On the southeastern outskirts of Vale, a wilderness teeming with Grimm, a certain boy was out for a casual stroll. Midnight black body armor over his chest, scarlet red garments covering his limbs, the boy unsheathed a pair of black and white dao swords.

The darkness around him growled. Bloodshot red eyes burned in the shadows. Creatures of Grimm gathered in droves, surrounding the boy. The air turned colder. The light seemingly sucked in by the black fur of Beowolves and Ursas.

Blue motes of light floated around the boy. Lines of power ran down his arms, traveling all over his body. His gold eyes turned silver. His red hair bleached white. His skin seared tan.

"Trace on."

RED meets RED...

"Unlimited Blade Works?" Ruby rolled the name off her tongue. Her silver eyes quietly drinking in the new shop's appearance.

The store had opened in what had once been a dust shop. The previous owners suffered a dust robbery from a group she believed to be the White Fang and had since then left the space open. It came as a surprise to the girl when a new store opened so soon, especially one with such a cool name. Over the glass windows was embossed the image of two crossed dao swords. Her eyes widened at what she saw inside. Weapons galore.

Ruby opened the wooden door, ringing the bell attached to it in the process.

"Welcome to Unlimited Blade Works! How may I help you?" A guy who didn't look too older than her greeted her from the counter.

He was pretty tall, standing a good head taller than her. His hair was red, redder than her own. His eyes were gold and eager to please. From the name tag on his black apron, Ruby read the name 'Shirou'.

Ruby couldn't help herself. She began looking around the shop, hopping from one corner to the other and sending a few rose petals up into the air. The shelves by the wall displayed several weapon parts. Most of them were blades with some gear mechanisms in between. The variety of weapons on display was staggering. The entire shop was filled to the brim with swords of different designs and types, bows and arrows and shields. Ruby had to consciously remind herself not to drool.

"Miss?" Shirou prompted behind her. The guy had left the counter to cater to her needs.

"Ah, I'm sorry," Ruby said, realizing she had ignored the guy. "This shop sells weapons, right?"

"Yes," Shirou said, his voice perfectly level. "Here at UBW, we sell just about any type of weapon. We have plenty of spare parts and completed works as well. We also handle any project requests and weapon maintenance."

Ruby nodded. This place seemed so cool. Being surrounded by so many weapons, Ruby couldn't help but smile in awe.

Shirou though kept a stern face. His look neither positive nor negative, only serious. "Can I help you with anything, dear customer? How about some maintenance for your scythe?"

"You can tell what Crescent Rose is?" Ruby smiled, pulling out her beloved weapon from her back. "It's also a-"

"High-power sniper rifle, right?"

Ruby stopped in her tracks for a moment, before nodding her head fervently. "Right, right! That's amazing. You understand my baby!" She unsheathed her 'baby' into scythe form, carefully swinging it a few times. There was a surprising amount of space in the shop.

A small smile finally crept on the corner of Shirou's face. His golden eyes lit up at Crescent Rose, studying its entire make-up, its history and its functions.

"It's a beautiful weapon. The quirks to it are a mirror of the owner's personality. You built it yourself, right?"

"Yup! How can you tell?" Ruby asked. Her evaluation of Shirou steadily increased.

"Call it a gut feeling. You've put a lot of love into it. It's been diligently maintained too."

"Of course." Ruby grinned. She recalled all those free periods she spent cleaning her weapon, her treasure. "Which is why I'm not really sure if there's a lot you can do to it."

"Oh, you'd be surprised. If you're fine with it, I could take it up a notch or two for you. Free of charge," Shirou offered with a warm smile.

"Really? You'd do that? Didn't you just open though?"' Ruby asked. This Shirou guy seemed to know a great deal about weapons, so she was curious about what improvements he could offer for Crescent Rose. But she still didn't want to interfere with the store's grand opening.

"It's because we're just opening," Shirou walked to the counter, silently urging Ruby to follow him. The girl collapsed her scythe and placed it on the counter.

