Hello Everyone, I hope you all are enjoying the holidays so far!

Anyway, I've been brainstorming ideas for Evangelion/RWBY crossovers that involve relationships between Shinji Ikari from the former and some of the female characters from the latter. However, since most of what I had in mind were either too disconnected or too short to be used for full multi-chapter stories I decided to take a page out of gunman's book and compile these plot bunnies into a collection of shorts. Now while a majority of these plot bunnies involve romantic relationships (both monogamous and polygamous) with potentially some lemon in the mix there will also be a few that will explore familial relationships as well (EG: Shinji being adopted and raised by Glynda Goodwitch or Shinji being the adoptive younger brother of Pyrrha Nikos are two examples of plot bunnies I've had in my head for a while.)

There are a couple of things I'd like to say to people reading this though:

1. I am not taking any requests and/or suggestions for additions to this collection.

2. While Shinji's semblance in these shorts will be more or less remain consistent, his origins (IE: Him ending up in Remnant as a result of Leliel or another phenomenon as well as whether or not he ends up on Remnant before or after Third Impact.) as well as whatever weapon he uses will differ in each of these plot-bunnies.

3. One of my headcanons for Evangelion is that the Interface Headsets/A10 Nerve Clips as well as the Plugsuits used by the pilots come with their own recording devices and a black box analogue.

4. I will be cross-posting what I've written in this collection here to AO3 so if this site goes down for whatever reason they'll still be readable there.

5. If anybody reading these shorts wants to use one of them as inspiration for their own Evangelion/RWBY crossover, you're free to do so. All I ask is that you give me a shout-out.

6. I will post warnings as to whether or not certain shorts contain lemon.

7. Lastly, here is an obligatory Disclaimer: RWBY is property of both Rooster Teeth Productions and Monty Oum while Evangelion is property of both Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

The Reaper and The Pilot

Ruby Rose let out a satisfied huff as she slowly withdrew Crescent Rose back into its portable form. She had taken a nighttime stroll to her mother's grave as winter descended upon the island of Patch but afterwards she had run into some unexpected resistance in the form of a pack of very young, very inexperienced Beowolves through the forest and rather than trying to run away she did what a huntress-in-training would often do; Fight the Grimm and kill them. It was a good way to practice using her high-impact sniper rifle/scythe hybrid and the result was that the last of the Grimm's dismembered corpses beginning to fade away while casings from used dust rounds lay on the ground around her.

Since the brunette didn't see nor hear anymore Grimm, she decided to head home, but not before collecting the used bullet casings from her weapon. After all, they could be re-used provided she cleaned them both inside and out before refilling them with fresh dust rounds. The former of which she could do at home since her family had a rotary tumbler but the latter, she would probably have to do at Signal Academy as they had the proper facilities and equipment for handling dust. The last person who tried to do so at home without proper equipment ended up setting off some fire dust and blowing a hole in their house!

She shook her head in annoyance as she recalled that incident, thankfully she and her sister took their education at Signal Academy seriously. In fact, Yang had taken the exit exam at Signal near the beginning of winter and she planned on transferring to Beacon Academy in the Fall of next year. Ruby on the other hand, still had two more years before she could graduate from Signal Academy, but she was already showing promise especially after Uncle Qrow not only helped her build Crescent Rose but also taught her how to use it. Thank goodness their weapons were so alike to one another!

After gathering the last of the bullet casings from Crescent Rose, she plopped them into a small leather bag on the back of her belt and started making her way home as she walked through the snow.

However, as she took the first two steps, she felt the wind suddenly pick up as flurries of snow pelted her front side. That was odd, she checked the weather channel on the TV and there weren't any snowstorms on the broadcast, just a light slow flurry of snow. She considered pulling out her scroll and calling for either her sister or her uncle for a ride home but the Brunette was knocked off her feet by sudden and powerful breeze, as she shook the snow off of her head she saw a shape sprawled behind a nearby tree, it looked almost like something alive but she couldn't make out any details besides what looked like breathing, maybe?

She drew Crescent Rose and unfolded it into its Rifle mode just in case it was Grimm though she doubted it was one of the monstrosities after she ripped through a pack of Beowolves. It couldn't be an Ursa Minor, it wasn't bulky enough to be one in fact the shape looked skinny. Could it be some of the local wildlife? No, she dismissed the thought of it at first since most of the wildlife was either hibernating for the winter or had adapted to live in the harsh cold once it arrived and even then most of those animals tended to be skittish around humans and Faunus alike.

She carefully crept forward, quietly cocking Crescent Rose just in case whatever laid behind that tree was a threat but as she came closer more details started to come into her line of sight. It was skinny, whatever it was, and it seemed to have some sort of rubber or plastic suit on. Wait, that could mean-

She immediately darted forward with caution in the wind and after brushing off some of the snow with her bare hands she finally confirmed that it- or rather he was human. He was a boy about her age, maybe a few years younger considering how he was at least a few inches shorter than she was. He had medium length brown hair with two clip or pin-like devices atop of it and a scrawny build, he was wearing some sort of form-fitting bodysuit that was white on his upper chest with two vents on his pecs while everything below that as well the parts on his lower arms were blue. She thought she smelt a hint of blood, making her frantically search for any sign of bleeding or scars but she didn't find anything oddly enough. He was however lightly shivering from the cold despite being unconscious. She didn't know how long this boy was out here, but she wasn't going to risk him dying of hypothermia or pneumonia, so with some effort she hauled the boy over her shoulder and with a grunt of effort she pushed all of her aura and remaining strength into her semblance.

Taiyang Xiao Long at first was minding his own business, preparing dinner with the help of Yang when suddenly there was a barrage of knocks at the door.

"Dad! Yang! Someone, Open the Door!"

That was Ruby! Did something happen while she was out visiting Summer's grave? She might have encountered Grimm out there but usually the ones on patch were juveniles that were usually easy to kill. Not taking any risks, Yang pulled her fists back, unfolding Ember Celica from its portable bracelet form into its fully loaded form before swinging the door open, only to gasp in shock. That caught Tai's attention.

"Yang, what's wrong?" Their father called, "Yan- "He halted when he saw Ruby nearly out of breath, with an unconscious boy in a skintight suit hanging over her shoulder as she slowly hauled him inside.

Snapping out of the shock, he turned to Yang

"Yang, call a doctor now!"

"Right!" She nodded, darting into the kitchen to grab the house phone.

Meanwhile, Ruby on the other hand was brushing as much snow off the boy as she could. Feeling his forehead and feeling it burn beneath her hand.

"Dad, he has a fever!"

"Yang, Double-Time!" Tai barked.

"They're on their way!" Yang hollered back.

Ruby, wrapped her hands around one of the boy's free ones, hoping that she wasn't too late to save him.

The two girls were told to wait in the kitchen when the doctor came in with a familiar face trailing behind him. That person being Qrow Branwen, Yang and Ruby's uncle. He had apparently been in town and was planning to visit when he heard that a doctor was being dispatched to their home, fearing the worse he followed him there.

When Taiyang came in, Yang perked up while Ruby looked worriedly at him.

"Is he-?" She began.

"He'll be alright, you're lucky you found him when you did, Ruby."

Ruby sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off her brow with one of her free hands.

"That being said though, where did you find him?"

Tai asked her daughter.

She immediately recounted everything that had happened after her journey to her mother's grave including the fight with some juvenile Beowolves, grabbing the empty casings from crescent rose to be recycled, and then stumbling upon the boy laying behind a tree before bringing him back home with her.

Qrow then interjected at the end of her story,

"Are you sure there wasn't anything out of the ordinary out there when you found him?"

