After stepping out of that metal thing and setting foot on solid ground, Sasuke got his first glimpse of Beacon, and he was positively surprised. In a way, the architecture of this school resembled one of those castles so commonly mentioned in fictional tales.
Indeed, a different world. Looking up, Sasuke could only imagine what else was out there as he focused on the broken moon that was visible even during the day. Who knows, maybe I should set aside some time to explore later.
Surely, it would be a good experience and could help him understand the circumstances that led this world to its current state.
Something to consider.
As for the girls, their minds were on something completely different.
Yang wanted to kill the idiot who dirtied her new boots, but he was already suffering enough by sticking his head in the nearest trash can and continuing to vomit the contents of his stomach.
Ruby, on the other hand, was watching Sasuke from afar, not knowing what to do. After the awkward moment just now and all the commotion, she was afraid he might be angry. So much so that she couldn't even bring herself to admire the countless weapons of the other students.
Only her potential friend mattered.
"Damn, I need to find a bathroom." For now, Yang would have to postpone her plans to socialize with a few familiar faces and meet new people. The problem now is what to do about Ruby.
Initially, she was planning to leave her little sister on her own so she could come out of her shell and make some friends. After everything that had happened recently, Yang wasn't so sure about that anymore, but the person Ruby had in her eyes wasn't a bad guy.
Sasuke was a bit cynical, yes, especially with all that lone wolf talk, but he was still a nice guy.
Ruby was safe with him.
"Instead of staring, you should just go after him," Yang said with a small smile, and her little sister jumped in embarrassment. She couldn't be more obvious than that~
Which only made things equally entertaining.
"I..." Ruby looked down, shyly holding her hands behind her back as she kicked the ground lightly. "I want Sasuke to be my first friend at Beacon, so..."
Yang had to restrain herself to avoid hugging her little sister, who couldn't be any cuter!
Maybe now, they could finally have some real girl talk!
"Liking a boy makes your heart flutter, doesn't it?" Yang still remembered her first crush, an older guy... and one who already had a girlfriend. "Even so, you must be careful not to let those feelings cloud your mind." Unfortunately, not everything was roses in paradise, and she knew it. "I don't want you to get hurt, understand?"
Especially when they were dealing with someone as mysterious as Sasuke.
Ruby had a lot to say about that, disagreeing with most of what had just been said, but she knew Yang was right.
Finally, having a cool boy who liked her was a unique experience and made her so happy that she was starting to like him back.
Again, this was something that had never happened before!
"Even so, I have to say it." Yang put her hands on her hips and smiled warmly as she looked in Sasuke's direction. "He kind of caught my interest, too."
Ruby jumped again, her silver eyes widening with a mixture of emotions, ranging from surprise to fear, and for good reason.
It was no wonder Yang was acting less like Yang than usual in Sasuke's presence!
In that case, if her sister had her eyes on him, then...
"Calm down, sis. I'm not going to steal the first guy who caught your interest," Yang was quick to clarify, perhaps too quick and not in a very honest way. "I'm just saying that he's different and someone I'd like to have as a friend."
Really, they had a strange dynamic that made it seem like they had known each other for a long time, and Yang was loving every second of it.
Truth be told, she wanted to tease him even more.
To hell with the danger!
Ruby sighed with relief, happy to know that Yang just wanted to be friends with Sasuke. Because otherwise, she wouldn't stand a chance.
Her sister was that pretty.
"Then go talk to him," Yang gave Ruby a little push, which was all she needed, along with some self-esteem. "I'll go ahead and clean up this mess and meet you guys later."
With that, she disappeared from view before her little sister could say anything.
There she goes... again. Ruby sighed as she was left behind, something that happened often and that she could never get used to. It's okay, Ruby! You can do this!
After all, Sasuke liked her, so what could go wrong?
There was only one way to find out!
Meanwhile, Sasuke was doing more than merely admiring the overall structure of Beacon; he was memorizing everything within his sight.
The surveillance here is more intense than I expected. The number of small cameras he saw was absurd, covering every possible angle. A school to train the world's greatest protectors is, in itself, already a protected place, so why such exaggeration?