"Because our store is so new, no one's really sure of what we have to offer. You're actually our first customer today. Really, we'll be in trouble if we don't make any sales soon." He grimaced at the thought of losing his business. "So, by doing some work on Crescent Rose here, UBW would actually be getting some free advertising in your next fight."

Shirou smirked, folding his arms confidently. "Of course, I'll promise you only our best work, miss. What do you say?"

"That sounds great! But I need my weapon for school, so I can't leave it here for long." Ruby frowned.

"Don't worry. I could do it in maybe an hour?" He rubbed his chin.

Truth be told, maintenance would only take a few minutes, but Shirou needed to keep up appearances.

Ruby widened her eyes. She was a bit skeptical of how much work Shirou could get done in just an hour. But seeing the earnest and confident look he wore, Ruby gave in to her curiosity. If the worst comes to pass, Ruby would just have to fix up her weapon by herself.

"Alright then, Shirou, you've got a deal," Ruby agreed, gently nudging her weapon to him.

"I'll take good care of it, Miss…?" he prompted, accepting the commission from his first ever customer whose name he had not yet learned.

"Rose, Ruby Rose. But you can just call me Ruby!" Her ruby eyes beamed at him as she introduced herself belatedly.

WHITE meets WHITE...

"Unlimited Blade Works! For all your weaponry and Grimm fighting needs, come to Unlimited Blade Works!" A chipper white-haired girl called out in Vale public square.

Amid the hustle and bustle of downtown Vale, a little girl was handing out fliers with an adorable smile. Her doll-like beauty caught several passing eyes.

Illyasviel von Einzbern kept her chin up. It had been two hours since she started her job of handing out fliers. So far, she had received mixed responses. While her cute looks brought in a lot of attention, the looks people gave her quickly changed when they learned of the nature of what she was advertising. They all gave her the same look, apprehension and then aversion.

It was worse than she originally thought it would be. Vale was a major city, one of the few truly safe havens on Remnant. As such, its residents were too comfortable in peace. There was no urgency for high caliber weaponry so long as the Grimm were kept at bay. The girl would have been better off handing out fliers for a cute maid café instead. But her brother had insisted on the weapons shop.

Illya's cat ears drooped. Her white tail sadly swayed in the air. At this rate, UBW would go into the red. They'd go out of business and it'd be back to the wilderness for them…

"Ah," Illya switched back to smiling cheerfully, "for all your Grimm fighting and self-defense purposes, come to UBW!"

Red eyes met pristine blue eyes. Illya politely offered a flier to a girl several leagues taller than her. The girl wore a double breasted white jacket trimmed with black lace. Her long hair was tied in a side ponytail. Her hair was snow white just like Illya's own.

"Please visit UBW for all your weaponry needs, miss!" Illya smiled vibrantly, noting the white sword tied to the girl's waist.

Weiss Schnee stared at the piece of paper being handed to her. She glanced at the little girl's cat ears and red eyes. Were it not for those features, Weiss could've mistaken the girl for a Schnee. Confusion painted her face. What was a little girl doing working for a weapons store?

"Miss?" Illya tilted her head. Her cat ears wiggled curiously.

Weiss hunched her shoulders. That face, that porcelain skin, those white cat ears. If cuteness ever crystallized into dust, this girl was a gem, faunus or not.

"T-thank you." Weiss accepted the flier, finally getting a hold of herself. This was no good. She was the Schnee heiress. She needed to show more restraint.

"May I ask for your name?" Weiss asked cordially.

The question flipped a switch in the girl. Out of habit, she took a step back and curtsied with the hem of her white skirt. "My name is Illyasviel von Einzbern. But you may just call me Illya, Miss."

Weiss held back a squeal, her heart pumping furiously. "It is nice to meet you, Illya. My name is Weiss Schnee. Please call me Weiss." She returned the gesture, introducing herself with a curtsy. "Might I ask, why is a young girl such as yourself out here working?"

