You know what this story is missing?

Ador-Ruby-ness. Oh and Yang level puns. Well, I can fulfill at least one of them this chapter, I hope.

Please enjoy.

Chapter 3: The Meeting

If she was doomed to this forsaken ship, then at least she will enjoy the finer splendors in life. Like food. Good food. Warm, delicious, specially prepared by five star chefs kind of good.

Decked out in beautiful spreads, the banquet hall was filled with mingling guests as Weiss entered through giant mahogany double doors. Her eyes skimmed the room to see if there was anyone of notable import. Neptune was seated at a table along with the captain. He gently turned down every offer to dance with a nervous chuckle; no doubt he didn't know how and didn't want to look like a fool in front of everyone.

Aside from the minor relatives she barely knew and Neptune, long flowing red hair caught her attention.

Pyrrha Nikos. Long time Olympic champion and quite notable for her helpful and cheerful personality. Despite being only middle class by birth, she won the hearts of all classes through sheer hard work and determination, triumphing repeatedly in the global games that skyrocketed her fame. Not letting it go to her head, she still strived to be better, the perfect image of humility.

Perfect. Weiss smiled wryly at how apt the word fitted the girl. As if the entire world ordained it from birth, her entire life was set up perfectly. Blessed just enough to give her a happy family, set with just enough obstacles for her to clear.

Jealous? Weiss was at one point in her life when she first found out about Pyrrha. The storybook life she must have led, the future she looked forward to. Somehow, that all changed over the years. She even felt a strange sense of admiration for the girl and a desire to get to know her. Not that anything ever came to fruition.

Even now, she seemed to blend in perfectly with the other guests. As she turned, she must have noticed Weiss. Brightly illuminated white hair tended to be eye-catching.

"Why hello there," she greeted as she walked over.

"Hello, Pyrrha Nikos," Weiss returned with a small curtsey.

Pyrrha giggled slightly. "As you know my name already, might I be a bit presumptuous? You are Weiss Schnee?"

"Indeed," Weiss nodded forward slightly.

"Would you like to join us?" Pyrrha offered her hand. A tender gloved hand that might be the salvation to her ennui.

"If I would not be intruding," she humbly replied. Mustn't seem too eager, mustn't reject too strongly. Those were the teachings her father had imparted with her, though she wanted to accept whole heartedly if it meant a chance to talk to her childhood idol. The political dance of ambiguity was not one she enjoyed performing, but had to if she wanted to move anywhere in society, quite literally.

"Of course not," Pyrrha smiled and took her hand and led her to a table.

Weiss sat across from Pyrrha, strangers to her left and right. She didn't really recognize them, though one of the girls she vaguely recalled for beating Pyrrha in one of the games… hammer throw if she remembered correctly.

Unfortunately, as polite conversation was made, Weiss felt herself drifting further and further away. Unlike Pyrrha, who easily transitioned from one topic to another, always gaily keeping pace with the other guests, Weiss was out of place, unable to contribute anything meaningful to the conversation.

With everyone wanting to talk to Pyrrha, Weiss shouldn't have expected any difference. She could hardly get a word in edgewise and what would she have even talked about?

She couldn't even enjoy the dinner she was looking so forward to. A shame since her plate had a beautifully seared salmon steak, fresh and glistening from the slightly caramelized surface. Utterly tasteless… like the topics around her.

"Thank you for inviting me," Weiss stated as she stood from the table. "I'm afraid I must be heading back to my room."

"Are you feeling okay?" Pyrrha asked worriedly as she made to stand, though Weiss held up her hand.

"Just a bit… seasick, I suppose," she sighed.

"Let me walk you back to your room," Pyrrha offered.

Weiss shook her head. "No, no. Please don't trouble yourself." Her mind whirred, trying to find an excuse. "I'm… just going to get some fresh air before I retire for the night."

Pyrrha just looked at her for a moment, no doubt wary of letting someone ill wander off alone. Not that she could do anything without seeming intruding.

Weiss waved shortly and left the dining room behind, not even bothering to meet the eyes of anyone else.

Five minutes. She couldn't even last five minutes in the presence of company, she bemoaned. How was she ever going to take over as the next head?

Perhaps the night air really will clear up her mind as she found herself on the deck. She wasn't thinking, letting her feet take her where they will, but she wasn't opposed to the results.

Craning her neck back, she took in the night sky. Stars shimmered in the inky sky, not a cloud to obstruct the dazzling view. She half-heartedly wished that the ship's lighting would blow out so that the scene could be even more perfect, but she quickly stopped that dangerous line of thinking. Losing power in the middle of the ocean was no laughing matter.

