I've been working on this story for over two months and now and just finished writing not long ago, so it's time to reveal it! I tend to avoid long, multi-chapter stories just because there's excessive chances for messing up small details on my part, but I decided to go through with it anyway, so be warned there will probably be inconsistencies I failed to keep up with or edit properly. I put a lot of effort in, though.

I'm dedicating this fanfic to all of my friends in the fandom, but mainly to Jon (the first author I read RWBY from and a great writer who is largely responsible for my writing RWBY in the first place) and Emmy (my most-admired writer and the person I look up to most in many aspects who continues to inspire me daily).

A/N: This is a Normal Life AU (so no Grimm, no Faunus). This first scene starts off when Yang's about 10 years old and Ruby 8.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

Gold

Chapter 1.

I'm forever, always by your side. Whenever you need a friend, I'm never far behind.

"Yaaaang! We're gonna be late!"

"Chill out, baby sis! I mean sure, we've almost been late every day of school so far in the past two months since it started, but when have we ever actually been late?"

"Stiiill!" Ruby was bouncing up and down nervously in place, holding tightly to the red straps of her backpack on her shoulders. Amused by her sister's anxiousness to get to school, Yang only moved more languidly as she tied her shoe laces, pausing to give a long yawn like a lion's before she finally stood and slid her jacket over her uniform. "Are you ready nooww?" Ruby whined.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get going."

The two young girls called goodbyes back into the house as their parents wished them a good day.

Ruby and Yang lived close enough to Vacuo Elementary school where they did not require a bus to take them there and home every day. It was a bit of bummer on rainy, dreary days, but they always made it fun by challenging one another to races and seeing which one stepped in the most puddles along the way.

But on warm days with seasonal sunlight shining down from a bright blue sky, the walk to school was much more enjoyable. The sounds of airplanes were a common background noise thanks to the nearby airport, and the rumbling sounds had become naturally enjoyable to the girls, particularly on energetic, springtime days like today.

But as Yang would soon discover, this morning was a bit more special than all the others.

Ruby had squatted down to admire two budding flowers peeking through the cracks in the sidewalk, pointing her finger out for a wandering ladybug to perch there.

Yang smiled and rolled her eyes. "Now who's gonna make us late for school?" she mumbled.

She had trained her eyes on the clouds above as she allowed Ruby a moment to content herself with nature when she heard a small sound coming from the other side of the street.

Curious, Yang looked over to the source of the mewling noises.

A tiny black kitten was pressing itself into the rocks of a garden wall. A young girl, probably about Yang's age, was offering her hand to it, murmuring soothing coos all the while. Her long, wavy hair was as dark as the kitten's fur, and had a similar-colored ribbon in it, and even from her angle, Yang could see the amiable smile on the girl's face. She seemed to be holding out a bit of food, trying to coax the kitten out of hiding.

Yang watched quietly from where she stood, a wide smile breaking out on her lips as the kitten finally climbed down to sit in front of the girl. You did it! Yang congratulated her silently.

The look on the girl's face was priceless as the kitten ate the food she had offered it; she smiled joyously and it clearly reached her golden eyes.

"Gold, huh?" Yang muttered to herself. She could not recall ever having seen this girl at school before, and when she looked closer, she realized she wore a different uniform. It was... Mistral Elementary, perhaps?

She was lost in thought and did not notice Ruby prance up beside her, a ladybug on her nose.

"Yang! What's going on over there?" she asked.

Her voice broke Yang's train of thought, catching her off guard as she let out a surprised, "Whoa!"

Her shout echoed easily across the street. The girl with the pretty black hair had just been reaching out to pet the kitten when Yang's cry startled the animal.

It bolted out into the street just as a foreboding roar of tires rounded the corner.

"Oh no!" Ruby gasped, her silver eyes ridden with fear, hands flying to her mouth. The terrified kitten froze in place in the center of the street, trembling as it crouched in wake of the oncoming car.

But what made Yang's heart pound even harder was when the girl on the other side of the street stood quickly, eyes focused on the kitten. She dashed into the street, calling out, "Go, go!" as she waved her hands at the animal. Her motions snapped the kitten out of its petrified state and it bolted the rest of the way across the street to the safety of the bushes.

There was a brief second during which a relieved smile crossed the black-haired girl's face, until an ear-shattering honk of the car's horn caused her to jump. She stumbled trying to get back to the sidewalk, falling onto her hands and knees as she cried out.

