Volume II: Episode 12: Relationships
Cyclone
Robotech Nerd
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
(V2E11: Winter's Soldiers | V2E12: Relationships | V2E13: First Impressions)
Volume II: Episode 12: Relationships
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Volume II: Episode 12: Relationships
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A frustrated Nora trudged into Team JNPR's dorm, head hung low. She'd been able to follow Ruby up to the airship and had spent the rest of the day looking for the scythe-wielder in vain.
She wanted to pound something, darn it!
"Oh, Nora," came Pyrrha's melodic voice from behind her.
She froze.
Oh, that tone of voice wasn't a good sign.
The hammer-wielder turned around slowly. "Yes, Pyrrha?" she asked nervously.
"I heard about your... altercation with Ruby," the Mistrali champion said, looking quite unimpressed as she stood by the door.
"Um, well, heheh..." Nora hedged, tapping her index fingers together.
"Nora," Pyrrha continued, "I appreciate your concern, but what you did was uncalled for."
"But she stole your man!" protested Nora.
Pyrrha's eyes narrowed dangerously. "The only person Jaune Arc belongs to is Jaune Arc. And no matter what I feel for him or what I wish he would feel for me, convincing him is my fight, not yours, and trust me, that fight is far from over, especially not with the Beacon Dance coming up. Understand?"
Nora nodded quickly. "Absolutely."
"Good." She gave Nora a deceptively sweet smile. "That said, considering the Vytal Tournament in the near future, I do think we could do with some additional sparring sessions. Don't you?"
Nora gulped.
Yang greeted Ruby with a hug as the yawning leader of Teams RWBY and RRANNBWW walked down the hallway toward her dorm.
"Awp! Yang! What?"
"Oh, I'm so proud!" Yang said. "My baby sister, selected for interschool overnight extra credit assignments?" She pulled back and held Ruby by the shoulders at arm's length. "Are you sure you can handle it, though?"
Ruby yawned. "I'm fine, Yang."
"Just... promise me you'll cut back if it gets to be too much, okay?" the blonde asked. "You're still young. You don't have to take on the world by yourself just yet."
Ruby nodded sleepily. "I promise, Yang." She shrugged Yang's hands off her shoulders. "Excuse me. I've got to go wash up before going to class."
"Okay," agreed Yang. "I'll wait out here."
Ruby zombie-walked the rest of the way to Team RWBY's dorm, her thoughts distracted. A lot had happened in the last twenty-four hours, and it wasn't just the usual kind of "a lot." There had been some planet-cracking revelations that had done a number on her, so many that she didn't know where to begin.
No, that was a lie. She knew exactly where to begin. It wasn't with Winter's revelations, though she really needed to think of some way to tell Weiss about her sister without breaking her word. It wasn't the information regarding MECH and their leadership, though that certainly threw her through a loop. It wasn't even what -- who -- they had found in that old Mantellian bunker, though once that clicked, her jaw had dropped. No, it was the revelation about Pyrrha's romantic interests... though she couldn't find it in her heart to blame the Mistrali champion for seeing what she saw in Jaune, only so much earlier. It was the revelation about Yang's knowledge of said interests -- that had rattled Ruby to her very core -- and Raven's response to her request for advice had only made it sting the worse, though she knew that was the sting of truth.
When Ruby entered the room, she found Weiss preparing her pack for class.
"Ruby, you're back," observed Weiss with clearly mixed feelings. "I heard a rumor about what happened, and…"
The bloodcrowned girl raised a single finger to stop her from talking. "Gimme a few minutes."
She grabbed a set of her school uniform and trudged to the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, she was out, feeling mildly refreshed and freshly dressed. She'd been through worse while training with her family, but she still felt it mad to go a whole day without sleep.
Her thoughts, however, didn't leave her.
Ah, but needs must, and all that, Ruby thought as she walked over to the waiting Weiss.
"Ruby... are you okay?" Weiss asked tentatively. Her team leader looked... distracted, to say the least.
"What... makes you ask that?"
"Something's obviously bothering you," the Atlesian girl observed. "I heard- is it the mission?"
Ruby shook her head. "What? No!"
Weiss took a moment to digest that. "Will you be okay?"
"Yes! No! I don't know!" was Ruby's flustered response. "It's just- I had a... 'chat' with Nora yesterday."
Weiss winced. "I heard she was chasing you all across campus. What was that about anyway?"
