Been a while huh?

'I am so going to be late!' Ruby thought as she ran down the street. She dashed past several pedestrians, and down into the subway station. This day was already starting off on the wrong foot.

Her alarm didn't go off in the morning only because someone accidentally pulled out the power cord when they were gathering her belongings, once she did wake up she scrambled out of her bed and quickly dressed herself. Now here she was, trying to get to Beacon before she was late.

"Last call for Beacon Academy." The speaker announced as she ran into the subway, barely entering the doors before they closed behind her. The silver-eyed girl let out a sigh of relief as she slumped into one of the nearby chairs. Her breathing began to calm down after a couple minutes as she closed her eyes to rest, silently praying that she'll make it on time.

Once she opened her eyes, she slowly began to realize that something was off. She stood up from her seat and quickly glanced around her, noticing that it was completely empty.

'Where are all the students?'

"Come on Weiss, we're almost there!" Ilia said as the two slipped past a couple bystanders.

"Remind me to thank Blake when we meet up at the campus." The white-haired girl muttered as she followed the tanned girl through the crowds.

Ever since word got out that Weiss Schnee was arriving at Vale, many of the denizens wanted to get a glimpse of the her and her custom Celestial Class Suit. The suit is rare in both Vale and Atlas due to how difficult it is to pilot it. Both Ilia and Weiss wore their sunglasses and small hats with coats to blend into the crowd around them.

"This would've been a lot easier if we could've flown there in our suits." Ilia muttered as she pushed past another pedestrian.

"Unlike Atlas, Vale has laws against using Combat Suits within the city limits with the exception of the academies." Weiss reminded.

"I know, still I feel bad for Blake. Hopefully she isn't being crowded too badly."

"We can only hope."

Before the two were sneaking through the crowd, the ebony-haired girl offered to transport their gear and suits to Beacon as well as drawing the crowds away from the Atlas Pilots knowing that Weiss hated crowds. The white-haired girl tried to convince the ravenette otherwise, how she could handle the crowds but Blake didn't give her a chance to argue as she departed earlier in the morning.

Weiss glanced around her and let out a sigh of relief as she noticed how many people were making their way towards the main street to see her. Even though they weren't directly looking at her she already felt uneasy with the amount of people around her.

"Come on Weiss, we're going to be late if you keep stopping like that." Ilia joked as she pulled the white-haired girl through the sea of people.

"Where are we even going?" Weiss asked.

"Blake texted me saying that there's a subway system that leads to the campus. It'll be easier than paying for a taxi and more discreet."

"Lead the way then."

The tanned girl led the pale girl through the city streets until they arrived at the entrance of the subway station. The platform was empty as the two waited for the subway to arrive, Weiss kept glancing around at the few individuals on the platform while Ilia was on her scroll. A few moments later a subway pulled into the station, slowing down at the platform. The doors hissed at the two students stepped onto the subway, soon after the doors closed and the cabin shifted before taking off.

"Next stop, Beacon Academy." The speaker announced before clicking off.

Ilia checked her scroll again before letting out a sigh of relief, "We'll make it on time."

"That's great," Weiss said as she took off her sunglasses. From what she saw on the platform, there weren't any students on the platform besides them.

"Uh, Weiss?" The tanned girl said in a low tone as she glanced over her shoulder.

"What?" The white haired girl asked as she turned around.

There was a small girl sitting in one of the seats, she wore a black hoodie with red tints, and a black and red skirt. Her hair was mostly black aside from her red highlights. Her black boots kept tapping against the metal floor as she stared out from the window. The younger girl didn't pay them any attention as she rested her head on one of her hands and quietly humming to herself.

'She looks a bit...young...' Weiss thought as she kept staring at the crimsonette.

"Hey Ilia-" Weiss turned to face her companion, only to see that the tanned girl was gawking at the black and red clad girl. She tried waving her hand in front of the brunette to get her attention, the pale girl let out a sigh as she slapped Ilia on her back. An audible smack was heard in the subway as the brunette howled out in pain, startling the crimsonette in the process.

"What was that for Weiss?!" Ilia hissed as she tried to rub where she was hit.

"It was the only way to get your attention, you useless lesbian." The white haired girl answered back.

"You could've just tapped my shoulder!"

"Where's the fun in that?" Weiss quipped.

"You little-"

A thud caught both of their attention, they both turned their heads and saw the younger girl slowly reaching down to pick up her scroll that was on the floor. A shocked expression painted across her face as she froze in place. This gave both Ilia and Weiss a clear view of her face, she had her hair parted so that it covered one of her silver eyes.

