Thanks again for the 100 Followers!

REAPER IN RED

Chapter 7

I was the last to leave that last class in the afternoon, just as I was the last to leave each class prior. I spent the rest of the day silent like Death itself, refusing to even answer questions directed right at me. Much to Weiss's chagrin and declining temperament. I knew I was behaving abnormally. I should have just kept on being cheerful and inquisitive and however else I was acting before Professor Port's lesson on Higher Order Salemites. That was what a normal person would do. But no matter how many times I told myself to do it, I couldn't. Just a scared little girl.

I wanted my mother back. I chided myself. A hundred and fifteen years old. Just a few dozen decades away from adulthood and still crying for mommy. How ashamed she would be of me. Finally stepping out into the open-air surrounding Beacon Academy, I watched as first year teams separated into groups of friends. Blake and Yang were heading in one direction, while Weiss was stomping off in another. All of them had been waiting for me to emerge from the lecture hall before departing.

Not wanting to be with anyone, I paced along the side of the building, running a finger through the grooves in the stone face. It was sunny outside. A near perfect heat which descended on everyone and remained even when blocked by the shadows of the many buildings and towers which dotted the campus. It was nice to feel heat again. In the back of my mind, I knew the feeling wouldn't last forever. It never did. Temperature would be the first sense to fade when my time ran out.

I ran a finger over my arm, feeling the heat absorbed by and radiating off my skin. It was a pleasantly human feeling. One that did not diminish much as I moved into the shadows. I breathed out a shaky breath and lowered myself to the floor, leaning back against the uneven stone slabs of the classroom.

Too many thoughts buzzed around my brain. To the humans on the one side, I was the greatest monster humanity had ever faced. To the Salemites on the other, according to mom, I was the great evil. The creatures whom renounced the Queen Mother to support the living. To my own kind, I was most likely an outcast. Well, more of an outcast than all Reapers were. Trying to not only hide among the mortals, but live among them. To be them.

"Ugh, this is so much harder than I thought it was going to be." My head fell into my hands, red hood covering my face.

"I would very much hope so." I nearly jumped in place. My heart skipped a beat at the sudden intrusion. Looking up, I saw the smiling face of the platinum blonde-grey haired, green spectacle wearing headmaster.

"Oh, sorry for getting in your way headmaster." I said pulling my knees closer to my chest and trying to shrink down as much as possible.

Instead of walking by, the headmaster leaned against the wall himself, allowing his cane to rest freely on his left side. He stood there quietly, watching as students walked by the corridor between buildings, none paying attention to us and all caught up in their own little worlds and problems. Even I could see the symbolism of hiding away in the dark while they walked freely in the light. Professor Ozpin did too, judging by the pleasant little smile he gave me as he glanced my way.

"It seems as though your first day at my school has not lived up to the expectations you were hoping for. Am I correct in this assumption?"

I nodded.

I knew it wasn't all bad. I had a team and I already fought monsters and stuff. I was acting more human than I had ever done before. I was actually learning things about them I never could have. And yet… and yet everything was different now. I had maybe a few weeks before the feeling would return and I would have to claim territory and reap. It wasn't enough time. And if I was caught. I was in a school surrounded by students and teachers, trained and training to kill beings like me.

Had this day lived up to my expectations? Honestly, I did not know. I was no longer sure if I even had real expectations for the day. My head fell further between my knees. I had barely planned for this. My only real goal was not to get caught, so in that regard, the day was a success. Only I was making it weird. But what did I truly hope to get out of Beacon? I had no hope of becoming a huntress. Any friends I made would be dead in a little while. Why was I there?

"I don't know if I'm supposed to be here. I think you made a mistake accepting me," I finally said, in a voice much quieter than I hoped for.

Professor Ozpin chuckled. "My dear miss Ruby Rose. I have made many mistakes over the course of my lifetime. Many more than any man, woman and child on this planet. But right now, I would not consider your attendance at Beacon Academy, nor your appointment to leader as one of them. Do you?"

"Maybe, I don't know," I shrugged halfheartedly after a moment's pause. "I'm only here because Professor Goodwitch caught me stopping a robbery."

"Yes," the headmaster agreed. "it truly was remarkable that the good professor was able to step in and recover the situation. To have one who looks as young as yourself face off against one as dangerous as him could have ended in true horrific disaster. A death even."

"I wouldn't kill him," I shook my head.

"I was referring to him killing you."

"Oh. Right."