Ruby looked out the window, refusing to meet her teammate's gaze. "...did you know Pyrrha likes Jaune? Like, really likes him?"
Weiss sucked in a sharp breath and paused to turn that thought over in her head for a bit, before nodding slowly in agreement. "It... does explain a few things, actually."
"It does?" Ruby asked, her head whipping around to look at Weiss.
"Yes." Weiss nodded, slowly at first, then ending with a firmer nod. "Like why she never seemed to like me very much. I... had always figured it was because of how I tried to get an in with her before initiation. Well, once I realized she wasn't the sort of person who'd regard someone as guilty by association."
She'd made so many missteps, coming to Beacon seeking recognition and glory as though they would somehow free her from her father's shadow.
"Oh," Ruby acknowledged.
"And... why she always blushes whenever he compliments her," Weiss continued thoughtfully.
"I always thought that was because of how he does it," Ruby objected. "I mean, have you heard him talk about her? He talks her up as easy as breathing, sometimes, and it's always from the heart."
"Maybe," Weiss conceded, "but it's Pyrrha. You think she hasn't heard people praise her in every way possible under the sun, just as easily and just as sincerely?" Weiss shook her head. "Trust me, she has; I speak from experience. It... it means something, coming from him."
"Yeah, I guess it does." Ruby sighed. "You still like him too, don't you?"
Weiss tried not to wince as she felt her face flush. She'd thought she'd kept that pretty well-hidden. "You're his girlfriend, Ruby," she reminded her.
"That's not a no."
It was Weiss's turn to look away. "...no, it isn't. But you are."
Ruby muttered something Weiss didn't catch.
"What was that, Ruby?" Weiss asked.
"Nothing!" Ruby denied quickly. "Except... 'may the best woman win.'"
Weiss's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in thought. Had... had Ruby just... given her permission to pursue Jaune? Or was she staking her claim again now that she had confirmation of Weiss's feelings? She gave Ruby a curt nod. "Agreed."
"One more thing before we head out," Ruby said. "Does the SDC have a temp agency?"
Weiss took a moment to think through her family company's extensive network of subsidiaries. "Yes, actually. StaffNet. It's mostly a hiring feeder for the SDC itself and its subsidiaries. Why?"
"Oh, just a possible lead I thought of," reasoned Ruby, hopeful that Weiss wouldn't make the connection to the mission with Winter. "I mean, if the SDC is supplying manpower to the Decepticon's projects what better way to do it?"
Weiss looked thoughtful, then nodded. "Yes. Yes, that does make sense. I'll see what I can dig up about them, and maybe ask Glynda about this too. Thank you for the insight, Ruby."
With that, the two of them left the dorm, seeing Yang out by the exit waiting for them. Seeing Ruby's older sister, though, reminded Weiss of her own. Her views on the White Fang had been tempered over the months, but if anything, she had only gotten more strident in her loathing for what Winter had become.
The snowcapped girl reached out a hand to block Ruby and asked her question. "Oh, by the way, I heard Winter was involved in your little assignment. Is that true?"
Ruby nodded. "Yeah, she was mission lead. There's still a lot I can't talk about, but... I don't think she's evil, Weiss."
"Evil or not, she's still complicit," hissed Weiss before she stormed off, walking past Yang to go on ahead to class.
"Weiss..." Ruby said mournfully, reaching out a hand imploringly.
"Easy, Rubes," Yang said, placing a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder. "Those two need to work things out themselves."
"It's just so sad," voiced Ruby sorrowfully. "Sisters shouldn't be at each other's throats like that."
And all because of a silly misunderstanding, because they wouldn't talk to each other, because they're just assuming they know best, that somehow they know-
Ruby's thoughts came to an abrupt end as she and Yang both sneezed rather forcefully.
"Whoa! Bless you, Yang!" said Ruby in an airy, blinky voice.
"Bless yourself, Ruby," replied Yang with a bit of a smile. "That was one heck of a sneeze."
"No, you're way more holy than I am, Yang," countered Ruby. "You bless me."
"Somehow I don't think that's demonstrably true," said Yang before shaking her head. "Anyway, we're getting off course. I was going to say that they'll work it out. Weiss and Winter, I mean. There might be a rift between them now, but they'll find a way to bridge it."
"I hope so," Ruby said, turning around to face her. "Promise me we won't get like that?"
"Ruby, we're sisters; we get into fights," pointed out Yang somewhat sadly.
The bloodcrowned girl rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah, all the time, but we shouldn't let those fights get out of hand until they've dug a big giant rift between us."
