Chapter Text

Chapter 1: Don’t Stop Til’ the Finish

From the moment Ruby Rose could walk, she wanted to run. It had appealed to her as much as gunsmithing had. The simple ability to go really fast whenever she wanted; it's what kept her happy throughout her childhood. Speed. So when her semblance finally blossomed as basically speed incarnate, she was over the moon. Whenever she wasn’t tinkering with her weapons in her spare time, she was out there going fast, pushing her Semblance to its limits and then blowing past them in a storm of rose petals.

Yet when it came down to it, she just wasn't fast enough.

“Faster, I need to be faster.” That’s all Ruby thought as she ran up the side of the Beacon clock tower. "Weiss is relying on me. Pyrrha is relying on me. Beacon is relying on me.”

So she kept running. Faster and faster until she reached the top, only to come face to face with a massive dragon Grimm, and Pyrrha on her knees before Cinder. “Apologies, child.” She said with a sneer. “Looks like you weren’t fast enough this time.” Cinder motioned at the dragon to deal with Ruby while she aimed her bow directly at Pyrrha’s heart. The dragon roared, and with a flap of its inky wings, it blew Ruby off the clock tower.

“You weren’t fast enough this time.”

“Weren’t fast enough.”

“Not enough.”

That was the last thing that went through her mind before her vision went silver.

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Vodka loved running. All Umas did. Speed was in their nature, but Vodka loved speed a bit more than others. Mainly, the speed of a motorcycle. The feel of the wind through her hair, the way her tail flowed behind her, weaving through the traffic —it was perfect.

“Slow down, you dummy! Are you trying to get us killed?”

Well, almost perfect.

Currently pressed into her back and holding on for dear life was her roommate and rival, Daiwa Scarlet. Nothing new for Vodka, even if the two pillows pressed into her back made her heart race for some reason.

“Oi, something you wanna say about my drivin’?”

Daiwa huffed. “I’d rather be running instead of riding with you on your oversized piece of scrap metal!”

“Hey! This ain’t scrap metal! It's a Suzuki V-Strom!” Said Vodka indignantly. “This cost me almost a year's worth of winnings!”

“Haah? You really blew an entire year’s worth of racing money on this?”

“Yeah! Got a problem?”

And so the two bickered as usual, all the way till the entrance of a forest path. Vodka took off her helmet with a flourish of her head, the same way she’d seen Tanino Gimlet and other bikers do. There was no reason to do this other than looking kinda cool, so it was right up her alley. Her passenger sighed, well used to her roommate’s antics. “Are you done being extra?” snarked Daiwa. Vodka bit back a sigh. “No one ever appreciates my flair for style.”, grumbled Vodka as she helped Daiwa off the motorbike.

“Why are we here anyway?” asked Daiwa.

To this, Vodka finally cracked a proud smile. “This is where my old man took me to run as a kid.”, she said, puffing out her chest. “It’s got rough terrain, loose rocks everywhere, and dangerous side paths at every turn. It’s perfect for getting stronger and faster!”

Daiwa stared, absolutely flummoxed at this. “...I think all that motor oil is getting to your head.”

Vodka was not deterred. “What’s wrong? Think ya can’t keep up with me?” she asked with a hint of smugness. “I don’t blame you. I am the best, after all.” Just as planned, this immediately triggered Daiwa’s competitive spirit.

“Hey! Just name the finish line! I’ll show you who's the best!” Shouted Daiwa. Now that was the hothead that Vodka knew.

She pointed to the top of a mountain that could barely be seen over the treetops. “Up there, there's a sightseeing and rest spot. That’ll be our finish line.” She looked over her shoulder at Daiwa with taunting eyes. “That’s assuming you can keep up with me.”

Daiwa angrily marched to the start of the trail, shoving Vodka to the side a bit. “I’ll have you begging for forgiveness on your knees after this!”

Vodka cooly brushed her shoulder off and lined up next to her, pulling a stopwatch out of her pocket and setting it to five seconds. “We go when this beeps, alright?” Daiwa merely gave a nod of affirmation and tensed into her racing stance. Vodka did the same and started the timer.

