Ch 7: Yang Xiao Long
"Oh, I can't believe my baby brother and sister are going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" A busty blond teen exclaimed as she wrapped Ruby and Ray in a bone-crushing bear hug.
Rey returned the hug with equal vigor, refusing to back down from the covert strength challenge. Ruby, however...
"Preash Shtap." Ruby begged for mercy. Gasping for breath, trying to force air back into her crushed lungs, in danger of being hugged to death, again. In fact, this same scene had been repeating on an almost daily basis ever since Ray and Ruby had returned home after meeting Ozpin and told their family that they had both been accepted into Beacon. They were now on an airship flying with many other new students to Beacon for their orientation.
The young blond woman was Yang Xiao Long, Ruby and Ray's half-sister from their father's first wife. Yang had the same fair skin as her siblings, but her eyes were lilac, and her thick waist-length hair was a bright golden color that faded slightly to a paler gold at the ends. At 5'8," she stood eye to eye with her younger brother but insisted that she was taller thanks to the extra inch that her perpetual cowlick gave her. Though she was only two years older than Ruby, with her DD-cup breasts, wide hips, and tight waist giving her curves in all the right places, she looked far more mature. However, her facial features were noticeably less sharp than her younger siblings with her strong nose and rounder chin.
Yang wore a tan leather jacket that left her midriff bare with golden-brown piping and puffy sleeves that ended before her elbows in black cuffs with two golden buttons. Beneath her jacket, the top of a low cut yellow crop top could be seen with her emblem, a burning heart, peeking out over her left breast in black. She also wore a brown belt with a pleated short brown leather buttcape with her emblem on the right-most pleat in gold. The buttcap had a second layer beneath that of semi-transparent white cloth that started slightly lower than the outer layer on the left side and grew longer as it wrapped around her waist till it extended from halfway down her left thigh to just above her right knee. Underneath, she wore a pair of short black spats. Under her knee-high brown leather riding boots, the orange over-knee sock on her left leg was pulled all the way up, while its mate was left to lay, crumpled, on top of her right boot. An orange infinity scarf, ammo pouch on her left hip, black fingerless gloves, and a grey bandana tied around the top of her left boot finished off her outfit.
Yang's personal weapon, Ember Celica, was a pair of yellow gauntlets. Her Dual Ranged Shot Gauntlets were a lot bulkier than her brother's Bloody Storm in order to house the 12-round belts and powerful shotguns hidden within them. Yang's gauntlets could also retract into thick bracelets when not in use, while Ray's always covered his entire forearm and the back of his hand at all times.
"But I'm so proud of you both!" Yang relented and relaxed the death grip of her right arm around Ruby. However, she strengthened the grip in her left arm around Ray. As both Yang and Ray were primarily hand-to-hand fighters, unlike Ruby, who preferred to fight with a weapon, these minor contests in strength and endurance between the two of them were a fairly common occurrence. With Ray's arm around Yang's waist and her's around his shoulders, they continued to exert a growing pressure on each other. Squeezing themselves against each other, trying to make the other give up first, they stared into each other's eyes, fire blazing them, as competitive grins split their faces.
As their silent match continued, they began to draw the stares of people around them. The boys were drawn by the sight of Yang's voluptuous breasts squashed against her brother's chest. The girls by the teasing glimpses of Ray's chiseled abs that were peeking out from under his tee-shirt as it rode up slightly by Yang pulling herself against him. All wondering if the two were fighting or flirting.
"Ray! Yang! Stop!" Ruby cried out, pushing them apart after she noticed all the eyes they were drawing. Her siblings relented, and each took a step back, releasing each other.
"It's not like we did anything that special. We let them get away after all." Ray said, continuing their previous discussion.
"What do you mean? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees." Yang protested.
"I don't want to be the "bee's knees" okay, I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees. And it's not like Ray has ever needed any help in the popularity department." Ruby complained, Ray, nodding beside her at the last bit with a smirk.
"True." Yang agreed, glaring at her brother. While Ray had never technically had a girlfriend at Signal, nearly every girl in school was a member of his fan club, and every guy looked up to him just as much as they wanted to punch him in the face. "But what's with you two? Aren't you excited?"
"Of course I'm excited… I just…" Ruby sighed. "I got moved ahead two years. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything."
"Ruby, you are special. And so what if a bunch of jealous wannabes try to pick on you. You got Yang and me here to back you up." Ray tried to comfort and reassure Ruby, reaching out to give her a one-armed hug.
"Yeah. We got you, Ruby." Yang came to Ruby's other side and also hugged her.
"Thanks, guys." Ruby murmured, hugging them back.
"Though it would be best if you stood up for yourself a little more." Ray couldn't resist teasing her a bit.
Ruby gave her brother a playful shove, her mood significantly improved, and turned her attention to the holoscreen in front of the window showing the news. The newscast had just started a report on the dust robbery they had thwarted. The report informed them that Roman was still loose but made no mention of the twins, a fact Ray suspected Ozpin had had a hand in and made a note to thank him for.
The reporter then swapped to an update on an incident with the White Fang disturbing a peaceful Faunus Civil Rights protest and turning it violent. The Faunus are the second sapient race of Remnant. While Faunus resemble Humans, for the most part, the majority have slightly superior physical abilities and night vision and are often easily distinguishable from Humans by the single animal trait they possess. These differences led to the discrimination and enslavement of the Faunus by Humans in the past. Though they now retain equal rights under the law to Humans, Faunus are still treated as a lesser species by many Humans, and some still live in conditions little better than the slavery their ancestors endured. This discrimination led to the creation of the White Fang, an initially peaceful organization dedicated to improving relations between Humans and Faunus and preserving their civil rights. Unfortunately, in the face of continued bigotry, their founding leader was forced to step down a couple of years ago, and a more radical leader was chosen to take his place, leading to a much more violent methodology.
The report was cut off halfway through by a recording of Glynda Goodwitch welcoming the students to Beacon and reminding them that they have much to learn and live up to as future Huntsmen and Huntresses. Her recorded speech concluded, the holoscreen faded away to allow everyone on the airship to catch their first glimpse of Beacon Academy.
A cluster of glorious, intricate spires flanked on both sides by rivers sat atop a sheer cliff overlooking a vast lake. A winding pathway cut into the face of the cliff leading down to a moderately sized dock at its base. As they got closer, the new students could see plazas and gardens around the spires accented by statues and fountains arranged to give the place a peaceful and noble atmosphere. It was a truly memorable first look. The tranquil moment was broken shortly thereafter, however, by the sound of someone retching behind them.
"Well… I guess the view isn't for everyone," Yang commented, rolling her eyes as the boy with blond hair in a black hoodie ran past them towards the back of the ship.
"It was a nice moment while it lasted," Ruby joked, causing Yang and Ray to chuckled.
"I wonder who we're going to meet!" Ray wonders with a knowing look in his eye.
"I just hope they're better than Vomit Boy." Ruby replies before noticing something. "Oh, Yang, gross! You have puke on your shoe!"
"Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!" Yang starts hopping around on one foot, trying to shake the puke off.
"Get-get away! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me!" Ruby shouts, running away from her sister.
"Ray, help!" Yang wines, hopping towards him.
"What do you want me to do!?" Ray exclaims, backing away. "Go to the bathroom and get some paper towels to wipe it off or something! Aw na! Nope! Stay away from me! Yang! Stop!"