The blonde considered that for a moment before nodding. "Okay. I can promise if you can."
The two sisters looked at each other, and at some unseen signal, they chorused to each other, "I promise."
Ruby smiled, warm and glad. "Thanks, Yang."
"No problem," Yang said with a pat on the back as they began to continue their walk to class. "Now, let me teach you how to sleep with your eyes open so the teachers don't notice."
"Really?!" asked Ruby, perking up with extreme cheer. "Oh, you're the best, Yang!"
As they walked along, though, a stray thought came to Ruby's mind. She didn't want to have to fight Yang, but she might be left with no choice. After all, there would have to be an explanation for the critical denial of information that had been going on these last few months.
Surprisingly, and somewhat worryingly, as they were approaching the classroom, Nora approached. Though perhaps "approach" was too generous a term. What she did was stagger down the hall as if both her body and spirit had been broken, complete with bloodshot eyes.
It was in this state that she collapsed to her knees in front of Ruby.
"Ruby, I'm sorry," the ginger sobbed, her voice just as broken as the rest of her as tears flowed down to the floor. "I was completely out of line. Could you ever forgive me?"
Ruby blinked. "What? Oh, yeah. I forgive you, Nora." It was herself she wasn't sure she could forgive.
"Thank you!" The hammer maiden's gratitude was plain to see.
"What happened to you?" Yang interjected.
It was at that particular moment that Pyrrha arrived on the scene and greeted them with good cheer and a small wave, though Nora seemed to flinch away. "Oh, hello again!"
"Oh, uh, Pyrrha," replied Ruby sheepishly. "Sorry I missed this morning's training session."
"Oh, that's all right. I was otherwise... occupied with other matters myself," explained Pyrrha with a cheerfully dangerous air that chilled Ruby to her bones and again made the ginger at her feet quake in fear. If Pyrrha could do that to Nora, Ruby didn't even want to think what she could do to her. Pyrrha's jolly smile did not reassure Ruby at all. "Don't worry! We'll make it up tomorrow!"
"Oh," Ruby squeaked, her eyes dilating with fear. "Okay. Looking forward to it."
It was when they were two weeks out from the dance that Weiss came to an important realization.
"I just can't take it anymore!" she shouted suddenly at Ruby's bed above her.
The taller girl wasn't there to hear that though, and neither was her sister. It wasn't the first time this had happened that year, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. In the first semester, this hadn't been a problem because Blake had been there, but since she had been driven out by Weiss's own foolishness, the only people she could really spend time with was Team JNPR. The problem was that Team JNPR had their own lives to lead too, and at that moment, they were spending their free time with Team ABRN down at O'Malley's, and while she was sure they were decent enough folk in some respects, the snowcapped girl couldn't stand how they just senselessly used SDC products like they weren't literally constructed out of the bones of children.
It would normally be at this point where Blake would tell her to dial it back, but Blake wasn't there!
"Hmm, I'll go talk to Sun first," she said out loud to keep herself from going mad. "I'll call the rest of the team later, but I have to get Sun now."
She picked out her outfit as quick as she could and packed up what she thought she needed for a day on the town in a bag. After that, it was off to the dorms where the Haven students where staying. She hadn't actually been there before, and she wondered what it would be like.
Stepping into the dorms, she was struck by just how much more somber it was compared to how things were in the Vale dorms. It was like a cloud of shame had fallen over this place and refused to lift. Unsurprisingly, the halls were almost empty.
Almost.
One of the Haven students was there, though, and it was her stern face that greeted Weiss when she tried to enter the domain of the first-years. It was a human girl with vivid crimson hair streaked with wide, brilliant blond stripes. Her Haven uniform had been modified with a red stripe through her white armband... a symbol of promised vengeance, as Weiss understood it.
"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" the girl asked, her husky voice belying her age. Through her bangs, cyan eyes bored through Weiss's aura like a pair of mining lasers. "Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. What brings you here?"
The snowcapped girl bristled at that. She might still be the heiress technically, but... only for now. She hated that title, hated what it meant. She'd been... she wouldn't let her temper get away from her.
"Greetings," said Weiss with a polite curtsy. "I am looking for Team Sun's dorm."
The young woman scowled at her. "'Team Sun'? Come to slum with the plebs?"
"They're my friends," explained Weiss as politely as she could.
"'Friends?' Well, isn't that shocking?" asked the woman rhetorically. "Not the sort of friends I'd expect someone like you to have. Why them?"
