Chapter I

"Incoming!"

BOOOM!

"C'mon get to the cliff side soldier we need to keep moving!"

The world seemed to be exploding around a lone man as he sprinted across the battlefield towards his goal.

I have to keep moving, it's either that or sit down and die.

As if to emphasis he thoughts a mortar strike landed uncomfortably close to him almost sending him off his feet only sheer miracle keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground. He pumped his legs, willing himself to move forward, trying his hardest to ignore the sounds of battle around him; whether they were the sounds of mortars exploding, machine guns firing away, or the pained screams of his dying comrades.

Gotta keep moving. Gotta keep moving. Gotta keep-

BOOM!

It seemed the man's luck had finally ran out as a mortar landed close enough to send up sprawling to the ground with his ears ringing. The incessant ringing filled his ears as he stared at his surroundings, dazed. The world ran in slow motion, with fellow soldiers running towards the same objective, some meeting their end via bullet, others being blown to bits by a mortar shell. It was a living nightmare, with no hope in sight… there was no victory here, nothing could save them from this hell.

It was like that that a hand grabbed his shoulder firmly and pulled him up onto his feet. The man took a glance at the person manhandling him and thought at first that he was staring at an angel; an angel with short black hair with red highlights, her eyes the brightest of silver. She wore clothes as black as night and a red cape that seemed to blend in with the rivers of blood of the battlefield.

"Keep running and don't stop," stated the red-caped maiden.

The man felt strength returning to him at those words, for he suddenly felt hope again. He knew who this individual was. She was the one who was going to save him, the one he prayed for. The said individual sped forward nonchalantly deflecting a mortar mid-air, causing it to blow up in the sky. Bullets seemed as if they were going out of their way to avoid her as she gracefully dodged and deflected any projectile that came too close all while protecting those around her with her almighty scythe, which shined the same color as her eyes.

"Push forward!" the voice of the commanding officer rang out for all to hear, "Follow the Silver-eyed Warrior!"

There were battle cries as the renewed soldiers pushed forward with the red-caped woman as she continued to press forward. The man pressed forward with his comrades relishing in the fear that seemed to radiate from the enemy's defensive line.

"The Silver Reaper! The Silver Reaper is here!"

The cries of fear were palpable and in only served to spur the other soldiers on. They all cheered the said "Silver Reaper" on as she sprinted forward; ready to strike down her enemies with righteous fury! With one mighty leap the maiden was upon the enemy, poised to strike-.

"Ruby!"

Just like that the world froze. A voice carried through the battlefield, sending tremors throughout it. It was all encompassing, as if the gods had touched down upon the ground. The Silver-Eyed maiden didn't seem at all fazed as she made ready to strike down the foe in front of her once again. The rest of the men were ready to follow suit, as if the event never happened.

Yes, they were too focused on their goal and would fight for it through blood, sweat and tears! This was war after all! A war of epic-

"Ruby, wake up!"

Again the world froze. This time the Silver-eyed Maiden seemed to pause, looking up at the sky. All the while the other men were in awe. Were the very creators speaking to their maiden? Of course! She is the mightiest warrior that had ever lived! Nothing would dare defy her! Not even the gods themselves!

"We're going to be late Ruby!"

Late? But the maiden had arrived just on time to save her fellow soldiers, to lead them to victory against the enemy-.

"I have cookies for you!"

Just like that, the world shattered.

Ruby sat upright immediately, here silver eyes wide and eager.

"Where?! Where?!"

Ruby looked around for the promised treats, but the only thing she found was the mischievous grin of a girl a little older than her. It was then that Ruby realized she had been had and thus reverted to the first thing that she could think of in answer to this betrayal of trust. A certain pose that would be sure to send a clear message to the person who dared ruin her precious dream of heroism with the seductive lies of the promised food.

Ruby… pouted. Yes. Pouted towards the blonde miscreant before her! She will feel the full brunt of her displeasure for she is displeased! Displeased she'd tell you!

However the said miscreant didn't seem at all fazed by this, in fact the older girl seemed to only laugh at Ruby's displeasure.

"Aw c'mon sis, don't be like that, I just didn't want you to oversleep on your first day!"

Ruby pouted some more before she turned her head away.