"U-um," the crimsonette stuttered as she scooped up her scroll, "S-s-sorry..."

She pocketed her scroll before she held her hands behind her back, soon after she began to awkwardly shuffle her feet as the two kept staring at her. Before the awkward silence settled in, Ilia cleared her throat and slowly approached the younger girl.

"Hi, I'm Ilia. What's your name?" The tanned girl asked while keeping her distance from the crimsonette.

The black and red clad girl eyed the brunette before she stared towards the floor, even in the empty subway it was hard to hear her.

"I-I'm R-Ruby..." She mumbled as she took a step back.

"Aw, there's no need to be scared... well besides the Ice Queen right here." Ilia smirked as she gestured towards Weiss.

"Hey!"

"Anyway- how are you Ruby?"

Ruby began to press her index fingers together before she answered, "I'm fine... kinda."

"Are you in trouble or something?" The brunette asked.

"No! J-just nervous."

"How so?" Weiss questioned.

"W-well I-I-" Her stammering was interrupted as a female announcer spoke up from the speaker above.

"Now arriving at Beacon Academy, please watch you step and check your belongings before exiting the train."

The moment the door opened up, the crimsonette quickly bolted out of the door- wanting to get away from the two. However just as she exited the door, she crashed into someone else. She fell on her behind as the person who she crashed into staggered back from the impact, slightly dazed from the sudden collision.

"S-s-sorry!" Ruby stuttered as she quickly picked herself up and sprinted away.

Blake stood there dumbfounded by the speed of how fast the petite girl had disappeared before Weiss and Ilia greeted her.

"Good morning, Blake."

"Hey there Blake! How was the crowd?" Ilia joked.

"Wasn't too bad, but... who was that?" Blake asked as she tried looking around for the shade of red.

"Who? Ah don't tell me, someone you found interesting?" The tanned girl jested.

"They were cute." Blake muttered under her breath as she turned to face Weiss and Ilia, "Anyway, we should probably head towards the main hall. Initiation is starting soon."

"Right, get registered and all." Ilia huffed, "Blake can you do that for me?"

"Hurry up, otherwise you'll be waiting even longer to finish registering." Weiss said as she made her way towards the largest building on campus. Ilia rolled her eyes as she followed behind the white-haired girl- Blake however caught sight of a scroll that laid on the concrete floor. She scooped it up and pressed the power button, the scroll opened up as the display activated- with the owner's name flashing at the top.

Ruby Rose, 8:38 am, 87% [ |||]

'Ruby Rose? Is this the girl's scroll?'

The said crimsonette found herself in the middle of a crowded room, wishing that she wouldn't be noticed as she made her way towards the center stage. There were many students filling up the large hall, each of them wearing various uniforms from the other kingdoms. She felt very out of place compared to everyone around her, she threw over her hood in hopes that she could try to calm her nerves.

The lights began to dim as someone walked onto the stage, their heels clacked against the floor as she brushed her dark brown hair away from her face.

"Welcome to Beacon, cadets." She said as she gained everyone's attention, "I am Instructor Amber, one of the many teachers here."

Some of the students muttered to themselves as Ruby watched her in curiosity, Amber had a weird scar around one of her eyes and she seemed a lot older than what she appeared to be.

"We'll be finishing up registration by dividing up into four groups, please organize yourselves in an ordered fashion." The instructor said as she walked off the stage.

Ruby found herself being dragged off into one of the four lines, then pushed out of the line by a couple of enthusiastic students. She let out an irritated sigh as she saw the line growing in length.

'This is going to take forever' She groaned internally.

Just before she was about to walk towards the end of the line, someone tapped her shoulder- causing her to let out a surprised yelp as she turned around. Ruby was greeted with the sight of a middle-aged man with a bushy white mustache and a tannish suit.

"Excuse me ma'am, but are you Miss Rose?" He asked.

"Y-y-yes." Ruby replied in a quiet tone.

"Splendid! If you would please follow me, the headmaster would like to speak with you."

"H-Headmaster O-Ozpin?! W-w-why?"

"Why, your application of course! Come on now, there's no time to waste!" He said as he grabbed the crimsonette by her wrist and dragged her through the hall. They continued to walk through the hallways until the man led here to a pair of large twin wooden doors.

"The headmaster is waiting inside, I'll wait here until you're finished." The middle-aged man said as he stepped to the side.

"W-wait, what am I s-suppose to do?"