Like a thunderbolt from on high, a memory came unbidden to Weiss's mind, and she had her answer: "Why not? After all, friendship is magic."
The Havenite's eye twitched ever so slightly at that, and she jerked her thumb over her shoulder to point down the hall. "Second door on the right. You can't miss them. Here's hoping things go better for you with Team Sun than with your last friend."
"Thank you," replied Weiss, trying her best to ignore the metaphorical knife sticking out of her chest, before she walked down the hall. She went to knock on the prescribed door and glanced to the side to see the human talking with a faunus woman with a horse tail and blonde hair. Good. That should keep her occupied, she thought as her tiny fist came down.
The door was opened, and Weiss greeted by Scarlet, who in turn called up Sun.
"Weiss!" said Sun, having quite obviously just gotten in clothes back on… off… whatever. The Atlesian had learned over the months to focus on his smiling face, his incredible personality, and ignore the indecency with which he dressed himself.
Seriously, a closed shirt, that was all the women in his life were asking of him.
"Hello, Sun, how are you today?" asked Weiss with genuine cheer.
"Good, me and Neptune were just about to head out," said Sun with a nod towards the blue-haired man.
"'Sup?" said Neptune with a wave of his hand.
Weiss gave a big smile at him and bowed in turn before looking back at Sun. "I was wondering if you would be willing to change your plans, actually."
"Don't get your hopes up," warned Neptune. "Sun's been looking forward to this for a while now. Heck, Penny was here earlier, hoping to hang out with him. Poor girl."
"I'm telling you, Nep, it's not like that," objected Sun.
"Oh, well, I was hoping for some help finding Blake," clarified Weiss.
"Oh," Sun responded. "Well, sure, no problem."
Neptune gave him a strange look. "Seriously, man?"
"What?" Sun asked, as if it was obvious. "It's Blake."
Neptune rolled his eyes. "Very well. I guess I'll go and back you up. Sage, Scarlet, don't wait up. Looks like Sun and I have got a new itinerary today."
Weiss shook her head with a small, regretful smile. "You're still loyal to Blake. After she snubbed you, and left Beacon? You're still… you're… "
"Her suitor," confirmed Sun, and Weiss nodded wordlessly. He shrugged. "What am I supposed to do? Just sit here and not fall in love with her?"
The snowcapped girl resisted valiantly the urge to tear up at that blatant display of fidelity. "She's lucky to have you."
"That's high praise coming from you, Weiss," observed Sun, straightening up a bit.
"You flatter me," replied Weiss with an incline of her head, "but none of that matters if we can't find her again."
The blond nodded at that. "Okay, I think I can do that. I've been keeping track of where in town I've spotted her roof-hopping; I don't think she realizes I've been doing that. But you do know that part of the reason she's still out there is because she doesn't want to lose her credit from this training assignment, right?"
"Sun, are you saying that the only thing standing between us and getting Blake back is a matter of bureaucracy?" asked Weiss incredulously.
"Yes?" answered Sun nervously.
It was here that Weiss gave a cunning smile that was sure of victory. "My good sir, we have never been in a more advantageous position."
Sun blinked in confusion. "We haven't?"
"No," answered Weiss simply. "After all, I was raised since birth to take over the SDC. I breathe bureaucracy."
Men! Kote! Dō! Tsuki! barked Aska in her mind as she struck out at the training dummy with her Magoroku Exterminate Sword -- Magorox. Mad Dog insisted that it was only a Mark I variant, but what did he know? It was her sword, after all.
"I've told others this before, so I'll repeat it to you now," said Professor Goodwitch off to the side as she gripped onto her riding crop. "Stop using the standard attacks. Use the unorthodox!"
Aska grimaced as she struck out in a riposte that she had learned from Farsight's father when they had visited Mantle months ago.
"How often must I tell you?" asked Professor Goodwitch as the training dummy, animated by her semblance like a puppet on strings, struck out with its own sword in a complicated series of strikes while dodging Aska's own. "Control its central line!"
The ninja swept out with her own series of strikes, driving the training dummy out and away.
"Good," said the professor, and then she flicked her crop to the side.
Aska was knocked onto her back and slid along the ground for about a dozen feet. As soon as she stopped, she jumped up and glared at Professor Goodwitch, who seemed mildly amused.
"Life isn't fair, and neither is combat," she replied to the glare.
Wasting no time, Aska flew back into an attack on the advancing dummy.
