Roderick Hill
-----
Halfway into the ride, Roderick realized how screwed he was.
Beacon Academy, the famous school for Huntsman and Huntresses, towered in the distance outside the airship windows. The fact that he was heading there to become an official student stirred a warmth in his chest, yet he couldn't relax, not with the upcoming initiation he was completely unprepared for.
The fresh drinks and snacks weren't enough to ease his mind.
To make things worse, a girl with orange hair in a pink skirt drowned him in a crazy bubble of nonsense spouting from her mouth.
A minute of her endless rambling put a crack in his sanity, but it must've been nothing compared to the guy in the green tailcoat with the magenta steak highlighting his dark mane. She spat directly at him and not once, for the whole ride, did he say a single word.
The whir of a hologram echoed, and a middle aged woman appeared.
"Hello and welcome to Beacon," she said. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among the privileged few who have received the honour of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. . ."
That was the most he could make of it before her speech melted with the orange haired girl's rant of whatever random things she had in mind.
When the airship finally touched down, Roderick hefted his bags and bolted out the doors.
Too bad his moment of relief ended the moment he bumped into a wall that had arms, legs, and a head belonging to a big guy wearing a beanie and backpack.
He looked over his shoulder and bored straight into his soul through a messy curtain of blonde locks.
"Sorry about that," Roderick said and made a safety gap between them in case he wanted to smack his nose. "I didn't see you there."
He grunted and moved on.
Not even a minute here and he's already gotten on someone's bad side. Great.
Roderick followed the avenue leading towards Beacon. The impressive structures of the renowned academy was a sentimental reminder of the castles in the many fairy tale books he read about with old friends as a kid.
KABOOM!
Roderick flinched at the explosion of fire, ice, and lightning in the courtyard ahead. The smoke cleared and a couple of girls came into view. Suitcases littered around them, stuffed with vials of Dust from every colour on the spectrum.
"Unbelievable!" said the girl powdered head to toe like she fell through a chimney. "This is the kind of thing I was talking about!"
She stomped the ground. Flecks of ash and soot fell in a ring around her, leaving her dress literally spotless which was mind boggling since it was mostly white.
The girl in white chewed out another girl in a red cloak and black clothing.
Warning signs flashed. There were many rules on how to survive in this world, and the most dangerous of them all was to never, ever, get too close to women having a fit.
He steered clear and wished luck to the poor girl.
A few minutes later, Roderick reached the welcoming ceremony in the amphitheater at the end of the avenue.
He paused at the entrance, sighed at the crowd packed in front of the stage, and squeezed a path into the wide, open spot near the middle row.
A blonde girl in a tan jacket and tiny black shorts stepped in the way, and he bumped into her.
"Hey," she whirled and gave one heck of a glare, "watch where you're going!"
Roderick did his best to not break eye contact which was hard. Her yellow, low cut crop top constantly tugged his attention towards her exposed belly and open cleavage.
"Oh, uh, sorry. I didn't mean to do that." The longer they held each other's gaze, the more his head itched. "You okay?"
Her expression turned curious as if he became somewhat interesting. "Do I know you?"
Roderick ran by every blonde he's ever met in his life, and when he pictured her as a little girl with pigtails, it clicked.
"Yang?"
Vise firm, she hooked his shoulders, and reeled him in close enough to follow how her lilac irises shifted and scanned every part of his face. Her breath caught, recognition flashed in her eyes, and the annoyance scrunching her lips blossomed into a bright smile.
"Roddy," she crushed his bones in a hug, "I've missed you!"
He tried to tell her to let go, but his own breath was trapped in his lungs.
Yang dropped him and held him close enough to see the nostalgia caking her face. "I haven't seen you in forever!"
"Y-yeah," Roderick wedged a safety gap between them and rubbed the aches from his ribs, "you, too."
This was downright silly. What was he supposed to say in situations like this?
Arms crossed, she raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?"
"You look great," he fought the warmth in his cheeks, "especially your hair."