"Meanie."

Another laugh was heard before Ruby found herself being pulled from her bed, her head caught in an arm lock as the older girl proceeded to give her the much-dreaded torture of an older sibling: The noogie.

"Wait! Yang! Stop!" cried Ruby in despair as she struggled to break free of her sister's grip.

Despite Ruby's pleas, the tortured continued a little while longer, as the demon in blonde continued to laugh at her younger sibling's misfortune. Finally, however the blonde let go, allowing Ruby to fall ungracefully to the floor.

"Aw cheer up Ruby! It's your first day of high school! Shouldn't you be excited?" asked Yang kneeling down beside Ruby's head.

Ruby let out a groan from where she was on the floor.

"Why would I be excited Yang? Do you even know what a school is filled with?" asked Ruby staring up at her older sister.

Yang lifted a brow at this.

"Other students?"

Ruby threw her hands up in the air.

"EXACTLY!"

Ruby knew her sister would get her! Yang maybe a demon at times, but she was still her older sister who always understood-

"And why's that a problem?"

…how Ruby felt about crowds in general. Ruby didn't humor her sister's dumb question with an answer, simply proceeding to stare at the other girl with a deadpanned look on her face. Yang simply let out a grin.

"Daw c'mon Ruby! You'll be fine! Didn't you say that you wanted more friends?" asked Yang.

Ruby puffed out her cheeks at this.

"Well… yeah, but making friends is so hard!" cried the raven-haired girl.

Yang simply let out a grin as she got up and turned to walk out of Ruby's room.

"You'll figure out, sis! All it takes is a little confidence and swagger!" Yang called back, proceeding to strut down the hall as if to prove her point.

Ruby huffed as she grumbled under her breath.

"Easy for you to say…"

With a heavy sigh, Ruby stood up and stretched her arms out, allowing the blood to flow around her body easier. Suddenly Ruby remembered something.

"Wait. If I don't hurry Yang's gonna force me to eat healthy food!"

Ruby shuttered at the thought as memories of her sister basically force-feeding her various horrors came to her mind. Such blasphemous additions to the food pyramid should be wiped from existence, as they had no place within Ruby's stomach! These said horrors being named: vegetables.

"Nope! That's not gonna happen!"

Ruby made to sprint down the hall after her sister only to stop short.

"Wait! I can't forget!"

Ruby sprinted back towards her bed, yanking off the sheets as she did, revealing a bright red scarf underneath sitting right next to where she liked to sleep. Ruby quickly threw the scarf around her neck before charging back down the hall. She had a mission to fulfill!

Operation Chocolate Chip is a go!

Ruby sped down the hallway, down the stairs and into the kitchen, practically ripping the door of the pantry off its hinges so that she may claim her prize… only to find that what she was looking for was no longer there. Ruby felt her heart sink to her stomach.

No… it can't be.

Ruby slowly allowed her eyes to trail upwards, hoping against hope that her fears were unfounded, but lo and behold there it was. On the unreachable plain sat her prize, almost taunting her where she would never be able to grab it. Ruby let out a pitiful whine of despair at this.

Curses! I was too late! Too late I tell you!

"Sorry Rubes," called Yang's voice from the other side of the kitchen, "Even Dad decided that enough was enough with your cookie addiction."

Ruby spun around to glare at her sister.

"I can't believe this, Yang!" she cried, "This is betrayal! Betrayal I say!"

Yang simply rolled her eyes as she continued working on… something at the stove. Ruby's eyes widened as she backed away. What sort of abomination was her sister planning to feed her this time? No, never again, she must escape this madness and quick! With that thought Ruby immediately dashed towards the exit, freedom was within her grasp!

"Where do you think you're going?"

Ruby froze.

"I-I just remembered that I forgot something in my room!" tried Ruby nervously.

"You're already wearing your scarf, Ruby," said Yang… right behind her.

Ruby was sweating bullets at this point as she slowly turned her head towards her sister who towered forebodingly over her. The older girl's expression looked like that of a mad demon ready to collect the souls of the damned.

"W-Well there's something else that I wanted to get too! H-Hehe!"

Ruby started to inch towards freedom, ready to sprint away if need be.

"We both know that your scarf is the only thing you really care about in your room," stated Yang.