"But you did reap the rewards of such a tussle, did you not?" Ozpin continued, allowing the slip to slide. "Fighting brilliantly with a unique style and grace that matched in skill to those entering; maybe even graduating, Beacon Academy. Without fear nor faintness from the strenuous bout. It was if the fates aligned such an occurrence to give you the perfect opportunity to allow the deputy headmistress to document your talents."

I finally looked up at him and his kind eyes.

"This world is filled with hundreds, if not thousands of mysterious forces which only a few are fully privy to. Fate is but one of such powers. But like many others who reach my age, I have come to the understanding that fate is what we make of it. Let this first day not be the basis for which you hold your time here, however long or short you choose it to be. Allow yourself time to live. To grow into the being you hope to one day become.

"Take care miss Rose. Please tell your father Taiyang Xiao-Long I say hello and that I am glad he had found another source of happiness in a second daughter."

He turned to leave, placing extra weight on his cane. After a few steps, his body only partially bathing in sunlight, he looked back at me with a knowing smile. "And please take care yourself miss Rose. Yours is a responsibility and a test not many choose to undertake. I am always here to answer the questions you have not yet considered asking. Oh, and enjoy leadership as well. I have a feeling it will suit you."

On that final ominous note, the headmaster rounded the corner and disappeared from view.

Ozpin was a strange man. There could be no doubting his intellect, but I felt like there was something otherworldly about him. He was too sure about himself making more mistakes than any living person. And there was something else…

I shook the thought from my head. No, it couldn't be. But his words did raise my spirits. Feeling a new strength, I got up from my hiding spot. Even if he did not realize the meaning in his words, I did. There was no point in wasting time. If I wanted to live with humans; to truly be among them, I would need to learn. To study harder than I ever had before, for anything else.

Beacon was an opportunity to be somebody new. I smiled, a skip emerging in my step. My little bounces flicked my bright red hood from my head and allowed my short hair to flop around freely, tickling my ears as I moved along. No point in fearing the inevitable, but best to make use of the time I had. As long or short as that might be.

The library was held in its own facility, about two buildings down from Beacon Tower and the main auditorium where I had spent my first night before initiation. Shorter than Beacon tower and narrower than the auditorium, it looked much smaller than the third largest building on campus that it actually was. What it lacked in height and width, it made up in length, stretching backwards much further than I could see from my place at the front entrance. It was made from the same thick grey stone blocks that most of the buildings on campus were, but was carved to allow the stone segments to fit cleanly together without the need for cement. This building would last much longer than the others on campus. It no doubt made it one of the older buildings as well.

The inside however was a truly different story, as overhead lights illuminated every corner of the immense space, leaving the tall windows useless in providing light to readers. Rows and rows of shelves filled with hundreds of books filled the majority of the space, with enough room on the sides for couches, tables, chairs and other such lounging and study areas for those who preferred to spend their time in the library rather than their rooms. Closed and locked study rooms also held some space along the back wall, all with carefully printed signs telling students to ask the front desk for study room keys and to book times when available.

The front desk, as the name suggests, was at the front of the room, with a big sign overhead reading 'FRONT DESK'. It made my first question to the old lady sitting behind the desk quite useless.

"Are you the front desk lady?"

Her response was to point to the sign hanging above her.

"Oh, right," I muttered shyly. "Do you know where I can find books on people?"

"Any specific subject? A specific person, or people as a whole? Including or excluding faunus? Historical texts or modern ones? Fiction or nonfiction-"

My head swirled with the onslaught of questions, asked at a pace which put my own quick-fire ramblings to shame.

"About how people act." I finally got out between her breaths.

"Psychology and sociology. Books are in the back with a sign for S.A.P. Can't miss it. Anything else?"

"On Grimm Reapers?"

"Aren't you a bit young to be digging into Reapers?" She glared at me behind thin spectacles, seeming to raise over me with her question.

"Eep!" I did not say. "I-I'm curious?"

The old lady adjusted her glasses and sat back down in her seat, clicking a few keys on her computer and glancing at her monitor. "General information on Reapers is in the Higher Order Salemite section, about four rows down that way. Specific information is in the restricted collection behind that locked door over there. I have the key, but you need special permission from a teacher to gain access."

"Oh." General information would be well and good, but what I wanted to know would most likely be in the restricted collection. That would be future Ruby's problem. General information would be a good enough starting point as any. Thanking the lady, I first grabbed a book on Reapers titled 'Death, Reapers and Grimm: A Beginners Guide to the Unknowable'. The Unknowable. Dang that was so cool. Ruby Rose the Unknowable Reaper! I liked the sound of that.

