Chapter 4

“Oh my goddess! Watch where you’re going!” A voice yelled out, Ruby picking herself up off the ground, brushing the dirt off of herself while gaining back her bearings. “S - Sorry… I didn’t mean to…” Ruby replied, looking forward to see the source of the voice. “Do you even know where you are?” Weiss angrily questioned, Ruby stepping forward, reaching down for one of the storage containers. “I’m - I’m sorry, I’ll help - ” “No. Begone. You’re only going to break something else.” Weiss dismissed. Ruby nodded her head in response, stepping around the luggage cart, not helping but noticing a cracked vial of Gravity dust laid beneath her. Reaching down, Ruby plucked it off the ground, turning back to Weiss to hand it to her. “Hey, I think this slipped out.” Ruby spoke, Weiss looking at her over the cart, squinting her eyes as she spoke. “What?” Reaching her arm over the stack of luggage, Ruby presented the damaged vial, Weiss stepping back when she saw what Ruby was holding. “This slipped out - ” The vial snapped in half, its remains smashing into the ground with enough momentum to cause a minor, gravitational implosion, Ruby’s arm caught between the luggage and the cart’s barriers as it began to fell over. She watched helplessly as Weiss was caught directly in its collision course, not able to dodge out of the way before it tipped over on top of her. Groaning out, Weiss stared daggers at Ruby, watching her while slowly managing to wiggle her way out of the pile. Pulling her arm out from the wreckage, Ruby stood up, going over to try and help Weiss back up. “I’m - I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean to…” She stopped talking when she felt the heat of Weiss’ glare, slowly backing up. “I’ll… I’ll just…” “GET OUT! NOW!” Weiss barked, Ruby quickly turning around and power walking in the other direction. Slowing down once she made some distance from the scene, Ruby looked over her shoulder to see some passing students helping Weiss with the mess she made, sighing deeply while turning her head back forward. “Heh. Nice.” Someone said from her side, Ruby tilting her head in the direction of the voice. “Huh?” Ruby let out, stopping in place as Blake stood in front of her. She immediately recognized Blake as a faunus, Ruby not helping but glancing up at the feline ears on her head and the diamond studs pierced inside of them, as well as the tail slowly flicking from side to side behind Blake’s waist. “That Atlas brat was so obnoxious on the flight here. About time she got what was coming.” “Oh. I - I wasn't trying to do any of that, though.” “Pff. Don’t worry, I’ll tell anyone who asks the same thing.” Blake stated somewhat jokingly, giving Ruby a pat on her back as she walked by her. Ruby watched as Blake disappeared into the crowd heading into the building, feeling a mixture of confusion and guilt brewing up within her chest. Figuring that it couldn’t go much worse than it currently is now, Ruby chose to keep moving forward, walking alongside the crowd.

As the journey toiled on, Ruby found herself making a lap back around to the entrance of the school, her mind befuddled while she looked around at the incoming students. “Wait…” Ruby thought to herself, standing still in front of one of the benches adjacent to the academy’s entrance. “Where am I supposed to be going?” Anxiously rubbing her hands together, she watched as the students broke off into multiple different hallways, her face whitening when she realized what she had to do. The idea of simply asking someone for directions sounded easy, but when Ruby walked closer to the herd of passing students, she felt her heart grip in her chest, and her words stuck within her throat. Ruby considered herself fairly outgoing, but this new environment, all these new people surrounding her, was far different from the more humble schools that Patch offered. Drawing in a deep breath, Ruby managed to steel herself, her nerves easing slightly while she looked around at the passing students. She saw a pair of younger-looking, blonde boys walking in through the door, her courage built up just enough for her to step in front of them and ask. “Hi, uh…” She let out, the both of them stopping their conversation, looking down towards her while she spoke. The two looked fairly similar to one another, with Jaune being slightly taller and having significantly less hair, and the other having his long, thick hair tied back into a ponytail that went down past his neck, with plenty of it still covering the rest of his head. “Do you know where the first years are supposed to go?” Jaune looked over at what appeared to be his relative, chuckling before he spoke. “I was - I was actually just about to ask you that, Gilde. I don’t think they went over that in the letter.” Gilde smiled, pointing his finger down the hallway and placing his hand behind Jaune’s shoulder. “We’re to go to the inside training arena for orientation,” Gilde began, reaching his hand down to his scroll. “Jaune will lead you there, misses..?” “Ruby.” “Ruby. Yes, Jaune will take you to the arena.” Jaune turned to face Gilde, stammering for a moment before speaking. “Uh… I - I dunno if I…” “Please, take the beautiful young lady to the arena, Jaune. It’s what our grandfather would want, I’m sure of it.” Gilde stated, Jaune sighing as he stepped away from Gilde, Ruby hesitantly following alongside him. “Th - thanks. Sorry, I was just - I kinda got lost, haha.” Ruby explained, Jaune taking out his scroll and reading the school’s map. “It’s okay.” Jaune replied, squinting as he held the map up to his face. Ruby pursed her lips, looking around at the nearby architecture of the academy’s interior while she followed him.

