AN: So. Volume 9 chapter 6, huh. No spoilers. But god damn.

Anyway, we decided to split this chapter in two because it was already getting pretty long and we knew what was coming up was going to make it kind of obnoxious.

With that out of the way, onwards!

Chapter 2

As the airship landed and opened its ramp to let the prospective students out, Cloud saw the airsick blond boy from earlier rush past everyone else and run straight to a trash can, leaning into it and emptying the contents of his stomach. Cloud gestured to Yang and Ruby to go on without him, and he walked over the sick boy and patted him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I've been there," Cloud said. "Don't worry, you'll get use to flying… eventually."

The boy groaned. "I hope so," he said, before he threw up in the trash can again. Cloud gave him one last supportive pat before leaving to catch up with his friends. He was just in time to see the girls looking up in awe at the legendary Academy. It looked more like a castle than a school, the building itself sitting on top of the plateau that served as a natural barrier that the wall surrounding Vale was built off of. The centerpiece of the Academy was a massive Tower at the center that also served as Vale's CCT Tower. The path they were standing on led to a courtyard, where the trio could see a large statue of a man with long hair and carrying a very long sword.

"The view from Vale's got nothing on this," Yang said, as the trio walked towards the courtyard.

"You can say that again," Cloud said.

"The view from Vale's got nothing on this," Yang repeated.

"Just this once, I'll let you have that one," Cloud said.

"Oh my gosh, guys!" Ruby said, pointing excitedly at another student. Or more specifically, their weapons. "That kid's got a collapsible staff! And she's got a fire sword!" Ruby, now moving on auto-pilot, tried to walk closer to the other students, but Yang and Cloud grabbed her by the arms to stop her.

"Woah there, Ruby, calm down," Cloud said.

"Yeah, sis," Yang said. "They're just weapons."

"'Just weapons'?" Ruby asked, sounding offended at the idea. "They're an extension of ourselves! They're part of us! Oh, and they're so cool!"

"Well why can't you swoon over your own weapon?" Yang asked. "Aren't you happy with it?"

Ruby pulled Crescent Rose out from behind her and unfolded it, holding it close to her chest. "Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose. I just really like seeing new weapons. It's like meeting new people, but better. Case in point…" she started slowly reaching for Cloud's sword. "I would really like to get to know your new Buster Sword, Cloud."

Cloud reached up and gently took hold of Ruby's wrist before she could grab his weapon. "Sorry, Ruby, not today."

"Awww," Ruby whined, slumping her shoulders in disappointment.

Cloud chuckled and let go of Ruby's wrist. "Well, I'm gonna go look around for a bit and see what this place has to offer. I'll see you guys later."

"What?!" Ruby yelled. "But Cloud, we just got the gang back together."

"Don't worry, I'll meet you and Yang in the auditorium later. I promise." With a small wave, he turned around and walked away. Ruby let out a defeated sigh. Yang wrapped and arm around Ruby's shoulder in comfort.

"Aw, cheer up, Rubes," she said. "We'll have plenty of time to catch up with Cloud. Plus, coming to Beacon will give you the chance to open up a bit and make some new friends. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"But… why would I have friends if I have you and Cloud?" Ruby asked, prompting Yang to sigh.

"I know. You're not a huge fan of people," Yang said. "But trust me, more friends will make the next four years way more fun."

"…I guess…" Ruby said sadly, before the large statue caught her eye. Her eyes widened. "Oh. My. Gods!" she exclaimed and walked closer to it. The long-haired man was wearing a trench coat and was holding his katana, Masamune, in a heroic pose. She looked down at the engrave plaque at the base of the statue.

In memory of Sephiroth: The Defender of Nibelheim and Remnant's Guardian Angel.

"Sephiroth," Ruby said absently, looking in awe at the statue of the legendary hero. She had grown up on stories about Sephiroth, and he was one of her biggest inspirations for wanting to become a Huntress.

Well, him and her mother.

Ruby found herself just standing there, staring at that statue. She knew she should leave, but she didn't want to.

"Ruby?" Yang asked, trying to get her sister's attention, but she just kept looking up at Sephiroth's statue. Yang shook her head in amusement. "I'm gonna go get us checked in. Meet me and Cloud at the auditorium when you're done worshipping your idol." Ruby said nothing, and with one last confused glance, Yang walked away.