"Faster. Destroy the target's progress," commented Professor Goodwitch as the dummy backpedaled. "You're holding your sword too tightly!"
Aska adjusted her grip, and a split second after that, the dummy came in with a strike that knocked the sword out of her hand. It went spinning around through the air until it was snatched up by Professor Goodwitch. The teacher refrained from smiling this time.
"Now too lightly," chided the professor. "You're without your sword, but your opponent is still armed. How will you proceed?"
In a fit of sneering rage, Aska leapt up and flipped over to land in a different part of the arena. It was not chosen by accident. As the dummy raced towards her, she went low and swept out a series of small kunai attached to strings. Some wrapped around the dummy's legs, but others wrapped around another target.
So it was that when Aska yanked with all her strength, not only did the training dummy come crashing to the floor, but so did Professor Goodwitch. There was a soft thunk, and then nothing. All Aska could hear was her own breathing.
Then the most remarkable, impossible, unbelievable thing began to happen. Professor Goodwitch began to laugh, and laugh joyously. "A very innovative tactic, Aska. Good job."
As the laughter began to subside, Magorox floated back into its scabbard.
"Thank you, Sensei," replied Aska with a bow.
Glynda floated up on the wings of her semblance and looked at her queerly. "No need to be so formal, Aska. Come now, we've been at this for a couple of hours. Take a break."
Aska's mouth twitched, but she nevertheless began walking to the side where Glynda was already approaching. They both began their cooldown stretches when they arrived. Something about it though…
"Thank you again for this tutoring, Sensei," said Aska as she continued the stretches. "I hope I have not burdened you overmuch."
"No. It's been no trouble at all," said Professor Goodwitch. "You are quite good. I'm not sure why you thought you needed tutoring."
"Because I can't just be 'good,'" insisted Aska. "I need to be better. I have been chosen to be the leader of an exceptionally talented team, and if I can't measure up to at least be their equal, then what do I matter?"
"You do not need to match them in every area to gain either their respect or their obedience," pointed out Glynda. "None of your teammates have anything in their files that indicate they are the types to only submit to their commanders upon being outdone in any field whatsoever."
"And just what could you learn from their files?" asked Aska suspiciously. "Half of their files are redacted."
It wasn't precisely accurate, but it was roughly accurate. Mad Dog's service record was mostly blacked out when it came to the research he did and the people he may or may not have worked with. Farsight had the least amount of black in her record, but she still had it, and the number of awards in the rest of it was practically blinding. Bladerider, though… Bladerider's record was a wall of redactions until she arrived at Atlas Academy, where of course Aska had personally seen what was going on with her.
And what was going on was the sort of things that made her wonder both why so much of her record was redacted and why Aska had been assigned to spy on her. In Combat Course, she was a terror, and any time math came up, she was able to match the computer-like Farsight, but in every other subject save one, she was was distinctly average. The one subject she wasn't was ninjitsu, and there, she was barely treading water.
She should get Bladerider a tutor. If she was disloyal, then it was another opportunity to see her crack under abnormal circumstances, and if she was loyal, then it would be an unremitting benefit. The problem with either case, though, was the same thing that made her so good in straight combat: she was driven to an almost inhuman degree, always aiming for the top and not wanting to be a burden on her team in the slightest. That, of course, meant that she was reluctant to accept help on anything.
Aska wasn't afraid to admit in the depths of her mind that she found Bladerider's attitude unsettling because it was so much like her own. The difference was how people reacted to them. Aska had a distance between herself and others, but Bladerider seemed to be naturally personable, such that everyone wanted to protect her and keep her safe. In fact, it was almost suspicious, as if that was her semblance, and if it was, it was certainly a very good reason to spy on her at all times.
"Your files are indeed dark, but there is enough that I am cleared to see that I can get a measure of their character," replied Professor Goodwitch calmly.
Aska was silent for a moment before replying. "I see. What do you suggest then?"
"Don't try to do everything. Focus on the most immediate priorities," answered Professor Goodwitch. "You're the leader of a team of very capable Huntsmen and Huntresses; let your specialties cover each other. To facilitate that, you must make sure you know your team as best you can and place them in the positions they'd need to be in to do the most good. That's all you must do. That's all you should do."
The black-haired woman resisted the urge to snort or sneer. "That's what General Ironwood told me before I ever got this team."
"That's because he speaks from experience, and you would be wise to heed his counsel," Professor Goodwitch said, then cocked her head. "You call him 'General Ironwood,' but you don't strike me as that formal. What is your relationship like with him?"
