Regardless of the eccentricities presented by this world so far, Sasuke entered Beacon's main hall with Ruby, expecting to find a scene similar to that of the Chunin exam, where he would be greeted with ominous silence and waves of hostility as a result of having people from different nations gathered in one place.
Sasuke would never forget the pressure he felt that day, let alone how excited he was at the chance to prove himself against the best in his age group and announce to the world that the Uchiha clan still lived on through him.
Although things had taken a turn for the worse with Orochimaru's invasion, he had managed to do all that, especially in his fight against Gaara, and the chance to repeat the dose in Remnant felt like a gift.
However, that was not the case.
Imagine Sasuke's surprise when he was met with an atmosphere completely different from what he expected, being extremely friendly and happy. In a way, it even seemed like some kind of celebration was taking place and not the beginning of an exam that would define their future.
For a moment, not even the racial division seemed to exist with the way some humans and faunus were interacting. Of course, the vast majority were still gathering in separate groups of the same species, but that didn't erase the overall picture.
There was peace and harmony in this place, something Sasuke hadn't seen even back at the academy in Konoha.
Unbelievable. Sasuke had a solemn look, but with traces of annoyance at how this world tended to contradict him at every turn and the conflict it created in his heart. And to think that all these people come from different parts of the world.
Under normal circumstances, a scenario like this would be completely impossible back in the Elemental Nations.
While the Shinobi alliance existed, it was nothing more than a temporary thing born out of desperation to survive.
A futile effort in his opinion, since only the idiot and he could put up a real fight against the enemies that threatened to destroy the world.
That aside, after Kaguya was defeated and things returned to normal, it would only be a matter of time before conflict reignited.
For that reason, a revolution was necessary to break the cycle and bring true change to that cursed world.
In Remnant, however, even if the Grimm were completely destroyed, there was a chance that this peace would remain.
After all, this alliance had existed for so long that it had become normalized, resulting in the scenario before him.
Of course, the racial division would still be a problem, and there were criminals like Roman causing trouble, but that could be easily solved if the right person were in power.
With that in mind, maybe I just need to keep the Elemental Nations on a leash for a generation. Sasuke could easily handle that, being nothing compared to the nightmare of reliving the greatest tragedy of his life hundreds of thousands of times. After that, all the resentment held in the past would cease to exist, and peace would reign.
Theoretically speaking.
At the end of the day, it would be foolish to believe that conflicts would simply cease entirely after a mere century. At the same time, ignoring the truth presented before him would be equally foolish.
There was something here that could help him carry out his revolution, and once again, Sasuke was satisfied with his decision to come to Beacon.
Even without laying his hands on a single book, he was already learning so much that it made him strangely excited about what else this academy had in store for him.
"Sasuke?" Ruby broke the silence between them, only now noticing how restless he seemed. "Is everything okay?"
Part of her wanted to believe that this reaction was due to the crowd in front of them, and Ruby could understand that perfectly, but there was also everything that had happened earlier weighing on her mind.
Not even her defeat at the hands of that pervert had affected her this way.
Because, for the first time, Ruby was aware that the Grimm weren't the only problem in Remnant. What's more, she could see what had previously seemed invisible. In this hall, despite how excited people seemed, the division between humans and faunus couldn't be more evident.
It bothered her, much more than she would like to admit.
"Hm?" For a moment, Sasuke had even forgotten that he wasn't alone. "I'm fine, just thinking a little."
About things a girl like Ruby couldn't understand. Weiss, on the other hand...
If possible, Sasuke really wanted to talk more with that girl, and maybe with that faunus with long black hair, too.
As for Ruby, Sasuke couldn't judge her for being ignorant of the truth.
After all, he was two years older than her and had only recently opened his eyes to something beyond his selfish desires.
If anything, Ruby was better than him for taking notice of what was wrong with this world and showing concern about it.
"Oh, okay..." Ruby could sense that there was more to it than that, but she decided to respect his privacy. Just like his appearance, pressing him for his thoughts is also a no-no.
Besides, she could imagine that the reason for his silence was no different from hers, and that served to show how serious the situation was.
"Hey, look!" Ruby perked up a little when she saw her sister waving at them. "Yang saved us a spot!"
Sasuke said nothing and let himself be led to the girl whose smile couldn't be any bigger when she saw Ruby holding his hand. Looking at her now and her provocative attitude, he could see more than just Naruto in Yang; there was also that unshakeable confidence that Ino always displayed.
If it weren't for the idiot who threw up inside the Bullhead, he would say that this was a blonde thing.
"Hey, Sasuke." Yang hugged Ruby, who seemed less happy than usual, and unexpectedly, she was hugged back instead of being pushed away for her public display of affection. "I hope you didn't do anything to my beautiful little sister~."
She was just testing the reactions, and it didn't take long for this girl to return to normal while blushing profusely.
"Yang!" Ruby puffed out her cheeks, her heart skipping a beat as she remembered the moment they had earlier. I can't let her find out about that, or she'll never stop teasing me!
Just like always, but worse!
At least Ruby would admit that her sister knew exactly what to do to help take her mind off all those troublesome issues, even if only temporarily.