She was about to shake her head only to recall the weather briefly picking up for a moment before returning to normal just a moment before she stumbled upon the boy. After explaining that little tidbit to her Uncle and Father with her Uncle seeming interested the most by this revelation.

"Alright then…" Qrow trailed off before turning to his former teammate and brother-in-law, "Tai, I'll head out and meet up with a few of my associates maybe they'll know something."

Taiyang understood what that meant; He was going to meet with Headmaster Ozpin and his allies.

"You'll need these then." Tai-Yang handed Qrow a plastic bag that held the weird headset and rubber suit he was wearing when the doctor came in. It was a pain in the neck to figure out how to get the suit off at first until Qrow managed to spot the button on the wrist on the skin-tight outfit before zipping it off. The headset on the other hand appeared to be literally embedded into part of his head, not deep enough to cause permanent injury but there were scars and a bit of dry blood to indicate that the boy wore it more than once.

Qrow nodded, took the bag in one hand, took a swig from his canteen from the other before heading outside. A moment later out of sight from both Tai and his kids, he transformed into a bird and flew off towards Beacon Academy.

Tai hoped that Qrow or Ozpin knew something about where the kid came from and how he got here but something deep in his gut told him that there was something off about him. For now, he would keep a discreet eye on the boy and so would his two daughters, not knowing how the boy would change his younger daughter's life and vice-versa.

Warm…

He felt warm…

He wasn't in the Eva anymore but…where was he?

As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling of…a cabin of some sort, maybe? That was odd, if he remembered correctly there weren't a lot of wooden structures in Tokyo-3 apart from a few Shinto shrines and a handful of locations with traditional architecture. So where was he then? How long was he out cold? And why…he paused, he instantly noticed that he didn't feel the skintight sensation of his plug suit nor did he feel the minute spike of pain on his scalp from the A10 Nerve clips. What happened to him while he was out? Did someone find him? If so, why wasn't he at NERV headquarters?

Slowly, with a groan he tried to crane upwards only to feel opposition from his aching limbs. He must have been unconscious longer than he thought.

"Oh?" He heard a feminine voice to his right, and slowly turned his head in that direction. Instantly after he turned towards the source of the sound there was a sudden whoosh of air and the only thing left were a few rose petals…

Then he heard a pair of muffled feminine voices up above him, one being higher-pitched and younger while the other sounded slightly lower, indicating that one of them was older. Sisters, maybe?

He rose up, his arms slipping out from underneath the blanket he now just noticed and found that he wasn't laying on a bed but rather a comfy couch with a pillow behind his head for comfort. He turned to his left at the sound of descending footsteps to see who it was.

He saw a glimpse of a red…cape? No, it was a cloak or something like that while behind that was a mane of long blonde almost golden hair that would've put Asuka's fiery red locks to shame.

"See, sis? I told you!"

The girl he heard earlier was indeed wearing a red cloak of some sort over a dark-colored almost gothic Lolita-themed outfit that was primarily black and red. She was petite, though she was probably taller than him, her hair was black but near the tips it transitioned into red, maybe it was dyed somehow? He knew better then to ask though, after all it could be natural much like Ayanami's unusually blue hair. However, the girl's eyes were what caught his attention the most, unlike Ayanami's red eyes, this girl had silver ones instead.

The taller blonde behind her was older and her outfit reminded him of bikers from those American films Misato had on video. Her long untamed blonde hair, her lilac-colored eyes and her tall buxom build would put Asuka to shame. Though, Shinji thought it seemed farfetched to think she and the redhead were siblings especially since they looked vastly different in terms of appearance and garments but then again he wasn't one to talk considering how many people thought he looked so different from his father.

"Hey there." The older girl said, a small smile on her lips. She came forward, with the girl in red following behind her.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

Shinji only managed to croak out one word: "Tired." He only just realized how hoarse his voice was and adding on to that was a sensation of his dry throat. How long had he been out of commission?

The blonde gave an understanding nod before asking another question:

"Can we get you anything?"

"Water. Please." He said. The blonde nodded again,

"I'll grab you a glass." She then turned to the girl in red, "Sis, keep an eye on him."

"Right."

So, he was right, they were actually sisters. He wondered who among the staff of NERV they were related to, if they had any business with NERV to begin with that is. However, if they didn't then why did they bring him here? He had so many questions to ask and very answers thus far.

"Hey." He heard the girl in red call to him, kneeling next to him as she brought her hand towards him.

"What are you-" He never got to finish asking his question as the back of her hand touched his forehead, she narrowed her eyes thoughtfully before doing the same gesture with his cheeks, first the left then the right before she sighed in relief.

"Good, your fever is gone. I was pretty worried about it after I found you in the forest."

Forest? Was she referring to one of the wooded areas in the GeoFront? The blonde came back with a glass of water as he requested and handed it to him.

"Here you go."

He took the glass and began with small sips, then after some deliberation he began slowly drinking the entire glass of water. His throat felt relief as the cool liquid raced down and ended up in his belly.

When he was done, he held the glass in his hands and gave a deep sigh, he must have been out longer than he thought.

He turned to the two sisters and nodded.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," The blonde said with a nod, "So what's your name? Mine's Yang Xiao Long…" She said pointing to herself, "And this is my younger sister Ruby Rose. She's the one that found you out in the woods." She finished pointing to the younger silver-eyed redhead beside her.

He nodded, "My name is…Ikari Shinji."

Ruby tilted her head for a moment in confusion.

"That's a weird first na- "

"Ruby, it's Mistralian." Yang corrected her as she grabbed her sister's shoulder, "Remember? The surname goes first followed by the first name."

"Oh, right!" Ruby said, "Sorry about that." She said as she scratched the back of her neck nervously.

"I-It's fine." Shinji said.

"Anyway, where am I?" He asked, "I don't remember the GeoFront having any cabins like this."

His question was met with a pair of confused looks from both girls. If they were foreigners here in Tokyo-3 then surely, they'd know what the GeoFront was.

"This…This is the GeoFront, right?" Shinji asked, now beginning to feel a bit nervous at the lack of answers. Ruby looked more inquisitive though.

"What's the GeoFront?" Ruby asked.

Shinji didn't know what to say at first, but he decided to answer to the best of his ability.

"The GeoFront, you know the underground area below Tokyo-3 where NERV headquarters is located?"

He was met with more confusion.

"We've never heard of Tokyo-3, is it a Village in Mistral?" Yang asked.

"N-No, No! It's a city in the country of Japan. You've never heard of NERV either? They're the organization with the Evangelions, t-the giant robots meant for fighting angels."

"Why would you fight angels though?" Ruby asked as she cringed, "I mean they're supposed to watch over us and help us, right Yang?" Yang though confused, nodded with her sister in agreement.

"They're not like the angels from myth and legends," Shinji said shaking his head as fragmented memories of his various battles with the angels flashed into his mind, "They're monsters, giant monsters that attack Tokyo-3 so they can destroy humanity. I mean they're the reason why second impact occurred fourteen years ago. Doesn't any of this ring a bell to either of you?!"

Yang and Ruby looked at one another, both unsure of how to respond at first. An underground base beneath a city that is run by an organization with giant robots fighting monsters named after mythological servants of the gods. That sounded crazy to both of them as there was no way any of those things could be real. The closest things they had to giant monsters were some of the larger creatures of Grimm and as for giant robots…Well, maybe the Kingdom of Atlas had their own giant robots but even then, they would be fairly hush-hush about any sort of projects like that.

To Yang, It was the sort of thing that would come out of a little kid whose read too many comics or watched too many cartoons but Shinji didn't seem to be that childish and the look on his face wasn't like someone whose had their dreams trampled on but it was more like he had honestly been exposed or seen something like that. The only real proof they had was the suit and the weird headset he had on when Ruby brought him in but Qrow took both of them with him to have some friends take a look at them.

