Beacon.
The greatest institution in the Kingdom of Vale proudly stands sentinel around one of the four Cross Continental Transmit towers—a global infrastructure enabling intercontinental communication across the realms of Remnant.
Even on a cloudy day, to the girl standing defiant at its doors, it was quite the sight. It reminded her of ancient castles warded by mythical creatures she used to read about when she was younger. The tallest tower daring anyone to defy its grace.
But these momentary and wonderful thoughts only brought her back harder to reality.
The girl frowned.
It helped to highlight the fact that the world remains divided by distrust and a smoldering, all-consuming flame of hatred ignited by the last war. Despite over four decades of fragile but hard-earned peace, the scars of what is described as 'one of the most inhumane conflicts since the dark ages in history' are still visible everywhere.
Quite literally, in the bodies of those who endured and lived to tell the tale.
She thought of home.
It served as a dark reminder that even with mankind's advancements in science and technology over the last century, under certain conditions, they can and will devolve into barbaric ways.
And within the realm of barbarity, brilliance and cunning can be the scariest qualities.
"Demonize the enemy, assign blame to a scapegoat, and your forces will act without hesitation."
This doctrine took root in the Kingdom of Atlas. While it may not have secured them outright victory, its reverberations were undeniably felt in all Remmant.
Those who felt it most profoundly were the Faunus.
Originating from the Continent of Menagerie, the Faunus became the ideal targets for Atlas's war machine. Similar to humans but not quite, their discernible animal features provided an easily identifiable target, their language became a whisper of conspiracy, and their religion and culture were painted as heresy.
It wasn't announced as a war between kingdoms, nor a political affair.
It was portrayed as an outright crusade against the demons who haunt this world.
"Put them down like the animals they are."
"Slave or pet, it doesn't matter, the collar must be worn."
"We let them live with us and what happens? They are all dead, MY son is dead."
"A beast that fakes emotions, that's what you are Belladonna. You are probably allied with the Grimm."
The Grimm.
She realized that she was digressing like always and made an effort to focus on the matter at hand.
After the war, Vale emerged victorious in the defense of Menagerie. And just like all institutions in times of peace, Beacon Academy returned to its core mission.
To train highly skilled personnel to hunt down Grimm.
For the Grimm have been a constant force of darkness since the beginning, aiming to return mankind to dust.
At least, that's the current prevailing theory made by humans. So much Faunus literature has been lost because of them.
So much blood.
Again, she decided that continuing this train of thoughts wouldn't get her anywhere. It would be better to go back to the start.
Beacon.
He promised she was going to be safe in this place, more importantly, she was needed here. The kind man told her so, sharing his delicious food. For she was a student now, meaning that she belongs here.
Such kind words did something to her she didn't understand, but they felt so good. They guided her hand to reach for something in her chest.
A beat.
She stood there enjoying the memory, sweet and recent. But soon enough, the beat was followed by several more in quick succession. Confused, she realized that her nose had started going numb by the scents of that kind of dust, and she fought the immediate urge of running away, not wanting to let go of this pleasant moment.
Another memory filled her mind, her senses replaced by a static whistle that quickly transformed into the sound of blazes, accompanied by the echoes of screams from all directions. She recognized most of the voices. Was she being called to them? Her body felt hot, her eyes were blurry, but still somewhat functional. Her legs hurt, she prayed they wouldn't fail her now.
A step.
"A-A-Ah… M-maybe if I- I walk q-quietly…— Maybe I can…— if I don't make a sou-"
CRASH!
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" a girl, standing dangerously close, asked in outrage.
The student, now lying on the floor, knew better than to give an answer or even dare lift her face. Either way, she was going to get punished for her mistake. Her body prepared in anticipation, growing tense and doing a great job at blocking her vitals with her legs and covering her head with her arms.
But a hit didn't come immediately as usual. Instead, the girl was more cruel than that. She continued her rant of insults while giving the student's mind all the time in the world to descend into the darkest places. She came up with all kinds of punishments that might be crossing her fate at any moment.