"T-That's not true! I know a lot of things that are important to me in there!"

"Really? Name one then."

Ruby felt her breath catch as she desperately tried to find something, anything to bail her out…

What was in my room again?

"T-The alarm clock! Yeah!"

Yang cocked her head to the side, her grin turning almost maniacal at this point.

"Oh? I didn't know that you even had an alarm clock! Did you buy it in secret or something?"

Blast it.

It was now or never. Do or die! Fight or flight! Victory and honor!

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME!" cried Ruby as she sped towards the exit.

Freedom was within reach, all she had to do was-.

The door slammed shut. The sound was like the gong of the death bell, signaling the time for a soul to leave its body. Ruby felt a vice grip on her shoulder causing her tense up in fear.

"Sorry Rubes, but this is for your own good," whispered Yang.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Oh c'mon Rubes, it can't have been that bad!"

Ruby simply trudged ahead of her sister, not even looking her way as she continued to brood.

"You can't be mad at me forever," Yang tried again catching up to Ruby in an attempt to look her in the eye only for Ruby to turn away.

"Watch me," grumbled Ruby.

Ruby heard a chuckle from her older sister causing her to pout even more. How dare she laugh at her expense? Especially after force-feeding her that… that… glop she calls food right after she takes away her sweet, sweet delights! Ruby let out a huff in order to make her displeasure known. Of course the only emotion that this elicited from the demon she called her sister was humor.

Evil!

Ruby sighed in exasperation before she decided to take in the sights instead. The two were currently walking down the streets of their hometown of Patch. It was a rather quiet town despite being so close to Vale's capital city, unimaginatively named the City of Vale. Most of the local folk preferred walking to where they needed to go rather than using vehicles, the roads really being there for visitors from the city or from other places. Ruby could close her eyes and bask in the silence that surrounded her.

"Ugh… it's so boring here!"

And then there was her sister. Yang was more of a city girl herself, spending most of her weekends down at the City of Vale so that she could party with her endless stream of friends. What Yang did there Ruby could only guess, but judging from the smell that seemed to waft off her sister whenever she came home it couldn't be anything good. Still, Ruby didn't worry; she knew that her sister could easily beat up anyone who tried to mess with her. Their father made perfectly sure that both his "little angels" knew how to defend themselves from possible threats. Still, it couldn't kill her to enjoy a bit of silence every once in a while, no?

Ruby didn't voice this knowing that it would lead to a long rant from her sister about why she hated this town and why it should change. Ruby had heard this rant many times before, the first time making the mistake to try and argue back only to fail due to her sister's superior use of language.

Curse her mastery of the Valean language!

Not that Ruby's Valean was bad mind you, she's gotten top marks in all of her English essays, but when it came to speaking the language Ruby always found herself tripping over her own words making her arguments weak at best and indistinguishable at worst. Still, there were some things that Ruby found she could out argue her sister about. Such as certain aspects of weaponry that was used during the Great War one hundred years ago or the difference in similar looking fighting styles such as the Mistralian hoplite and the Atlesian lancer. Of course her sister's only argument to such information was to call her a weapon nerd. A weak argument at best!

At least that's what I used to say.

Now? It was her first day of high school. This was where everything you say and do mattered more than ever. One step in the wrong direction and everything was over. Ruby had remembered being excited about the prospect of going to high school at one point, back when she actually had friends to get excited with. As luck would have it, however all of her friends' parents could only afford to put them in the less prestigious Patch High while Ruby's father was able to afford the practically world famous Beacon Academy. So, Ruby was back to zero in the friend department, having to start over in high school of all places.

"Ruby? You okay?"

Ruby looked over towards her sister, who for the first time this morning decided to adopt a concerned face.

Of course she would, she may be a demon, but she's still my sister.

Ruby allowed a small smile to appear on her otherwise downtrodden face.

"How do you do it?" asked Ruby without thinking.

Yang blinked in confusion not really understanding what Ruby was saying.

"Make friends, walk so confidently," Ruby clarified, listing Yang's strong traits.

Ruby still remembered Yang coming back after her first day in high school boasting about all the friends she made while she was there. Ruby wouldn't be surprised if she were one of those "popular" girls that Ruby had read so much about in comics. Yang placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder, stopping her train of thought.