"Go inside and listen to what he has to say." The man replied.

That didn't calm her nerves at all, she took a deep breath before she gripped the handle of the door and entered the Headmaster's office.

Ozpin's office was a lot larger than she anticipated, it was four times as large as her old dorm room in Signal. Bookcases lined the walls full of numerous holo or hard covered books. The floor was covered in a large circular dark green carpet with a symbol of a pair of twin axes with a ring of wings surrounding them. In the center stood a large mahogany desk where the headmaster was sitting.

"Miss Rose, it's great to see you again." He said as she sat down.

"Y-you wanted to s-see me?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm well aware that you were... falling behind in most of your studies back in Signal. I called you here to work out a solution for your issue." Ozpin swiped the top of his desk, activating a holo screen. "To catch up on your studies, a couple teachers and I decided to have you take extra courses outside of your current classes."

"Will they be difficult?" Ruby asked in a meek voice as she fiddled with her fingers.

"We'll adjust it accordingly to your level. Please remember, we're trying to help you adjust to being here at Beacon- not to be overwhelmed."

"I-I'll keep that in mind."

"If you have any issues, don't hesitate to ask for help Miss Rose. We're here to help."

The crimsonette nodded before she stood up and left Ozpin's office. When she stepped out, the middle-aged man walked up to her and told Ruby to follow him to the depot- which prompted the young girl to furrowed her brows.

"The Depot is where all the students would be able to pick up their practice suits. Since you haven't built your own Combat Suit yet, you'll have to use a practice suit for the time being." He said as they walked down the hallway.

"U-um, what do you mean by "built", d-doesn't every student get one b-before?"

"No Miss Rose, unlike the other schools- we pride ourselves on being one of the best academies so we have the students know every little detail about their equipment, from the deadliest weapon to the tiniest screw on their suit."

"T-that's impressive." Ruby whispered to herself.

"Nonsense, every pilot here should know this in order to survive the many patrols outside these walls. Otherwise they'll be asking for trouble when they depart."

Ruby nodded in reply as they continued to walk down the hallway. It didn't take them long to arrive at the depot, where a couple of students were either repairing their suit or making adjustments to their weaponry. She followed the instructor down a corridor and found herself in front of a large metal door, she turned around and saw that there wasn't anyone besides the instructor and her.

"W-wait, where are we?"

"We are in the restricted part of the depot." He said as he opened the metal door, "We keep students away from this part of the depot for important reasons."

"T-those reasons are?"

"Classified. Now then, here we are." The instructor announced as he opened another set of metal doors, leading into a small room with only a couple suits hanging on different stands. Each of these suits were very slim, with the most armored parts being the chest and pack piece of the suit- the shoulder plates were small along with the gauntlets.

Most of the paint was chipped away, revealing the shiny steel underneath. The thrusters seemed to be the most worn out compared to the rest of the suit, and one of the helmets were slightly dented from the side.

"These are the practice suits for the Scanner Model, designed to be quick, nimble, and most importantly adaptive. Created to be a reconnaissance unit and can accommodate most equipment from other suits." The instructor said as he gestured towards the smallest of the Scanner Suits, "And now this role will be passed down to you."

"A s-suit that can use other equipment, h-how will I be able to c-create a suit like t-that?"

"The school will provide you with the exoskeleton and schematics for the Scanner Unit, everything else including modifications, armor, and weapons are completely up to you."

Ruby walked up to one of the suits and stared up at the empty visor, "T-this feels a little too much, what if I m-mess up?"

"If you make mistakes, just pick yourself up and continue on. No one's perfect Miss Rose."

The two stood there in silence as Ruby kept inspecting the suit, it's frame was smaller than most of the other suits- even though it stood about two heads taller than her, it gave off a daunting feeling as if it was alive. An announcement snapped her out of her trance as a female voice declared that registration was finished, Ruby's eye widened as she turned around to face the middle-aged man.

"I-I-I forgot to register for a dorm!" Ruby panicked as she ran towards the metal doors.

"Not to worry, the headmaster had already reserved a room for you. Your belongings should already be there by the time we arrive."

"T-thanks... I-I forgot to ask, but what's your name again?"

"I am Professor Port, I am one of the first year instructors. I hope that I'll see you in class tomorrow." The middle-aged man said as he opened the metal door. The two walked out of the Depot, locking the chamber behind them. They then walked towards the dorms, a huge white building that overlooked a small garden area. When they were approaching the main entrance of the dorms, Ruby began to notice that all the students around them were wearing the same uniforms. Was she suppose to pick up a uniform?