That made the student, now in trouble, start crying. Her body gave away her fear she was trying to hide as it trembled uncontrollably, not knowing where or how it was going to get hit. She wished she could have been more careful.
"Are you even listening!? Do you even know who I am!?" the girl asked in bewilderment, half of her fury coming from the fact that the student was hellbent on hiding from her responsibilities in her oversized cloak. But her fury was cut short once she stepped closer. Now, with the large briefcase out of her way, she could see the dire state of her victim.
What she saw made her pause, it felt familiar.
"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, the largest producer of dust in Atlas" Before she could think of what to do with the student on the floor, a voice coming from behind interrupted her.
"Yes?" Weiss replied as she turned to see a girl in mostly black, a bow on top of her head, A little too childish for her stature. The hostility in her eyes was the last thing she noticed before the girl continued.
"The same company known for its ruthless labor forces against Faunus." The girl added with more venom in her voice and shifted her gaze to the red boulder of misery on the pavement "And seeing you giving everybody quite the demonstration of your family's standing, not even two steps away from your airship, really shows why you are the heiress"
To that, Weiss' eyes grew wide, and quickly checked her surroundings. She found the tiniest amount of relief as she didn't see any teachers or the headmaster, but there were still some students watching the scene, not daring to intervene even though their faces showed otherwise.
Finally, Weiss looked down, and what she saw confirmed this girl's claims. Still on the pavement, the student hasn't moved an inch. A more meticulous appraisal allowed her to see a wolf ear coming out of what was mostly covered by — in her trained eyes for fashion — a scandalously dusty, ruby-red cloak.
A cough brought Weiss back to reality and slowly turned to face the girl again. This time, she didn't look her in the eyes, but she knew they were burning holes in her skull. The girl in black was waiting for her to dig herself into an even deeper grave with whatever she had to say.
Weiss knew that, but she also knew better than to retort or even try to explain herself. Either way, she lost this argument before it started, appearances are the only thing that matters to the public eye, and lucky she was it only involved this few people. Thank God not a single camera was in the area, and curse him for putting her in this infuriating situation.
The part of herself that brought her to this kingdom wanted to do the right thing and apologize to this 'ruby' faunus girl, but a darker part feared she was going to get assaulted the moment she got too close to the girl. She knew that coming here was a huge gamble and she was unwilling to keep testing her luck.
It wouldn't be the first time a Schnee was murdered by faunus in foreign territory, and she wasn't stupid enough to start giving them reasons to actively act against her.
She bet the girl in black would be all too happy to act violently in "defense" of her faunus girl, just give her enough let offs to work with.
So, considering the few choices she could think of, the heiress did the one that wasn't in her list.
She ran.
Weiss really didn't want to be here right now, not when all of this incident brought her uncomfortably close to what she was originally running from.
A Schnee running, the heiress no less. A hand holding her dress, as she made her way through Beacon's gates.
Unheard of.
Undignified.
Luckily, this part of Beacon was reserved for only the young sprouts on this specific day, so not many would understand its significance aside from its hilarity.
Weiss understood perfectly and it fucking hurt, but it was somewhat her way of saying sorry.
Even if she wouldn't admit it.
The heiress' hasty departure was a surprise to even the girl in black. Admittedly, it left her disappointed.
She would be lying if she denied her eagerness to continue the conversation with a Schnee, her several notebooks of arguments and sassy remarks against Atlas and its roots were proof of that.
A right uppercut was also in the plan as a finishing argument.
But that would be it.
Assassination was out of the question. After all, she was better than them, she was better than him. Otherwise, she wouldn't have come here.
"Are you okay?" She asked, but she only got a flinch from the little faunus' ear as a response.
She was hoping for something more than just "responsive".
The butlers came and lifted the dust briefcases away from the two girls, not looking at them twice.
Which made one of them twice as mad.