Not that Sasuke was paranoid, but in this regard, regardless of the world, the higher the level of protection, the greater the value of what was being protected.
He doubted very much that the students were Beacon's greatest treasure. They were soldiers, trained to protect their homes, people, and loved ones, after all.
Hopefully, they weren't treated as mere tools like most Shinobi back in the Elemental Nations, especially those manipulated by the Will of Fire.
Either way, it's something to keep in mind. Sasuke decided to move on and head to the main hall, where he could get more information about what was to come. That's right, I still don't know what the initiation will be like.
Maybe it would be similar to the Chunin exams, throwing the candidates into a forest to fight each other for items in their possession or to face some of those creatures of darkness.
It would be simple that way, but if there's some written test... Sasuke wasn't like Naruto, who would cower in front of a piece of paper, but unfortunately, in this world, he was just as stupid as that loser. I can always use my Sharingan as I did during the first stage of the Chunin exam, but there's no guarantee that more sophisticated methods of examination won't be used here.
Like tests with unique questions for each student, or worse, digital tests...
For someone who couldn't access his Scroll, that would spell the end of his first attempt to infiltrate Beacon.
That's not good. Sasuke could only hope that there was nothing like that and that they would put everyone to fight. That would be the best possible scenario.
One in which he would get a perfect score.
"Sasuke, wait!" Ruby called out and cheered up when she saw him stop at the sound of her voice. Hehe, he really likes me~
It seemed she was worrying for nothing.
Or so Ruby and her endless naivety believed.
Right, I forgot about her for a moment. Sasuke had seen Yang disappear into the distance as she looked at him with a smug smile that couldn't be more annoying, but not her little sister. At least, it's only one of them now.
Not ideal, but much better than the alternative.
Turning back, he came face to face with a girl who couldn't have been happier, but only until she tripped over her own feet and fell straight into his arms.
"Kyaa!" Ruby felt her world collapse and her heart leap in the span of a second! "Wawawa!"
Her mind heated up so much that it almost collapsed!
"Ruby, calm down." Sasuke helped this clumsy girl to her feet, and again, he was disappointed with her skill level for making such a childish mistake. "You're not making sense."
Especially with these reactions.
Just like Yang, it seemed that Ruby was developing feelings for him, and that didn't make sense.
Regardless of the reason each of them had, it didn't change the fact that they didn't know what Sasuke looked like under his hood, and that intrigued him.
"I-I, I!" Ruby only managed to compose herself after putting on her hood and taking a deep breath. I can't mess this up! This was her chance to make her first friend at Beacon! "I want to see your weapon!"
Her request sounded more like an order, and again, her heart sank at how terrible she was at this kind of thing.
"My weapon?" Sasuke ignored the way this girl's expressions changed in less than a heartbeat, trying to understand her motives. "Why?"
Certainly, given her personality, it wasn't for nefarious reasons, like trying to gain an advantage over him in a potential student combat exam.
In that case, Sasuke's best guess was just curiosity.
Somehow, her reason managed to be even more absurd.
"Y-yes!" Again, Ruby managed to recover quickly and look at him expectantly. "So we can be friends!"
That made even less sense to him.
However, Sasuke had come to understand over the years that everyone had their eccentricities. Naruto and he, for example, understood each other better through fighting. Creating a bond through his weapon, on the other hand, was a first.
At least she didn't ask me out. Still, Sasuke decided it was better to shatter the illusion this girl had created in her mind before her crush got worse. "But I don't want to be your friend."
Naruto was already enough of a problem.
Ruby stopped, her mind working at full speed to understand what she had just heard.
"I don't want to be your friend... I don't want to be just your friend... I want to be more than your friend..."
Sasuke could only watch in silence as Ruby's silver eyes widened in shock before her face began to redden to levels unknown even to him.
In a way, it looked like Ruby was about to explode, and Sasuke was seriously considering taking her to the infirmary.
He wasn't completely wrong, but not for the right reason.
In Ruby's mind, she could see the whole scene.
