin, Milò, into the ground then knelt in front of Ruby.
"Ruby Rose, I ask you once more to make me your apprentice!" She declared with a bright, confident smile on her lips.
"Huh?!" Exclaimed the whole locker room.
"Wait a minute!" Followed Weiss.
Ruby sighed as a small smile graced her lips. "Stubborn as ever I see. Though I have to point out that I'm still technically a teacher, meaning that you can simply book additional tutoring for any field that I made available during my free time."
The spartan raised her head while blinking a few times. "We can do that?"
Ruby chuckled. "Everything you need to know about your school environment will be explained after the initiation. Now, I believe that you should remove your spear from the ground and call over Miss Goodwitch. It would seem that someone had an accident with their weapon and damaged the floor." She then scanned the room with a playful grin, meeting every pair of eyes pointed at her. "Isn't that right?"
"Yes ma'am!" They answered while Pyrrha did as asked.
"You have met Pyrrha Nikos before?" Asked Weiss as she stood besides the ravenette.
"I did and I'm sure that Pyrrha will be delighted to tell you all about it. However, you're about to be late for your initiation." Answered the ravenette making everyone hurry towards Beacon's cliff.
The students were lined up on launch pads with their backs facing the cliff as they listened to Ozpin and Glynda tell them the specifics of the initiation.
"Excuse me. You said that the first person we make eye contact with will be our partner. How can Miss Rose be partnered with anyone if she's not participating?" Asked one of the students, making the others nod in agreement.
As if on cue, Ruby could be seen gently walking up the hill towards them. "I had the same question." She said with a melodious giggle.
Ozpin smiled as he nodded at the new arrival. "Miss Rose is a special case and therefore, her partner will be decided differently. Since we have an uneven number of students this year, Miss Rose will be partnered with whomever cannot find one."
Gasps of awe and hope resonated from the students while Yang gave a worried look to her sister which was met with a reassuring smile. She turned towards Blake and Weiss and saw them both seemingly deep into their own thoughts.
"Wanna let me in on what got you girls thinking so hard?" She whispered, gaining their attention.
The monochrome women exchanged a look before nodding. "Let's try to find each other to keep one of us partnerless." Replied Blake which made Yang widen her eyes.
"You..." She tried to say, then shook her head. "I'm in." She could swear that she saw Ruby giggle in the corner of her eyes as soon as she replied.
The headmaster explained that they will be constantly monitored, that the teachers would not intervene during the test and that the goal was for each pair to find a relic of some kind and bring it back. Once done, he promptly ignored the questions of any students and launched them into the forest.
"Hopefully, we won't lose any this year..." Glynda commented in a low tone.
"They seem mostly dependable. If anything, they will build off each other." Replied Ruby as she carefully sat on the ground close to the two staff members.
"How interesting, I had the same thought." Added Ozpin as he took a sip of his drink.
The ravenette took out her school provided scroll pad and watched the different cameras one by one before setting the device down next to her. "Well then, while I have time." She took out her briefcase-like weapon from her back and started doing some kind of maintenance to the curiosity of both adults.
Glynda glared at the celebrity, remembering the discussion they had yesterday.
"... you are required to take a medical exam which can be done at our infirmary so we can update your files and we will also require you to tell us about any outdated information here." Presented the blonde teacher as she handed various papers to Ruby.
The ravenette carefully read through them, nodding as most non-medical information was still correct with one exception. "About my weapon, it's a bit complicated." She hesitantly said.
"How so, may I ask?" Replied Ozpin.
Ruby remained quiet for a while making Glynda frown, yet a raised hand from Ozpin calmed her down. "Is something wrong, Miss Rose?" He asked.
The idol sighed. "Screw it. Do you believe in fairy tales?"
The staff members froze momentarily before adopting a more serious look as Ozpin leaned forward. "I believe that every story holds a bit of truth, yes."
Without missing a beat Ruby added. "Ever heard of the story of The Two Brothers?"