5…

Vodka narrowed her eyes.

4…

Daiwa took a deep breath.

3…

Vodka grit her teeth.

2…

Daiwa flexed her fingers.

1…

Both felt their muscles tense.

BEEP

Just like that, both of them were blazing down the trail. Vodka, despite not being a Front Runner, easily took the lead due to her familiarity with the trail. She looked behind her, expecting to see Daiwa struggling, yet she actually managed to keep pace with her. “That's Daiwa for ya. Won’t settle for anything less than the best,” thought Vodka. “And I wouldn’t change it for the world.” Even as the trail got steeper and steeper, Daiwa would always be slightly behind her. Unfortunately for Vodka, as the trail evened out into a spiral path, Daiwa started to catch up, inch by inch. Vodka, however, while lacking in conventional smarts, made up for it with uncanny intuition and planning on the fly.

Daiwa’s running style is a Pace Chaser, meaning she had a solid instinct for when to try and overtake first place. Vodka, on the other hand, runs as a Late Surger, meaning whatever instincts Daiwa had, Vodka had em in spades. Vodka knew opportunities to overtake when she saw them, so naturally, she knew exactly how to prevent the overtake. She focused her ears, listening for the moment the footsteps shifted from behind her to the outside lane, and copied her. Daiwa would go right, trying to pass, and Vodka would shift right, blocking her. Daiwa tried to move to the now-open inside lane, but Vodka was there one step ahead of her.

“Heh,” thought Vodka as she approached the last straight until the top, “This win’s going to me!”

Just as she thought this, her eyes began to glow with a warm orange light, and her world went grayscale.

“The hell is this? Why can’t I move the way I want?”

Even as her mind told her body to stop, her legs kept moving. To her left, a tree started falling in their direction. Vodka managed to leap out of the way in time, but Daiwa wasn’t fast enough. The falling tree crushed her legs, and Daiwa let out a bloodcurdling scream. As Vodka tried to process the shock, her eyes returned to normal, and her vision regained full color. Behind her, Daiwa was still right on her tail. To her left, a tree started falling in their direction.

Vodka’s mind was reeling. “Wait, this is just like-DAIWA!” she screamed in panic. Out of sheer desperation, Vodka grabbed Daiwa by the arm and yanked her forward with all her strength. They both stumbled, and the tree crashed, missing Daiwa’s feet by an inch. Vodka let out a shaky sigh of relief she didn’t know she was holding. On her right, Daiwa tried to regain control of her breathing.

“That…was way too close…” she finally managed to say after a few moments, once the adrenaline started to wear off. “I…could’ve broken…both…of my legs if you didn’t pull me.”

“Yeah, don’ worry about it. C’mon, Dai, the end’s just over the-” Vodka’s knees buckled and gave out beneath her. “Hoo boy, must’ve used more energy than I thought. Guess that means you win the race by default.”

Daiwa gave her a very firm chop on the head. “Of course, that’s still on your mind, you dummy. You saved my legs, so we’ll call it a tie, alright?” She picked her up in a bridal carry. “Let’s get you to that rest spot you were talking about earlier.”

“Oi, Oi, put me down!” yelped Vodka, rosy-faced with embarrassment. “I can walk just fine!”

“You can barely stand,” pointed Daiwa. “Now quit squirming and let me carry you.”

It took a bit more convincing, but Vodka finally stopped and let herself be carried. “I’m supposed to be cool,” she muttered to herself, her face still doing an impression of a tomato. “Bein’ carried like a princess is the opposite of cool.”

“Oh, hush you. It’s not like there’s anyone here to see it.”

Well, it at least gave Vodka time to think about what happened.

…

“What the hell did happen anyway?” she pondered. “Some sort of vision? A scarily accurate hallucination? Some really weird mushrooms? Whatever it was, it just saved Daiwa’s racing career. Jeez, I can’t imagine what it’d be like, never racing with Scarlet again.” She, in fact, could imagine what it would be like without Daiwa Scarlet by her side, and she didn’t like it. It was empty. No one to push herself against, no one to nag about training too hard, just Vodka missing a massive piece of herself. “Man, she’s really made an impact on my life. I’m lucky to have a friend like her by my side for all these years.”