She gulped a bit of saliva down nervously before looking at him.

"Shinji…you're on the Island of Patch, my younger sister Ruby found you in the middle of the forest when it was snowing."

Suddenly, the boy jumped to attention. Yang inwardly prepared to restrain him just in case he was mentally unhinged, but it didn't seem like Shinji was about to have a breakdown of some sort, in fact he seemed surprised.

"Snow?" Shinji asked almost out of surprise but also out of shock. It hasn't snowed in Japan in over fourteen years, not since second impact occurred! He'd seen videos of it from those old movies Misato had but it was one of the few things he never experienced since he was born after second impact.

"I-Is it really snowing outside?" He asked curiously. He dared not hope that it was…

Yang seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering,

"Yes."

Shinji had to see for himself, a part of him felt fear that she was lying to him but another tiny part of him felt excitement. He slowly got up from his bed, not acknowledging the foreign clothes he was wearing before standing up, his first step forward was unsteady but Ruby managed to catch him. She was about to sit him back down before he looked into her eyes and begged,

"P-Please! I have to see…"

Despite seeing Yang shake her head no, Ruby helped Shinji steady himself and she helped him walked towards the sliding doors to the back yard. When he saw the white powdery dots coming down, he nearly fell on his ass, only for Ruby to help steady him again. He couldn't believe it, he absolutely couldn't belief what he was seeing. His breathing picked up as he felt something stir in his heart. He quickly slid the door open and took two steps out. He froze when he felt the cold dampness under his foot and underneath his toes and he couldn't help but shudder at the foreign feeling. He stuck his right hand out and he managed to cup a few flakes in his hand before they slowly melted away. He looked around and he saw the white was falling everywhere he could see outside. One the ground, in the trees, on his shoulders, his feet, and his hair. There was only one word that came out of his mouth to describe such an experience.

"Beautiful…" He fell to his knees as tears of both sadness and joy rolled down his face. The sadness was for the fear he once felt of never being able to experience such a thing in his life while the joy was for finally being able to do so. And as the whiplash of emotions overwhelmed him, he fell to his knees and cried.

This…this was not what Yang was expecting. Had Shinji never seen snow before? She could imagine some people might feel excited to experience it for the first time, such as the case with a transfer student from the desert Kingdom of Vacuo she met at Signal. But…this was different…So much so that she didn't know what to do.

Thankfully she didn't have to do anything because as soon as Shinji fell to his knees, her younger sister Ruby ran down and hugged him, rubbing his hair and rocking him back and forth much like she used to do with her after Summer Rose, her step-mother and Ruby's biological mother passed away. Shinji accepted the hug and even returned it back to the redhead.

He didn't know where he was, how he got here, or whether or not he'd be able to get back to Tokyo-3 but all the trauma he felt throughout his life from his mother's death, to his father abandoning him, to the battles with the angels that became painful with each encounter, to the verbal and physical abuse he received from Asuka. All of it, began to melt away and for the first time in his life he felt a flicker of hope.

It has been a few days since Shinji came into the lives of the Xiao Long-Rose family and so far, he seemed to be fitting in. Despite the fact the story about him being a pilot of a giant robot fighting against giant monsters was considered the stuff of science fiction, it wasn't until Qrow Branwen came back that light was shed on the boy's situation. The boy's suit had a number of devices ranging from vital sign monitors to a built-in defibrillator and after the techies at Beacon went through it, they found a recording device and they managed to pull a bunch of data from it including some video files. The videos themselves were more than enough proof backing up the boy's story, but it also revealed something more startling: He was from another world.

Shinji was both relieved and nervous about what Qrow showed them. Relieved that he would be taken seriously because there was solid proof about him being a giant robot pilot but at the same time, he was nervous about whether he would face verbal, physical, or emotional pain by their hands. To his surprise though they took it better than he thought they would.

At least, that's what he thought about it. Both Yang and Ruby had both pulled him into bear-hugs with the former trying her best not to cry while the other was openly bawling, not because he upset them but because they honestly felt sorry for him.

However, he himself was trying to come to terms with the fact he was stranded, probably permanently in an unfamiliar world. One where he would never see Misato, Rei, Touji, or Kensuke again. Taiyang and Qrow were doing their best to help him adapt, teaching him as much as they could about the world of Remnant including Dust, the creatures of Grimm, the Kingdoms, the Faunus, as well as huntsmen and huntresses. But they weren't always around thanks to the fact they had their jobs as instructors at Signal Academy which was one of the schools for huntsmen and huntresses-in-training before they moved on to learn at one of the primary academies. Yang also wasn't always available because she was training in preparation of her attendance at Beacon as well and she was apparently running personal errands of her own.

However, there was one person around that was in the household the most in between classes at Signal and her own training was none other than Ruby Rose. She may not be as knowledgeable as her Uncle Qrow or her Father, but she gave him a basic rundown of what he needed to know and answered any questions he had about Remnant and she also offered to have him study with her just to get a better grasp on certain subjects and expand on his own knowledge.

Sometimes in exchange for this Ruby would ask him questions about Earth and despite the fact he wasn't as knowledgeable about his own world like his Father, Dr. Akagi, Misato, or Vice Commander Fuyutsuki he was also able to give her his own understanding of how things were back in his world.

Slowly they became fond of each other's presence and it was interesting for Taiyang, Qrow, and Yang to see how they worked together. In fact, when Shinji admitted to being able to cook, Ruby offered to help make dinner with him and the result was a hearty and delicious meal for both the chefs and the other members of the household.

However, it wasn't until after he saw Ruby practice using her scythe that he showed a minute interest in hunting himself. Despite the fact he hated piloting the Eva, he did feel as though he needed to protect those that were important to him. He wouldn't have saved Touji and Kensuke during the battle with Shamshel nor would he have tried to check on Rei after the final battle with Ramiel if he didn't. Though he was hesitant to voice this interest due to the fact he was reluctant to face any sort of physical or emotional pain that might come from that line of work.

Eventually though, after hearing that Yang's transfer to Beacon Academy was recently approved, he decided to take a risk.

"Taiyang-san?" Shinji asked as the man finished putting away some groceries.

"Hey Shinji, what is it?" The man asked amenably.

"I was wondering if could ask you something…"

"Shoot." The man said.

"Is there any way I could learn to become a huntsman?"

He noticed the man pause and he winced, inwardly wondering if he struck a nerve or upset him before the man turned around with a neutral expression on his face.

"What brought this on?" The blonde asked.

Shinji stuttered a bit at first, trying to formulate what he was going to say next. He honestly didn't expect him to be open, he was worried he'd face rejection at which point he'd submit to him but the fact that didn't happen was encouraging for him.

"Well…" The boy began hesitantly at first before he sighed, "You've seen the footage of me piloting the Eva, right?" He asked.

Taiyang gave a nod.

"Well, even though I hated piloting it I-I did it because I wanted to protect everyone."

"Everyone?" Taiyang asked.

"Yeah and Touji, Kensuke, Asuka, and Rei could've died during our sorties, but I didn't want that to happen and I did my best to make sure that didn't happen."

Shinji closed his eyes,

"Also, I'm tired of running away from things that could cause me pain like a coward and I don't want anyone else to face the sort of pain I did when I was piloting the Eva either. Trust me when I say this, but n-nobody deserves to go through that, and they shouldn't have to."

Shinji lost count of the times he ran away from situations or people that have or could inflict pain upon him. He even had that mantra, "I mustn't run away." With him for so long it was like a broken record that had been going on and on and on inside his head that it was drilled into his very brain and to be honest he hated it. He hated being a coward and to hear people call him one stung because truthfully, he was one.