“Wait. We took a wrong turn, hold on.” Jaune spoke, turning around, Ruby following him after a short delay. “So…” Ruby started, Jaune looking back towards her. “Was that, like… your brother?” “Oh, Gilde?” Jaune asked, Ruby nodding. “No. He’s my cousin, though.” “Cool!” Ruby looked around at Jaune’s back, noticing his sheathed sword, as well as the shield holstered at his upper hip. “You use a sword and shield?” Ruby curiously asked, Jaune nodding while he grabbed the weapons in question. “Yeah, it - it got passed down to me once I started training. It’s a little tough using it, though, since it… doesn’t really have any ranged stuff.” “Yeah it does.” Ruby corrected, Jaune tilting his head and narrowing an eye at her. “Huh?” “Your sword does shoot! See this thin little slit along the edge?” Ruby traced her finger carefully along a thin exhaust port along the left of the blade, Jaune raising his eyebrows as he noticed it. “That little trigger on the handle lets it shoot out a condensed slice of dust when you pull the trigger and swing it. And you can reload it by…” Ruby clicked her tongue as she tapped her finger on a blade entry point at the top of Jaune’s shield. “By sticking the blade back into your shield. It’s a pretty standard charge blade.” “Oh, I… d - didn’t know that.” Jaune replied, feeling a little embarrassed, though this negative emotion faded when he saw only excitement on Ruby’s face, her giggling when she pointed at the empty dust vials along the handle of the shield. “This thing looks like it hasn’t been loaded in a while, that’s probably why you never noticed it.” “Yeah, I’m, uh… still learning about weapons and stuff.” “Wanna see my weapon?” Ruby asked, a smile starting to grow on her face while she looked up towards Jaune. “Uh… sure.” She reached around her back, taking out her Crescent Rose in its holstered state, Jaune raising his eyebrows as she flicked it open into its scythe form. “Woah.” “I made it myself! Look.” Ruby pulled it into its rifle state, Jaune nodding his head while he watched her holster it back around her back. “So you’re, uh… you’re pretty into weapons, huh?” Jaune asked, Ruby giggling for a bit before answering. “Yeah!” She chirped, Jaune pushing the door open to the arena. “All that… weapon and semblance stuff, that was always more up Gilde’s alley, I never really - never really got into it.” “Well, I can always help teach you more about it! What’s your scroll number?” The two stopped for a moment to trade numbers, slowly walking further into the arena while they did so. After Ruby finished adding his number, she looked towards the arena, seeing Yang walking around in search of something. “Talk to you later, Jaune.” Ruby said, Jaune not able to say anything in return before Ruby ran off.