"Not going to call him my father?" asked Aska sarcastically. "Tsk. Nevermind. The General isn't a bad guy. I'm just mad that everyone keeps calling him my father just because that's what the papers say."
"'Papers'?" inquired Professor Goodwitch.
"Yeah, you know, the adoption papers," explained Aska. "He adopted me and my brother Kogetsu years ago."
"And that doesn't count for anything, does it?" asked Professor Goodwitch in a tone that made it sound like she agreed with her.
"It's just words on paper," confirmed Aska dismissively. "We are not of his clan, nor he of ours."
"And what is your clan?" pressed Goodwitch.
Aska turned and glared at her. "That is none of your business."
In truth, the Koryu Clan consisted of herself, her brother, and the spirits of the departed. They were all that were left, and when they went… so would the clan. Hundreds of years of history, gone. It was inevitable, but it needn't be this day. As long as the clan was kept alive in her, it would survive.
"Fair enough," admitted Goodwitch. "Let us talk about your team's specializations. From your school record, it seems like ninjitsu is your best subject."
"Oh yes!" answered Aska, perking up. "I was one of Professor Snake Eyes' first students. Before the ninja program was even started."
"You prefer the professor to the headmaster?"
Aska raised an eyebrow. "Of course. He's a ninja, after all. He may not be from my clan, but his is of a similar one to ours. He is of similar history, similar culture, and similar profession. Is it not natural for like to attract like?"
"Not in electromagnetism," Goodwitch said dryly.
The black-haired girl let out an exaggerated groan. "That's a worse joke than when Bladerider discovered puns."
Goodwitch smiled formally. "I'm glad you can still laugh. However, you are aware that Professor Snake Eyes was himself adopted into the Arashikage Clan, right?"
The black haired girl's eyes went wide, and she looked at Goodwitch and frowned. "You're mistaken. You must be. There's no way that's right."
The blonde woman shrugged. "You can ask him yourself. I think you'll find that there's more to him than meets the eye."
Through narrowed eyes, Aska nodded. "I think I will. In the meantime, we still have some time allotted."
As the student picked up her sword, Goodwitch put out a hand, and one of the practice sabers flew into it to be perfectly gripped. "Very well. Let's us be a bit more personal this time, shall we?"
Blake and her instructor were bounding across the rooftops, moving with light feet that seemed to defy gravity as they made not a sound while running across the skyline.
"How do you know Professor Greene, anyway?" Blake asked conversationally, breaking the silence.
"I was once hired to provide additional security for her brother's lab," he replied. "She was visiting when there was an... incident involving gravity dust and flying lobsters. It was... quite memorable."
"Sounds... delicious," she said finally.
"It was," he agreed. Suddenly, he spotted something and halted on a gable fronted dormer and pointed down to the street below. "You should talk to him."
Blake landed lightly on the dormer next to Storm Shadow's and saw who he was talking about. It was Sun.
"You should talk to him," Storm Shadow repeated.
Blake's ears flattened. "Not now," she said. "Not yet."
As always, Sun failed to look up. If he had, he might have spotted his quarry. It wasn't the first time he'd come to town looking for Blake -- he'd done so pretty regularly -- but it was clear he still hadn't learned to look up.
"Your training has progressed acceptably," her sensei countered, "enough to surpass the class requirements at Beacon by a considerable margin. You have run out of excuses."
It was at that moment that Blake's eyes went wide as she caught sight of an achingly familiar and unmistakable head of white hair, the surefire sign that it was Weiss Schnee running up to meet with Sun Wukong. Where had she come from? Did it matter? Why was she there? What had happened to her? Had Sun roped Weiss into trying to track her down now? Why was it a surprise that it had taken him this long to go and bring her along?
And what in the world was she wearing? It looked like she had braided her hair into a sort of crest before putting it into a traditional tail that looped back around to where it began to make a sort of double-braid or braid-loop style. Her clothes were fairly different as well, and by different, Blake meant literally the exact opposite of what she normally wore before that fateful trip to Atlas: a forest green vest over a black turtleneck sweater on top; with a black accordion skirt, black combat sneakers, and dark brown socks filling out the bottom; and over her hips was a belt scabbard, Myrtanaster safely tucked inside; while over her shoulder a black messenger bag rested. It was a rather shocking change in style from the last time she saw her, but… but it was a style, she had somehow gotten along just fine without her.