"Of course it is." She checked his body and smirked. "At least I can see that Mistral treated you well."
A shiver shook his spine. He would've had a much better time at Sanctum Academy if his best friend hadn't tried to kill him every time they trained together.
He cleared his throat. "Anyways, how're you and your sister doing these days?"
"I'm great," she glanced behind him, "and speaking of Ruby, why don't you ask her yourself?"
Wasn't seventeen the minimum age of requirement to be accepted into a Huntsman Academy? Ruby was two years younger than them, so there's no way she could be here.
Those doubts crashed hard when the girl from the courtyard with the red cloak hurried towards them, revealing the familiar blood tinged midnight hair and moon silver eyes.
She didn't look too happy either.
"So," Yang nudged her with an elbow, "how's your first day going there little sister?"
Ruby glared. "You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?"
"Yikes," she grimaced and sucked her teeth, "meltdown already?"
"No, I literally exploded a hole in front of the school." She touched her chin, brow furrowed. "And there was some fire. . . and I-I think some ice?"
Humour twisted her lips. "Are you being sarcastic?"
"I wish!"
Something motioned to the side.
Roderick leaned to spot the girl in white from the courtyard, blue eyes glued to the back of Ruby's head.
He stepped back.
Other than the offset, silky white ponytail and the scar over her left eye, she was as high and pristine as fresh snow even with the scowl. The red lining inside the bedazzled bolero jacket popped out in contrast to her overall bluish-white colour scheme, and the top quality dress, heels, and jewelry added to the fact she was completely out of everyone's league.
Unaware of the danger, Ruby continued to vent.
"I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I exploded! And then she yelled again. And I felt really, really bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!"
"You!"
Ruby literally jumped into Yang's arms. "Oh god! It's happening again!"
The girl in white whipped a finger at them. "You're lucky you weren't blown off the side of a cliff!"
Yang's jaw dropped. "Oh, my god, you really exploded. . ."
Ruby jumped out of her sister's arms and tried to earn forgiveness by explaining how it was an accident.
Roderick chuckled. "She tried to tell you."
Yang stuck her tongue at him.
The girl in white showed them some sort of pamphlet.
"What's this?" Ruby said.
As she rambled on about some sort of disclaimer (obviously memorized and rehearsed), a headache attacked Roderick. The sisters weren't any better: Yang was frozen, mouth agape and Ruby curled in a permanent cringe.
The girl in white stared her in the eyes. "You really want to start making things up to me?"
Ruby leaned away in preparation for the worst and slowly opened her mouth. "Absolutely?"
She stuffed the pamphlet in her hand. "Then read this and never talk to me again."
"Look," Yang scratched her head, "sounds like you two got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you two start over and try to become friends, okay?"
Sarcasm oozed from Roderick's tongue. "Great idea, Yang."
She jabbed his ribs.
"Yeah, great idea, sis!" Ruby straightened herself and held out a hand. "Hello, Weiss. I'm Ruby."
Weiss blinked. "How do you know my name?"
"Oh, that's easy," she said and waved a nonchalant hand. "I heard it from that other girl who was reading the book, remember? She walked in all cool like, helped me out, and made fun of you—I mean, wanna hangout? We could go shopping—"
"Yeah," Weiss mocked excitement, "and we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys." She glanced at him and wrinkled her nose. "Like, red, gold, and. . . rolled up sleeves here."
Roderick had the oddest feeling he was being judged. Was there something wrong with his jacket?
Ruby beamed and bounced on her toes. "Wow, do you really want to be friends?!"
Weiss deadpanned. "No."
The rest of their talk was cut short by an amplified cough that silenced the whole room.
Knees slightly bent, a gray haired man stood in front of the microphone on stage. He wore shaded glasses on the bridge of his nose, a black suit, and a green scarf.
That was none other than Professor Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy.
"Ahem. . . I'll keep this brief." Ozpin searched the crowd as if he was trying to find the most interesting person here. "You traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." He adjusted his glasses. "But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose. . . direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."