Speaking of which, one of the girls responsible for the conflict in her heart was right next to her, leaning against the wall, and she hadn't even noticed!
"Ruby Rose, you seem to have a talent for attracting attention." Weiss wasn't surprised by this behavior, but the same couldn't be said about this unexpected development. So this is how sisters normally interact...
She could see the affection in Yang's teasing and the way Ruby responded to it, something Weiss and Winter had never done in their lives.
Both had been raised in an environment that harshly reprimanded displays of affection, even in private, because it was considered a weakness.
As a result, the relationship they had was almost professional compared to these two, and just like that, Weiss found herself envying Ruby Rose a second time in the short period of time they had known each other.
The irony. She couldn't help but notice it with a touch of bitterness in her solemn gaze. Many love to say that I'm the girl who has it all, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Now that she had gained her freedom and was in the presence of normal people—relatively speaking—that truth was especially evident.
"Oh. Hey, Weiss!" Ruby was quick to break free from Yang's grip and compose herself so as not to show this childish side of her to a potential friend. "Small world, right?"
Her attempt to change the subject couldn't be more obvious, much like her awkward behavior.
"You have no idea." Weiss then focused her attention on the object of her interest, someone who was looking directly at her, and that made her more excited than she would like to admit. "Don't you agree, Uchiha Sasuke?"
The boy in question did not respond immediately, and strangely, she didn't feel offended by that. If anything, she should thank him for exposing that faunus from earlier and preventing her from making a scene... one that would have been much worse for her image.
"Sasuke," he said after a moment of consideration, not expecting to meet this girl so soon, and this was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. "Just Sasuke is enough."
Because everyone who used his full name did so with hostility, and that wasn't the kind of relationship he wanted to build with this girl in front of him.
"I see." Weiss smiled slightly, pleased with this friendly development. "In that case, Sasuke, I also expect to be addressed by my name, too."
Formalities were nothing more than an unnecessary social barrier in this scenario. That, and she was destroying the possibility of having to deal with stupid nicknames.
"Don't worry, Weiss." Sasuke was more than aware of the position she was in, having gone through it himself as a child because of his status as the potential heir to the Uchiha clan. "That's exactly what I intended to do."
With that, they reached a mutual agreement for the sake of their own interests. For the sisters who watched this interaction, however, they couldn't help but feel a certain discomfort that Ruby knew very well, but which she still refused to recognize as jealousy.
"So..." Yang found herself joining the conversation in an unnatural and almost forced way, but she didn't care. "Do you two know each other?"
A rhetorical question, she knew, but one that served a purpose.
"We do now," Weiss replied with a hint of satisfaction in her voice, and for some reason, this girl seemed strangely relieved by what she had to say. "And you would be?"
Someone whose personality seemed as bright as her golden hair.
"Right, I almost forgot!" Ruby jumped up, realizing her rudeness. "Weiss, this is my big sister, Yang!" Then she did the same for the girl she had just met. "Yang, this is Weiss Schnee! She's a super famous heiress, and her name has a similar meaning to mine!"
Part of her also wanted to talk about how beautiful she was, but Ruby was sure that would make her sister feel competitive, and nothing good would come of it.
"Nice to meet you, Weiss." Yang knew about this girl's family, but decided not to comment on it and smiled as she stroked Ruby's hair. "I hope my little sister didn't give you too much trouble."
Just like she usually did.
"Other than the fact that she almost knocked over a pile of suitcases loaded with Dust that could have blown us off the cliff?" Weiss commented with a slight touch of sarcasm and arched her lips a little at the way the sisters' eyes widened. "Nothing too extreme, since Sasuke prevented that from happening."
She pointed to the boy in question, and Yang flashed a small smile that was strangely kind, but it didn't compare to the warmth in her lilac eyes, which carried more meaning than a thousand words.
No way. Weiss couldn't help but show some skepticism, let alone contain her curiosity as her heart fluttered. Even a girl like her?
That explained the strange way she was acting when she interrupted their conversation, probably motivated by jealousy, and that did wonders for Weiss's self-esteem.
Yang was one of the most attractive girls she had ever seen, and that meant a lot coming from her. After all, as a singer, Weiss dealt with people who worked in the entertainment industry frequently, and that included models. While Weiss considered herself the pinnacle of high society beauty, a real-life princess, Yang didn't even look like a teenager, but rather a woman whose sex appeal was capable of making any boy's hormones boil with her mere presence.
Except for Sasuke, and that only served to make Weiss even more curious about him and what he looked like.
Only a supermodel would be able to win the feelings of two girls like that.
"Heheh," Ruby let out a nervous laugh at what this girl just said. "So I guess we really avoided a disaster, huh?"
One that could have resulted in them being expelled from Beacon before they even had a chance to go through the initiation.
"You could say that." Weiss didn't like to think about the possibility and decided to focus on what really mattered to her. "So, how long have you three known each other?"
This made the pair of sisters pause for a moment, not expecting a question like that since they were sisters. However, considering Sasuke's presence and that Yang had asked something similar just now, it was only fair.