Ruby wasn't sure how long she was standing there, nor was she really listening to what her sister had said. After what felt like minutes, she started to hear a shrill ringing sound in her ears. "Huh?" she muttered, holding the side of her head. The noise got louder, and louder.

Suddenly, she heard a voice.

"I am the one that was chosen to save this planet."

And then came the pain. Ruby felt like her skull was being forced open from the inside. She clutched her head tightly, trying to force the pain back down. "W-What's happening?!" She asked, before it was finally too much and she collapsed.

Instead of hitting the ground, she landed on a pile of boxes. Specifically, white suitcases. The pain suddenly subsided, and Ruby looked around in confusion, rubbing her head.

"What are you doing?!" a shrill voice yelled. Ruby looked up to see a white-haired girl glaring at her with her hands on her hips. The girl was wearing a short white dress and bolero jacket, white high-heeled boots, and had light blue eyes. Her white hair was pulled into an off-center ponytail and held in place with a tiara that looked like it was made of icicles, and she had a scar running vertically over her left eye.

She was a very beautiful girl, but the glare that she was sending Ruby's way made her look more intimidating than anything else.

Ruby quickly stood up, realizing that she had been staring at a girl that was clearly furious with her. "Oh, uh, sorry!" she said.

"Sorry?!" The girl yelled, clearly not believing Ruby's apology. "Do you have any—" she suddenly stopped talking, taking a good look at Ruby's eyes. "Y-You're a Faunus."

Oh no, not again, Ruby thought. "Uh, yeah?" She said nervously. The other girl stared at Ruby with wide eyes, like she was scared of her. "Uh, here. Let me help you pick up your suitcases," Ruby said, bending down to grab one of the smaller cases.

The girl seemed to snap out of it and went right back to glaring at Ruby. "Give me that!" she shouted, snatching the case out of Ruby's hands. "Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?" She opened up the lid of the case, revealing that it contained a group of jars filled with Dust. "This is Dust, mined and purified from the Schnee quarry."

"Uh."

"What are you, braindead?" the girl rudely asked. She pulled out a jar of Fire Dust and started waving it around in Ruby's face. Ruby's eyes widened when she realized that the lid to the jar wasn't screwed on securely, causing some of the volatile substance to spill out into the air. "Dust, fire, water, lightning, energy!" Ruby realized too late that she had accidentally gotten some of the Dust into her nose, and was trying desperately not to sneeze. Unfortunately, the other girl took it as her ignoring her, which only made her madder. "Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in?"

"AH-"

Another year, another new batch of students, Aerith thought to herself, with a basket of flowers hanging from her arm. She was partaking in her yearly tradition of handing out flowers as a welcome gift to the new students. Or, well, any students that actually took one. A lot of them ignored her, mostly because she clearly didn't resemble a student, but some were kind enough to accept her flowers, like that red-haired girl from earlier, and a hyperactive ginger. I wonder if there'll be any students from Vacuo? Or Atlas? Or maybe even Midgar? I hope they won't mind me asking what their kingdoms are like. Though, actually visiting the other kingdoms instead of just hearing about them would be a little better. She sighed. Maybe someday.

The sound of an explosion took her out of her thoughts. "What the…!" she exclaimed, taking a look around. She saw a small plume of smoke coming from the direction of the courtyard.

Without hesitating, she ran to the source to see what had happened and to help anyone who could've gotten hurt.

It only took her a few seconds to reach the courtyard, finding a girl with white hair yelling at a younger-looking girl with black hair that turned red at the tips. Both of the girls were covered in soot.

"Unbelievable!" The white-haired girl yelled. "This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"

"I'm really, really sorry!" the black-haired girl said.

"You complete-!"

Aerith chose that moment to get involved, getting the girls' attention before the argument could continue. "Excuse me, I heard an explosion and saw smoke," she said. "Do you two know what happened?"

"Uh…" the black-haired girl said, clearly uncomfortable.

"Yes, we do!" the white-haired girl said, eager to throw the other girl under the bus. "This dolt caused my Dust to explode and nearly blew me to pieces!"

"Are you two alright?" Aerith asked.

"Yes, my Aura protected me," the angry girl said, before aggressively pointing a finger at the younger girl. "But, that doesn't excuse this child's actions."