Before she could ask, the bearded man spoke- breaking the silence between them.

"The headmaster also wanted to inform you that you'll be sharing a dorm with other students. We'll greet your new roommates after we pick up your uniform." Port said.

The crimsonette froze on the spot.

"Wait, what?"

"Hey Blake? Are you going to help unpack or are you going to stand there all day." Ilia said as she placed a cardboard box on the floor next to the door.

"Give me a minute." Blake replied as she pulled out and placed Ruby's scroll onto the table before she went over to assist the brunette.

"About time, I thought that I was going to carry all of your belongings." The tanned girl groaned as she stretched her arms, "Where's Weiss anyway?"

"Don't know, she was asked to meet with the headmaster. She should've been back by now though."

Ilia let out a sigh, "Jeez, if Ms. Peach comes here to ask for the bed arrangements- I'm pairing Weiss and the new guy together in the same room."

"Don't be so hasty, what if our roommate is one of Weiss' "devoted" fans?"

"Then I'll fill a complaint to get rid of them." The tanned girl said, "Easy as that."

"What's so easy?" Weiss asked as she walked into the dorm, holding three uniforms in her arms.

"To get rid of annoying people, where were you?" Ilia asked.

"I was fetching our uniforms, I would've gotten here sooner but-"

"A couple students stopped you, didn't they." Blake said.

"They did." The white-haired girl let out a sigh, "I really hope that our roommate isn't like that."

The ebony-haired girl made her way towards Weiss and placed her hand on her shoulder, "If they are, I'll bunk with them instead."

"Blake, are you sure?"

The taller girl nodded in response.

"Thank you Blake." Weiss said.

"Yeah, thanks Blake. Just so you know, no take backs." Ilia stated.

The ebony-haired girl rolled her eyes at the response, "Gee, thanks Ilia. Remind me next time that you need help, I-"

Knock Knock Knock

The three girls stopped and stared at the door, waiting for the door to either open or if the person on the other side was just someone who wanted to meet Weiss. Eventually a quiet voice came from behind the door.

"U-um, i-i-is this the B-Belladonna suite?" The voice belonged to a girl, judging by the pitch of her voice.

Weiss looked towards Ilia, who quietly made her way over to the white-haired girl and dragged her away from the door while Blake waited for them to stay out of sight. The taller girl then walked over to the door and opened it up, revealing the same crimson-haired girl from before.

The petite girl stood in front of the door wearing the school's uniform, which consisted of a gray shirt with its sleeves running down towards her forearms. The shirt had one stripe running down its right arm which was yellow and had the school's badge stitched onto the left sleeve. She also wore a black skirt with leggings, along with boots.

The crimsonette was fidgeting on the spot while holding her hands behind her back, she was facing the floor- refusing to make eye contact with Blake. The older girl didn't know she was holding her breath as she stared at the younger girl before her, before Blake could say anything the girl before her spoke up... or rather mumbled.

"I-I-I'm R-Ruby, your n-new roommate." Ruby stammered, she could already feel the heat rising towards the tips of her ears.

Blake didn't know how long she stood there until she cleared her throat, "I'm Blake, it's great to finally meet our new roommate."

"R-really?" The smaller girl asked hesitantly as she looked up from the ground, her silver eye meeting amber orbs.

The ebony-haired girl couldn't speak as the words were caught in her throat, instead she simply nodded as she gestured for the crimsonette to enter. Once Ruby entered, Blake closed the door behind her and called out the two other girls to meet the new roommate.

"Wait did you say our roommate is here?" Ilia said as she came out from her hiding spot, pulling Weiss out with her.

When the three girls stared at each other, Blake swore she saw the crimsonette paled as Ilia's face lit up in recognition.

"It's you again!" Ilia shouted in glee.

"It's you again." Ruby quietly muttered in dread as she took a step back from the tanned girl.

"I can't believe that you're our roommate, this is going to be an interesting four years!" The tanned girl said in joy.

"Y-yeah..." The crimsonette replied meekly.

'Wait, did she say four years?' The thought dawned in her mind as she realize that she would be dealing with these people for the entirety of her school life here. Following that thought were numerous doubts that swarmed her mind as she broke out in cold sweat.

'What if they start talking to me and I say something that would offend them? Or what if one of them hates the stutters I make, or-'

Her worries overheated her brain, she thought she felt steaming coming out of the top of her head.

That didn't matter of course, as she fainted.

Bam! Surprise update! With a couple more to come this month!