"Oh, not very long," Ruby said with a small smile, soon focusing on Sasuke and blushing when she saw that he was looking back at her. "Y-yesterday was the first time we met, to tell you the truth."
In a way that neither of them would ever forget, even if it was for different reasons, and no one else needed to know about it.
Regardless, it was more than enough to leave Weiss speechless for a moment, almost without action.
"You two are joking, right?" She couldn't believe it, and the confusion in the eyes of this pair of sisters spoke for itself. They're not joking...
How in the world did they fall in love with Sasuke so quickly?!
In Ruby's case, she could understand, especially given the girl's personality and how naive she seemed. However, the same could not be said about Yang. This girl exuded confidence and could have any man in the world with nothing more than a smile, so how did someone like her also fall for Sasuke in less than a day?!
This boy was dangerous, and Weiss's curiosity about him had reached a peak, her heart leaping with excitement.
Now, she wanted to know everything about Sasuke!
Unfortunately, her curiosity would have to wait.
Just as Weiss was about to bombard these three with questions, the teachers entered the hall and made their way to the podium alongside Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon.
What followed was a speech by this man, the one considered to be the most famous and renowned Hunter in the world, someone even greater than General Ironwood himself. Even so, Weiss paid no attention to what he was saying, her blue eyes and mind completely focused on Sasuke, trying to decipher this mystery.
The boy in question, on the other hand, had his eyes fixed on this gray-haired man as he listened to his brief speech about wasted potential.
It was ironic how right this Headmaster was, but that opinion and truth were not what really caught Sasuke's attention.
This Ozpin, he wasn't normal, and that made him uneasy, especially when his eyes kept focusing on Sasuke in a not-so-discreet way.
He's aware of me. Just as Sasuke was aware of him, Ozpin wasn't the only one if the green eyes of an extremely beautiful woman with blonde hair meant that much. I'm guessing that my presence here won't last very long.
At least, not as Uchiha Sasuke.
As soon as Ozpin's speech ended, he was torn from his thoughts by the weight on his back, the feminine bulge, and the pair of arms around his neck.
Yeah, Yang really reminded him of Ino, and Sasuke hated how nostalgic this felt, especially with the sound of jealousy and shock from the surrounding crowd.
"Man, I thought that Headmaster and Headmistress were going to devour you with their eyes," she said and smiled as she leaned closer to the darkness that was this boy's face. "Seems like I'm not the only one curious about what you're hiding under that hood~."
Which was strange, since they must have all his data, including his identity.
"I noticed." Sasuke wasn't blind, but that wasn't the point right now. What mattered was what this girl was doing. "Yang, if you try to remove my hood, we're going to have a problem."
The kind that would make their last fight seem cute in comparison.
"Don't worry." Yang hugged him closer, loving the fact that he hadn't yet thrown her across the hall against a wall. "I'll wait until you show me your face~."
Or until he was forced to reveal himself by the school, which would be very soon, and she couldn't wait!
"Then you'll be disappointed." Sasuke had no intention of giving in, at least not voluntarily. "Besides, there's nothing to see."
A lie, he knew, but one he intended to keep until the end.
"If that were really true, then why hide it? Because there is something to be seen!" Yang said with all the confidence in the world and flashed a victorious smile as she sensed Sasuke's irritation. "You didn't expect that one either, did you?"
Yang was killing it with these comebacks!
"Be that as it may, I think it's time to go." Sasuke turned in the opposite direction from where most of the students were going. "To look for the library."
Where he intended to spend the entire night reading.
"No, thanks!" Yang didn't think twice before jumping off Sasuke's back and trying to run away, but without success, as the collar of her coat was grabbed from behind. "C-can we talk about this?"
Looking over her shoulder and directly into the darkness of that hood, Yang couldn't see anything, but she was sure he was smiling back at her, and not in a very friendly way.
"You should have thought about that before hanging onto me," Sasuke said before starting to drag this girl along with him. "Now, stop crying and let's go, loser."
Time to knock some sense into this hothead.
"Oh, come on!" Yang tried to resist, but in vain, and she knew she was cooked! "Sasuke, you bastard, let me go or I'll kill you for real this time!"
All she could do was curse, and damn, she had a sharp tongue!
Watching this unexpected development were Ruby and Weiss, one more surprised than the other, and they weren't the only ones.
Many were amused by it, while others, mostly boys, couldn't contain their envy of having this kind of relationship with such a beautiful girl.
"What's up with those two?" Weiss couldn't even bring herself to talk about the fact that Yang had admitted she didn't know what Sasuke looked like under that hood. "They seem... friendly, but in an almost hostile way."
This could only be considered a contradiction, and one that worked.
"Just like best friends." Ruby ended up smiling after understanding the kind of relationship Sasuke and Yang were developing, with no reason to feel jealous. "I hope I can have one too." She looked at Weiss intensely. "Like, a lot."
The message couldn't be clearer or more direct.
"Good luck with that," Weiss said and waved her hand dismissively before heading in the same direction as Sasuke, much to Ruby's disappointment, but only until she stopped and looked back. "Are you coming or what?"
That alone was enough to make the girl light up in a contagious way, and strangely enough, Weiss could get used to that.