Without wasting another second, Yang felt her feet propelling her forward as fast as they could go. She could smell the gasoline of the car and feel the rumbling of the tires against the pavement as they neared her.

But she ignored the crushing fear that seized her as she grabbed the other girl by the waist, mustering up all the strength in her body as she lifted her off the ground. Yang got in a few swift strides before she collapsed, the other girl and herself crashing onto the sidewalk with muffled grunts.

The car sped past, still beeping for a minute until the air was still again.

Yang groaned as she blinked open her eyes, staying still until her vision became focused again. She pushed herself up and quickly looked to her right where the black-haired girl lie on her side.

"H-Hey!" Yang called out, crawling over to her. "Are you okay?" She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and shook her very gently. The girl moaned weakly, and Yang worried she had hit her head against the concrete. "Oh man..." she mumbled.

"Y-Yang!"

The blonde girl looked up when she heard Ruby call out to her. Her sister looked both ways before she ran across the street, coming to a halt beside Yang. "Are you okay? Oh gosh, is she okay?! Should I find someone to call 911?" She was fidgeting nervously in place, ready to run off at Yang's command.

"I'm fine," Yang answered. "But I don't know about-"

She was interrupted by another sound – a cough this time – and the black-haired girl expelled some grit from her mouth. Both sisters looked anxiously down at her.

"H-Hey," Yang said again. "Can you hear me? Does it hurt anywhere?" She gave the girl's shoulder another shake which finally seemed to rouse her.

She blinked open her eyes – they were golden, just as Yang had suspected – and they were much more vibrant and pretty than she had initially thought.

As she seemed to realize what had just happened, the girl gasped, quickly pushing herself up and jerking away from Yang's hand.

Yang was quick to apologize. "Oh! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have touched you like that. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

The girl looked panicked, eyes wide as they flashed from Yang to Ruby and back again.

"I-I..." Her voice was small and timid, and it almost made Yang feel bad for having such a loud tone by nature.

"Your kitty is safe!" Ruby said helpfully.

That seemed to make the girl feel a bit better.

"That's good... ow!" Her lips that had almost smiled instantly fell back into a frown.

"Should we call for help? Did you hit your head?" Yang prompted softly.

The girl's golden eyes were still round as she clutched her hands to her chest, shaking her head.

"N-No... I'm-"

"Hey, you're bleeding!" Ruby gasped.

The three of them looked down to the girl's legs where her bare knees were smeared with blood just above her black knee-socks.

"Oh no! Here, can you stand?" Yang slid close to the girl, slipping an arm around her back. Ruby did the same on her other side, and together they brought the black-haired girl to her feet. She hesitantly followed them to the rock wall of the garden where the kitten had previously been hiding, and they helped her sit there.

Yang shuffled through the front zipper of her backpack as the timid girl looked to Ruby nervously.

"Don't worry!" Ruby beamed. "Yang's always prepared for boo-boos! Our mommy trained her!"

Yang pulled a small bottle of disinfectant from her backpack before plucking a cotton ball from a zip-lock baggie.

"This might hurt a little," Yang warned, dabbing the white ball onto the lid of the bottle. She then knelt down to press it against both of the girl's knees.

She flinched at the stinging pain, letting out a whimpered, "Ow!" before covering her mouth, as though apologizing for being too loud. Ruby patted her back comfortingly; she knew the stingy part hurt.

Yang pulled two large square band-aids from a box in her backpack, tearing the paper off the backs in an expert motion before spreading them firmly onto the cuts.

A minute later, she stood, clapping her hands together in accomplishment.

"There! You're all patched up now!"

The girl slowly slid down until her shoes touched solid ground again.

"Thank you..."

"No thanks necessary!" Yang grinned.

"No you... you saved my life!" She cried. "What... what can I do to thank you?"

"Well, if you wanna thank me..." Yang thought for a moment. "Then make sure to keep living your life!"

The other girl was silent for a moment and she closed her mouth, not knowing what to say.

Ruby spoke again. "Were you going to school, too?"

Her comment seemed to remind the girl that it was Monday.

"That's right! I have to go to-"

"Blake!"

A new voice cut into the mix just then, and the three girls looked up to glance at the new arrival.

She wore the same uniform as the black-haired girl – Blake – only this girl had contrasting, snow-white hair that was pulled into a ponytail. Her face was red as she ran up to them, evidently having been in a fluster.