He was a coward.

"Shinji."

His musings were interrupted by Taiyang's voice. He looked up to see the man giving him not a frown, a scowl but rather a small honest smile.

"You've got a good heart and your honest. Those are the two qualities a real huntsman needs out in the field." The blonde man ruffled the boy's hair friendlily.

"Now…" He began. "If you do choose to go down this route, I can personally guarantee you it won't be easy, you'll be busting your ass training and learning how to fight. While you do have some combat experience piloting that robot of yours, you obviously don't have any combat experience outside of the cockpit. You're going to have a hell of a time trying to make it to at least Ruby's level of training and you'll be shedding blood, sweat, and tears until you get there. So, let me ask you this; Are you sure you want to be a huntsman?"

Shinji felt a bit of excitement in his chest, Taiyang was going to give him the opportunity to become a huntsman, a protector of not only his new friends here on Remnant but everyone else as well. With determination in his eyes he nodded.

"Yes, I do."

Taiyang chuckled and gave the boy a pat on his shoulder, "Well, I guess we better get started then."

Several Months Later…

It had a been a while since Taiyang began training Shinji and so far, the former Evangelion pilot was making a tremendous amount of progress. On the first day of training, the older blonde unlocked his aura and after having Shinji's aura measured at Signal Academy it was found that he had almost the same amount of aura as Yang. Afterwards though the real training began with all sorts of physical exercises to get him in shape ranging from push-ups, to sit-ups, to pull-ups, to running laps around the house, to even lifting weights, which the boy did until he was exhausted. It wasn't all that bad though, if anything it was much more rigorous than the physical education classes he had back in Tokyo-3. Also, he received encouragement from not only Taiyang but also Ruby as well.

It was only after a few weeks of this that Taiyang decided to take him to Signal to figure out what weapon Shinji would use. He was startingly adept at using assault rifles, being able to handle the recoil of one much to his surprise. It could be chalked up to the fact that one of the weapons his Evangelion was equipped with the most for sorties were palette rifles, but Shinji humbly thought it was just coincidental. Regardless, he now had a general idea about what type of weapon he could build.

That left Shinji to try and design a weapon of his own but unfortunately, he lacked the skills necessary to properly design and build one. Thankfully, however he got help from Ruby who not only was also a huntress-in-training but also much to his amusement and Ruby's pouting a "weapons nerd" according to Yang. Jokes and teasing aside, Ruby did manage to help Shinji design, forge, and assemble his weapon which Shinji named after the composer of one his favorite tunes he played on the Cello: Bach's Cello Suit No. 1.

Ruby also was one of Shinji's sparring partners as he learned to get a hang of his weapon and whenever the redhead wasn't sparring with him, he was either practicing his skills against the Grimm alongside her or on his own. As of now he was at Ruby's level and though he wasn't officially a student at Signal Academy he was however Taiyang's unofficial apprentice.

Today was one of the few days he had time to himself and despite wanting to continue studying on his own, Ruby mentioned wanting to go into the city and had asked if he wanted to come with her. He refused at first though after a bit of begging as well as being on the receiving end of her puppy-eyes much to his amusement he reluctantly caved in and joined her. A part of him did want to see more of Vale since he had only been there a handful of times with Taiyang.

There was also the fact he admittedly was fond of the silver-eyed reaper's presence and she had grown on him ever since they met. True, she tended to be energetic, immature, and equally as naïve as he could be at times, but she is also honest, innocent, kind, and cute. Though he wouldn't mention that last part out loud for fear of accidentally upsetting her or facing more insufferable teasing…or any sort of anger from Yang.

However, both of their lives changed after they stopped a robbery of the store "From Dust 'Till Dawn" by Roman Torchwick and some hired thugs. While they managed to take down the criminal mastermind's mooks, a huntress intervened when he nearly killed both teens, and in the end the bad guys got away while both Shinji and Ruby were dragged by away by that huntress to a police station interrogation room. She chided them for putting their own lives as well as the lives of others in danger, she said that they would've gotten a pat on the back and a slap on the wrist for their actions but instead they ended up meeting Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy instead. He was impressed by Ruby's fighting skills and he recognized her fighting style because it was like Qrow Branwen's own style. Shinji on the other hand was something of a person of interest due to his circumstances and his origin to the point that Ozpin admitted that he several of his allies had been discreetly monitoring him for some time especially once he began training to become huntsmen, much to the boy's chagrin.

It was then that the headmaster asked if Ruby Rose would like to join Beacon Academy, a once in lifetime opportunity for her to attend the school of her dreams early. Her answer: "More than anything…" at which point Ozpin agreed to invite her. Shinji was given a similar offer although this one came from the blonde-haired huntress Glynda Goodwitch, she offered to not only offered to officially make him her apprentice but also to adopt him as her child and act as a counsellor of sorts. Touched by her compassion and happy to have the same opportunity as his friend, he accepted her offer.

Beacon became their new home with the initiation coming and going by as quickly as it came. Ruby Rose was now leader of team RWBY. Her teammates included her partner, the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company Weiss Schnee, the mysterious bookworm Blake Belladonna, and her partner as well as their leader's busty blonde-haired brawler of a sister Yang Xiao Long. Shinji himself wasn't part of a team since he was Glynda's apprentice but he was available as an auxiliary for the other first year teams if he was ever needed. This gave him the opportunity to interact with his fellow first years including those among Team RWBY and Team JNPR.

Their first semester at Beacon was not without its own issues with tensions between Ruby and Weiss arising due to the fact the latter thought she not Ruby should be leader due to her upbringing, her training, her age, and out of jealousy. Thankfully, after both received their own respective lectures from Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Port they buried the hatchet and things began to calm down. There was also the issue of Blake's heritage as a Faunus as well as her affiliation to the peaceful Faunus-rights group turned terrorist organization The White Fang which lead to a rift between Blake and Weiss. Thankfully this was resolved after Ruby and Blake along with their newfound friends Penny Polendina and Sun Wukong managed to stop a heist by Roman Torchwick and the White Fang.

The second semester was ongoing, with the only real incident of note so far being team RWBY getting into another tussle with Roman Torchwick and the White Fang. Meanwhile, the Beacon Dance that was going to be hosted for upcoming the Vytal Festival was scheduled and with Team CFVY unable to continue preparations because of how their mission was extended that left a handful of volunteers from the first years to finish in their stead. This would inevitably lead up to them having two questions: Who was going to dance? And who had a date?

Ruby was glum, not because of Torchwick and the White Fang getting away after their latest encounter but because of how she was worried about Blake. The Faunus hadn't been sleeping lately and instead had been obsessed with how Torchwick was working with the White Fang and was she was fruitlessly digging through whatever information she could find to determine their plans and intentions. She didn't know how to help her especially since she was the older girl's leader.

She was shook out of her sadness when a certain dust company heiress slammed her hands onto the table. Thankfully said heiress wasn't upset and instead she was smiling.

"I need you to pick a tablecloth."

Weiss slid two tablecloths in front of the girl and after a quick glance at both and she was confused because they were both completely identical, down to their size, color and material.

"Aren't they both the same?" She asked.

Weiss groaned, crushing one of them in her hand.

"I don't even know why I asked!"

"What's the matter?" They were interrupted by the arrival of Shinji, who was carrying a hot pot with something inside. Weiss told him about how Ruby thought both tablecloths she wanted Ruby to choose for the party were the same much to annoyance.

Curious, the boy took a glance at both and gave her an apologetic glance.

"To be honest Weiss, they do look completely identical to one another."

Weiss clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"I see…and what is that you have there?"