"Allow me to rephrase," said Storm Shadow, interrupting her thoughts. "You should talk to them."
"I… I..." stuttered Blake.
Storm Shadow sighed patiently. "Remember what I have taught you."
Blake bowed her head, though whether it was in submission or anguish she could not tell. "'Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source,'" she quoted. "I remember."
"So you do, but you have not applied it. Fear, anger, hatred, heartache, and much more are poisoning your soul," observed the white-clad ninja. "True humility is the only antidote to that poison."
Blake nodded. "Yes, Sensei."
Storm Shadow looked back down at the pair, who seemed to be checking their scrolls and a map of the area. "The journey of a thousand miles may begin with a single step, but you have already taken many along that path. What is two more?"
The black-haired girl might have been tempted to stay up there all night debating the merits of what she should do, but her teacher's words pushed her over the edge. Literally. With a spin, she plunged through the air, and landed on her feet behind them as softly as a falling leaf.
"Hello there," she greeted with as much confidence as she could muster.
The two turned as well, and as one, their expressions morphed from their previous contemplation as their hearts sprung forth in joyous recognition and their voices leapt in happy greeting for a long lost friend now seen again. "Blake!"
Blake had been prepared for a lot of things when she landed, but one thing she had not been expecting was Weiss's tiny body tackling her in a hug. She… she… she found she couldn't think. In the absence of thought, she acted on instinct and hugged her back. Tears began to flow freely.
"I missed you," said Weiss into her friend's neck with emotions too heavy for either of them to comprehend.
"I missed you too," replied Blake from the side of her compatriot's head.
Sun, for his part, just looked on and smiled. "Reminds me of the first time me and Neptune fell apart and then came back together… First time, anyways. Now he just hits me upside the head when it happens."
"Blake," Weiss said, "I'm sorry I-"
Blake stiffened. "Stop it," she hissed.
Weiss blinked. "Huh?"
Blake pulled away from Weiss, holding her by the shoulders at arm's length, and shook her head. "Stop it, Weiss," she repeated. "You do not get to apologize to me."
"What?!" Weiss demanded indignantly.
"After all you've suffered because of the White Fang -- because of me -- you don't get to apologize. Not to me," elaborated Blake. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what part I played in the suffering you grew up with, no matter how small or indirect. I'm sorry for trying to stop you from learning about the White Fang. I'm sorry for- for judging you by your name."
"I-"
Blake put a finger to Weiss's lips. "And don't you dare try to apologize for what your father has done. I told you. You don't get to apologize to me. Not when you've done nothing wrong to me ever."
"That's not true," insisted Weiss, mumbling past the finger. "I should have followed your advice, and stopped looking into-"
"No," interrupted Blake with righteous conviction. "No, I think you've spent far too much of your life already doing what other people tell you." Weiss flinched at that. "It isn't wrong to want to know more. I shouldn't have tried to- to control you."
Weiss looked to the side. "I never… I never felt like you were doing that."
"You're lying," said Blake simply. Before Weiss could reply, she continued, "And even if you weren't, it wouldn't matter. A cut that you do not notice is still a cut. It was my own pride and arrogance that led to my attempts to control you, and a million other problems for myself and others."
"You're being too hard on yourself, Blake," interjected Sun. "You were concerned for a friend and went a little overboard. So what? You signed up to be a Huntress; worrying about people is part and parcel of the job. Like I told you before, it's not like any of us wouldn't forgive you if you'd just talk to us."
Blake looked at Weiss, who shrugged. "Well, he's not wrong."
"You forgive me too, Weiss?" asked the black-haired faunus in both hope and disbelief.
"Of course I forgive you, Blake," Weiss said with a shake of her head. "What made you ever think that I wouldn't?"
Blake just gaped for a moment, and then smiled and slightly shook her own head. "I don't know. I guess I was just being silly."
"I'd say so. Oh! I almost forgot. Here," Weiss said, rummaging in her bag. "You left this behind."
Blake accepted the item, and with a start, she realized it was her bow, the same one she'd torn off her head in that argument they'd had before she ran off. It seemed... cleaner, more vibrant than it had been before. She automatically reached up and tied it back in place, feeling different from how she remembered wearing it last. "Thanks, Weiss."
"How does that not hurt?" Sun asked rhetorically, shaking his head. "Anyway, what say we get off the street, though? There's a park near here, and the rest of the guys are on their way to meet us there."