“What’s so special about this place anyway?” asked Daiwa. “Why’d we have to drive half an hour for a trail that’s like any other?”

Vodka only smiled. “Right up there. You’ll see,” she said, gesturing to a lone bench overlooking the forest.

Daiwa huffed, but didn’t complain as she set Vodka on the bench and sat beside her. After a minute of silence, she finally spoke up. “I never gave you a proper thanks for saving me back there.”

Vodka waved it off. “No need. It’s what anyone woulda done.” She took a swig of barley tea from her hip flask. “It’s the decent thing to do, ya know?”

Daiwa shook her head. “I know some Umas that would’ve let my legs get crushed. Less competition that way. It would’ve been less competition for you that way. Yet you still saved me. So why?”

“'Cause it ain't the same without you on the track with me.” Admitted Vodka. “You’re half the reason I’m as strong as I am today. You gave me a second purpose, someone to challenge, someone to always improve against. As selfish as it sounds, I want to keep running by your side forever.”

“...sniff”

“Daiwa?”

She looked to her left and saw her rival trying her best not to cry. Key word here being ‘trying.’ “S-Shut up, you sappy dumbo,” muttered Daiwa, lacking any venom behind her words. “You still haven’t told me why we’re all the way out here in the first place.”

“Well, this place is special to my family. The first time my parents met, it was on this bench right here,” she gave the ancient wood a firm tap. “They kept meeting here until they started going out, and when my old man proposed, it was right here.” Vodka gazed off into the horizon, a wistful look in her one visible eye. “You see that sunset? That’s the first thing my Ma n Pops saw together, and it was also the last.”

The pair let the final glow of the day warm their faces. Across the horizon, the orange ball dipped lower and lower, casting an amber light over the hill as the shadows grew longer. A cool breeze graced their faces, a gentle reprieve from their prior exertions. Behind the rivals, unbeknownst to them, their tails slowly entwined. It was a delicate scene, one that could’ve been carved from glass. Unfortunately, the glass had to shatter eventually. And it was shattered by a loud THUMP from the forest that startled birds into the skies. Two sets of ears turned toward the noise.

“What was that?”

Vodka could only shrug in response. “Wanna go check it out?”

The logical part of Daiwa’s mind said to leave it alone. It could be a bear or something else dangerous and should probably be avoided. The Vodka part of Daiwa’s mind said, “Let’s go for it, full throttle!” “Sure, why not?” And so off they went, off the beaten path and into the unknown.

The first and most obvious thing that both of them thought was ‘Man, it’s dark’. What little sunlight remaining was shrouded by the dark canopy of the trees, meaning they had to rely on their other senses until their vision adjusted. “C-Come on, let’s s-see what's out there.” Said Daiwa in a trembling voice. Vodka was not doing much better. “W-What's wrong? Scared?” asked Vodka, fighting her primal instinct to hoof it in the other direction as fast as her legs could take her.

“Scared? Me? In your dreams.” With this newfound resolve, she grabbed Vokda’s hand and dragged her deeper into the unknown.

“Wha- Hey!” Vodka tried not to stumble over her feet as she was marched further from the light. “Do you even know where we’re going?” Daiwa paused mid-stride.

Vodka huffed. “And you call me the hot-headed one. Now we’re in the middle of who knows where chasing some weird noise that we probably shouldn’t even be following, and-” Vodka was cut off mid-rant by Daiwa slapping her hand over her mouth. “Shh! Hear that?”

Vodka’s ears twitched. She strained them as much as she could, but heard nothing. “Nah. Why?” That’s when it hit her. She heard nothing. No chirping of birds, no rustling of the leaves above her, no calls of any animal that might be living there. Just pure silence, as if the world was holding its breath for something. “...Oh. I see the problem.”