Upon seeing her pointing to his cargo, he dropped it temporarily on the table next to Ruby.

"Ah, I asked Goodwitch-sensei about whether we could bring our own food to the party and when she said yes, I made a few batches of chicken curry that'll be served at the dance."

Weiss knew that the boy had surprisingly…satisfying culinary skills when he cooked dinner for Team RWBY, Team JNPR, himself, and Professor Goodwitch to celebrate the end of the previous semester but the fact that he made a meal for such a large gathering is impressive.

"It's good to see that we aren't the only ones whose helping out."

"Yeah…" Ruby muttered as she stared back down into the table only barely acknowledging how the room shook when Yang dropped a massive speaker behind her.

"What's the matter, Ruby?" Shinji asked.

The redhead was about to speak but was interrupted by her sister coming in from the left, patting off imaginary dust on her hands.

"So, have you picked out a dress yet?"

"What's the point? Who cares about the dance if Blake isn't going?"

Yang kept smiling however,

"Oh, don't worry." She reassured her sibling with one of her trademark grins, "She's going."

Shinji frowned when he heard that.

"I don't think Blake will appreciate you dragging her here."

"Nah, I'm not going to drag her away. I'm just going to talk to her, that's all."

"Ah." Shinji said, "I see."

"That being said though…what about you?"

"What about me?"

"I mean are you coming to the dance?"

Shinji seemed to cringe a little he heard that. The closest thing he's had to parties were the ones Misato occasionally hosted after an angel was defeated but then again it was a small, casual affair. Besides himself, his guardian, and the two fellow pilots the only other ones that were invited were Touji, Kensuke, and Hikari with Dr. Akagi and Kaji sometimes joining in as well. The Beacon Dance on the other hand would be more formal and larger than any celebratory party that his superior officer threw with a hell of a lot more people. He honestly found the idea of being around that many people to be discomforting not to mention that-

"Hello? Remnant to Shinji."

"Oh, sorry about that." He shook his head, inwardly cursing out how introspective he's tended to be since he arrived on Remnant.

"To be honest Yang…I'm not sure if I'll be attending."

That admission caught the attention of all three girls in the room.

"Why not?" Weiss asked.

"W-Well, I'm not really great with crowds of people." A partial truth.

"You can stick us if you want, none of us would mind." Yang said as Weiss and Ruby nodded in agreement.

"I'm also not that great at dancing either." Shinji said as he rubbed his arm and looked away in embarrassment.

"Not everyone is." Weiss chimed in, "I used to have the same problem when I was at formal events hosted by my family as a kid."

"Yeah, well you also had tutors and your sister to help you out with that, Weiss." Yang said.

"Point." Weiss didn't bother arguing with that.

Shinji gave a nod, he appreciated that they were understanding about his situation and he found that it was growing more and more harder to refuse joining in. There was still one problem though…

"There's also the fact that I don't have date, I know Sun has been interested in asking Blake and I know that Yang is probably going with her too while Weiss has Jaune…" Weiss gave the boy a warning glare, "I-I mean Neptune!" He quickly corrected himself then she smiled and nodded approvingly. The Schnee Heiress had found Arc's attempts to woo her in the past to be annoying but his persistent attempts to ask her to be his date to the dance was becoming insufferable, but she digressed.

"And so far, the only girls who've asked me to be their date to dance so far were more interested in the fact I was Goodwitch-Sensei's apprentice more than anything."

Weiss clicked her tongue in disgust while Yang gave the boy a pitying look. The Schnee heiress wasn't unfamiliar with those types of people, having faced a fair number of boys (as well as a few girls) who've attempted to court her because of her own status rather than herself as a person. Yang on the other hand felt sorry for the boy, he'd already been damaged enough by what happened to him on Earth and he didn't deserve a bunch of shallow bitches trying to use him as trophy to flaunt around.

That was when an idea popped into Yang's head, she knew of one girl who'd be a perfect date for him. Someone who not only knew him as a person but also was not only single but also to the blonde's knowledge had a tiny crush on the boy. And the girl in question happened to be in the very room with them.

"Why don't you and Ruby go together?"

"WHAT?!"

Yang had to stifle her laughter; their reaction was just priceless! She had to resist the impulse to tease the daylights out of them for it, both of them were lightly blushing and shocked that she would throw such a suggestion out into the wind, but she knew that they would be a perfect for each other.

Grinning from ear to ear she continued,

"I mean seriously, why don't you two go together? I mean you've known each other for nearly a year now and it's not like either of you have dates of your own either."

Despite whatever protests both the former Evangelion Pilot and the Silver-Eyed Reaper might've had they had to admit that Yang had a point.

Yang chuckled, "Just give it a thought you two." She gave them a wink before turning to get back to the preparations only for her smirk to turn into a frown, yelling at Weiss about her bring out some doilies which lead to her arguing with the Schnee Heiress.

Ruby and Shinji turned to face one another.

They weren't romantically involved with one another, but they had fought together, trained together, and studied together to the point that they were close to one another much like how Nora Valkyrie was close to Lie Ren and vice-versa. Shinji was the only friend Ruby had from her time at Signal Academy that got to join her at Beacon while on the other side of the coin Ruby had saved Shinji from freezing to death. Both wanted to protect people, especially those that were close to them.

"Well, do you think we should do it?" Ruby asked with uncertainty.

"As long as you don't mind." Shinji replied.

"I don't."

"O-Okay."

Small smiles slowly formed on their faces as a pleasant feeling grew inside their hearts.

The Beacon Dance has just begun, and Yang Xiao Long was up front near the entrance as receptionist in her outfit for the dance; A short, white halter dress with grey hemming that worked well with her bright hair and skin as well as tasteful high-heeled white pumps. She gave her long blonde locks a quick flick with her right hand as she waited for more people to arrive and she wasn't disappointed as her younger sister came into the door.

"Oh, you look beautiful!" The blonde squealed.

Ruby was wearing a short red sleeveless dress with black trim along the bottom, a translucent mesh in between sections of the hem, collar, and the split bodice that had black lacing wrapped in between it. She had a black sash wrapped around her mid-section, black stockings and matching high-heeled pumps with the latter causing her to groan in discomfort.

"Can we talk about how Weiss fights in these?" The girl whined, nearly stumbling forward as her older sister giggled at her.

"Not funny!" The redhead pouted as she lost her balance and stumbled backward…

"Whoa, you okay?" Only to be caught by her date.

Shinji was wearing a light blue button-up dress shirt with a navy-blue tie around his neck, a matching waistcoat and matching dress pants. He had brown leather shoes with brown laces and a matching belt with a silver buckle.

Ruby gave him a nod as a small blush formed on her face as Shinji helped her back up and steadied her while Yang gave him an impressed whistle.

"Damn, you look nice!"

"Y-yeah, thanks." Shinji said as he rubbed his left arm bashfully with a matching smile and a small blush to boot at the blonde's compliment, completely unaware that Ruby quietly agreed with her sister. However, once they heard one of the songs in the air switch to another waltz, they realized that they still had a dance to attend. Shinji cleared his throat while Ruby straightened out her dress, it was now or never.

"May I have this dance?" Shinji asked with a bow and Ruby gave him a curtsy in response before the boy nervously positioned his right hand under the girl's left arm pit while his partner placed her left arm upon her right with her hand resting on his upper arm before both gently intertwining their free hands together. They started awkwardly at first due to the redhead's difficulty moving in heels, but thankfully the brunette acknowledged that and slowed down his own pacing to match her own ignoring that they were slightly out of rhythm with the music in the background.