Illya smiled, unafraid. It wasn't the first time she'd been asked this. "I'm helping out with my brother's store. We just recently opened and still need as many customers as we can."

"I see." Weiss nodded. So, the girl wasn't being abused. She was just helping out with the family business. Somehow, that struck a chord with her. She looked over the flier in her hands. Nothing too grand, just a piece of paper detailing the services UBW had to offer. At the back was a map to the store was drawn.

"This place is…"

"Oh? You know it, miss?" Illya asked, her eyes beaming. "My brother opened a store in an old dust shop's space. The last store there got robbed. But don't worry, it's safe now. My brother is strong!" Illya beamed up at her with innocence.

Weiss frowned at the prospect of this girl's store being robbed. "UBW, huh? I suppose I could check it out. My sword could always use a good polishing."

"Oh, you won't regret it, Miss Weiss. My brother works likes magic on swords!" Illya assured her.

Weiss figured a little exaggeration was only customary for store promotion. "Wonderful. Would you be free to accompany me right now?"

She said the words without properly thinking. Wouldn't Illya naturally be too busy handing out fliers to personally escort her to the store? But she couldn't help but want to spend more time with the adorable girl.

Illya placed a finger on her chin, weighing her options. At the end of the day, one girl with a sword strapped to her waist had more worth as a customer than a dozen passersby giving her weird looks.

"Okay, Miss Weiss, just follow me," Illya said delightedly. Her first customer, get!

"Just Weiss is fine, Illya." Weiss smiled. "Please lead the way."

"Shirou! I brought a new customer," Illya called out to UBW. Her high pitched voice rang across the store.

Over by the weapons stack, a girl with red hair flailed at the sudden intrusion, her hands frantically catching the weapons she knocked down.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting any customers," Illya apologized matter of fact, not even flinching at the harshness of her own words.

Weiss, on the other hand, frowned. Was the store in that much trouble?

Illya pouted. Shirou was nowhere in sight, which meant he was working on a project in the back. She huffed in disappointment. Her Onii-chan should always be waiting to welcome her back home.

"I'm sorry, Weiss," Illya said, giving the customer behind her an apologetic look. "Would you please wait here, while I get my brother?" She excused herself, before making her way to the back.

"It's no problem, Illya," Weiss assured the girl. She stepped into the store and took stalk. They certainly weren't kidding with the name 'unlimited blades'. Weiss raised a brow. At the store counter, fiddling with weapon parts, was that?

"Ruby?" Weiss greeted her partner, surprise clear in her tone as she walked to the girl.

"Weiss?" Ruby said, equally surprised. "I didn't think I'd see you here. Are you here to see the weapons they have too?"

"Of course not." Weiss did her best to keep calm, in spite of her partner's excitement. She leaned in close to Ruby's ear and whispered. "I was won over by the most clever marketing strategy and came to check out this new establishment."

"I see. That must have been some good strategy if it could get you to come here." Ruby nodded.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Ruby hastily excused.

She was saved by the sound of footsteps at the counter. Her precious weapon, Crescent Rose, in its compact form was placed on the counter table. "It's done," the guy at the counter said, satisfied.

"Shirou, how's my baby looking?" Ruby made a bee line for her weapon, forgetting the Schnee heiress.

"Give it a try and see for yourself," Shirou said, folding his arms proudly.

Ruby took Crescent Rose into her hands gingerly. Her eyes widened. She made sure to use the right amount of force, but the weapon felt…!

She extended her weapon into scythe form. There was no doubt now. Against all of Ruby's common sense, Crescent Rose felt lighter in her hands. The usually heavy scythe almost feeling weightless in her arms, like it had become an extension of her body, in perfect harmony. Then she noticed the glint of the scythe's blade. She could tell from just looking, the blade's edge had become even sharper. How was that even possible?

"Shirou, it's amazing! I love it!" Ruby played with her scythe, twirling it around the room's open spaces.