Yang turned to see Ruby, stepping over towards her while she spoke. “Ruby!” Yang yelled out, Ruby stopping in front of her, looking eagerly up towards her. “Where were you? I was looking for you for, like, 10 minutes.” “Sorry, I got lost. But a couple boys were nice enough to help me.” Yang grinned, gesturing for Ruby to follow her, leading her younger sister over to where she had placed all of their luggage. “Damn,” Yang let out, plopping down and sitting up against her suitcase. “Guess someone’s already getting popular with the boys.” Ruby giggled, shaking her head while sitting down across from her. “It’s nothing like that Yang, yeesh. They were just being nice.” “Uh-huh.” Yang looked over her shoulder, waving someone over while getting up on her knees. “Oh, you have to see Alex. Hey!” Yang called out, Ruby awkwardly chuckling before she spoke. “Wasn’t that the guy that… called you the S-word?” Ruby failed to receive a response once the aforementioned faunus boy walked over, standing over Yang with his hands on his hips. “What?” Alex replied, placing his hand on Yang’s shoulder and squatting down next to her. “That’s Ruby, don’t you remember her?” Yang asked, Alex looking over towards Ruby, getting down on his knees and waddling over to her. “That’s your little sister? Oh Vohses, she’s so big now!” Alex exclaimed, Ruby giving him a slight smile while talking. “Yeah, I - haha, I guess I am.” “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you! How old are you now? You had to have been like 8 last time.” “I’m 16.” “Good Vohses.” Alex let out, rubbing at his hair. “I’m getting so old. My hair’s gonna start getting gray. Not like yours, though, it’s so pretty. Whaddya use? Keratin?” Alex prodded, Ruby chuckling before answering. “I just - I just use red highlights, haha…” Ruby answered, watching as Alex pushed up the ends of his hair. It was a particularly bright electric blue, with a bit of white at each of its ends. His longer hair had bangs that went over his eyes, putting even more focus on his fanged row of teeth. “Aww, you’re still such a cutie. Nothing like your sister, she’s just a gross skank.” Yang sucked her teeth, Ruby laughing to herself, sitting up while she replied. “You’re so mean to her, Alex, she’s not like that.” “Uhh… have you ever met your sister? That tongue of hers has been in a lot of other girl’s - ” “Okay! Alex, go back to fuckin’ drilling a hole in the bathroom stalls, my little sister’s heard enough.” Shrugging, Alex stood up, turning around and walking away from the two. Yang snickered to herself, bringing her legs up to her chest while she faced Ruby. “That’s Alex for ya.” “How come you two are so… rude, to each other?” Ruby asked, Yang chuckling as she answered. “That’s what friends do Ruby, we talk mess.” “I - I get that, but I’ve never called my friends a… a skank, or anything like that.” Shrugging, Yang laid down onto her back, propping her head up on the suitcase. “So…” Yang began, placing her hands under her head. “You made any friends yet?” “I… I made one, yeah, but,” Ruby sighed, resting the side of her head on her hand as she laid down on her side. “I kinda… had a bad start with someone. I accidentally walked into her stuff, then she got mad and yelled at me.” “Who?” Yang demanded, Ruby putting her hands forward defensively, turning her head from side to side. “No, no, it was - it was my fault, she asked me to go at first and I didn’t.” “Okay. But if some stuck-up bitch yells at you again, I’m getting both me and ‘er expelled.” “Oh my gosh, Yang.” Ruby laughed out, burying her face in her hands.

Stolen novel; please report.