Slowly but surely though they got the hang of it and they were dancing in rhythm with everyone else there. They did stop once though, mainly so they could acknowledge that a certain cat Faunus had joined the party and she was there alongside the Monkey Faunus Sun Wukong. However, instead of joining him for the first dance. They were together for a few minutes before both bowed out with Yang going to join Weiss, Ruby, and Shinji and Blake accepting Sun instead. The black-haired Faunus laughed with Sun as they were dancing and gave a quick appreciate glance at her teammates.

"I told you she would come." Yang said reassuringly and smugly.

"Mission Accomplished." Weiss agreed.

"So…what do we do now?" Ruby asked.

"Just have fun!" Yang waved her off, going in one direction while Weiss in the opposite one.

"Uh…girls?" Shinji asked in uncertainty. He and Ruby already danced longer than all the others did but now they weren't too sure.

"Uh, does that mean I can change of these stupid things and into my hood now?" She asked her teammates as they were out of reach, she tried walking forward only to grunt about "Lady Stilts".

"Sorry, Ruby…" Shinji apologized.

"N-No, No! It's okay, it's alright…" She said sheepishly.

"Do you want to head back to the dorms?" Shinji asked.

"I'm not sure but- "

"Not enjoying yourselves?"

They perked up at the sound of their Headmaster's voice as he approached from their right flank, a small smile on his face.

"No. Everything's fine." Ruby said with a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah, same here." Shinji did the same.

"Though I'm not much of a dansey, pansy, dancy girl." The girl whimpered to him.

"I can understand that," Shinji nodded in agreement, "Too be honest, I've never been in big dances or events like this before so it's a bit of a culture shock for me…" He rubbed his right upper arm nervously.

Thankfully, Ozpin understood as he turned to watch the other dancers.

"Well, you can't spend your entire life on the battlefield. Even if you may want to."

"True." Shinji muttered.

"Yeah, that lesson has been floating around a lot lately." Ruby crossed her arms and scowled in frustration. She was tired of being chided for not only her actions but the actions of her team. Not to mention the fact that she'd prefer fighting over dancing any day.

"If you think about it, fighting and dancing aren't so different." Ozpin said as he pointed towards the dancers, "Two partners interlocked." He chuckled while both Shinji and Ruby had a warm fuzzy feeling churning in their chests, the same one they had when they were dancing together.

"Although, one wrong move on the ballroom merely leads to a swollen foot."

"…Or a twisted ankle." Ruby and Shinji muttered synchronously, leading to both looking at each other with blushes and then quickly sputtering out apologies to one another much to their headmaster's amusement.

"It's not every day that friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds but it's nights like these that can help keep them stronger than ever."

"Nights like these are ones we'll never forget." Ruby smiled and Shinji couldn't help but glance at it out of the corner of his eye. 'She has such a beautiful smile.' A small part of him ached because he was unsure about telling her how he felt about the older girl, mostly for the fear of being rejected and abandoned…again.

He shook his head as Ruby went upstairs to meet up with Yang after the last of the students and staff and arrived. Leaving him alone with Headmaster Ozpin at least until he began to depart.

"Enjoy the rest of your evening, Mr. Ikari."

Perhaps…maybe he can help.

"Headmaster?"

The man turned back around to face his student.

"I was wondering…" The boy exhaled, clearing his mind before moving forward, "Do you have any advice you'd be willing to give me about…" He paused, "…Romance?" The boy nervously drawled out.

Ozpin furrowed his brow, taking a quick glance back at Ruby Rose meeting with her sister Yang Xiao Long then turning back to Shinji with a brow raised before the boy nodded, a small blush on his face. The man chuckled, though he considered himself to be the last person that anyone would go to for relationship advice he was more than willing to help the former Evangelion pilot with a chance at happiness.

"Well, here is what you should do…"

As Ruby bowed to a guest that was leaving, she heard the voice of her date calling her name.

"Shinji?"

"Ruby, I'm sorry to bother you but I was wondering if we could talk."

"Talk? About what?" She wondered what he needed to talk about, she was about to call it a night after all.

"I-I just need to tell you something, that's all." What could he possibly want to tell her? Ruby thought for a moment about what the boy would want to talk about with very few things coming to her mind except…

Could he…could he be trying to confess to her? She did have a crush on the boy even though she denied whatever teasing Yang threw her way about the subject but that pleasant warmth she had whenever she was around him or looking at him grew after they first met. Ruby honestly thought she wasn't cut out to be Shinji's girlfriend though which lead to her inwardly dismissing the thought, 'I mean I'm one-year older him, I'm a weapons geek and I'm just a girl with normal knees after all! He's piloted a giant robot and fought against giant monsters that weren't Grimm.' She paused

'Then again…I did help build his weapon, I studied with him, I've trained and sparred with him, and we both are here at Beacon together. That and even though he piloted that giant robot, he never really liked it at all, probably because it hurt but maybe…Maybe he wants to be someone with normal knees too…"

Rather than dwelling on it, she made the wise decision to continue their discussion elsewhere, as it was hard to talk to him with the energetic music in the background.

"Right, um…can we talk outside? It's getting a little too loud in here for me."

"Oh, not a problem." He said as he grimaced, "The music is starting to give me a bit of a headache too."

So, with that they exited the ballroom and Shinji began to speak only for Ruby to stop at the sight of something- No, someone in black clothing hoping along the rooftops of one of the dorm buildings.

"Ruby? What's wrong-" The silver-eyed girl pointed towards the roof and the attention of his gray-blue eyes were drawn towards the same target.

"Later then?" He asked quickly.

"Yeah." Ruby said.

Soon they followed the target hopping from the rooftop until they lost visual sight of her near the CCT Tower, so they went towards it to investigate with Ruby up front and Shinji trailing behind her. However, at the sight of an Atlesian Soldier laying on his back near the stairway that is when things became serious. Shinji darted towards the man and quickly checked his pulse while Ruby pulled out her scroll.

"He's still breathing."

The boy heard a loud whoosh echo through the air before a crash caught his attention, it was one of the student lockers which popped open to reveal a folded Crescent Rose.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ruby asked.

Shinji stood up and pulled out his scroll, and with a quick flick on an application, he heard and saw another locker crashing down and popping open with Bach at the ready.

"Yeah…" Ruby darted forward to grab Crescent Rose, unfolded it, and loaded it with a fresh cartridge while Shinji grabbed Bach and slapped a fresh clip into it.

"Can you cover me?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, lead the way." Shinji said with a nod.

Thus, they quickly made their way to the CCT tower in pursuit of the mysterious intruder.

Cinder Fall couldn't help but smile to herself after a job well-done. She managed to incapacitate the guards at the CCT Tower and she managed to upload the virus to the system, this meant the final phase of her mistress' plan would be ready just in time for the end of the Tournament after which the Siege of Beacon could begin.

She stood up from the seat at the CCT Terminal and was about to leave until she heard the arrival of the elevator which caused her to quickly dart into cover. Who could possibly be interrupting her now? She managed to take all the guards down and she highly doubted that Ironwood could make it to the CCT tower that fast. Perhaps Ozpin was clever enough to put in a silent alarm in place or something, in which case things could become troublesome.

She listened as the door opened and two sets of footsteps came out, one in high-heels and the other in shoes.

"Hello?" Young more than likely female judging by the doppler effect of her heels clacking. Cinder had to hold back a snort of amusement when she heard the girl stumble a bit in her heels.

"Is anyone there?" Another equally young voice and though it seemed meek it was definitely a male.

So, a pair of students were here, more than likely they saw her handiwork downstairs. A bit irritating but nothing she couldn't handle.

"Hello?" She heard the female voice get closer and smirked, perhaps she could have a little fun with them. Slowly she stood up, getting the attention of both individuals.'