Keeping myself on task, I shook my head and gave my cheeks a light slap or two, continuing on to grab a couple books on human psychology and sociology. And a dictionary to find out what psychology and sociology were. With a stack of books nearly blocking my face, I staggered through the rows back to the front desk to check them all out, only stopping at a title which caught my interest.

'How to Make Friends and Get People to Like You'

With careful balance, I moved all my books to one arm and grabbed that final books, tossing on top of the pile and trying not to jostle anything too much to keep from tipping over.

Checking out the books were a short process, just a click or two from the front desk lady and then handing her my scroll to link the books to my account. With a cheery thank you to both the front desk lady and the nice rabbit eared faunus who held the exit door open for me, I was on my way back to my dorm room, only tripping once or twice on the uneven cobblestone pathway.

I dumped all my books down on my bed, then climbed up myself, enjoying the swinging feeling as the bed rocked side to side with my movements. So many different ways to start. I looked between the covers, choosing to start with one on basic psychology. Opening it up on my pillow; an empty notebook and pencil beside me, I proceeded to read.

People were a strange and unknowable -heh, like me! – force of nature in their own right. Each individual was even more so. There was so much to learn about the individual and human society at large, that people created entire fields of study about the concepts. While some studied the minds of Salemites and other creatures of Grimm in order to help fend off civilization's mortal enemies, others studied their own minds to help fend off against civilization's immortal enemies. Their very minds broke down their own species into groups with which to sort the 'us' from the 'them'. What resulted was the formation of family groups, then tribes, then villages. Eventually, the kingdoms which now dominated Remnant itself.

It was interesting stuff. Reapers were similar in a way. We too separated the 'us' from the 'them'. More so, the 'me' from the 'everybody else'. Reapers did not like to be near each other and when they did, it was only for a short amount of time. We were solitary creatures, choosing to live away from our own kind once we reached adulthood. Claiming a territory was a means of warning other Reapers away from us. Sort of similar to the great walls which surrounded each of the kingdoms, in a way.

Useful information to know and a great lesson in spot the similarities and differences between Reapers and humans, but a little too abstract for what I wanted. That just left a single book. 'How to Make Friends and Get People to Like You'.

I yawned. "Welp, no time to waste," I whispered, flipping to the first page and starting my reading.

I woke up to someone shaking my shoulder. Jumping up, I almost screeched in surprise at seeing my partner standing at eye level to me.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't even realize I fell asleep. I must have been more tired than I thought," I tried to laugh, but the sound died in my throat.

"That's alright," Weiss replied magnanimously. "And I'm sorry to wake you. I- I wanted to apologize for today."

Weiss looked down as she continued speaking, her words coming out much slower and without the usual bite nor confidence they usually held. "In class this morning you were just trying to help your sister in her fight and I just had to snap at you. A-and hit you. I was just so annoyed that you were intruding into someone else's situations and I never thought I would act so much like my fath-…"

She sighed. "The point is, after that, you were just so upset and I felt responsible for it."

"Huh?" I finally let out.

"I'm trying to apologize you dolt. I had a talk with Professor Port this afternoon and he really helped me understand myself and how our experiences deferred. From the very beginning I treated you more like a child than student here. I just wanted to say that from now on, I'm going to be the very best team member and partner you could ever hope for."

"Thanks Weiss, I'd really love to be best friends with you too."

"Let's just start as… friends for now. How do you take your coffee?"

"What?"

"I'm trying to be considerate here. How do you take your coffee?"

"What's coffee?"

"What's coff-! You know what? I'll just bring it to you how I like it and you can add sugar and cream yourself."

Weiss walked away from me, grabbing a clean mug from her dresser, filling it with a hot brown liquid. I had no clue what that was about, but as I opened up my fifth packet of sugar, it looked like my first day at Beacon was ending on a sweet note.

I hope you enjoyed the surprise! I never thought I would reach this milestone. I will see you all again at the usual time in two weeks!

firewyrm2 - I'm so sorry I forgot to respond to you last update! But, I think you need to introduce me to monster hunter first. I... honestly have no clue if that is a show, an anime or a board game. But, it has the words monster and hunter in it, so we both know Ruby already loves it.

JackTheSpades - Always got to show death a nice and healthy dose of fear! No wait, that's Grimm. Gotta show Grimm a nice dose of fear. Gotta show Reapers your acceptance, cuz there is no fighting death. Anyways, I like to think that huntsmen just aren't very good at statistics.

Lasereyes27 - Spoilers. ;)