As Daiwa and Vodka were silently debating the merits of running away, something in the undergrowth finally made a noise. Vodka clung to Daiwa with a subtle “Eep!” and Daiwa clung back. Both of them were frozen in terror for a few tense moments until Vodka worked up the courage and untangled herself from Daiwa. Gingerly, she reached for the bushes and pulled them away in one swift motion to reveal…

An Uma.

The two of them let out a sigh of relief. “Just an Uma,” called Vodka over her shoulder.

Daiwa came in for a closer look. She had black hair and pale skin, with a pair of short ears on top. “Kinda like Rice Shower with shorter hair,” mused Daiwa. That was pretty much where the similarities ended, though. What was presumably her racewear was quite unusual. It was a very dark red, almost bordering on black, with lighter hints of red along the inside of her strangely puffy skirt and neckline. What stood out, however, was the silver buckle of a rose on her hip and the red cloak around her shoulders. The mysterious girl let out a groan and shifted slightly. She sat up with a yawn and opened her silver eyes. It took a minute, but she finally noticed Daiwa and Vodka staring at her.

“Um, hi. I’m Ruby Rose. Who are you?”

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Welcome to Tracen Academy

“Um, hi. I’m Ruby Rose. Who are you?”

Daiwa gently knelt beside her. “I’m Daiwa Scarlet. This dork over here is Vodka.” She said, gesturing at Vodka, causally leaning against a tree.

“Oi,” grumbled Vodka. “You looked in a mirror lately?”

Daiwa whipped her head around with an indignant ‘Haah?’ “What's that supposed to mean?”

“I’m just sayin’ it's the pot callin’ the kettle black here.” She ignored her partner’s complaints to address Ruby. “She’s right about one thing. Vodka’s the name, and it belongs to the coolest Uma to ever exist!”  She puffed her chest out at this last statement before quickly shifting to concern. “You hurt anywhere?”

Ruby shook her head. “No, I don’t think I am, at least. Head’s kinda fuzzy though.” 

“D’you at least know how you got here?” 

Another shake of the head. “The last thing I remember is this really silvery light then…I woke up here.”

“Anything else come to mind?”

Ruby thought about it for a moment. She racked her brain as hard as she could, but she couldn’t remember anything before that flash of silver. “Sorry, no.”

Daiwa and Vodka exchanged a look. Ruby probably had some amnesia by the looks of things, so their best bet was to take her to Tracen for the time being. The problem was, Vodka’s bike really only fit two people safely and three people dangerously. “I could always give my trainer a ring,” mused Vodka.

“Even if you can get a signal, it doesn’t solve the problem that we still have no idea where the heck we are,” said Daiwa in a deadpan voice.

Vodka’s ears flattened at this. Somehow, she’d completely forgotten that they were in the middle of a dark and creepy forest with no visible path to take. “Oh. Right. Forgot about that.” 

Daiwa only gave a tired sigh in response.

Ruby tilted her head. “Trainer?”

Daiwa looked at her in confusion before remembering ‘Oh yeah, amnesia.’ “Yeah, trainers. They’re the ones responsible for making us faster and stronger for races.”

Ruby’s head tilted in the other direction. “Races? Like horse racing?”

This time, it was Daiwa’s turn to look confused. “What’s a horse?”

“Yknow, four legs, tall and strong, runs fast, all that?”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

“We’ll talk about this later. Right now, we’re burning daylight and still have no idea how to get outta here,” Vodka said, cutting them off before they could go back and forth. “Anyone got any ideas that’s not ‘walk around and try to get lucky?’”

Unfortunately, they didn’t. 

“Walk around and try to get lucky, it is then.”

At least they could talk while walking. It’d give the Tracen pair a chance to explain to Ruby anything she’d forgotten.

“So, any questions, Rubes?” asked Vodka, leaning causally against her interlaced fingers behind her head.

“Uh, dumb question, what are you two?”

“In general or more specifically?”

“Both, I guess.”

