Hello again! So I got inspired to write a short fanfic by both the fanart I used as the cover (merryyy87 on tumblr) and by a suggestion from Reddit user Blackewolfe. So here it is! I originally meant for this to be a one shot, but I have an idea or two to make it at least a few chapters long. So stay tuned for more!

A soft breeze whistled through the leaves of the neatly trimmed trees lining the plaza. A trio of birds zipped by, their cheerful chirps ringing in the air. Ruby Rose looked around and drank in the sights and sounds of Vale.

She sighed. Team RWBY hadn't had a free Saturday in over two months. Ever since the Vytal Festival, the teachers at Beacon have pushed the freshman class hard, sending them on missions almost every single weekend. After five consecutive weekend missions, in which the four Huntresses-in-training slaughtered more Grimm than any of them could count, Professor Ozpin decided that Team RWBY deserved a break, and sent Team JNPR instead, giving the tired girls the whole weekend to relax and reenergize.

Ruby was hoping that the four girls could spend the whole Saturday in Vale as a team-building exercise. She had it all planned out: they would spend the day shopping at all their favorite stores, then maybe catch dinner and a movie. But unfortunately, fate had other plans.

Weiss was spending the weekend in Atlas with her family. Ruby could tell that Weiss certainly wasn't thrilled about being forced to spend time with her estranged father, but she didn't have a choice. A Schnee-chartered airship picked her up from the Beacon landing pads Friday night.

Blake decided to retreat to the library early Saturday morning. Ruby tried to convince her to come to Vale, but Blake hurriedly said that she had tons of homework to do- which was indeed true, but Ruby noticed a brand new Ninjas of Love novel tucked into her bag as she scampered away.

Yang collapsed into her bed the minute after classes ended on Friday. When Ruby tried to rouse her in the morning, she wouldn't budge. Ruby knew from experience that once Yang was asleep, she slept as hard as an Ursa in winter. Ruby considered pouring water on her slumbering sister to try and wake her, but checked her actions. The last time she tried to do such a thing, she found herself crashing through the window and landing outside in a matter of seconds, courtesy of a fire-engulfed punch from the sopping wet and wide awake blonde brawler.

Ruby shuddered at the memory.

So Ruby decided to venture into Vale by herself. It didn't bother her too much. Ruby would be able to shop and explore at her own pace, not having to worry about making a detour to stores she wanted no part of. Plus, if it meant having a day where Yang wasn't overprotecting Ruby in public, she'd chalk that up as a win in her book.

But a little piece of her still felt lonely. She realized that, outside of her own teammates and Team JNPR, she did not have many friends at Beacon. Sure, plenty of people knew her and liked her as a person, but very few knew her on the level that her teammates did.

As Ruby made a beeline to her favorite shop in Vale, she couldn't help but feel a little alone in the big city.

Ruby walked towards her favorite shop, From Dust Till Dawn. Ever since Ruby helped disrupt the robbery attempt by Roman Torchwick, the shopkeeper was always glad to assist Ruby in whatever she may need, whether it was allowing Ruby to preview the latest weapons catalogs free of charge, or giving her a discount on special Dust ammo. The shop was sort of an unknown jewel in Vale, with most people preferring to shop from stores owned by the Schnee Dust Company.

Today, however, the shop wasn't as deserted as Ruby thought. One other person was talking to the shopkeeper when Ruby walked in.

The woman stood over a head taller than Ruby, wearing leather high-heeled boots. A black beret covered short cut brown hair, save for a long curl dyed bright orange that hung just over her face. Her chocolate colored ruffled shirt was covered by a darker brown corset. Her brown slacks were accented by a belt ringed with Dust rounds fastened with a buckle shaped like a rifle's crosshairs. Her bulky, box-shaped studded purse hung from her shoulder from a strap laden with even more Dust ammo.

The girl sensed Ruby behind her and turned around. She lowered her black sunglasses and revealed brown eyes peeking down at her.

Ruby internally squealed in excitement when she realized who she was looking at. She knew exactly who this was. Everyone at Beacon knew who this was.

This was Coco, the leader of Team CFVY.

