The figure ran across rooftops, darting from ledge to ledge looking for a telltale sign that they had been there. It was only when the shadow saw red claw marks on the wall did they stop their search. Pulling out a black katana the figure jumped down towards the claw.

A casual saunter towards the sign gave the figure an aura of confidence, masking their true feelings. Putting a hand against the markings the figure whispered, "Old. How did I never notice this?" Turning away from the claw, the figure melted back into the shadow of the night, leaving behind nothing but the faint smell of poison.

Ruby woke up in a cold sweat, reliving a frequent nightmare. It didn't take long for her sister, Yang Xiao Long, to break into the room with a worried look on her face. "What happened, Ruby?" she asked quickly.

"Just another nightmare," Ruby mumbled, ears flattened on top of her head.

Yang came to the side of her bed and gave Ruby a side hug. "You wanna talk about it?"

"It's the same one as always," Ruby told her. Yang sighed in agreement before leaning her head on her sister.

They sat in silence for a moment until Yang got up again. "You should try and go back to sleep. If you can't you can come sleep with me. Just try not to hurt yourself, okay." Ruby nodded silently and wrapped her tail around her waist. Yang left the room, closing the door quietly.

Once Ruby was sure Yang was gone, she let out the tears she had been holding back. "I miss you, Mom. I'm sorry," she whispered.

The next morning Ruby and Yang were in a rush to get to school since they had been up late the night before. "Girls, you need to eat breakfast," Taiyang told them sternly.

"Of course, Dad," Yang replied, "that's why I've got this!" She held up two apples, tossed one to Ruby and ran out the door. "See you later!"

"Wait up, Yang!" Ruby shouted, sprinting after her, tail wagging in excitement.

"That's not what I meant," Taiyang sighed.

Yang and Ruby walked to school, Ruby practically running in circles around Yang, not showing the slightest bit of sadness she had the night before. They reached Beacon High School and met up with Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Electronics Corporation and their best friend. "Weiss!" Ruby squealed in her normally hyper state.

"Dolt, brute," she greeted them respectively. Despite her cold demeanor they knew she cared a great deal about them both."I heard the new student should be arriving today."

Ruby's smile got wider, if that was even possible. "Really!" she shouted. "I wonder if we'll have any classes with them!"

Yang grabbed her sister by the collar of her thick red sweatshirt and told her, "Ms. Goodwitch did say they were a Junior like us." Ruby let out a loud squeal of excitement before rushing into class, excited to meet the new student.

Weiss sighed and looked at Yang. "She does know the new student could be just like Cardin."

"She doesn't have the heart to think like that," Yang replied.

Blake had only applied to Beacon High School because some of the faunus students probably had connections to the White Fang. Sure, she could probably use a real education and the library was likely vast, but there were more important things to focus on. Like the White Fang.

She had thought long and hard about how to hide her faunus heritage, and eventually it came down to the little black bow lying atop her head. "Time to see how this school runs," Blake muttered to herself.

The day started off without a hitch, learning where her homeroom was, but everything went south after first period. Ms. Goodwitch was a customary teacher who chose to introduce her new students in front of the entire class. "Listen up students, you have a new classmate today. Would you please introduce yourself?" she told Blake with words that sounded like an invitation but a tone that screamed superiority.

Standing up, Blake immediately made eye contact with the short girl right in front of her. The little girl looked far too young to be in the advanced placement mechanics class, and her silver eyes shown with an innocence that made Blake wince slightly inside. She had red tipped wolf ears and most likely a bushy tail that she was sitting on. "My name's Blake Belladonna," Blake spoke with a monotone voice.

"A little bit about yourself."

Blake gave an unreadable look at the teacher, but internally seethed. "I like books and quiet."

"Thank you, Blake. Since you're new you probably need a guide. Miss Rose, why don't you show her around after class," Goodwitch demanded.

The young girl in front of Blake, Rose, stuttered quietly, "Oh, um, y-yeah, sure Miss Goodwitch." The class continued without a hitch, and Blake just wondered if Rose would be the best guide to get information from, as a faunus, or the worst because of her awkward nature.

The question was soon answered when the bell rang and Blake started packing up her stuff. She heard a nervous shuffle and feet next to her bag. "Uh, hi, I'm Ruby Rose your, uh, guide I guess? Heh," she mumbled nervously.

Blake sighed and stood up with her bag. "Blake Belladonna."

"I know. I mean, you kinda told everyone your - it's, nevermind," Ruby embarrassed herself again. "I'll just, show you where you need to go." Blake wasn't sure if she wanted to ask Ruby any questions on the White Fang, seeing as the girl probably barely had any relation to them.

"My next class is with Doctor Oobleck," Blake told Ruby. The younger girl's ears perked as her eyes widened.

"I have him next too! I can walk you there!" Ruby said, suddenly much happier.

Smiling slightly at the girl's antics Blake softly said, "Sure, Ruby."

As Ruby led them to Oobleck's class, Blake decided to start questioning the girl, but to make it seem friendly. "You look a little young to be in these classes."

"Oh!" Ruby exclaimed, "That's because I got moved ahead two years by Principal Ozpin. I'm actually only fifteen."

"You must be really smart then," Blake praised her, trying to get the girl to open up more.

Ruby sputtered at the compliment, "No, no, you've got me wrong, I'm just, really, really lucky."

Blake smiled as the Ruby's cheeks grew red with embarrassment. "I can't imagine someone being moved up two years without tremendous skill." Ruby sputtered some more until she went silent, unsure how to continue the conversation. Blake almost brought up the White Fang, but held back, not quite sure she wanted to talk about such a heavy topic with such an innocent girl.

Ruby came to a stop in front of a large door. "Here we are, Doctor Oobleck's classroom."

"Thank you, Ruby," Blake told her.

"N-no problem, Blake! Hope to see you around!" The young wolf faunus sprinted inside the room leaving Blake standing outside.

"Yeah, maybe we'll talk again. See what you know."

Ruby tossed and turned in her bed, having another silent nightmare. A red sword, white petals, blood. Ruby looked down and found herself holding a white mask decorated with rose petals. "Mom," Ruby broke the still air.

A sound came from behind her, and Ruby started to observe her surroundings. She was in a dark warehouse, unrecognizable banners hung on all the walls. "Mom," she whimpered again. White rose petals started to fall from the ceiling, circling around Ruby before landing at her feet. Ruby wrapped her tail tight around herself, ears flattened on her head. She searched for the familiar comfort of her sweatshirt but found she was not wearing it.

The white mask in her hand started getting heavier and heavier until it fell out of her hands. Voices started echoing throughout the warehouse. Dirty faunus … We have to fight to get them to recognize us! … Ruby, listen to me carefully … Run! … You could never escape us! … Little Rose … Oh red! … When I find you, you'll end up just like your mother. The last voice sounded louder than the rest.

She looked up just in time to see Adam's red sword come rushing straight at her.

Ruby woke up screaming.