“We’re Uma Musume, biologically stronger and faster than humans, gifted runners and physical workers, got a drive to race and perform, yada yada. If you need a more in-depth explanation or just want to be bored to sleep, ask Daiwa,” explained Vodka, ignoring the shout of complaint from her partner. “As for specifics, we’re professional racers at Tracen, basically an Uma-exclusive public school with a really good sports budget.”

“What about the trainers you mentioned?”

This time, Daiwa spoke up. “Those are normal people who tell us how to improve ourselves. Like telling us to work on speed or stamina, and what days to rest. They also sign us up for races to compete in, where we go up against other trained Umas for fame and cash prizes.”

“Do you two race against each other competitively?” The long-time rivals shared a look.

“We’ve gone against each other now and then,” said Scarlet evasively.

“And I’m currently winning!” proclaimed Vodka, puffing out her chest in pride.

“By one race.”

“It’s still one more race than you’ve won.”

“Oi, wait until the Shuka Sho, I’ll show you why I’m number one!”

Vodka’s shit-eating smirk refused to leave her face. “Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that~.”

Ruby looked back and forth between them like a tennis rally with an amused expression on her face. “You two seem to get along well.” 

The pair ignored her and continued their petty bickering until, through some stroke of luck, they reached the parking lot where Vodka’s bike was. More importantly, they had cell service now. 

“Aah, it’s good to be out in the open again,” she said, stretching languidly beneath the pale glow of the moon. “Wait, moon?” Lo and behold, the moon was high in the sky, compared to the sunset of what seemed like moments ago. “Shit, how long were we stuck in there?”

“Three hours, according to my phone,” answered Daiwa. 

Vodka groaned. “Jeez, how did we get lost that badly?”

Ruby spoke up. “Maybe it's cause you kept walking in circles and arguing?”

Both heads whipped in her direction. “And you didn’t say anything?”

A shrug. “I did. You kept ignoring me, so I kept watching. It helped pass the time at least.”

Daiwa groaned. “Well, we’re out at least. Which brings us to our next problem: our trainers are probably in bed this late at night, so I guess we should find an inn or something.” 

A scoff from Vodka. “For you, maybe. But I know my trainer’s still up cause he’s too cool for something like a sleep schedule.”

Meanwhile, Vodka’s trainer was still awake and binging old recordings of his trainee’s races because although sleep was something sane humans needed, he was neither sane nor fully human. 

“Hmm, Vodka almost lost on that last race ‘cause she got boxed in by the others on that last corner. I could have her take those turns wider, but that means she’d need more speed to make up for the wider curve. Alternatively, she could avoid the death box by cornering faster. I think Kitasan Black has a couple of pointers on that field.”

He was brought out of his musings by the sound of his phone ringing in his pocket.

‘Sunao ni I LOVE YOU! todokeyou Kitto YOU LOVE ME! tsutawaru sa-’ BEEP.  “Yo, Vod, what's up, kid?...What for?... Aight, I’ll be there in 10.” He hung up and grabbed his coat on the way out, his knees creaking from disuse. “I’m too young to be too old for this shit,” he thought to himself with a minor wince.

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Ten minutes later, Ruby found herself staring up at what she could best describe as a cowboy. Grey stirruped boots over a worn pair of jeans, and a fancy navy blue vest worn over a black button-up shirt. His face had a thin layer of beard growing, and the horse tail haircut looked like it was overdue for a combing. What really caught her eye, however, was the cold, piercing gaze of his eyes, sunken in with deep eye bags and sizing her up for something Ruby could only speculate on.

“Oi, ease off the analytical gaze, yeah? You’re scaring her.” Vodka elbowed him. She turned to the trembling girl. “Sorry ‘bout that. Every time he meets a new Uma, he does that stare of his while he gauges your style of running and all that other stuff a trainer should know. Gave me the spooks the first time he did it to me.”

The icy stare warmed to a cool breeze as his stone-cut eyes somehow softened. He knelt at her eye level and spoke with a surprisingly gentle voice despite how gravelly it was. “Sorry, kiddo. I’m Vodka’s trainer. What’s your name?”

“R-ruby Rose,” she stammered out. 

He reached his hand out in a gesture of peace. “Nice to meet ya, Ruby.” 