"Like I said, just walk for confidently with your head high and you'll be fine," said Yang with a smirk.

Ruby sighed; of course Yang would say that, she doesn't understand how hard it is for Ruby to do such a thing. That was the difference between Yang and Ruby. Where Yang, even at Ruby's current age, looked as if the gods themselves crafted her, Ruby was just… Ruby. She didn't really see herself as attractive, she had a mediocre body, she was short, and she had short, raven hair. Honestly her only defining feature was her silver eyes, but then they served more as an intimidation factor rather than something to attract. Ruby still remembered the time when she dressed as the Grim Reaper for Halloween and scared the living daylights of even adults who claimed her eyes glowed under her black hood.

"I don't know why I even asked," muttered Ruby bitterly, "You at least had friends who came with you, I'm right back to having zero, you wouldn't understand."

This earned Ruby and elbow to her shoulder almost causing her to lose balance. Ruby quickly regained control and glared at her sister who still held a confident smirk on her face.

"Buck up Ruby, don't get into your own head," stated Yang, her smirk turning into a full blown grin, "Day one is going to be rough, sure, but didn't Dad tell us something about the best things in life being the hardest to get?"

Yes, he did. Ruby could still remember her father's exact words as if he were right in front of her, telling her such. Those words allowed Ruby to regain a small smile on her face once again.

"Thanks Yang," said Ruby straightening up a bit.

"No problem sis," stated Yang, "Thank me when you finally get yourself a little boyfriend.

Aaaand the moment was ruined.

"Yang!" cried Ruby, her face turning red in embarrassment, "I'm not going to be thinking about things like that until I'm at least twenty-five!"

"Eh you're close enough."

"I'm fifteen!"

"So? Better to start early right?"

Ruby let out a groan even as her sister started to laugh at her younger sister's expense.

Why do I even bother with her?

Ruby shook her head and looked up only to stop short when she noticed where she was. Sitting there, with its main building standing tall and proud for all to see was Beacon Academy. Unlike practically everywhere else in Patch, Beacon was the fairly loud and lively and almost seemed misplaced in such a quiet town. Despite how early it was Ruby could see students walking to and fro while chatting with one another in excitement. Every single one of them wore the Beacon school uniform: a black blazer and matching black slacks over a white button-up shirt and finished off with a red tie for the boys and a black blazer and plaid black skirt over a white blouse with a red bowtie for the girls. Already Ruby felt like she would definitely just blend into the crowd her own natural color scheme.

"Yang! Over here!"

Ruby looked over towards the speaker only see a couple of girls she didn't recognize waving over at her blonde sister who waved back just as enthusiastically.

"Welp! Gotta go Ruby, see you at the ceremony!"

Before Ruby could even respond, Yang was gone, with her friends chatting away about something or other that Ruby couldn't care less about.

Now she ditches me… great.

Ruby gazed up at Beacon's famous bell tower that stood perched upon Beacon's main building, which housed most of the staff's offices as well as the administrative office.

And there's still twenty minutes before the orientation starts… what am I supposed to do until then?!

Ruby looked around at the students already standing around in the courtyard, all of them seeming to know each other, making conversation easily. They all looked perfectly happy together… whether they be seniors or freshmen, and there was Ruby.

I wish Dad just let me go to Patch High with my friends…

Ruby let out a sigh and started walking towards where the auditorium was.

Might as well make my way over towards the auditorium and wait for the orientation to start, not like I have anything better to do.

Ruby continued to walk with her head down until she felt her head run into something eliciting a yelp of surprise before looking up to see what she ran into. To her horror it seemed she had run into another girl, the said girl having long white hair tied up in a side ponytail and a pair of cold crystal blue eyes. The fact that the girl also had a scar running down her left eye her even more intimidating as the white haired girl glared at Ruby.

"Watch where you're going you oaf!" growled the girl.

Ruby let out a squeak of fright as she frantically backed away.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

The girl simply let out a huff before turning away with a flip of her ponytail.

"Whatever, freshman, go find your other little friends and get out of my sight!"

Ruby flinched at the older girl's cold words lowering her head and trudging off in a random direction that was away from the white-haired girl.