The flowing black cloak with its red clouds, the surrounding scenery filled with flowers on a beautiful summer day. The rainbow adorning the skies and a bunch of super cool weapons firing together in celebration of the union in progress.
That and her entire family, crying with happiness as they congratulated her on the union.
"I want to be much more than your friend," Sasuke whispered in his elegant voice, extending his firm, strong hand to caress her flushed face. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you~."
Then there was the kiss that could turn the whole world upside down!
"Noooo!" Ruby screamed, becoming the center of attention again, and immediately grabbed her head in conflict. "It's too soon for something like that!"
Sasuke could only imagine that a mental war was going on inside that head. He would know, since he had had several of those, but that didn't mean he could understand what was going on.
When he was about to say something, Ruby decided to deal with this problem the only way she knew how, and run away without looking where she was going, forcing him to act to prevent her from repeating the same mistake as before.
"Just like Yang said." Sasuke held the girl's hand, tempted to let her crash into the pile of suitcases that was right in front of her. "You need to stop doing that."
Ruby came to her senses, heard his words, but only paid attention to the hand holding hers. Even though he was wearing gloves, they didn't cover his fingers or hide the strength of his masculine grip...
This was the first time a boy had held her hand.
However, this little experience didn't last long, and Ruby was strangely disappointed that he had let go of her.
Meanwhile, Sasuke had his eyes on the extremely beautiful girl who was coming toward them, and she wasn't very happy. Her anger aside, the most notable feature about her would be the color of her hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows, which were the purest white, just like snow. As for her posture, she managed to be refined with a touch of elegance, even with her aggressive body language, indicating a high level of discipline. She wasn't much taller than Ruby, considering the heels she wore. Finally, there was her skin, which was incredibly pale, as if she had never seen the sun in her life.
If it weren't for her icy blue eyes and the obvious lack of Chakra, Sasuke would have mistaken this girl for a descendant of the Otsutsuki clan.
Theoretically speaking, I am a descendant of them. Physically and spiritually, but even so, Sasuke did not resemble Kaguya in the same way that this girl did. Regardless of the scar over her left eye, she looks like a princess.
Which was kind of ironic, given the castle in the background.
That and Sasuke was also a prince and heir to the Uchiha clan... or what was left of that legacy, stained by mistakes and blood.
Before he could have his mood ruined by this depressing topic, the princess wearing a white dress with a red interior, a kind of preference among the female combatants of this world, stopped in front of him.
"Hey, you!" Weiss pointed directly at this extremely suspicious boy in a black cloak. "Your girlfriend almost blew us off the cliff!"
In addition to the hood, he had a gray turtleneck shirt underneath his cloak, but even that combination shouldn't be able to produce enough shadows to hide his face so completely.
As if that wasn't strange enough, the sun was strong and in their favor. Still, she couldn't see anything inside that hood!
This could only be the work of a Semblance. Her eyes narrowed at the mere possibility of someone's unique ability being focused on concealment. Even more suspicious!
This made Weiss stay on guard, assuming only the worst, and for good reason.
Considering who she was and the kind of people who tended to target her family, she couldn't be too careful.
"G-girlfriend?!" Ruby went from one shock and conflict to another! "What makes you say that!?"
But then it occurred to her that this meant Sasuke and she looked like a couple!
Weiss didn't even know what to say about that, only that this girl wasn't normal with these spikes of emotion... or maybe she was just on that day of the month.
The mere thought made her calm down a little in sympathy.
"Well, there's the hug of just now, holding hands, and matching clothes?" Weiss pointed out the obvious, and even the suspicious guy seemed to consider her words. "You name it."
Anyone would come to the same conclusion.
"W-we're not dating yet!" Ruby shouted reflexively and covered her mouth immediately. I didn't say that, did I?!
This couldn't get any worse!
"Yet, you say?" Sasuke repeated as he looked at this girl as if she were an enigma. I guess that confirms it.
Ruby had feelings for him.
Again, Sasuke couldn't find the logic behind such a development.
Just like Yang, this girl didn't know him, didn't know about his true strength, bloodline, and had no idea what he looked like... so why?
Sasuke couldn't understand it, and that stirred conflicting feelings in his heart.