He turned and walked off stage.
The next person to take his place was another professor.
She also wore glasses but had light blonde hair and a tattered black cape with a purple lining; she was the same holographic person who made announcements on the airship.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight," she said like one of those tour guides forced to speak nicely to people. "Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
Roderick checked if he was the only confused person in the room. "Well, that was. . . . encouraging?"
An awkward line stretched across Yang's lips. "He seemed kinda off."
"It's almost like he wasn't even there." Ruby looked at him for the first time. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask this, but who are you?"
"Oh, right!" Yang threw an arm around his neck and pulled him down to Ruby's level. "You remember him, don't you, Rubes?"
"Uh, I do?" The little girl in red examined him. "I thought he was one of your friends you ran off with after you ditched me!"
"Get over it already." Her sister cranked his head for a better view. "Do you at least remember that we practically grew up with this guy?"
It took a moment for the fog to clear in her eyes, and once it did, they bulged into the size of dinner plates.
"Rod?"
"Hey, Ruby." Roderick broke free from Yang's clutches, tossed on a grin, and opened up his arms wide. "Miss me?"
Next thing he knew, he was on the ground, out one hold and into another.
-----
After the sun fell, everyone slipped into their pajamas and set their sleeping bags on the ballroom floor.
In a simple long sleeve shirt and shorts, Roderick laid next to Ruby's assortment of blankets and pillows, and the girl herself wore a Beowolf tank top and heart patterned pajamas.
A lantern stood between them, providing enough light to help her write on a piece of paper. It had to be important because she kept groaning and crumpling pages before starting over again.
"What'cha looking at, Rod?" Ruby said.
"The moon." Roderick tucked his hands under his head and stared out at the skylights. "Can't help but wonder what happened to it."
As long as humanity could remember, the rock in the sky was fractured, half of it floating off in chunks from the main body. People over the centuries speculated the cause, but nobody could pinpoint the exact reason or come to a mutual agreement.
"Hmm." She tapped the pen against her temple. "I think a flying octopus broke it."
He snorted and ruffled her hair.
Yang, in a pair of mini shorts and a yellow tank top, dove into her sleeping bag on the other side of Ruby.
"It's like a big slumber party!"
"I don't think dad would approve of all the boys, though." Ruby returned to her paper. "Other than Uncle Qrow, they're only two of them in the world he's okay leaving us with."
Yang propped her head on a hand and purred. "And I'm looking at one right now."
Roderick rolled his eyes. "Knock it off."
"You've gotten hotter since I last saw you." She nudged her sister. "Isn't that right, Rubes?"
Ruby's cheeks flared the same colour as her name, causing her to dive under a blanket.
Roderick threw a pillow at the blonde's face. "Anyways, what're you writing, Ruby?"
"It's a letter for the gang back at Signal." She shifted so the corner of her mouth was visible. "I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going."
"Awww," Yang said, "that's so cute."
"Shut up." Ruby stuffed a pillow in her face. "I couldn't take my friends with me to school. It's weird not knowing anyone here."
"Don't say that." Roderick chuckled and jerked a thumb at himself. "You got me, right?"
"Well, you see," she squirmed in place, "it's just that, um—you're more of a brother than a friend."
Not much of a surprise there.
In a way, she was his own little sister. Back when they were kids, they did a lot of silly things together, but the late night stories about heroes saving the day was what bonded them.
"Ruby," he leaned back to concentrate on what to say next, "give it some time and I know you'll end up meeting people who will want to be your friend. I bet even that Weiss girl will warm up to you. . . eventually. And just so you know, now that I'm here, I'll be there for you, brother or not."
Ruby poked out from under the blanket and giggled. "Thanks, Rod."
He flicked a thumbs up and winked back.
A spark sizzled at the nearby wall, and a girl in a yukata with a bow on top of her head glowed under the light of a candelabrum, fully engrossed by the book her nose was buried in.