Only a few seconds after stepping into Beacon and I already have someone who hates me… great going Ruby.

Ruby slowly made her way towards the fountain that sat at the center of Beacon's campus. It was truly a sight to behold, with the centerpiece of the fountain being a beautifully crafted marble platform that held up a marble statue of Henrik Beacon, the founder and first principal of Beacon Academy. Engraved at Henrik's feet were his famous words:

"It is up to you to take the first step."

Ruby stared at the words before sighing and plopping down at the edge of the fountain, staring at the floor. She just wanted this day to go faster so that she could go home and hide under her covers for the rest of the evening.

I wish I was still in middle school, I wish my friends were here, I wish I knew I how to speak…

Ruby slowly reached up and gripped her red scarf.

I wish…

"Hey, you okay?"

Ruby was startled out of her thoughts as she looked towards the source of the voice. The said source being a boy that easily stood at a good six feet tall if not taller. The boy had scraggly medium length hair of a blonde color that was similar to her sister's but less… pristine and a pair of ocean blue eyes. The boy held a concerned look on his face, one that was not too far off from one of the looks Yang would give Ruby if she was feeling down.

Yet where is she now?

Ruby pushed the bitter thought into the back of her mind as she made to address the kind stranger before her.

"I'm okay," answered Ruby immediately attempting to brandish a smile.

The boy frowned a bit at Ruby's smile causing her heart to sink.

"You know, it's not good to hold back negative thoughts behind a smile," said the boy.

Ruby immediately felt her fake smile leave her face, becoming glum once more.

"Sorry… it's just been a rough beginning for my first time at Beacon is all."

The boy let out a knowing smile.

"Yeah, freshman year of high school can be a tough egg to crack, I would know, I've survived two years already."

Ruby grimaced at the boy's use of the word "survive".

"Is high school really that bad?" asked Ruby.

The boy shrugged.

"Depends on how you see it," he said, "My first year of high school was absolute torture for a while."

The boy's expression darkened a bit, most likely remembering darker times if Ruby had to guess. Yet just at the look appeared, it disappeared as a smile appeared on his face.

"But that was before I met a friend that showed me that high school isn't a bad place after all," he said.

Ruby deflated at the mention of friends.

"Well I guess this is going to be a long four years… because I'm great at not making friends…" muttered Ruby.

"Then I guess it's a good thing you met me," said the boy.

Ruby blinked and looked back up at the boy only to see that he had a hand outstretched to her, a bright grin on his face.

"I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc."

Ruby looked at the hand before looking up at the boy's glowing smile, one that proved infectious as she felt a smile tugging at her mouth. But before she could accept it, Ruby couldn't help but ask another question.

"But why would you want to be friends with a stranger?" asked Ruby.

The boy's eyes glazed over for a small while before his smile grew brighter than ever.

"Why not?" he asked.

This took Ruby aback even as the boy continued on without pause.

"My mom always said that strangers are friends you haven't met yet and it's served me marginally well, give or take a few stumbles," said Jaune.

Ruby's eyes widened at Jaune's words.

Friends I haven't met yet.

Ruby looked down at the offered hand once again as she mulled over the older boys words as yet another set of wise words rose from the deepest parts of her memory.

"The saddest question of all is the question of 'what-if'."

Ruby smiled at those words before finally steeling herself to her decision. She then stood up and took the boy's hand with a bright smile of her own.

"Nice to meet you, Jaune! I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose!"

Jaune smiled brightly at this.

"Good to meet you too Ruby!"

The two of them basked in the light mood that settled between them. It would have been perfect, had it not been for the bell tower chiming at that exact moment eliciting a look of horror from Ruby.

"Crap! We're going to be late for the ceremony!" cried Ruby.

Jaune let out a sigh of exasperation, scratching the back of his head.

"Looks like I lost track of time… again."

Shaking his head he smiled down at Ruby.

"C'mon, just follow me and I'll show you a trick I learned about sneaking into the auditorium without being noticed," he said before turning and making his way towards the auditorium in a hurried pace, "Besides, we're not the only ones who are late."

Ruby took notice of the other students making a beeline for the auditorium as well, most of them freshmen by the looks of it.