A sudden, bright flash of light came in from the front of the room, Yang and Ruby sitting up to see Ozpin walking up to the front of the stage, placing his hands on the podium. He cleared his throat, the students gathered in front of him turning to him while he spoke. “Your attention, please.” Ozpin spoke, the chatter within the arena quieting down. “I congratulate you all for successfully enrolling into Beacon Academy. It is a pleasure to have each and every single one of you here.” There was some light clapping and cheering, Ozpin holding his hand up and gesturing for them to quiet down. “Yes, yes, I’m sure we’re all equally as excited. When I look upon you, all I can feel is…” The general feel of the room quieted down, the earlier confidence sinking when Ozpin spoke his next words. “Disappointment. While you all certainly have energy and talent, you have no discipline or purpose. You come to this school, thinking you can breeze through it like you have everything else up until now. Unfortunately, you are wrong.” Ruby looked over at Yang, the older sister shrugging her shoulders with a somewhat confused look on her face. “You are entering one of the most dangerous occupations within the Remnant. In the protection of its people, countless huntsmen have died, and countless more have come out both physically and mentally scarred. If you want any chance of survival, you need coherency with your peers, and order within yourself.” The room was silent, Ozpin sighing as he turned around, nodding to a silhouette marching up to the podium. “Thank you for the uplifting words, Ozpin.” He spoke, stopping in front of the podium, his hands at ease behind his back. Presenting in front of the crowd was a middle-aged human man dressed in a Vale-issued huntsman military outfit, his chest and shoulders decorated with multiple awards. His greenish brown hair was cut down to a neat trim, with a 5 o’clock shadow nestling on his face. There was some faint chattering and mumbling from the crowd, this chatter ending when the unfamiliar man from behind the podium began to speak at a surprisingly high volume. “You all better quiet it the hell down! He was right, you all think you’re hot shit, that you’re the best thing the gods ever crapped out on this big-ass continent.” He began, gripping his hands onto the podium, leaning forward as he continued shouting. “Well guess what? You ain’t! You’re not even worth the dirt I scraped off my boot the way in here, you unfettered, gunk-brained maggots. And it’s my job to change that.” He pointed his thumb towards his chest, standing tall as he introduced himself. “I am Master Sergeant Ammolite Losa. You are to refer to me as Master Sergeant Losa. You can call me Ammolite if I like you, but guess what?” He pointed a finger towards the crowd, gritting his teeth. “I don’t like you! Why, if we didn’t have all these modern, pansy rules, I’d have you all on your faces until you puked! Is this understood?” A mixture of “Yes, sir!”s and “Yes, Master Sergeant!”s came from the crowd, Ammolite grimacing as he went to correct such. “If you want your ass kicked out of here quick, then call me sir. I am not your daddy! You couldn’t pay me enough to sleep with any of your mothers!” There was some faint laughter coming from the crowd, Ammolite chuckling to himself as he stuck his hands back behind himself. “Oh, you think that was funny, huh? Don’t worry, we’ll see who’s laughing when you’re all sleeping in the barnhouse.” The crowd had a general look of confusion on their faces, Ammolite stepping forward, drawing in a deep breath before he explained. “What? You thought I was joking? It’s lights out at 22-hundred hours, and it’s 21-hundred now. Grab your shit! You’re all going to the barn!” Ammolite stepped down from the stage, pointing his finger towards the double door that led outside. “Double time, let’s move it! Now!” Ammolite yelled out, the students hurriedly grabbing their belongings and running past the single exit the building had. Ruby held both of her bags in her arms while she ran behind Yang, looking over her shoulder to see Ammolite running behind the group of students she was in, blowing his whistle and commanding them to run faster. “What… what’s going on?!” Ruby questioned, Yang inhaling, shaking her head while she spoke. “I don’t - I don’t know…” Yang answered, her breathing growing more rapid as the running continued.

They soon reached the barnhouse, a large, mostly ventilated metal shed that was built within the outskirts of the Beacon school grounds. As the entirety of the first-years finished filtering inside the building, Ammolite stopped in front of its entrance, pushing the last few students into its interior. “Alright,” Ammolite began, gripping his hands onto the barn door’s handle. “Set your alarms for o’5-hundred. I want you all suited up and at the loading dock by 5:30. Understood?” “Yes, Master Sergeant!” The crowd yelled in response, Ammolite nodding his head with a smile while he began to shut the large, sliding door. Ruby looked around the inside of the barn, only able to see anything from the light of several people’s scrolls. While it did have air conditioning, it suffered from a lack of having any mattresses, sheets, or anything remotely comfortable to sleep on, other than the hay bales scattered around the inside of the building. Placing her bags on top of her body, Ruby laid her backpack under her head, bringing her legs up onto the hay bale she began to try and sleep on. She watched as Yang peeked up over the edge of the hay, her older sister chuckling slightly before she spoke. “Is it all you imagined it to be?” Yang asked, Ruby sighing. “I don’t know how he expects us to get any sleep in here.” “Maybe he’s trying to prepare us for sleeping in the Divide?” Raising an eyebrow, Ruby looked over at Yang when she mentioned the Divide, faintly remembering what it was from her schooling. An area that surrounded the entirety of the Remnant, the Divide was supposedly some border between the Remnant and multiple other realms. The Divide is also known for its harsh, desert-like environment, as well as having a significantly larger concentration of grimm than what the Remnant has. Ruby knew there was much more to it, but such vague details were all she could recall for now. “You’d think he’d, like… wait until after the first night to do that, though.” Ruby thought out loud, Yang shrugging as she laid back down on the floor. “I dunno. Get some sleep tonight, though, Ruby. We gotta get up early tomorrow.” Ruby nodded, turning over onto her side, trying to shut her eyes and begin resting. The strands of hay she laid on would occasionally come up and poke her nose, Ruby sniffling while trying to swat them away. The lights from people’s scrolls would soon die down, as well as their distant talking, with all that could be heard being the faint sounds of the building’s air conditioning, and the howling of the wind against the barn’s sheet metal walls. Sooner than Ruby had expected, sleep would finally come to her, with more pleasant memories of eating baked goods with her father and sister coming to her as dreams for the rest of the night.