Alone out in the quiet sky, despite the people just behind the walls. Weiss smirked wryly at how lonely she made herself. She knew she was antisocial, though in her defense, people didn't really give her much reason to meet them halfway.

Her hands traced the railings as she neared the edge. Was the railing colder or her hands? She couldn't tell the difference.

Her eyes swept the uneven surface of the ocean glistening from the moon overhead. An inane idea popped into her head to peer over the bow. Stupid as it sounded, she decided to look anyways, making sure to keep a steady hand on the railings. Maybe it was the night's air, or that full moons really did make lunatics.

White froth. The trails left behind as the ship cruised on through it's journey. Was that what she was? The froth left behind as her family's name cruised on through history? Is she destined to dissipate away, lost in the tides of time?

She shook her head ruefully. Clearly she was going crazy from cabin fever if she was already waxing philosophy and it was only a day's journey so far.

"DON'T JUMP!"

She heard a scream and was tackled harshly to the side.

Colliding painfully with the hard wooden deck, Weiss' vision swam as her brain tried to catch up with what just happened.

"I know life can be hard! And sometimes things look bleak! But- but!"

A round and childish face slowly swam into view.

"But don't just throw your life away!" she wailed, nearly to the point of tears.

The sudden realization of what she was implying struck Weiss. The sudden realization of where her hands were…

"You dolt!" she screamed back and shoved the girl as hard as she could off.

As she scrambled to her feet, she finally got a good look at the girl who tackled her. A mop of dark hair, though glinting strangely red near the tips, unkempt told her of the girl's station in life. Her clothes, a simple black top and skirt, was decorated with patches and wrapped around her neck was a red cloak. Black soot seem to streak her cheek on one side and she carried around a small bag of rough material.

Why was a third class passenger allowed on deck? More specifically, the third class was set to the stern of the ship. Weiss was certain the upper floors and bow were reserved for the elite echelons.

A small smile nearly broke out on her face, but she kept stoic. She had an evil little idea. A prank to pass the time before someone came to take the child back to the lower decks. Served her right too for interrupting Weiss' alone moment.

"And you're going to stop me?" Weiss questioned haughtily.

She stepped near the railing again, glancing at the waters below.

"You don't know me, so don't even presume to understand me," she stated imperiously.

"M-maybe not…" the girl hesitatingly put forth. "B-but your life can't be all that bad…"

"Like you know anything," Weiss muttered, half truthful. She did somewhat resent her life, not enough to commit suicide over it, but the feelings were still there.

"Umm…" the girl fidgeted. "Maybe I can make you feel better?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow questioningly. This was not the first time someone had told her that, though those types of advances she threw out along with last week's trash. She knew full well of their implications.

The girl cleared her throat. "Ahem, my name is Ruby Rose!" she said cheerfully. "Your life may seem bad now, but you have a lot of things to happy about right?" Ruby thought for a moment. "I can tell you what makes me happy! My sister and I getting snacks! Or paper! Oooh! Even better is a book!"

Weiss blanched. Perpetually happy people were the hardest kinds for her to deal with. Plus, she couldn't seem to rile the girl up about her 'fake' suicide.

Weiss gulped, knowing what she was about to do next is utterly foolish, but she had already gone this far, might as well go all the way. She lifted her foot up and stepped onto the first rung of the railing.

Ruby halted her ranting and stared at her.

"I-I'm serious you know!" Weiss shot back at her, making sure to stutter to make it seem like she's really thinking about jumping.

Ruby kept quiet, just staring.

Weiss internally smirked. How will she react to this? If Ruby wanted to continue this game of convincing, Weiss was ready to blow her happy fantasies to smithereens. If Ruby ran off to get help, Weiss will just go back to her room. A bit mean, making the girl out to be a liar, but Weiss didn't really care. Besides, Ruby shouldn't have been here anyways!

Instead, Ruby just knelt down and started to untie her boots.

"What are you doing?" Weiss asked incredulously.

"Taking off my boots," Ruby stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Don't tell me you're planning on jumping in with me?" Weiss nervously sweated. She wasn't prepared for this.

"No," Ruby finished taking off both boots and stood up to face her. "I'm faster without them."

A cocky grin.

"I'll catch you before you even make it to the first porthole!"

Weiss' turn to stare.

"… Are you an idiot?" she had to ask to make sure.

"Hey! That's not very nice!" Ruby pouted cutely.

Weiss shook her head, wondering where the thought came from.

She stepped off from the railing, deciding not to try and push further. She knew when to fold. Carefully composing herself, she gave a small curtsey and introduction, "My name is Weiss Schnee. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Err.. sure?" Ruby shrugged, confused by Weiss' actions thus far.