"Glad you like it. I pulled out all stops on the job. I made it lighter, sharper and sturdier." Shirou smiled, proud of himself. "And if you check, changing between forms should be much faster and smoother now."

Just as he said, Crescent Rose switched from scythe form to sniper form to compact form in a snap. Ruby laughed gleefully.

Weiss made careful assessment of Ruby's newly refurbished weapon. Indeed, it was impressive. Her evaluation of the store quickly rose.

"As expected of Shirou," an imperious voice spoke from the back. Illya joined them at the counter, her hands on her hips. Her cat tail swayed high in the air. "Weiss, would you like to have your sword checked over as well?"

Shirou then noticed the girl in white. His attention had been dominated by the girl who was playfully swinging her red scythe left and right. "I'm sorry. What can I do for you, miss?"

Weiss noted the distinct lack of faunus features on Shirou. And yet, Illya definitely regarded him as her brother. "Yes, I would like you to look over my sword as well."

She presented Myrtenaster to the man. Shirou's eyes brushed over the weapon. "A wonderful sword. The craftsmanship on it is exquisite."

Shirou glanced to Illya for half a second before looking at Weiss. "I'll take good care of it. It'll take another hour, no charge."

"What?" Weis was taken aback. What the man was offering would defeat her purpose. "No, I insist. I will pay the proper amount, just name your price."

"Mou, Shirou, we'll never turn a profit with that attitude of yours," Illya complained.

"But she's our second customer, we should treat her-"

"Like a proper customer, right? You already made a special exception for customer number one, correct?" The tone Illya used left no room for arguments.

Shirou sighed. His soft golden eyes melted warm. "Then how does a hundred Lien sound, Miss?"

"That will be perfectly fine," Weiss answered, paying up front. That much money wouldn't even leave a dent in her allowance.

"You won't regret it, Weiss," Illya said.

"I know I didn't," Ruby chimed in. Crescent Rose now folded behind her waist, she joined the rest of them. "Thanks again for the free maintenance, Shirou." She noticed the little girl beside the guy. "Hello, my name's Ruby. You are?"

The same switch was flipped twice in one day and Illya curtsied. "I am Illyasviel von Einzbern. I am Shirou's sister. Please call me Illya."

Ruby's mouth opened in awe at the young girl's elegant introduction. She offered her warmest smile. "Nice to meet you, Illya."

"Likewise, Ruby." Illya returned the smile.

"I'll be at the back," Shirou spoke as he took the rapier with him. "Illya, would you mind entertaining our customers for a while?"

"Not at all," Illya answered excitedly.

"Behave," Shirou reminded her. The girl still had a habit of displaying sociopathic tendencies which would just be bad for business.

"Mou, I know already, Shirou." Illya pouted, her cheeks puffing.

The two onlooking customers held back a squeal. This girl was such a doll.

The calming scent of green tea filled the shop. On a table to the side, a discreet tea set was billowing smoke. Three girls sat around the table, each one holding a cup of tea. It was a strange sight to behold, a tea party inside a weapon's shop. The girls had been chatting for a while now, waiting for Shirou's maintenance to finish.

"So, you and your brother aren't from around here?" Ruby asked Illya. Her free hand tinkered with a small gear mechanism she picked up from the shelves.

"Nope, Shirou and I came from a place called Fuyuki," Illya answered as she sipped her tea.

"Fuyuki? Is that a far away village?" Weiss asked. She had never heard of the place before. The names of small far away settlements rarely ever reached her ears though.

"Yes, it's far, far away from here in the east," Illya stared at her tea, her own reflection blankly gazing at her. "Life there was difficult and dangerous, especially at night. But it was home…"

"What brought you to Vale then?" Ruby let her curiosity get the best of her. Weiss frowned at her partner.

"Hehe, it was Shirou's idea actually," Illya laughed a bit with a sad smile. "There were some bad people coming after me, you see. Shirou wanted to protect me and thought it was safer to run away to a major city. We were lucky to get into Vale so easily."

