Whoa boy that was a close one. Just tip-toed passed my 2k word minimum there. But I still made it!

REAPER IN RED

Chapter 5

Sleep did not come to me that night. Not for my lack of trying, however. I lay awake in the top bunk of a two-floor bed which my team and I constructed that evening, thinking about what was ahead of me. Staring at the ceiling so close to me, all that ran through my mind was what I had gotten myself into. In a short span of time -even by human standards- I had faked my way into a family of huntsmen, gained entry to a school which trained people to exterminate me and my kind among other Salemites, and became leader of a team. A team which would live together, eat together, sleep together and train together. For four full years.

I ran fingers through my hair; anything to calm down the sense of dread building within me. I had no clue how to lead a team, much less even act fully human. How much did humans eat? Did they go to the bathroom multiple times a day? And what did they even do in the bathroom, besides brushing their teeth? What was the water-bowl for? Yang's pet -Zwei, I think- used it as a drinking bowl. Was that it? I grumbled. "This is why mom said not to get too close to people."

Too many questions about the obvious. Why couldn't Reapers have figured out how to gain people's trust by now? Besides the magic-y way of course. We lived long enough that I assumed we had at least a little bit of information on the subject. But no. Mom had said Reapers and humans had to stay separated. It was one of the cardinal rules of Reaperdom. Reaperdom? Reaper-ship? Reaper-kin? There was no title for us, and I had too many thoughts buzzing through my head to be distracted by something so meaningless as what to call the collective of all Grim Reapers.

Another cardinal rule was that Reapers had to stay away from their own kind, but that did not seem to apply to offspring until they reached maturity and took over a territory. But here I was. At least another couple hundred years from maturity and already on my own. Possibly with my own territory. I didn't know. How does one go about claiming territory? This would have been important information for somebody to have told me! I rolled over in bed, laying on my side and looking across the room to my sister.

Yang looked to be resting easily, blankets strewn about her bed and hair a complete mess as her lion-like snore echoed through the room. She did not have any of these problems. She had it easy. A human with a living parent and now doing what she wanted to do with her life and with plenty of people to teach her everything she needed to know about her job. It wasn't like I could just find another Reaper and ask all my questions to. That's what a mother was for.

I shuddered at the memory which interrupted my thoughts. Reapers were not a friendly bunch to their own kind. I would never step foot in Atlas again after that night. I still had the scars on my hip to commemorate that experience.

I turned over again, staring back at the emptiness of the ceiling. Somehow, I had to act as a human. I had to lead this team and I had to keep from revealing myself as a Reaper. Okay, I could do this. There wasn't anything too hard about it. Maybe.

Shockingly, I was… excited about the path which lay in front of me. It was a spur of the moment decision to do this, but it seemed to be working well so far. I was excited to play the human. To be around people and not be alone again. But I needed a plan.

Under my pillow was my notebook. Yang called it my diary, but I still could not for the life of me figure out the difference. Flipping to an empty page, I wrote my steps as they came to me.

Step 1, Figure out how to claim territory. It would keep other Reapers from stumbling into me or taking this territory for themselves and attacking me to keep their claim on it. Also, once the adrenaline of the ancient vampire's death wears off, it would give me plenty of souls with which to keep up the charade. Don't want to be discovered as a Reaper while surrounded by hunters.

Step 2, Learn how to be human. People-watching was a thing humans did, right? There were also movies and tv-shows and video games which could help. Mom said humans were excitable creatures, so maybe acting excited about everything was a good idea. Yang seemed to always be cheerful. But Weiss was always angry and Blake was quiet. This was too confusing. Why couldn't everyone just make things easier for me!

Step 2.5, learn what people did in their bathrooms.

Were three steps -two and a half- enough? Probably not, but it was enough for then. As I watched the sun peak up over the horizon through the view from my window, I felt like everything was going well. My heart beat rapidly in my chest as the new day approached. I was going to be human! I was going to learn about the huntsmen and how they saw the world. Maybe, just maybe what I would learn would help me and my kind connect with humans. Stop them from killing us off.