"But I—You-!" the younger girl stammered.

"What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

"Well, I.. I…" The younger girl was clearly growing more distressed by the second, and Aerith narrowed her eyes at the other one. The younger girl had already apologized, and it was probably an accident. Did she really have to keep yelling at her like that?

"This isn't your ordinary combat school," the white-haired girl continued ranting. "It's not just sparring and practice! We're here to fight monsters, so watch where you're going!"

Aerith had seen enough, and stepped in between the two of them. "Hey, leave her alone. She has as much of a right to be here as you do."

"Please, she's far too young to even own a weapon, much less attend Beacon," the girl said dismissively.

"Looks can be deceiving. She's probably very gifted to get enrolled at Beacon this early," Aerith said. After all, she knew for a fact that Beacon's headmaster had his reasons for everything. Attending Beacon was a huge responsibility and commitment, so if he thought this girl was ready, then she was ready.

"Really?" the white-haired girl asked, her voice taking on a sarcastic tone. "Then I assume you must be just as good, with that dress that doesn't let you kick, a jacket that doesn't offer much protection, and that cute little bow in your hair must be your weapon.

"You know, you don't look much like a Huntress either," Aerith said, crossing her arms angrily.

"Oh, then what do I look like?"

"Well, I don't want to be mean, but you look more like the kind of girl who would stop a fight to fix a loose strand of hair, throw a tantrum when she gets a small speck of dirt on her dress, or faint at the sight of a…" she made an exaggerated, dramatic gasping sound. "…broken nail." She heard the younger girl giggle from behind her, and the older girl got angrier and angrier with each jab.

"How dare you?!" the white-haired girl finally yelled. "I am not that shallow!"

"Really, so those dozen suitcases aren't filled with the latest fashion trends?" Aerith asked.

The girl growled. "Okay, listen here you disrespectful little-!"

"Blargh!"

Yuffie was doubled over a trash can, puking her guts out. Blake stood next to her, an open book in her right hand, while her left hand absentmindedly rubbed soothing circles on her friend's back.

"How are you feeling?" Blake asked.

"I wanna die," Yuffie cried, puking one last time.

"There, there."

Yuffie finally pulled her head out of the trash can and wiped her mouth. "Ugh, why couldn't we have just walked?" Yuffie asked. "We would've still made it here."

"I doubt we could've made it here before an airship," Blake said.

"I'd rather be late if it meant I didn't have to ride of those stupid things ever again."

"Now you're just overreacting."

"You don't get motion sickness, so you don't understand my misery!"

"No, the thing I don't understand is why you only get sick in airships and boats, but not cars and trains."

"Beats me," Yuffie said, her stomach finally seeming to have calmed down. She looked down and spotted a bottle on the ground. She picked it up and took a good look at it. "Hey look, someone dropped a jar of Fire Dust. I wonder if they're—" Suddenly, they heard someone shouting. The two Faunus turned and saw a girl with black and red hair, and a girl in a pink dress arguing with a girl in a white dress with a very familiar snowflake emblem on the back. "Blake, is that…?"

"Weiss Schnee," Blake said, putting her book away. An excited smile appeared on Yuffie's face.

"Oh boy, new target acquired."

"Yuffie, you promised," Blake said, her voice taking on a scolding tone.

"Oh come on, her family's loaded," Yuffie argued. "She probably won't even notice she's missing some gil."

"Yuffie!"

"Fine. Geez, you just don't know how to have fun, sis."

"Then allow me to prove you wrong," Blake said. She snatched the Dust jar from Yuffie, and marched towards the arguing girls, leaving a confused Yuffie behind. By the time Blake arrived, Weiss and the girl in the pink dress were just throwing insults at each other while the younger girl dressed in black just watched helplessly.

"Cold-hearted brat!" the pink one yelled.

"Nosey tree hugger!" Weiss shot back.

"Ice Queen!"

"Dolled-up delinquent!"

"Spoiled princess!"

"It's heiress, actually," Blake said, finally making her presence known. All three girls stopped what they were doing to look at her as she approached. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy in the world, rivalled only by the Shinra Electric Power Company."

"Finally, some recognition!" Weiss said, before glaring at the pink girl. "And respect."