Illya hadn't really prepared that answer beforehand even though she had expected to be asked that question at some point. She could've made any excuse she wanted but on a whim, she decided it wouldn't hurt to be a little more honest and mix in a few half-truths.

Ruby and Weiss however took the news solemnly. From the face Illya made, they could tell the girl blamed herself for the move to Vale. The little girl's reasons were serious. But why would anyone want to harm an innocent little girl?

The two huntresses in training found their answer sitting atop Illya's head, a pair of cat ears twitching every now and then.

Ruby and Weiss became silent. They knew faunus discrimination was a real problem in society. But to hear the problem was so strong as to force a refugee out of a child, it hit them rather hard.

"This tea is really good," Ruby said, trying to diffuse the awkward tension in the air.

Illya quickly noticed the somber atmosphere in the shop. "Of course, Shirou brewed it himself," Illya proudly boasted about her brother again.

Weiss placed her cup on the table and looked Illya dead in the eye. She froze for a moment, as she sucked in her breath. "It doesn't matter what you are, Illya. Faunus or human. You're still a person. You deserve every bit of respect as humans do."

The words were a bit coarse, but Weiss managed to get them out of her mouth. She still had some misgivings with the faunus. But she wasn't about to let that stop her from being kind to a child.

Illya's red eyes shook a bit at Weiss' words.

Did she know?

The older girl may not have realized it, but her words resonated with Illya's past more than she had expected. A few tears fell from Illya's face, she smiled gratefully at the Schnee.

"Thank you, Weiss. That means a lot," Illya thanked Weiss from the bottom of her heart.

Weiss flushed at the sight of the cute girl's tears. "It's nothing."

"Oh, Weiss you've come so far…." Ruby teased her friend.

"Silence."

Ruby giggled. In the past, she and her team had such a difficult time when one of their teammates had revealed herself to be a faunus. But now, here she was, Weiss Schnee comforting a faunus girl all on her own. It was remarkable progress.

After that, the awkward barrier of platitudes and politeness was thrown out the window. Illya began speaking with less reserve like a normal kid.

"So, you two are huntresses?" Illya asked them.

"Yup."

"Not yet."

Illya tilted her head in confusion.

"What Ruby meant to say is that we're still huntresses-in-training, which is completely different. We're still studying as freshmen at Beacon Academy," Weiss corrected.

"Right, right. I sometimes forget that." Ruby grinned, nodding.

"Oh, I see. So, you're both students. What's it like? Going to school?" Illya asked. Her eyes stared into theirs, shining bright with curiosity.

"Well, classes are sometimes boring. The schoolwork they have us do is also a hassle." Ruby's silver eyes sank into a corner a bit. "But going to school, meeting new friends, forming a team, it's a lot of fun. Right, Weiss?"

"Yes, despite certain setbacks, being in a team with you and the others hasn't been so bad."

"You're making me blush," Ruby deadpanned.

Illya laughed. The two new customers were a lot more interesting than she initially thought. The way they teasingly bickered with each other, reminded Illya of a pair of sisters who were complete opposites with one another.

It must have been nice, Illya thought. To be a normal girl and attend school, even a combat school for training huntsmen.

But Illya would never be normal, not in this world or the one before.

NIGHT...

"How were the customers today, Illya?" Shirou asked his sister while washing the dishes. He placed the newly cleaned ones at the side.

Illya took a clean dish and wiped the water off with a piece of cloth. "They were really nice. They told me a lot of stories too."

Shirou smiled. He was glad Illya was getting along with others now. She hadn't always been like this. "That's good. Did you tell them anything about us?"

Just to keep up appearances, the two of them needed to make sure their cover stories were consistent. Any careless mistakes could cost them their customer's trust.

"Yes, I gave them the story we both agreed on. The two of us came from a village far away from here," Illya recalled her words and wiped another dish dry. "They took it at face value wonderfully."

Shirou felt a familiar sinister aura from Illya. "Most people do take things at face value, Illya."