After all, this was the first time a girl had shown interest in him without having ulterior motives such as wanting the Uchiha name and the Sharingan, or for superficial reasons such as his good looks.
"Nooo!" Ruby fell to her knees, crumbling along with her dreams. It's all over...
Her inability to interact with other people finally came back to bite her where it hurt the most and ruined her stay at Beacon before it even began.
"Will she be okay?" Weiss found herself asking with a certain level of concern and guilt. I think I just forced her to confess her feelings at the worst possible moment...
It was no wonder the girl seemed to have lost part of her soul and was clearly sad.
Sasuke said nothing, not while he was still caught up in thoughts about this unexpected development and Ruby's feelings.
Could her affection be considered a good or a bad thing?
On one hand, this was the first time someone had taken an interest in him in such a pure way, devoid of ulterior motives. On the other hand, Sasuke had his fight against Kaguya, Naruto, and the revolution to keep in mind.
Before an answer could be found, however, he was torn from his thoughts by the sudden sound of falling tears.
Ruby was crying.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin everything!" Weiss tried, almost panicking and not knowing what else to do! "I just wanted to make you aware of the danger of knocking over a pile of suitcases full of Dust!"
Becoming the villain and making a younger girl cry was never part of her plan!
"Ruby Rose," Sasuke took a step forward and called the girl's name, trying to understand what was going on in her mind. "Why are you crying?"
It wasn't as if he was an emotionless monster, but Sasuke could only remember shedding tears twice in his life: once when his clan was destroyed and once when he discovered the truth about Itachi.
Tears had a weight for him that no one could dream of describing.
"B-because I'm a disaster at meeting new people and making friends; everything always goes wrong," Ruby muttered as she wiped her eyes, then put her hood back on to hide from the stares directed at her. "That's why I prefer to get to know new weapons, they don't make me feel this way..."
Perhaps that was her karma for trying to take advantage of Sasuke's feelings to make her first friend in Beacon.
Although Ruby's response was discouraging, Weiss could relate to the sentiment. She didn't know how to make friends either and always ended up letting her strong personality get the best of her, pushing away anyone who tried to get close.
Not that it was her fault, since most of those people, especially boys, weren't interested in "Weiss," but in her family name, fortune, and good looks.
The last thing she wanted was to make the same mistake as her mother and end up in a relationship, or worse, fall into the manipulative hands of someone as greedy as Jacques, her father.
Sasuke's problem couldn't have been more different, as he usually disliked the mere prospect of forming bonds, and for good reason.
It never worked for him, and at the end of it, there was only pain.
Still, now that Sasuke knew how genuine this girl was, he couldn't turn his back on her.
"Friendship..." he began, and even though this topic didn't appeal to him, seeing Ruby fallen and desolate like that brought back memories of himself on the night of the full moon when his life fell apart. "It's not something you can force, earn, or buy." This got a bigger reaction from the princess, who was listening intently to his every word. "It comes naturally, so much so that you can form a bond with someone without even wanting to have one." That was the case with Sasuke and Naruto. "So stand up, Ruby Rose." His hand was outstretched, and the girl's eyes before him shone with more than just emotion. "That's not the posture of a woman who wants to be strong."
With his words and actions, Sasuke was going against everything he believed in by allowing a bond to form between him and this girl, but only for one reason: this wasn't his world.
It didn't matter if Sasuke met or connected with other people in Remnant, because soon, he would leave it all behind.
Until then, he could find a safe way to use his eyes on the people of this world and erase their memories.
That way, no one would be hurt...except himself, but at this point, what would be the difference?
In fact, now that Sasuke was thinking about it, maybe he didn't need to kill Naruto. If nothing changed and he decided to continue his revolution, Sasuke could just throw that loser out into this world.
After all, without being able to manipulate space-time, it was impossible to travel between dimensions and return to the Elemental Nations.
Suddenly, Sasuke felt as if a gigantic weight had been lifted from his back and replaced with a certain level of appreciation for Ruby and the realization she had helped him achieve.
Once again, it seemed that coming to Beacon wasn't a bad decision on his part.