"Excuse me?" The female asked again, nervous perhaps? Cinder took two slow strides to the right out of cover, getting a glimpse at both of her opponents.

'The Kids from The Dust Robbery.' She remembered how a simple dust heist by Roman Torchwick went foul one night because of two kids, a hunter and huntress-in-training who were inside when the robbery began. They managed to take down the hired hands from Hei 'Junior' Xiong and they managed to catch up to Torchwick after he jumped onboard the bullhead Cinder was flying. Roman tried to eliminate them, a professional huntress intervened but eventually Cinder managed to get the three off their back so she and Roman could escape. She saw that they were both armed with the same weapons they had during her previous encounter with them and were more than ready to use them despite being in formal wear.

"You know it's not a masquerade party." She pulled out a canister of dust and focused power into her semblance, "So why don't you take off that- "

And quickly she sprayed the dust into the air and used her semblance to form them into solid crystal shards aimed at both of them.

"Look Out!" The boy shouted and then she fired them out with a shockwave. The girl's eyes widened for a second but she managed to quickly twirl her scythe around to slash or deflect the shards away from her while a mysterious force-field, most likely a product of the boy's semblance formed in front of him and the shards quickly shattered harmlessly off it.

The redhead planted the blade of her weapon down and fired several semi-automatic shots at her while the brunette released a burst of shots of fully automatic shots at her. Cinder channeled the power of the dust embedded in her clothing as well as her half of the Fall-Maiden's power to deflect their shots away and then she combined it with her semblance to form two black glass blades.

Cinder dodged another burst of gunfire from the boy's weapon as the girl in red pulled her scythe out of the ground and used the recoil from the weapon's long-ranged mode to send her forward and attempted to cleave her in half. The infiltrator managed to dodge her with a double back-flip, also avoiding the boy's attempt at suppressing her and quickly she focused and formed the two hand-blades into a glass bow with three arrows of the same material with fire dust nocked at the ready and the power of the maiden embedded in them and then she released them. The girl stumbled out of the way from the blast but managed to steady herself using the blade of her scythe.

The False Fall Maiden craned her head up from her kneel and managed to catch sight of the boy coming to the side of his companion, offering a quick concerned glance at her before the girl nodded. Cinder grinned, looking forward to whatever further challenge they could give her but the sound of the arriving elevator came to her ears. She took the opportunity to make a run for it and dash through the window while they were both apparently distracted.

However, she was nearly distracted for a moment as she came out when a trio of stinging pains shot through her, one through the top of her right shoulder, one just above her buttocks, and one on the leftmost part of her back. Ignoring the pain, she quickly made a run for it to get back to the dance and shed her fatigues before anyone noticed. Cinder's aura thankfully managed to heal the wounds so no one else would notice when she arrived but she would have to make a mental note to keep an eye on those two kids.

The night ended poorly for both Shinji and Ruby. General Ironwood had saw what had happened at the CCT and took it upon himself to investigate when he heard gunfire from the top. He caught Ruby looking back at him emerging from the elevator and then caught Shinji making a few shots at an unidentified figure who jumped through one of the windows. The General was not exactly amused by this turn of events and he ordered his soldiers to sweep the surrounding area for signs of the intruder while he stood guard over the two students that were involved.

They were released once the soldiers reported back but they were told that the General as well as Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch would want to speak with them the next morning. When the time came, both got on their clothes for the day and made their way to Ozpin's office to face whatever punishment or penalties that might await.

"So…what do you think is going to happen to us?" Ruby asked nervously.

"I-I'm not sure." Shinji replied, "I mean they did go searching for whoever was in the CCT Tower last night, but they didn't find anyone…"

"That sucks." Ruby groaned, "Do you think they'll expel us?" She asked worriedly, after all if both were expelled from Beacon then they wouldn't be able to graduate or get their hunting licenses! It would be worse in Shinji's case because his apprenticeship with Glynda Goodwitch would be down the drain and it would probably result in the professor having quite a dent in her reputation as well. They'd be forced to either go to another school in one of the other Kingdom's and beg to be accepted there or abandon any chances of being a huntress or huntsmen and become civilians instead.

"I doubt it." Shinji said, "Glynda told me that while we are guilty of unauthorized use of our weapons lockers, unsanctioned use of our weapons on school grounds, and property damage…she said there was evidence that there was an intruder there last night so we're cleared of any involvement with whatever happened to the guards."

"Phew." Ruby sighed in relief, "Well, that means we get a bunch of detentions, instead right?" She and Blake both got detentions after that incident at the docks during their first semester. If the whole team had been involved much like with what happened with Roman Torchwick and the Atlesian Paladin, they would've faced a suspension instead. Both punishments sucked but it was better than getting kicked out.

"Y-Yeah, right…" Shinji trailed off, pausing for a moment as they reached the building that lead to Ozpin's tower. Ruby pressed a button on the elevator and they both waited. Seeing as there was spare time, Shinji decided to try and make his move.

"Ruby, about last night…" He began with closed eyes and bated breath

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"Remember when I said there was something I needed to tell you?" He asked as he slowly opened his eyes.

Ruby tilted her head in confusion before it came back to her.

"Oh, right! Yeah…uh, what is it you want to tell me?"

The boy was about to begin but then they heard a ring, the elevator had arrived.

"Lady's first." Shinji said.

"Thanks!" Ruby said.

"So…as I was saying- "He was interrupted by Ruby pressing all the floor buttons on the elevator.

"Uh, what?"

"Oh, I'm buying us some time," Ruby said with a cheeky sheepish grin, "You know…it's not like we're purposefully trying to be late, right?"

Shinji shook his head an amusement before they both stood side by side as the elevator ascended, slowly.

"A-Anyway, Ruby there was something I need to tell you." Shinji began, as butterflies fluttered about in his stomach

"Yeah, what is it?" She asked.

The boy took a deep breath in then a deep breath out.

"I-I know you've done a lot for me ever since I ended up here on Remnant. You saved my life, you helped me recover, you gave the inspiration I needed to become a huntsman…" He gestured as he continued, "…Y-You helped me design and build my weapon and we both trained and studied together."

"It's not a problem, Shinji…I mean that's what friends do, right?" Ruby asked.

"Well, what if we could be more than friends?" Shinji asked nervously.

"Eh?" Ruby raised an eyebrow at first, wondering what he meant by becoming 'more than friends' before being instantly reminded of the stories Taiyang told her and Yang about how he started dating Raven Branwen…and later Summer Rose after the disappearance of the former. Her face reddened.

"D-Do Y-You M-mean?" She stuttered a bit as Shinji slowly nodded, his own face turning red.

"I-I love you Ruby, I really do, and I was wondering if you want to be my girlfriend."

There was a moment of silence as they stood in front of one another and while neither of them knew who made the first move the end result was a warm, loving embrace as the barriers between them were broken.

The discussion Ozpin was having with Glynda Goodwitch and James Ironwood regarding the incident last night was interrupted when a string of beeps on his console rang out, just as Ironwood finished his tangent.

"Come in." Ozpin called out and soon the doors opened to reveal-

…

Oh…

What they were seeing in front of them was an unexpected surprise. Both Shinji Ikari and Ruby Rose were both in the elevator in an embrace with their lips locked together in a passionate kiss with the latter lifting one of her feet up in the air as she leaned into the former.

Ozpin's eyebrows were raised comedically, the young Ikari had come to him for advice involving his crush but he didn't expect his student to be snogging in the elevator. That was a first for him, he couldn't recall anything like this happening in any of his previous incarnations as head of Beacon Academy and to be honest he found it strangely amusing.