"Whoa," Ruby said. "That girl."
"Know her?" Yang said.
"Not really. She saw what happened this morning but left before I could say anything."
"Well," Yang hauled Ruby to her feet, "now's your chance!"
Ruby stifled a gasp and rooted her feet. "Wait, what are you doing?!"
"Roddy," she motioned him to follow while dragging her sister along, "come on!"
When it came to her, arguing would be pointless, so he got up and hoped that what they were about to do wouldn't end too badly.
"Hello!" Yang said in a sing-song voice and pushed Ruby in front of her. "I believe you two may know each other?"
The bow headed girl peeked over the book. "Aren't you the girl that exploded?"
"Uh, yeah. My name's Ruby. But you can call me, Crater. . ." She offered to shake her hand, but quickly pulled it back to rub her neck instead. "Uh, actually you can just call me Ruby."
Roderick facepalmed.
The girl kept reading. "Okay."
"What are you doing?" Yang said through her teeth.
"I don't know," Ruby said under her breath. "Help me!"
Roderick wanted to leave the poor girl alone, yet he couldn't abandon Ruby and give up on her hunt to make friends especially after the speech he gave.
The girl adjusted herself, motioning the cover of the book into view, and the title flourished like fireworks in the night. Of any book in the world, who would've guessed she was reading that one.
"Sorry for all this," he said and lowered to her level. "I'm Roderick."
Her amber eyes barely spared him a second. "Blake."
"Nice choice." He pointed at the book. "That's a good read."
Blake's eyebrows shot up. "You've read this before?"
"Because you're close to the end, I don't think I'll be spoiling anything. Stop me just in case." He rubbed his chin and dug into his memory banks. "Isn't it about this guy who has two souls. One of the souls is a crazed psychopath constantly trying to take over, and the other one is some poor, confused guy that just wants to live a normal life?"
The side of her mouth twitched. "That's. . . exactly it."
"Ruby," Roderick waved her over, "you like books, right?"
The sisters gawked as if he solved the mystery of the moon. However, Yang shook her shock away and gave Ruby an encouraging push.
After a deep breath, Ruby put on her game face and spilled out her love for books, much to Blake's amusement.
Roderick left them to it and rejoined Yang's side.
"That was impressive." She propped an elbow on his shoulder. "When'd you get so smooth?"
He chuckled. "Got lucky is all."
"You don't say." She scoffed and shook her head. "Man, what are the odds you read that book?"
"To be honest," he leaned closer to her ear, "I only made her think I read it. Never once opened that book in my life, actually."
Yang's jaw slacked. "Then how—"
"A friend of mine read it back at Sanctum and accidentally spoiled the whole thing, so I never got around to it." He sighed and chuckled at the memory of how his best friend bent over backwards trying to make it up to him. "Who knew a spoiler like that would be so handy?"
Yang pulled him into another headlock, and they shared a good laugh over it.
After Ruby and Blake finished their talk, they were all smiles.
Yang trapped her sister in a congratulatory bear hug, and Ruby slugged her across the face. They fell to the floor, smacking, biting, pinching, and pulling on each other's hair. Actually, the last one was only Yang. Ruby knew better than to do something crazy like that.
A mix of concern and humour melded across Blake's face. "Are they always like this?"
Roderick shrugged. "Only on a good day."
"What in the world is going on over here?" Weiss stormed over in a blue sleeping gown with her hair down. "Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?!"
Yang and Weiss looked at each other, and a heartbeat passed.
"OH, NOT YOU AGAIN!" they said together.
The rising noise levels stirred several sleeping bags in the room.
Ruby got between them and tried to settle them down but failed miserably under the blonde and whited haired duo's bickering, so she turned to him with teary eyes.
There was a limit to how much Roderick could do, and in special situations like these, he already had a plan set. He wished them goodnight and left, leaving the younger girl to their mercy.
Besides, he belonged in the men's side, anyways.