Seeing where this was going, Ozpin sighed and pressed a button which barricaded every window and exit, leaving all three completely isolated. "You will find that I particularly enjoy fairy tales, miss Rose."
Understanding that she was amongst people who knew more than most, Ruby exhaled in relief as her expression hardened, surprising the two adults. Gone was the bubbly, carefree celebrity. It was as if the woman in front of them was an entirely different person. The ravenette reached behind her back and set down her weapon on the headmaster's desk before adding a final question. "While we're at it. Would any of you two know anything about a witch that goes by the name of Salem?"
"Glynda?" Questioned Ozpin, snapping the teacher out of her thoughts. "It isn't polite to stare."
She straightened her pose and fixed her glasses as she picked up her scroll pad. "With all due respect, sir. After everything she told us yesterday, I still do not understand why you trust her with the protection of the children."
Ruby chuckled as a section of her weapon shifted, allowing access to new parts. "I understand that in the grand scheme of things, eighteen is pretty young, but to call them children is a bit much don't you think?"
"They have much to learn and mature on, therefore-" Tried to argue Glynda before being cut off.
"Isn't that why we're here though?" Coldly replied the ravenette as her weapon closed back into its briefcase-like appearance. "To make sure that they are ready for the real deal?"
She stood up while holding her weapon by the handle, then took a deep breath as her eyes glowed for a moment followed by the object twisting and unfolding into a massive scythe. A high caliber sniper scythe to be precise. "Crimson Harvest." She mumbled.
Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "What was that miss Rose?"
"My weapon's name. I couldn't find one ever since I lost Crescent Rose. Let's just say that the circumstances left me... creative, again." She replied while the scythe reverted back into its compact form as she stored it on her back.
The headmaster nodded in understanding while Glynda simply focused on her pad with a scowl on her face. They watched as each pair slowly formed adding their opinions on how they will perform in the upcoming years among other things.
"Looks like we're down to three unpaired students." Passively mentioned Ozpin while taking a sip of his drink.
"Though I cannot say that I agree with the method used by your sister and her friends." Added Glynda while glaring at Ruby once more.
"It's crazy to think that these girls didn't know each other before yesterday. They work together so well." Said the silver-eyed woman, ignoring the stare she received from the blonde instructor.
"Indeed. It also is quite humorous to see Miss Belladonna be protected so intensely by Miss Schnee and Miss Xiao Long." Chuckled the headmaster while watching footage of Blake fighting while attempting to keep her gaze on the ground. "You must be overjoyed to be able to meet all three of them once more."
Ruby laughed. "I am. That's for sure. Hopefully they will realize that the chess pieces determine the teams. Being in a team with all three of them sounds wonderful."
Glynda scoffed in annoyance as she handed her pad to Ozpin who smirked. "Looks like your wish is halfway realized, Miss Rose. As of today, Miss Belladonna will be your partner."
The ravenette clapped her hands in excitement when something on her pad caught her attention. "That sneaky fucker..." She mumbled, catching her new colleagues by surprise at the swear.
"What is it?" Asked Glynda while switching between each camera, attempting to find whatever Ruby had found.
The silver-eyed woman marched towards the cliff with a serious expression. "It would seem that I failed my initiation." She told them, earning confused looks before the blonde teacher finally found the right footage, shocking them both.
Ruby reached behind her back with both hands and pulled out her compact weapon which had separated in two while both halves twisted and turned until they took the form of two swords. "I left one alive." She said before bursting into a gigantic cloud of rose petals which spiraled into the forest at such a speed that both staff members had to hold onto something to avoid being swept away by the resulting wind.
Once the aftermath of the celebrity's action had died down, the two adults fixed their attire and hair as Glynda asked. "Would this count as us interfering?"
Ozpin, who's expression matched the one Ruby had, fixed his glasses while staring at the grimm that came out of hiding. "I'll make an exception for this one..."