But she let it slide because, as she got closer, the ragged breaths and accelerated pulse she was hearing from the kid were more important. She might not have noticed in the heat of the moment thanks to her unbelievable skills at digressing, but now it was clear. The kid was having a panic attack.
So she tried a softer approach "Hey, it's okay. The bitch is gone, and if she comes back, you have me… That's what friends are for, right?" Admittedly, she has never been good at talking to kids, but she put effort into being as friendly as possible.
Luckily, the last remark got the kid's attention. After a painful minute of calming her agitated breaths, she slowly lifted her teary face just to see an extended hand, her eyes going through the arm and finding a kind face looking back at her with yellow, mellow eyes and a soft smile.
The smile faltered a bit as two ominous silver moons looked into Blake's soul. She was sure there were supposed to be pupils in their superficie, but she didn't find any. The fact that they were attached to a kid with moisture and light cuts on her face didn't help.
"...My name is Blake, and you are…?" Blake tried.
The kid lifted herself from the ground, ignoring Blake's extended hand, and Blake too, as she kept her gaze fixed on the very spot where she had fallen. Murmuring something to herself.
"...S-so kind… B-Blake… friend Blake… so kind… t-thank—thank you, thank youu… friend… thanks…" The kid uttered to the vacant air, like she was daydreaming.
Blake raised an eyebrow at her new eccentric friend, but she let her continue because her sudden panicked face showed that she just realized she was asked a question.
"Ah! A-A-A- I… I am… Mi- Miss… uh…" She stumbled over her words, but remembered something.
A kind man with gray hair, soft and confident words. She felt calm, because he had all the answers to her questions. She forgot to ask what smelled so good in his cup though.
She tried again "R-R-Ro-Rose! I am Miss Rose, yes… I'm a student, yes, I'm Miss Rose, Miss Rose… Rose… Miss… Rose… Miss…" Happy with the result, she nodded to herself while repeating the last two words.
On the other part, Blake wasn't that impressed by Miss Rose's introduction and saw fit to address it "Hey, hey, I know it's our first day, but if you don't relax and breathe you could have another…-" Her words died in her mouth as she tried to put a hand on the kid's shoulder.
The sudden move was enough to make Miss Rosa tense up in anticipation. Strangely, she didn't back up or raise her hands. She looked like a kicked puppy, if said puppy was almost covered in a red sheet. Her ears deflated on top and did not dare to raise her head.
Blake was taken aback.
Firstly, she didn't like seeing a Faunus in such a submissive state, it boiled her insides with rage. Her mind was screaming for her to slap the kid, tell her to grow a fang. But she pushed her dark thoughts aside, because there was something darker to worry about.
And it was the conclusion she was heading to. She wanted to be wrong, but the light cuts on the kid's face didn't look like the result from her recent fall anymore.
They looked like scars.
Scars on a Beacon student, meaning that they were once lacerations, otherwise her aura would have healed them without trace. Her reactions to other people and the fact it was her first day in Beacon were good arguments that they weren't made by Grimm.
Or was this kid even a Beacon student? She didn't look old enough, she didn't look strong enough. Hell, everything about this kid made her want to call Child Protection.
But they were in Beacon now, that made things complicated.
Beacon… right, Blake remembered something. They were running late to the welcoming ceremony. The truth of the kid's circumstances would come eventually, and she was more than happy to deliver her support.
After lowering her arm and a brief pause, she resumed the conversation with her previous approach.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you… Uh, by the way, the welcoming speech is about to start. We should go together right…? Because we are friends. Yeah."
The calmer tone seemed to put Miss Rose at ease. Yet, she refused to look her new friend in the eyes. She focused her gaze on a very specific cobblestone of the floor as usual and worked in her response. Out loud.
A nod.
"R-right... right... We go together, w-we... HE SAID…! h-he said... waiting... with a welcome... yes... we should go... yes... we should... friend... go... friend... yes yeS yEs YES!" More nods.