Ruby gingerly shook his hand. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch your name.”

“Don’t have one. Just call me Torena or something along those lines.”

Daiwa cleared her throat. “So, what’s the plan? You drive me and Ruby while Vodka rides her bike?”

Torena winced. “Ooh, right, forgot to clear out the back this afternoon, so there’s really only the front seat. I could drive you while Ruby rides with Vodka. Whatcha say, Ruby?”

She thought about it. On one hand, he was still a very intimidating man, and getting into a car with strangers never ended well; on the other hand, Vodka and Daiwa trusted him, so it should be fine. More time for Daiwa to hang on to Vodka as well. “No, it’s fine. I can ride with you.”

“Alright. Guess Daiwa’s riding with Vodka again. You two good with that?”

Vodka nodded. “Sure. As long as Daiwa doesn’t try to squeeze my lunch out of my stomach again, we should be cool.”

“Well, maybe if someone didn’t drive like a maniac, I wouldn’t have to hold on so hard!” Daiwa shot back.

“You wanna say that to my face?”

“Yeah! You drive like a maniac!”

“Pack it in, you two,” interrupted Trainer. “You can argue back at the dorms.”

Both grumbled, but neither complained as they got back onto the cycle.

On the way back, the car was eerily quiet. Torena was staring ahead, seemingly into space, while Ruby remained silent, unsure how to break the ice. “So…those two. Have they always been like that?”

“Yep,” responded Torena, popping the ‘p’. “Ever since the first time I saw those two together two years ago, they’ve been at each other's throats.” 

“Any idea why?”

“Heh, not a single clue. The current working theory is that both are in denial.”

“Denial? Of what?”

“I think you know what I’m talking about,” he said with a knowing side eye.

Ruby, in fact, did not know what he was talking about. So instead of asking about it, she tried looking around for something in the car to talk about. Her eyes fell upon a photograph on the dashboard, illuminated every so often by the streetlamps passing by overhead. An Uma with three different hair colors, mainly a light, caramel brown with a curtain of darker brown closer to dark chocolate covering her forehead, and a single strip of white running down the middle. Her outfit was a royal set of forest green garbs, fit to be worn by an emperor, with a red half cape draped across her shoulders. More importantly, she was on the shoulders of a much younger and well-kept Torena, and an expression of pure joy on both their faces.

Torena noticed her staring at his photo. His face grew wistful. “Ah, I see you’ve noticed The Emperor.”

“We have an emperor?”

He gave a genuine laugh at that comment. “No, but I’m telling her you said that. That’s just the title she earned during her 3-year career. Wanna know how she got it?” 

And so, Ruby’s image of a cold man defrosted as he eagerly told her everything about Symboli Rudolf, the Emperor of Tracen Academy. “I was eighteen, fresh out of the trainers academy, and she was sixteen, a relatively new racer, and student council president. She’s mellowed out quite a bit, but back then, she was purely focused on being the best. No puns, no Teio, nothing.”

“Teio?”

“Oh yeah, Tokai Teio. My second trainee. I can tell you about her, but you should see her around campus. Anyway, back to Rudolf.”

Ruby was not the best at reading people, but it didn’t take a genius to see how much Trainer cared for his first protégé. How his hollow eyes would light up when singing praises about her victories, the subtle drop of the corners of his mouth when he talked about all the burdens she took alone, and the longing in his eyes when he said they parted ways after three years. “She’s still doing fine, and we call now and then, but she's all the way in Europe.”

 “...after those three years, I spent too much time on myself and not enough time with her, so when she left, I kept having regrets about all that lost time.” His eyes drooped ever so slightly and turned to face Ruby with a face full of melancholy. “If you have people you care about, cherish every moment you have with them. It might be the last time you see them for a while, if ever.”

With that depressing nugget of knowledge, he flattened his expression and turned back to the road. Ruby, however, could feel something stirring in her clouded memories. Flashes of a bright sun, whose warmth was always welcoming and light always guiding. A black shadow, never seen too close to the light, but always there with them. A maiden of snow, skin pale as the clouds, and a facade made from ice, sheltering the innocence and beauty that lay beneath.