"Hurry it up Ruby! We want to keep this pace if we want to slip in unnoticed!" said Jaune as he continued to walk along in his brisk pace.

Ruby quickly picked up the pace so that she was walking beside Jaune who calmly hummed a cheery tune, looking very much like a cool, older student. And now he was her first friend in Beacon Academy!

Maybe this day isn't so bad after all…

Of course Ruby just had to jinx everything, as when the two arrived at the auditorium, everyone was already seated and it looked like there was a teacher already on the podium ready to give a speech. Ruby prepared for the incoming embarrassment to follow only for Jaune to turn and flash her a reassuring smile.

"C'mon," he said calmly.

Jaune then continued to walk as he did before, Ruby quickly making to follow close behind him. All seemed to go on great until a sudden voice cut through such hopes.

"Mr. Arc, I see that you have decided to come fashionably late to this year's orientation late as well," stated the rather intimidating woman at the podium.

The said woman had blonde hair just like her sister tied up in a bun and sharp green eyes staring judgingly at their target behind a pair of spectacles. The woman's outfit seemed to amplify this effect especially with the fact that the woman wore a wicked looking cape of black and purple. This was not even mentioning the riding crop that hung at her hip for all to see. Ruby immediately didn't want to get onto this woman's bad side and it seemed that her newest friend was the center attention for this woman's ire. The said friend let out a nervous laugh, likely just as intimidated as she was.

"Sorry Ms. Goodwitch, the grass felt so good to nap on that I kind of dosed off," said Jaune scratching the back of his head.

Several chuckles sounded throughout the auditorium as several juniors and seniors started laughing at Jaune's expense. Ruby felt a bit of indignation well up in her chest as she witnessed this.

It's not his fault at all! It's because of me that he's this late!

Ruby made to right this wrong only to feel a tug on the back of her shirt. Ruby took glance at the source only to see a girl with bright orange hair and turquoise eyes look at her with a big smile on her face. Ruby didn't have any time to figure out what the girl wanted as the said girl suddenly pulled Ruby upon an empty seat beside her. Ruby was even more confused then before staring incredulously at the girl beside her who continued to act like nothing out of the ordinary happened.

What is going on here?

"Well, as it seems that you are more than willing to take your nap at the expense of your fellow students' precious time, you will be seeing me for detention this weekend… again," stated Goodwitch.

Jaune didn't look all too bothered by this prospect simply nodding, his sheepish grin in place as others continued to laugh at him. Ruby looked stricken by this.

Did he just… cover for me?

Jaune made his way towards another empty seat sending a wink Ruby's way as he did so.

Well, that answers that question…

Ruby held a frown on her face. While she appreciated the gesture, she didn't feel like it was right to allow Jaune to take the punishment that should be for her. She resolved to speak to Goodwitch in order to clear everything up. Suddenly Ruby felt an elbow dig into her side eliciting a small yelp in surprise. Ruby looked over to see the orange haired girl from earlier now smiling directly at her; only this smile seemed almost… menacing.

"Don't be wasting Jauney's hard work now, new girl," the girl stated, her smile ever present.

In small bout of fear, Ruby felt herself shrink in her seat, leaning a bit away from the girl. Did this girl know what she was thinking? It made sense in a way, after all it seemed like she was helping Jaune back there… Ruby felt a bit of her stubborn nature come forth at this.

But it still isn't right.

Ruby wanted to make her thoughts known only for the orange-haired girl to look back towards the front of the auditorium.

"Pay attention, new girl, you might wanna hear what's coming next."

Ruby blinked at brought her attention back to the front where Goodwitch was still in the middle of her speech.

"And now I'd like to take this time to welcome this year's freshmen, and would like to congratulate you for coming this far."

Applause sounded all across the room from the upper classmen, causing Ruby to blink and look over the girl beside her who was also clapping with a less menacing smile, this one a bit more pleasant to look at. Ruby also stole a glance at where Jaune was sitting to see him clapping as well, an easy grin on his face. Ruby felt a smile tugging on her own lips at this. Bringing her attention back to the front as the clapping died down, allowing Goodwitch to speak again.

"Now your headmaster would like to say a few words, please welcome Headmaster Ozpin to the podium," she said before stepping to the side and looking back towards the back of the stage.