"What in the world is going on over here?" she demanded as she looked Blake up and down. But before the black-haired girl could speak, the new girl spotted the cuts on Blake's palms and the unkept state of her uniform, and she immediately rounded on the sisters. "What did you two do to her?!" She yelled, stepping in front of Blake defensively. "She's shaking and bleeding! Why, I'll tell my father and have you both punished!"

"Hey, chill out, princess!" Yang frowned. "We didn't-"

"Weiss, it's okay!" Blake cut off Yang's statement as she tugged on the white-haired girl's sleeve imploringly. "They didn't hurt me; they saved me! I fell in the street and that girl saved me from a car."

"A car?!" Weiss shrieked in dismay. "Blake, what happened?! Are you alright? You could have been killed!"

"But I wasn't!" she soothed. "Because she saved me." She nodded to Yang, and Weiss followed her gaze to the blonde girl. She scrunched her nose before her expression softened a little. Yang allowed herself to smile in return.

Blake sighed in relief now that further yelling had been avoided. "I'm okay, Weiss," she said again. "They even gave me band-aids. See?" She lifted one knee up, and the white-haired girl narrowed her eyes. She seemed to be inspecting the other girl's injuries, and Yang and Ruby stood at attention, as if a strict teacher was looking over their homework.

A minute later, Weiss straightened up with a huff, sharp blue eyes flicking between the sisters until they met lavender.

"Were you the one who treated her?" she growled.

Yang nodded once, holding her chin high. "Yeah."

Weiss stepped up to her, the top of her head level with Yang's chin as she squinted up at her.

"Did you disinfect the cuts?"

"Yes."

"..."

Weiss held her gaze a moment longer before she finally stepped back.

"You did a good job," she diagnosed. "Thank you for your help. But we're late for school now, and we've got to go." She spun around on her heel and slipped her hand into Blake's, tugging her along down the sidewalk.

Blake looked back over her shoulder.

"Thank you." She called softly before following after her companion.

The two sisters watched them go, and only once they were out of earshot did Ruby finally speak up again.

"Her name's Weiss? Schnee? Like the big jewelry company?" she questioned.

"Probably," Yang confirmed as her eyes followed the long, black hair of the girl named Blake.

"Hmm..." Ruby brought two knuckles to her chin briefly. "Well, she sure yells a lot, but I like her!"

"You do?"

"Yeah! She was really worried about, uh... Blake? I wonder if they're sisters."

"I never heard of the Schnees having two daughters," Yang mumbled. "Then again, I never heard much about them in the first place..."

Another minute passed as they watched the figures of the other two girls disappear into a crowd of students headed down the path to a different school. It was then Ruby remembered.

"Waaaah! Yang, we're late!"

"Oh crap!"

"Hey, watch your language!" Ruby barked as the two of them took off running. Yang laughed before she noticed a little red speck on the back of her hand. She realized it was a ladybug – probably the one Ruby had found before.

Smiling, Yang made sure to keep it safely on her hand until they reached the school building where it finally flew away.

After asking around their school a bit, Ruby and Yang gathered some information about the Schnee family.

Evidently, when Weiss was very young, she had fallen seriously ill. Her parents brought her to a doctor who diagnosed that it was due to loneliness; her parents were both constantly at work, and the babysitters they hired were always neglectful.

Her mother could not bear any more children, and their daughter was getting less and less responsive every day.

Concerned, her mother had quit her job, and decided together with her husband that they would adopt another child.

That was Blake.

Blake had been abandoned by her parents when she was a baby, and lived at the local orphanage for the first few years of her life. The Schnees took her in, and she and Weiss had grown up together as sisters ever since.

Although Weiss was a few months younger than Blake, she typically took on the role of the elder sister, constantly checking up on Blake and making sure she was safe.

Ruby and Yang found out a lot about the peculiar pair that day from classmates who lived near the Schnees or had heard more about them from their parents.

"See?" Ruby had said, smiling at Yang. "I told you they were sisters!"

"Kinda..." Yang shrugged.

That day on the walk home, both sisters found themselves looking about for the now-familiar duo. The students from Vacuo and Mistral shared routes home for students who lived close enough to walk.

Yang realized she had seen Blake and Weiss both before walking home from her peripheral vision, but had never taken much interest in them.

Today, however, she spotted them almost instantly. Weiss was tugging Blake in the direction opposite of the one Ruby and Yang needed to take to get home, but it looked like Blake was trying to persuade the white-haired girl to let her go the other way. Weiss seemed to comply begrudgingly, but would only allow it if she could come along. Blake granted permission, it seemed, and the two girls started walking down the opposite sidewalk from Ruby and Yang.