Yes, that was the goal. Can't do anything without a goal! Learn about humans and convince them to not kill Reapers anymore. I nodded to myself and shut my eyes.

Only to be woken up by Weiss's stupid alarm clock. Looking back towards the sun, it seemed to have not risen all that much since I last gazed at it. That meant little sleep. Rubbing my eyes and stretching my legs, I guessed that the day was going to be a sleepless one. No point in wasting it.

I hopped out of bed and brushed my teeth for a few minutes. That was as long as Yang did when we brushed our teeth together before she kicked me out for her shower. I changed into a fresh pair of clothes, tied my hood around my neck and brushed my short hair of any knots. Of all the things I had learned about humans so far, hair brushes were quickly becoming my favourite. How did I live before with so many knots in my hair and the relaxing feeling of a comb running through my short locks? No wonder Yang liked her hair so long. This felt amazing.

But my hair was smooth soon enough and my teammates were still asleep. Now, what would be the best way to wake everyone up? I looked to my bag of things. A whistle could work. Sucking in a big breath, I let loose a high-pitched cacophony of noise. Yang woke with a shout, rolling out of bed and onto the floor with a thump which shook the room. Weiss as well was quite perturbed, jolting upright with wide eyes and an angry glare which could give Salem herself a run for her money.

"Wakey wakey Team RWBY!" I shouted between whistle blows. "Time to get up for a new day!"

I think excited was definitely the way to go. Excited human Ruby at your service!

"Rubes, please shut up." Yang mumbled holding back a deep yawn. "Couldn't you have just let us sleep a bit longer. Or woken us up without your whistle?"

"I had my alarm already set to the proper time, you horrid buffoon!" Weiss sniped.

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Well, you didn't get up! It rang like thirty minutes ago!"

"Ugh…" Weiss held the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. "Wait, did you say thirty minutes?"

I nodded quickly. "Yup!"

"We're going to be late for class!" Weiss shouted, flinging her blanket off of her and rushing into the washroom and slamming the door behind her. I heard the shower head turn on, letting loose a stream of water.

A pleasant purring sound erupted from the other side of the room as the raven-haired girl -Blake. There had to be a better way of remembering names. I just had it an hour ago! – curved her spine, letting any tightness loosen with the stretch. At least she was doing well with all the extra noise.

"Class is starting soon!" Came Weiss's voice from behind the bathroom door. "We should be waking up much earlier than we did today." The door opened wide to a fully clothed Weiss and a light trickle of steam. Weiss's pristine combed, dried and styled hair was held together in an off-centered ponytail. "From this point onward, I will be setting two alarms as well as increasing the volume so there is no risk of sleeping through them. It is best to be early than on time and on time than late."

"Then quit hogging the bathroom and let me get ready," Yang said barreling though the Schnee heiress and slamming the door behind her.

"I'll wake you guys up again!" I shouted with a raised hand.

"As long as you don't use a whistle again. Or create any infernal racket," Weiss added with an intense glare at me, causing me to blush.

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Weiss could only huff in reply.

It was only a short while longer before the rest of the team was finished their morning routines. Unfortunately, it had become quite obvious that my own sister Yang would be a continual problem in creating a 'bathroom-schedule' thanks to her fascination with forty-five-minute-long showers and a plethora of hair-care products. What resulted was a mad dash out of the room alongside our new acquaintances in Team JNPR. It was only through a stroke of luck that my partner Weiss decided that memorizing the map of Beacon Academy was a great way to spend her night.

"Ah Team RWBY! JNPR! Glad of you to join us this morning. Please take your seats." An overly robust man with a thick, heavy mustache cheered. His eyes looked permanently closed and due to the mustache, he looked to be continuously smiling. Whether there was indeed a smile under the tuft of hair was impossible to discover. He did have friendly happy-lines around his eyes though, so that was a good sign at least.