"Are you saying I'm not normal, Shirou?"

"Neither of us is normal."

Illya nodded her head. Her long hair tickled Shirou's arms. Being in a small kitchen, that was only natural.

"Does that mean I'm special, Onii-chan?" Illya looked up to Shirou, a devilish smile on her face.

"Of course, Illya. You're my one and only sister," Shirou said without hesitation.

Illya harrumphed. She leaned her head onto Shirou's arm. His toned muscles steadying her. "That wasn't really the answer I was hoping for. But I suppose that works for now."

Shirou chuckled a bit at his sister's antics, before he eventually sighed. "Illya, how long do you plan on wearing those?"

He finished the final dish and washed his hands. He pointed accusingly at her cat ears. "You know how this place discriminates faunus kind, right? It's not like you really need them to blend in anyway."

Illya shook her head, sighing. "You just don't understand, Shirou," Illya raised her chin and wiped the last of the dishes, her eyes closed. "I am well aware of the dangers of pretending to be a cat faunus. But you see, there exists a single reason that supersedes all other concerns."

Shirou's ears perked.

"They are cute! And cute makes right!" Illya boldly declared. She placed the last dish to the side and put her hands on her hips.

"Well, I admit they look cute on you but-"

"But nothing! That's more than enough for me to wear them."

"Illya…" Shirou sighed, knowing there was no arguing with his sister when she got like this. He could only smile as he ruffled the vivacious little girl's head.

With the dishes cleaned and wiped, the siblings soon found themselves sitting on their sofa together.

"Life here is peaceful," Shirou commented, staring up at the close by ceiling. Their living space wasn't so large to afford them much free air space.

Illya nodded, rubbing her head against Shirou's shoulders, enjoying his warmth. "Except for those dust shop thefts…"

"Yeah, that's why I'm having such a hard time buying dust."

"Do we need dust?" Illya placed her hand on Shirou's.

Shirou hummed to himself before saying, "It wouldn't hurt to offer our customers a few selections for ammo."

"But we've only got two customers."

"Don't remind me…" Shirou released another sigh that night. "Ruby and Weiss, right?"

"Yes, they seem like good people. But Shirou, just the two of them isn't going to be enough to support this shop," Illya raised her voice a bit.

"I know, Illya." Shirou nodded.

"Furthermore..."

"Hm?" Shirou blinked.

Illya pinched her brother's left arm. "I'm worried you'll fall for one of our customers."

"What?!" Shirou's shoulders tensed. His red hair stood on edge.

"Offering a girl a free upgrade, Shirou? A cute one at that? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to make a move?" Illya's red eyes stared at Shirou suspiciously.

Shirou scratched the back of his head, chuckling nervously. "I promise you I did that with the most noble of intentions. I can't imagine myself falling for anyone."

"Shirou…" Illya's cat ears drooped at those words.

"Besides, you're more than a handful already, Illya. A girlfriend just isn't possible." Shirou noticed the change in the girl's ears and patted her head gently.

"I don't know how to react to that." Illya mumbled, tucking her mouth in the folds of Shirou's shirt.

Shirou chuckled awkwardly. "Well, no matter what happens. I'll protect you, Nee-san."

"Mou, Shirou…" Illya pouted. He knew exactly how she felt about being called that.

Time passed by quietly like this. The two siblings sat together alone in the room. The two of them lived in a cramp space on the second floor of UBW. It was just the two of them, with no other family, no mother, no father, in a foreign world.

It came no surprise for the brother and sister to treasure each other so much.

"Let's get ready for bed," Shirou said, gettting up.

Illya's eyes lit up excitedly. "In that case-"

"We're not sharing a bath."

"Oh, poo…"

Author's Note:

Yo, the author here. How was it? Was it any good? Was it okay? Was it interesting? Too many changes in perspective? OOC characters? Let me know your thoughts in reviews please.

This is my first story in either fandom so please cut me a little slack.

Thank you for reading.