So she got the memo. Blake nodded back in acknowledgement and turned, taking a moment to appreciate the exterior of Beacon one final time for the day.
"Let's go." She commanded as she started walking. Her new friend followed, right behind her.
Blake considered raising her aura at the maximum. She didn't want some random crazy person to jump her on her first day, now would she.
Thankfully, they got into the auditorium without any incidents. A total of four hundred freshmen were supposed to be here today, and a total of three hundred and ninety eight were actually here when they arrived.
Meaning that she didn't get to choose her seat.
"Woo-hoo~" Called a familiar voice.
Fuck. She had hoped that the cold shoulder she gave the blonde in the airship would have been enough to make her give up. However, as she saw said blonde welcoming her with the same smug face while patting one of the remaining two seats with her hand and shamelessly waving her fingers with the other, it was clear that she wasn't a quitter.
Not that this brute ever hinted the contrary.
Blake decided it was time to get some repayment for her previous help dealing with the Atlasian bitch. Without a second thought, she led Miss Rose to the seat in the middle. Shielding herself from the brute's grasp, but leaving her friend under the bus.
She had done harsher things in the past.
However, the brute didn't seem to mind, as all her attention was now focused on the little kid sitting right next to her. Her lilac eyes followed every timid gesture.
"Ohh… so adorable~!" The brute cried "Name's Yang, what's yours little bud?" The brute named Yang added.
"A-A-Ah… I'm Miss Rose! …N-N-nice to me-EAT you…!" Miss Rose blurted, a little too loudly for the people around.
But not for Yang. "The pleasure is all mine~" She looked at Blake. "She's your sister?" Without waiting for a response, she looked back at Miss Rose. "Can I get your sister's number?" She asked in a whisper.
"A-A-A-Ah-" Before Miss Rose could continue, a high-pitched sound made her wince in pain.
The sound came from the large speakers in the two further corners of the auditorium, getting the attention of everybody in the room.
"Hm. I'll keep this brief," The voice filled the room, and it got Miss Rose's full attention and excitement, a little tail hitting the back of her seat made it too obvious.
"You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and adequate new skills. And when you are 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 the school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far… It's up to you to take the first step." The man who everybody in Remmant knew as Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy, finished his speech with a sip of his coffee and walked off the stage.
With the headmaster gone, the infamous teacher and deputy headmistress Glynda Goodwitch took the stage. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You're dismissed." As soon as she was finished, she walked off the stage too, following the headmaster.
The room was mostly left in confusion, but it quickly grew into chatter. The freshmen started leaving the room in order, meaning that the trio was the first to leave.
"Uhm… he seemed kind of… off." Yang commented as she walked out of the auditorium.
"It was like he didn't even care." Blake offered.
They both looked at Miss Rose for her feedback. She was already expressing her thoughts to no one in specific.
"...protect… the p-people… yes… no… edges- NO! Knowledge! A-A-Ah…! I need…knowledge… take… t-take step… STEP TO THE BALL ROOMS!" Miss Rose concluded.
"Right… So uhm… is she retarded?" Yang asked Blake subtly.
An elbow to the ribs was her only response.
"Ow!"
Author's Notes:
So I wanted to publish this chapter to know what you guys think. It's my first attempt at writing a story, in another language. Why did I do this to myself?. Anyway, this way I won't be judged by somebody I personally know. Could you imagine?
I swear there is not weird shit planned like Sugar Daddy Ozpin or something like that. It's just Ruby being kind of a nutjob. We have so many of those stories, so why not one more.
Also, Blake wasn't supposed to take this much of the chapter. But I thought she would be perfect to explain Remmant's issues in an ominous and dramatic way.
Not that it's the correct history, kind of AU.
Finally, as you may have noticed, I didn't name any of the girls until they were properly introduced by themselves or other people with sassy remarks on the mix. Please let me know if it is a yes-yes or if I screwed up grandiosely.
Thanks for reading!