Ruby had to strain to see, but lo and behold there he was, the esteemed headmaster himself walking up towards the podium. The said headmaster wore a simple pair of black slacks and a sage green dress shirt with a black suit jacket over it. The man's grey hair and dull obsidian eyes eluded to the man's age despite his youthful looks, the cane at his side and the small spectacles resting at the bridge of his nose only adding to this. The only thing that puzzled Ruby was the fact that the man was holding a mug in his other hand. It seemed rather… out of place.

Isn't it a bit difficult trying to walk around with a drink in hand?

Ruby certainly found such an action to be difficult, such as the time when she tried to run around with a glass of milk in her hands… The disaster that followed resulted in an angry Yang with milk all over her precious hair along with a long lecture from Ruby's father. Ruby shut the memory out as she tried to focus back on the headmaster who waited patiently for the applause to die down. The man stood there, unblinking, almost asleep on his feet even as the clapping died down and silence pervaded the auditorium. For a while the silence continued, the man not speaking a word causing a few of the freshmen to squirm uncomfortably in their seats, several students murmuring amongst themselves about the wellbeing of their headmaster. Ruby was also a bit concerned as she stared at the man.

How long is he going to stand there?

It was right after this thought that Ozpin moved. Ruby held her breath in anticipation as the man slowly moved the arm that held the mug in hand. He carefully brought the ceramic cup to his lips and took a sip of whatever concoction that was held within it. The man then lowered the mug at the same speed before taking another moment to stare ahead in the continued awkward silence. At this point some of the freshmen were getting increasingly annoyed. Ruby couldn't help but feel a bit put off herself.

Is he… messing with us?

Ruby shook her head at this.

No, it couldn't be that, he's the headmaster of Beacon! He wouldn't stoop that low… right?

Suddenly Ozpin cleared his throat-causing Ruby to look up at him in anticipation. The man looked as if he were about to speak only for him to clear his throat again before adjusting his stance. It looked as if he were preparing to say something of great importance, such importance that he was hesitant to speak of it. Ruby leaned forward in anticipation of what those words would be.

Is it words of wisdom? An announcement maybe? Or are they going to be words of encouragement?

Ozpin was sure keeping the student body waiting as he stood in silence for a moment longer. It stayed like this until Ruby felt like her anticipation would drive her mad. Only at this point did Ozpin decide to move his lips.

"For years all of you have worked to pave a path toward a future that you have yet to see. You all marched forward under the belief that you were made to achieve a greater cause. This reason is why a majority of you are attending this academy in the first place, the place where only the best are made," stated Ozpin.

Ruby drank in each word in Ozpin's speech, hanging off every word. So far this speech was a bit on the dull side, but seemed to be building up to something greater, Ruby couldn't help but feel excited for whatever the man was about to say next.

"I look upon all of your hopeful faces and only see one thing," continued Ozpin taking the time to half-heartedly scan the crowd before him, "Wasted energy."

Ruby felt herself deflate a bit at this.

What?

"If you think that greatness will simply be handed to you then you are sure to fail. Your struggles are far from over and will not stop for the rest of your lives. Greatness is still out there, but requires more than just hard work and determination. It is up to you to take the first step."

With those words, the headmaster simply turned around and walked away from the podium leaving a silent auditorium. Ruby herself couldn't help but stare at the headmaster's retreating back.

How could he be so cold?

Ruby wasn't given a chance to continue mulling over what had just occurred due to the fact that Goodwitch walked back up to the podium.

"Freshmen are to report to the administration offices to receive their class schedules, the rest of you are to report to your first period classes. Dismissed."

It was like that that the auditorium was abuzz with activity, with the upperclassmen going about their business completely unaffected by Ozpin's words. The actions of the freshmen were varied, ranging from sitting in shock to outright crying. Ruby didn't blame any of these reactions. She thought the headmaster would give the freshmen body words of encouragement like Goodwitch had encouraged, but instead he sounded almost dismissive to the freshmen, cold.

"You okay Ruby?"

Ruby looked up to see Jaune looking down at her with his smile still in place, although he had the decency to look slightly apologetic.

"Don't worry too much about Ozpin's speech, that's just the way he is," said Jaune placing a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "I'm sure you're going to do fine!"