Team CFVY was something of a legend at Beacon. Even though they were only one year ahead of Team RWBY, they were easily one of the top teams in the entire school. Ruby had religiously studied their battle record: how they wiped out an entire den of Deathstalkers during their first year midterm, how they obliterated an Alpha pack of Beowolves that was terrorizing a modest village in Vacuo, and how they rescued a Schnee Dust Company train from the grasping talons of a giant Nevermore. Ruby was especially impressed with their feats during the one battle she had participated in with them: the recent invasion of Grimm from Mountain Glenn. Team CFVY rushed to assist Ruby's team when Torchwick's train breached downtown Vale, leading the soulless monsters right into the city center. The experienced second year Huntsmen handled the waves of Grimm with ease. Ruby was in awe of the older students and their abilities: Fox, with his silent stare and wicked arm blades; Yatsuhashi, with his giant sword and immense strength; even the rabbit Faunus, Velvet, a powerful mage with incredible martial arts skill.

But Ruby's favorite, the one she looked up to the most, was easily Coco.

Coco was one of the top Huntresses in all of Beacon. Her confident attitude and sense of style seemed to give her a level of swagger that was only matched by her ferociousness in battle. Her crazy strength let her swing her purse, her weapon of choice, like a thing possessed. Ruby had seen her cave in a Beowolf's skull with a single downward blow. The best part of her weapon was its ability to deploy into a huge Gatling gun, whose Dust rounds could shred a group of Nevermores to pieces in a matter of seconds.

Needless to say, Ruby was a bit obsessed with her.

Coco scrutinized the young red haired Ruby, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "You look familiar. You're Ruby Rose, right? First year at Beacon?"

Ruby nodded, words failing her.

Coco smiled. "Nice to meet you. I was impressed by your combat prowess during the Breach." She nodded towards Crescent Rose, securely fastened at Ruby's waist. "The way you wield that scythe of yours is really something."

Ruby let out a tiny squeak. "Wow! You really think so?"

Coco grinned. "Oh, hell yeah! You got real talent, kid. You remind me of myself when I was a first year. Full of energy and promise. You keep it up, and you just might be the best Huntress to pass through Beacon." She chuckled. "Maybe even better than me."

Ruby was stunned by this barrage of compliments. Not only did Coco respect Ruby's abilities as a Huntress, she thought of her as her equal. Ruby almost lost herself in a fit of self-cheering and fan-girling, but managed to compose herself. "Thanks, Coco! That really means a lot!" she said, a huge grin still on her face.

Coco smirked. "Hey, don't sweat it, little Red. Credit where it's due." She looked around behind Ruby. "So, what brings you to Vale by yourself? Doesn't your sister watch you like a hawk?"

Ruby grimaced at the thought. "Yeah, but I let her sleep in this morning. All my teammates had stuff to do this weekend, so I figured I'd come down here by myself." She glanced around the shop, noticing that besides the shopkeeper, Ruby and Coco were the only two there. "What about you? Where's the rest of Team CFVY?

Coco chuckled. "They're in detention. Seems that wannabe tough guy Cardin tried to pick on Velvet again. Fox and Yatsuhashi jumped his puny ass team before they could do anything. Velvet got some licks in too. But Professor Goodwitch saw it as unnecessary violence and wrote them up. But it's okay though. We get to spar with CRDL in training on Monday." Coco grinned evilly. She looked back down at Ruby. "So, seeing as were are both in Vale alone, why don't you hang with me for the day? I'll show you some of my favorite spots in the city."

Ruby's jaw dropped. One of the coolest girls at Beacon, no, in Remnant, wanted to hang out with her? "I...I…uh…yeah, sure!" she managed to stammer out. "Why not?"

Coco nodded. "Thatagirl. But, we gotta make a stop first. Come on."

She grabbed Ruby by the arm and dragged her out of the shop.

Ruby squirmed as she tried to break the grip. "HEY! Wait, where are we going?"

Coco looked down at Ruby. "Well, little Red, If you're gonna hang with me, we gotta get you some new threads…"

Yang stretched as she finally awoke. She felt like she had slept forever. Right now, though, she was eager to wake up her sister and go spend some loving sibling time in Vale.

"Hey, Ruby, time to get…up…" Yang trailed off as she noticed that her sister's bed was empty. In fact, Yang was the only one in the dorm.

"Huh. That's odd. Maybe she went to get some breakfast." Yang thought aloud.

That was proven false when Yang noticed the note taped to her pillow.

Yang,

Couldn't wake you, so I went to Vale by myself. Sorry! I'll be back by dinner!

Ruby

Yang only then noticed the time. It was almost noon.

Holy Monty, that was quite the nap I took! Yang thought to herself. She took out her scroll and brought up the airship schedule. The next one to Vale left in 20 minutes.

She looked down at herself. She was wearing her normal night clothes, and her golden hair was in a tangled mess. Most girls could not ready themselves for the day in such little time.

Most girls.

"Challenge accepted," Yang said.