Weiss didn't really care what she thought and rolled along as if her past actions were but a moment's dream.

"So what brings you to the first class deck?" Weiss asked, wondering how Ruby even got past the guards that stood at each entrance and exit.

"I wanted to see the stars!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly. "And I wanted to see the whole ship! It's sooooooo big!"

Ruby skipped around on the deck, her bare feet making soft patters on the wood. Twirling, her red cloak flared behind her like a giant red tail as she danced around Weiss.

Weiss watched in fascination as Ruby spun around her. So happy. So free. As if there was absolutely nothing wrong in the world.

She was so engrossed she hardly heard the slight clack as a door behind her opened.

"What's going on up here?" Pyrrha's voice drifted over.

Weiss spun around to see Pyrrha along with Neptune and a few people she didn't recognize or remembered.

Before anyone could say anything,

"Hi!" Ruby greeted.

"Well hello there," Pyrrha greeted back good-naturedly. She turned to Weiss, "We were worried about you as no one saw you head to your room."

"Are you alright?" Neptune asked with genuine worry.

"Ah, yes…" Weiss' voice drifted back to her usual tone. "I wanted to enjoy the night air a bit longer before retiring." She saw the questioning glances at Ruby. "That's when I met Ruby here. Ruby, Pyrrha, Neptune," she quickly introduced.

Ruby continued to grin and wave like an idiot. Pyrrha waved back.

"What are you doing here?" a gruff sounding crew member asked. He must be part of the escort. "You don't look like you even belong in second class!"

Weiss internally grimaced. This was playing out exactly as to how she imagined it earlier, but now she didn't want to see Ruby dragged away to the other end of the ship. When it came down to it, Weiss just wasn't as mean spirited as she wanted to be. She wracked her brain for an excuse while Pyrrha looked the girl over.

"Where are your shoes?" Pyrrha asked with concern tinging her voice.

"I took them off," Ruby answered, still oblivious about her violation of rules.

Of course, that answer led to everyone's collective question of, "Why?"

The moment Ruby opened her mouth widely, Weiss placed her hand in front of it.

"Don't yawn without covering your mouth," she chided. A lie that no one would believe, but Weiss didn't need anyone to believe it. Just not to question it.

Ruby was about to say something back, but the glare she received more than told her to keep her mouth shut.

"Anyways, I saw Ruby further down the ship," Weiss gestured towards the stern. "She wanted to look at the stars and I asked her to keep me company. She took off her shoes to climb over the class railings," Weiss gestured towards the shorter railings that was only waist high. These separated the classes with first class passengers towards the front, second class in the middle, and third class towards the back.

That should be enough of an excuse to keep Ruby out of trouble. Even more convincing is that Weiss could easily attribute her reason to a passing whim. Now if only they would let the subject drop…

"Yeah! Want to see me do it?" Ruby offered in hopes of reinforcing Weiss' story.

Weiss' glare returned full force. Why would she give them more reason to scrutinize her?! Doesn't she realize that Weiss was trying to get her off the hook?

"N-no that would be quite alright," the crew member was quick to believe her. Luckily, her confidence must have convinced him.

Ruby shrugged and went to put her shoes back on.

"It is getting rather chilly out here," Pyrrha pointed out. "Perhaps it would be best if we all retire for the night," came her sound suggestion.

"Quite so," Weiss agreed.

"Allow me," Neptune offered his arm. Weiss would have been fine walking back by herself, however to deny him now would be frowned upon by everyone, thus she had no choice but to accept.

"Would the miss like an escort?" the crew member offered.

"Hmm?" Ruby looked back at them. "Nah! I'm fine," she grinned and looked straight at Weiss.

Their eyes locked and Weiss could sense Ruby was trying to send her a message. Probably something stupid like 'I'll make sure they all believe your story.'

Ruby took off like a shot towards the class railings and vaulted over them in a single bound.

"Told ya' I could do it!" her receding cry cut through the palpable silence that followed.

Weiss stared in horror and had to resist the urge to chase after the dunderhead and beat some sense into her. She didn't even take off her shoes so now there was a gaping contradiction!

"Such an energetic girl," Pyrrha complimented. "I do hope we get a chance to be better acquainted during this trip."

The other elitists made a disagreeable face as if she just said she wanted to eat something not allowed in polite company. Still, they held their tongue and Weiss was grateful that Pyrrha drew the attention to herself.

As they walked back through the brightly lit halls, Pyrrha caught her eye and she saw an innocent smile and wink.

Did… did she just help us out?

So Weiss finally meets Ruby. Did I succeed in her charm?

Hehe, as always, please leave a review and I'll see you all next chapter.