The four of us chose from the few remaining seats available to us. Yang grumbled about sitting in the front of the class, but I couldn't figure out what was different about these spots than those just behind us. Blake pulled out a textbook and another book in front of it and got to reading. Yang let out a yawn, barely covering her mouth with her palm while leaning haphazardly on the desk. I peered at my partner beside me. She was excited for class.

I shuffled back in my seat, sitting straighter and allowing a smile to reach my lips. Okay, I could not hide my anxiousness. It would be my first ever class! Told by an expert huntsman about all the creatures which huntsman hunt. I could not wait for the lessons on Reapers. There was so much I still wanted to know about myself! Would it have looked weird if I did some research on my own, or would it make it more obvious as to what I was?

I shook the thought from my mind as the man took center-stage and cleared his throat, bringing the class to silence. I accidentally let out a squeal of exhilaration, holding in my giggle as best as I could. This was just going to be so interesting!

"Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names. As many names as there are kinds. Some possess intelligence akin to man. Others the strength of a hundred of us puny mortals. Some can hide in plain sight, snatching children from their beds without notice. Some are so greatly feared by human and huntsman alike, only the bravest -dare I say most foolish- will even dare catch of glimpse of these monsters. What I choose to call them? Prey."

I wonder who our first professor of the day is? Any guesses? Mine is Professor Goodwitch. She definitely has the most amazing mustache of the lot of them.

Firewyrm2 - It is day 7 since Ruby discovered a missing cookie from her cookie jar. I have been left with only freeze-dried strawberries and an unopened bag of Doritos. I hope that when I am discovered, the Doritos can calm her enough for me to make my escape. If not, please tell my family I love them. Oh no! Ruby has found my hiding spot! *hrrk!* No Ruby! You cannot also have my freeze-dried strawberries! *ahk!* Why Ruby!

Pleaseworkforonce – Thank you very much for the review. It's important to know what people like about your writing and what made them want to start or continue reading. But it's also equally important to know what might make readers lose interest or jump ship entirely. As of now, we are just finished with initiation and just getting to the first class of the semester. There will definitely be divergence from canon, and I do have some plans for how it might diverge more in the future, but beginnings are pretty standard. Yes, some chapters in the future will have parts of canon you have come to expect, but I do not plan on having everything play out the same way. Not at all. As for your alternative advice, that is something I will definitely try harder to add to this story. Whole reason I'm doing this is to become a better writer, so when great advice is given? Hell ya am I going to pay attention to it. And lastly the whiterose question. As of now, I have absolutely no plans to write whiterose into this story. Nor Lancaster or Ladybug or really any other ship. That may change as the story progresses, but know that I am not planning any ship for this story. Also, I don't think that Weiss fits into the common Reaper dating rule: "half your age + 70". :)

Firewyrm2 #2 - I'd like to thank you for enjoying the story enough to wish for a faster update schedule. But technically, you already got that, since this story used to be posted once every three weeks. :P As an avid fanfic reader myself, I also understand the hassle of keeping track of plenty of stories as well as the annoyance of longer update times. But, you do come to realize that writing consistently is hard. I'm currently in university (final year baby!) as well as in an internship which sucks up 90% of my awake time. It's why I have a backlog of already completed chapters, in case I don't write that week. And of course, every week I don't post in this story, I'm posting in Rhodopis in Remnant.

JackTheSpades - Glad you liked the initiation. Writing combat is quite tricky! I really need to practice that. Of course, that just means I need more reasons to create fight scenes. Unusual and 0neWhoWanders go hand in hand. I don't really like the whole 'immortal character' thing. Things that have different lifespans than humans? Yes, I'm all for that, but there should only be one thing that doesn't die from age. And that would be things that are already dead. And to your final major point... Spoilers. ;)

Now, to ask the real questions. How the hell did Ruby get a whistle?

Answer: it's one of life's greatest mysteries. Like what the tooth fairy does with all those teeth or where Weiss hides her secret cookie stash when Ruby runs out.

Anywho, until next time!