Glynda's eyes widened, it took all her restraint to prevent her from bringing out her weapon and punishing the two students for having the audacity of performing a public display of affection in front of Ozpin's office. However, she did felt a spike of happiness for her apprentice as the boy did deserve better than what he had during his time on Earth and having a loving partner was one of the best things he could possibly get.

Ironwood was bewildered and bemused, which was indicated by his raised eyebrows, but he didn't know whether he should break the two up or let them continue. Thankfully he wouldn't' have to choose.

Ozpin cleared his throat, which caused both students to open their eyes and when they saw their audience they quickly split up, muttering apologies all the while much to the amusement of all the adults present.

They quickly spoke in length about what happened last night, asking questions about the women they saw and fought during the ball and it was enough to reveal that it matched the description of the same women who Glynda, Ruby, and Shinji encountered in Vale. Ruby brought up whether or not she was linked to Torchwick and the White Fang's activities and while Ozpin did say there wasn't enough evidence to link the them together it was something worth looking into especially after the young girl and boy mentioned that the women said something about a hideout in the Southeast. Glynda want to press more but Ozpin thanked them for their time and dismissed them.

As the two were leaving though, Shinji and Ruby grabbed each other's hands and interlocked them together.

When they were gone, Ozpin couldn't help but chuckle.

"Oh, to be young to feel love's keen sting."

Glynda gave an unladylike snort as she rolled her eyes in amusement while Ironwood pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"Anyway…can we please get back on topic?" Ironwood asked.

Thankfully everyone involved agreed before their discussion continued once more.

When they returned, Shinji and Ruby broke the news that they were now a couple to the remaining members of RWBY as well as Team JNPR.

Weiss verbally complained that it was "about time they got together." Though everyone could see that the heiress was amused and happy for the two of them.

Blake gave them their congratulations and blessings, though she did whisper to Ruby about some…interesting literature she could use for future reference if she needed it. Whether it was done teasingly or not, Ruby's face turned the same color as her cloak while Shinji couldn't get a straight answer from her as to what they talked about.

Yang was ecstatic, in fact she had brought both teens into a massive bearhug that crushed them into her sizable bosom and then voiced her approval and happiness for both Shinji and Ruby. It was surprising that the blonde brawler didn't give the younger boy the "break my sister's heart and I'll…" threat for courting her younger sister but she later revealed it was because she trusted Shinji to treat his sister right though she did also warn him to be prepared for both Taiyang and Qrow to do so instead.

Jaune and Pyrrha were both happy for the two of them and oddly enough it led to Jaune and Pyrrha making a similar announcement the following week.

Nora spun about like a top and continued a happy tangent about wedding planning, baby showers, engagements, and much more before Ren managed to distract her with some pancakes.

Speaking of the Mistralian he also voiced his approval for the two of them and he offered to protect them from Nora's attempts at playing matchmaker.

Glynda Goodwitch visited them later, voicing her approval of their relationship but reminding them to keep their studies and training up to speed in between whatever free time the two of them had together which they vowed to do so under the threat of her wrath much to her amusement.

Since Shinji and Ruby both only recently started their relationship they kept things slow for the most part, they kissed each other when they met in the morning and kissed each other before they went to bed, they gave each other hugs, and they sometimes cuddled with one another when they were studying together.

The best moments for the couple weren't the ones where they were fighting alongside each other against various bad guys or the creatures of Grimm but when they were just together side by side after the battles were over or when they had no worries on their minds. One of these moments occurred following the breach.

"Hey, have any of you guys seen Ruby?" Yang asked her two teammates, both of whom were cleared from the infirmary by Professor Peach about an hour ago. Night had fallen and most of everyone was exhausted after the White Fang ran a train from Mount Glenn under the city of Vale and through the town square with Grimm following behind. The attack however was thwarted, the Grimm were exterminated, the breach was sealed, and Roman Torchwick was in custody. Civilian casualties were limited to injured civilians but thankfully nobody was killed when all hell broke loose. That being said, Yang was separated from Ruby and Shinji when they took a Bullhead back to Beacon.

"They weren't in the infirmary when we got there, Professor Peach cleared her and Shinji earlier." Blake responded.

"Okay…so where else could they be?"

"I doubt they'd be studying; I wouldn't feel up to it after what happened tonight." Weiss complained.

"You're not up to studying? Who are you and what did you do with the real Weiss?" Yang asked jestingly.

"Hey, I don't always study all the time!"

"Sure, you do." Yang muttered sarcastically.

"Why I ought to-"

"Girls." Blake intervened, "Why don't we just head back to the dorm and give them a call on their scrolls, they couldn't have gone far."

"Alright." Yang said with a nod.

"Fine." Weiss said with a roll of her eyes.

Blake entered was first to reach the dorm room, opening the door with a swipe of her scroll only to quickly stop and back away which caught the attention of her two teammates.

"What's up Blake- "The cat Faunus shushed the blonde brawler, and quickly jerked her head to point towards their dorm room with a small smile on her face.

The two other girls took a gander inside with a small smile forming on Weiss' face while Yang cooed a quick "Awww…" before being shushed by the two other girls. In the dorm room, laying on her bunk with the covers rolled up was Ruby but she wasn't alone as she was embracing Shinji and vice-versa. Crescent Rose was folded up and leaning against one of the walls while Bach was laying parallel to it. On the right side of the bunk Shinji's shoes laid neatly on the floor while on the left side Ruby's boots laid unlaced atop one another.

The three girls nodded to one another, quickly changing into their pajamas before turning back to the young couple. Yang and Blake brought the covers over the two of them and turned off the lights before they returned to their bunks alongside Weiss. Later that night, Ruby opened her eyes blearily, grinning gently at the sight of her lover's face before giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"I love you Shinji…" she whispered and soon afterwards she descended into Morpheus' domain sharing a small smile along with her lover as they laid snuggled together.

And that's the end of this plot bunny. So yeah, for this collection the first four plot bunnies will involve each of the individual girls of Team RWBY in the order of their respective debuts.

This was probably the most difficult for me to get down because I had a lot of different issues about this pairing, mainly being their different upbringings and their differing personalities but eventually I managed to work my way through and get this done. I would like to admit that the beginning of this short with Shinji ending up in the forest following the events of Ruby's trailer was inspired partially by the dead ROE/RWBY Crossover fic 'RWBY: The Eva Hunter' by UKNE-12mark3 and the ongoing(?) NGE/RWBY Crossover fic 'RWBY 1.0: You Can (Not) Return' by WriterRA01 while the idea of Shinji being taken under Glynda Goodwitch's wing was inspired by the dormant(?) NGE/RWBY Crossover Fic 'SNPR' by 7thmaniac.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this little plot bunny and I hope you all will be waiting patiently for the next one involving Weiss Schnee.

Until then though, I'd like to once again wish you all a Happy Holidays!

-VentXekart

PS: For those of you waiting for Chapter 1 of "Combined Fleet Admiral: Shinji Ikari" I just want to let you know that I'm still working on it and I also plan on releasing the prologue to a similar Evangelion crossover fic involving Girls' Frontline sometime in the next few days.

EDIT 1/12/2020: Made a few corrections and added a couple of things I forgot to add to the note at the beginning of this story.

EDIT 4/1/2020: A while back someone posted a review noting that Shinji's stuttering was out of character and I have to admit it's been over five years since I've watched NGE from front-to-back so I went back and corrected it. The reason as to why I didn't post the updated version until now was because I was constantly commuting to and from community college until a couple of weeks ago when the college decided to switch to digital lessons out of concerns for COVID-19. Anyway, I apologize for this little mischaracterization and I will say that this will be avoided in future plot bunnies in this collection. Speaking of that, on a minor note, I'm half-way finished with the next one that involves Shinji being paired up with Weiss so stay tuned!