Blake narrowed her eyes at her. "The same Dust Company infamous for its controversial labor practices and questionable business partners. Weiss immediately started spluttering, so offended that she couldn't form a coherent sentence, while the girl she had been arguing with just chuckled.

"Wha—How dare—The nerve of… Ugh!" Weiss finally managed to say. She walked up to Blake and snatched the vile of Fire Dust out of her hand. With one final huff, she stormed off, leaving her butler behind to carry her luggage. Because of course she brought a butler to a combat school.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" the younger girl called out after Weiss. Blake had no idea what she could possibly have to make up for, and she frankly didn't care. She turned around and walked back towards Yuffie, ignoring the younger girl's attempts to thank her for intervening.

Yuffie was laughing up a storm by the time Blake walked back over to her. "Oh, man, that was awesome!"

"See, I can have fun," Blake said with a smirk.

Yuffie chuckled. "Yeah, but I think that'll be the only time."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's head to the auditorium."

"Alright, guess I'll just have to swipe some gil from the heiress next time," Yuffie said.

"You do, and I'll take your headband away for a month," Blake said, like a mother scolding her unruly child.

"You do that, and I'll read your entire collection of Ninjas of Love to the entire school," Yuffie retorted with a grin that could only be described as "shit-eating".

Blake felt her face heating up. "I-I didn't bring any c-copies. I left them behind!" she said rather desperately. Yuffie just chuckled.

"Come on, sis. I know you better than that."

"J-just head to the auditorium," Blake said, desperate to change the subject.

"Aye aye, captain."

Aerith watched as the younger girl slumped to the ground in defeat after the mysterious black-haired girl left without even allowing Ruby to thank her. "Welcome to Beacon," she said sadly to herself.

Aerith looked down at the girl in sympathy, and knelt down to get on her level. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Not really," the girl answered. "I was just told that I don't belong here."

"Hey, don't let her get to you. If the Headmaster thinks you deserve to be here, then you deserve to be here, young or not," Aerith said in a definitive manner. "And you must be pretty special to get enrolled early."

"But I don't want to be special," the girl said with a cute pout.

"Why not?"

"Because if everyone thinks I'm special, then I'll have to live up to all these high expectations. I just…" she sighed. "I just want to be normal."

Aerith knew exactly how this girl felt. She was also someone that others would call "special", and she really wished she wasn't. "Mind if I give you some advice?"

"Uh, sure?" the girl said uncertainly.

"Ignore them."

"Wha…?"

"Ignore them," Aerith repeated, more firmly this time. "Let people think what they want. The only expectations you need to worry about living up to are your own."

"But what if my expectations aren't high enough?" The girl asked.

"Well, that's why you're here, right? While you're learning and improving at Beacon, your expectations will rise and rise until you finally become the Huntress you want to be. You understand?"

"Yeah, I think I do."

"Good," Aerith said, standing up and holding her hand down to help the girl up. "Now, how about I show you to the auditorium before the Headmaster gives his speech?"

"Sure," the girl said, accepting Aerith's hand and being pulled to her feet. "And thanks for the talk. I needed that.

"No problem, uh…" Aerith said, finally realizing that she had no idea what this girl's name was.

"Oh, uh, my name's Ruby. Ruby Rose."

"Aerith Gainsborough," Aerith said with a smile, holding out her hand again, but this time to shake. Ruby smiled back and accepted the handshake. "Oh! I almost forgot!" she exclaimed, reaching into her flower basket and pulling out a lovely red rose. "Here you go," she said.

"W-what's that for?" Ruby asked, blushing at suddenly being given a flower that's usually seen as romantic.

"It's just my way of welcoming people to Beacon," Aerith said. "I don't usually give ones like this out to just anyone, but it fits you quite well. Plus, I have a feeling we're gonna be good friends."

"Oh, uh, thank you!" Ruby said with a smile as she accepted the rose from Aerith and tucked the stem into her belt.

"Now come on, the speech is gonna start soon," Aerith said.

"Right."

Aerith couldn't help but smile at Ruby as they walked toward the auditorium.

She looked almost as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

AN: So, like I said earlier, we originally wanted this chapter to go all the way to the first night in the ballroom, but it went on too long. So, we're stopping here and will pick it up next time.

So, we'll have more character meetings next time we meet.

As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!