Meanwhile, Vodka was trailing them on her bike and was starting to notice some things. Mainly, how good it felt to have Daiwa’s hands wrapped around her waist and the soft squish of her…chest muscles…on her back. Any kind of warmth against the night air was appreciated. For some reason, Vodka’s face was also warm. “Man, I think I’m sick or something. Hope Daiwa doesn’t catch it.” 

It wasn’t long before the four reached their destination. Torena nudged the young Uma, who had fallen asleep in the passenger seat.

“Wakey wakey, kiddo. We’re here.” Ruby only grumbled and turned the other way. “Ah, screw it, I’ll carry her.”

He picked up Ruby, similar to how one would carry a child. One arm was carrying the legs, and the other was on her back as she rested her chin on his shoulder. “Kinda like Teio,” he mused to himself.

Vodka locked up her bike and started heading towards her dorm, a similarly tired Daiwa held in a bridal carry. “You got everything handled, right?” 

Torena nodded. “I got it from here. I called the director and she said that we can borrow Spe’s and Suzuka’s old room. You two can call it a night.” 

Vodka gave a tired wave over her shoulder and headed toward her room. “Aight, I'll take Daiwa to bed then. G’night, man.”

“Hey, just keep it above the belt, will ya? You’re going to need some energy for tomorrow's training.” Torena called over his shoulder. Vodka looked back in confusion before noticing how she was holding her partner. Her face bloomed a brilliant shade of scarlet as the implications of his word hit her like a steel chair, and a trickle of blood ran down her nose to her bottom lip. She tried to stammer out a response, but no words came out as Torena barely suppressed his laughter and left to put the tired child to bed.

Ruby dreamt of another world. One with creatures of pure shadow, clawing their way towards the extinction of humanity. She saw herself bound above the crowd, powerless to do anything but watch as the world burned down. She wanted to turn away, hide herself from the violence of the world, but she couldn’t. An invisible force kept her gaze from wandering.

“You couldn’t save them, you merely abandoned them,” whispered a cruel voice in her head. “Even now, your selfishness can’t save you.” 

The dream shifted. Tokyo. An endless horde of Grimm poured from the mountains and hills. The JSDF tried to stem the flow, but it was to no avail. There were simply more Grimm than they had bullets. Hordes of Beowolfs swarmed the city, slaughtering any living being they could catch. Giant Boarbatusks tore through tanks and buildings like they were made of paper, and roosting on the Tokyo tower was a massive Dragon of bone and shadow.

“My children will find you, and when that happens, BOTH worlds will fall before me. Go ahead, run. Run as far as your legs will carry you. You only delay the inevitable.” 

The dragon roared, and its maw closed around Ruby with a loud snap.

Ruby woke up with a start in an unfamiliar room, which smelled strangely of carrots. She tried to rub the sleep from her eyes when she felt something taped to her forehead. It was a sticky note from Trainer, reading “Rise and shine, Ruby, and welcome to your new temporary home. Vodka and Scarlet should be down the hall to your right if you need help getting around. Tazuna and Director Akikawa are in the main office, and they’d like to talk to you sometime today. I’d recommend getting something to eat first from the cafeteria before Oguri eats everything. Training grounds are also open if you wanna go for a run. Be seein’ ya around, kid. T.”

Well, it would help get her mind off the nightmare. She hopped out of bed and opened the door…

Only to narrowly avoid being run over by a pink blur shouting “BAKUSHIN.” The force of the near miss was enough to knock her off her feet with an ‘oof’. “Oh my, I do hope you aren’t hurt,” said a voice from her side. 

Ruby craned her neck around to see a woman dressed in full green with long, brown hair and a similarly green hat. The mystery woman smiled at her. “You must be Ruby Rose, correct?” 

“Um, yes?”

The green woman bowed at a 90-degree angle. “I am Hayakawa Tazuna, the assistant to Director Akikawa. We welcome you to Tracen Academy.”