"Hey!" Ruby nudged Yang eagerly. "Let's cross over to that side and walk back together!"

"I don't think they're going to be going very far," Yang guessed.

Her assumptions were proven correct when the two girls stopped by the rocky garden wall from this morning. Blake crouched down to peer into the crack where the kitten had been hiding earlier, calling out softly. Weiss waited, tapping her foot, murmuring about how they were going to be scolded if they did not get home before curfew.

Yang and Ruby watched from across the street, the younger girl muttering prayers that Blake would find her cat. But even after several minutes, Blake's shoulders slumped hopelessly.

"Aw, that's too bad..." Yang sighed. She watched as Blake stood slowly, and Weiss grasped her arm.

"Come on, now," she said. "Father will be upset if we're a second late. You know how he worries. Besides, he'd never let us keep a cat anyway..." she added regretfully.

Yang felt bad for Blake as Weiss started pulling her away; she cast her golden gaze back over her shoulder to where the kitten had been that morning, and her eyes were distraught. But the blonde girl smiled a little when she heard Weiss say, "We can come back this way and check again tomorrow."

"You're right, Ruby," Yang said as she ruffled her little sister's hair. "I like her, too."

The next morning, Yang was proud to see that Weiss had kept her promise.

The two girls were across the street at the same garden when Ruby and Yang walked by. "Oh!" Ruby jumped up and down, pointing excitedly. "Look, it's them! And they found the kitty!"

Yang squinted to look into the shadows of the rock wall and saw that she was right. She smiled as she watched the two girls who were kneeling down, offering their hands to the cat. Yang heard Weiss' voice even from across the street as she said to Blake, "See? I told you he'd be here again. And this is why I saved the leftovers from last night's supper."

The black kitten was happily nipping bits of meat from their fingers, rubbing up against their knees.

"Awww, I wanna pet him, too!" Ruby complained.

"Maybe on the way back. Let's leave those two alone for now."

After bearing witness to the heartwarming scene, Yang wore a smile on her face for the rest of the day during school.

On the way home, Ruby was delighted when Yang suggested they walk on the other side of the street. As she had suspected, they ended up converging paths with Blake who was crouched down, petting the black kitten.

Yang pressed her index finger to her lips, indicating to Ruby that they should be cautious as not to scare them. They tiptoed up behind Blake and Yang called out softly. "Hey!"

Blake jumped and turned around.

"Oh, it's you! Ah, wait don't go!" She quickly turned back to the kitten, scratching its ears and keeping it close.

"Awww, can I pet him?" Ruby's eyes were brimming with excitement.

"Her," Blake corrected. "And yes. Just let her smell you first. She's very clean and affectionate for a stray."

"She's a stray?" Ruby frowned in dismay as she knelt down on the sidewalk, reaching out her hand. The kitten sniffed her fingers before bumping her head against them with a purr.

"Yes," Blake murmured. "Kind of like me..." She turned her face away briefly. Yang wanted to say something, but she was at a loss for words.

Thankfully, her little sister was on top of things.

"But you have a family!" Ruby said with a smile.

Blake looked back at her and Yang saw her lips curl up slightly.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I was a stray when I was little, but not anymore. But that's why I want to help her..." She pet the kitten's back several times. "But like Weiss said, Father wouldn't allow us to keep her."

"Where's your sister?" Yang wondered.

"I told her to wait for me back at the corner. I just wanted to feed the kitten some more before we went home."

"What's her name?" Ruby wondered, rubbing the animal's belly as she rolled about.

"I call her Shroud. Because she's dark like the shadows," Blake explained.

"That's a really cool name!" Yang watched them both fondly, wishing she could offer to take the kitten home with them to ease Blake's mind – maybe the girl could even come over to visit sometime. But hers and Ruby's father was allergic to cats, so it was impossible.

Just then, a voice called out Blake's name, and the three girls turned to see Weiss standing at the far end of the corner, waving almost frantically. Blake gave the kitten one last pat on the head before standing.

"I've got to go. We're going to be late getting home."

"Yeah, us too." Yang gathered her sister and hoisted her to her feet. "Maybe we'll... see you tomorrow?" She asked, looking hopefully up into Blake's pretty eyes.

The other girl seemed hesitant for a moment, her gaze flicking down to the kitten, then over to Ruby before resting on Yang.