"Yeah! So buck up new girl!"

Ruby looked back towards the girl with orange hair who was now standing up with her hands on her hips and a big grin on her face.

"I see you met Nora," said Jaune from behind Ruby, "Nora this is my new friend, Ruby, try to be gentle."

"Aw c'mon Jauney, it's been such a long time since I've broken anybody's legs!"

Ruby paled a bit at that.

"B-Break…" whispered Ruby.

It was then that another boy who was slightly shorter than Jaune made his presence known. The said boy had long black hair tied back into straight ponytail with a small pink streak on one of the bangs hanging in front of his pink eyes.

"Don't mind Nora too much," the boy said reassuringly, "Any friend of Jaune's is a friend of ours, I'm Ren."

"And I'm Nora!" added Nora with a big grin.

"Nora you already were introduced."

"Oh yeah, hehe."

Ren sighed while shaking his head while Jaune let out a bark of laughter at their antics. Ruby couldn't help but feel a bit jealous at how close-knit this group seemed, but then again it made sense since they likely knew each other since freshman year. Ruby looked between the two of them wondering which one was the "friend" that Jaune mentioned earlier.

"Ruby!"

Ruby perked up at the familiar voice and looked to see her sister making her way towards her. Ruby felt relief spread through her only to remember what her sister did earlier today causing a glower to form. Yang stopped just before Ruby with grin on her face.

"Already making friends I see? I told you you'd be fine!" she said.

Ruby glared at Yang.

"That doesn't mean you had to ditch me!" she growled.

Yang simply laughed and ruffled Ruby's hair a bit eliciting a cry of indignation.

"Aw, c'mon sis, I figured it would build character!"

"There are better ways to build character than doing things alone," stated Jaune.

Yang seemed to freeze at this, slowly looking towards Jaune. Ruby could practically feel the tension between the two, the air thick with it. Yang straightened up to face Jaune, her expression seemingly the same as before, but something was off about her smirk.

"Jaune," she stated.

Jaune looked on with a similar smile.

"Yang," he answered.

The two continued their stare-off for a little while until finally Yang was the first one to break it looking back down at Ruby, her grin back to normal.

"Alright Rubes, let's go get your schedule, I want to see what my little sis is taking for her first semester here!"

Ruby blinked at how easily Yang was brushing off the encounter. This caused Ruby to frown in concern and open her mouth to protest only for Jaune to interrupt her train of thought.

"It was nice meeting you Ruby, hopefully we'll see you around!" said Jaune, his own smile seemingly back to normal as well.

Ruby looked between the two blondes before her. Something was definitely going on between them, but neither seemed willing to broach the subject. While Ruby felt her curiosity reaching an all-time high, she knew she wouldn't get answers from people she just met.

"Okay… see you around Jaune!" said Ruby with a smile of her own before looking toward Nora and Ren, "It was good to meet you too Nora! Ren!"

Nora grinned widely.

"You as well fellow midget!"

Ruby almost tripped at that.

"What she meant to say was that 'it was nice to meet you too', a notion that I second," stated Ren with a small smile of his own.

Ruby nodded nervously looking back at the eccentric redhead before making to follow her sister who had already started walking away from the group. As soon as Ruby reached her sister she made to ask the question that was pressing in her mind. However, before she could even open her mouth, her sister beat her to the punch.

"Please don't ask, Ruby."

This took Ruby aback. In all her years of knowing Yang, Ruby had never once heard Yang Xiao Long beg, not even to her. So to hear such a word from her headstrong sister was a bit unsettling and served to make her even more curious and concerned.

"Why?" she couldn't help but ask.

Yang looked away so that Ruby couldn't see her expression, but she saw the tension in the older girl's body.

"It's complicated."

Ruby frowned in frustration at the vague answer, knowing full well that her sister wasn't going to give her the answers she sought. Ruby looked back towards the auditorium. Just what kind of secret did her sister have with Jaune that elicited that type of tension between the two? Ruby shook her head. Day one and already she could barely keep up with the growing list of things that were happening.

High school is scary.

Ruby let out a sigh.

"At least my time here isn't going to be boring..."

With that being said Ruby continued to follow her sister towards the administration offices in order to know what type of schedule her first semester of high school would follow.