"Yes," she finally replied. "I think I'll ask Weiss for us to start coming to school this way from now on. We'd just need to go around the block a bit."

"Awesome!" Yang grinned. "Oh! Before you go..." She offered her hand out. "Let me introduce us. I'm Yang, and this is my baby sister, Ruby!"

"I'm not a baby!"

"You're always gonna be a baby to me!"

Ruby puffed out her cheeks impishly.

The exchange earned a hearty laugh from Blake, and Yang grinned, loving the sound of her merriment.

Blake extended her hand and took Yang's.

"I'm Blake. It's nice to meet you two." There was a smile on her lips now, and Yang wanted it to stay there forever.

Blake shook hands with Ruby as well before Weiss' call had her scurrying off. The kitten hopped up onto the rock wall of the garden before disappearing into the bushes.

"See you tomorrow!" Ruby called softly after her. Two amber eyes blinked back before vanishing with a rustle of leaves.

As they walked home, there was a slight bounce in Ruby's step. "I like those two!" she said. "Weiss is a good big sister - of course not as great as you!" she added bashfully. "And Blake's really kind! You said you liked Weiss before, so what about Blake?"

Yang did not have to think very long on her reply.

"I like her a lot."

That was how the four girls first got acquainted.

After Blake had persuaded Weiss to let them walk a different path to school from then on, they met up and spoke almost every day.

Yang instantly took a liking to teasing Weiss about her height and getting an indignant yell and a blushing pout in response. Blake and Ruby tended to Shroud every day, always sparing a few minutes each morning to feed and pet her. Even on days when it rained, Weiss and Yang would hold their umbrellas over their sisters' heads for them as they fed the kitten and hid her beneath bushes to keep her dry.

Although they did not attend the same schools, they grew very close walking together both ways every day. Before any of them could realize it, it had become their normal schedule that demanded no questions.

Yang found it amusing how Weiss would always lecture Ruby about her backpack zippers not always being all the way closed or how her hair was messy.

In turn, Yang looked out for Blake, always offering to carry her book bag when she seemed to be struggling. Usually, her offer was rejected a little pridefully, but every once in a while Blake would bashfully hand her bag over for Yang to carry with a wide grin.

They were like a pack of stray dogs who had come together for the necessity of companionship. They looked out for one another, though they really had no obligation to do so for anyone but their own sisters.

Ruby would eagerly ask Weiss what she had learned in school that day, and the white-haired girl would always go off rambling about all the impressive things she had been taught. Ruby would listen in amazed silence, eyes sparkling all the while.

Perhaps that was what fueled Weiss to always keep talking so much.

In more serious cases, they looked out for one another as well.

One day, when Yang had been waiting for Ruby at the school's exit, she had heard the unmistakable sounds of bullying. A boy from her class named Cardin always picked on other kids for no reason other than recreation. Yang hated his guts with her entire being and tried to avoid him whenever she could.

But this time, she saw that he was taunting a girl from another school, a girl with long black hair that he had his hand tangled in as he yanked at her ribbon...

Yang had run over and punched him upside the jaw, screaming at him until he scrambled away calling for his mother.

She turned to Blake who had collapsed to the ground in fear, and Yang sat beside her. She fixed her hair and carefully retied her beloved ribbon, which Blake had tearfully told her had once been her mother's, that she had been wearing it when she was brought to the orphanage as an infant.

Moments later, Weiss had arrived with a teacher to handle the situation. As Yang confessed what she had done, she watched Weiss fall to her knees and pull Blake to her, apologizing for being a coward and running off to find a teacher rather than step in to help her.

That was when Ruby had dashed up to them, frantically asking what had happened before patting Weiss' and Blake's shoulders.

After that, the four of them had grown closer in a more serious way, a way that proved their trust and respect for one another.

For the rest of their times at their respective elementary schools, they were happy together, unaware of the trials to come.

But until then, Yang did her best to make sure the four of them were always smiling.

A/N: Thank you for reading chapter 1!

Additionally! A very talented artist honored me with drawing scenes from this chapter! You can find them at moekumo,tumblr,com/post/88823999671

Ch 2 preview: Yang noted how Weiss always made it a point to wait for Ruby if she needed to stay after school. If Ruby had to stay home sick, she would demand that Yang take better care of her so that she could see her again as soon as possible.

Her role in Ruby's life was like that of a mentor and a companion all in one, and Yang could tell this girl cared for her sister deeply.

But one morning, she started to notice how Ruby would purposefully keep some distance between Weiss and herself...

Please review!