So it was that the trio made best possible speed to the nearby park, which fortunately for them had very few people in it at that moment, and very fortunately for Blake, the others had yet to arrive.
"I'm sorry again, Weiss," offered Blake.
"We already forgave you, Blake," pointed out Weiss while Sun nodded along.
"I know, it's just…" And here, the black-haired girl sighed. "If I had just been honest from the start, this never would have happened. So I'm going to start being honest right now: what do you want to know?"
"'Know'?" asked Weiss in confusion, and then it clicked for her. "Wait, you mean-?"
"Yep," confirmed Blake with a pop. "Everything you could ever want to know about the White Fang from someone born into it. No filter."
Weiss's eyes went wide, and so did her smile. "This is so great! So exciting! Oh, I take back all those nasty thoughts I had about the White Fang."
Blake looked at her, her expression completely deadpan. "You read Sienna Khan's book, didn't you?"
"It was... eye-opening," revealed Weiss with a somewhat disturbed expression. "Sun, could you give us a bit?"
"Sure," said Sun with a nod. "I probably need to go collect those guys anyways. Be back soon!"
After they had finished watching Sun jump off into the distance, Blake let out a small sigh and turned to Weiss. "And to that long list of things I apologize for, you can add how I'm sorry for leaving Freedom Through Fear a good review when it was first published."
"She did have a few good points sprinkled in there," Weiss acknowledged with faint praise.
Blake snorted in suppressed laughter and smiled. "Which is why I'm not sorry for owning a signed first print copy."
"Ooh!" Weiss cooed before calming down slightly to reach what she meant to talk about. "But before we get into that... what are you doing? About Sun, I mean."
Blake's eyes went wide with shock. "What? Sun? Nothing!"
The snowcapped girl sighed. "That's what I was afraid of."
"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Blake in a hostile tone, her bow flattening atop her head. Then she realized what had happened, and the bow straightened out while she looked somewhat embarrassed.
"You know he's been coming out to the city at least twice a week looking for you, right?" asked Weiss.
"I... had noticed," admitted Blake sheepishly.
"Did you know that he's been calling you every day with detailed updates on everything that's happened at Beacon that isn't classified?" continued Weiss.
Blake shifted uncomfortably. "He... kind of forgot to bring me my charger when he brought my scroll. So I turned it off to save power."
Weiss raised the bifurcated eyebrow over her left eye and held up a hand to begin counting off fingers. "One, your scroll's battery should be able to last for weeks of use without a charge."
"I know," interjected Blake meekly.
"Two, you can recharge it with lightning dust even if you don't buy a charger from one of the many stores that sell them."
"I know."
"Three, you didn't even turn your scroll back on once to let us know how things were going?"
"I know!" Blake blurted out, red in the face. "I just- I needed time to figure some things out, okay?"
"And was Sun one of those things?" pressed Weiss.
"No, why would he be?" the cat faunus asked, feigning ignorance.
Weiss stared at her best friend for a moment, then shook her head. "Don't do this, Blake. Don't make the same mistake I did."
"What?" Beneath her bow, Blake's ears twitched in wary confusion.
"Blake, you've got a wonderful guy who's crazy in love with you: loyal, selfless, blond, blue-eyed..." Weiss trailed off, frowning. "Okay, the coincidence in hair and eyes is kinda creepy, now that I think about it." She shook her head. "The point is, Sun's head over heels for you, but if you keep snubbing him, he's going to move on. Like Jaune moved on from me."
Blake pursed her lips as she thought back to that night. Weiss had left for that date so sure of the evening's outcome, and just as the Atlesian girl had started to feel something for Jaune, the dork knight had moved on from his own feelings. "Weiss, I know I said you weren't getting a second date, but I only meant that if you waited for him to ask you," she said. "I'm betting he was forcing himself to get over you once that date was over. Ask him out, make it clear you're interested, and I think you might be surprised."
Weiss stared at her. "You really haven't listened to any of Sun's messages, have you?"
"...no, why?"
"Well, for one thing, Jaune's dating Ruby," Weiss informed her.
"Oh." Blake paused for a long moment, confusion crossing her face. "Wait. Ruby's dating Jaune? Ruby's dating?!"
"Is that really so surprising?" Weiss asked.
"Well... yeah!" Blake sputtered. "I was starting to think if someone didn't have blades or ballistics, she wasn't interested."
"Well, she is, very much so," confirmed Weiss. "And even if I think she did sort of declare open season... there's the other competition."
"'Open season'?" Blake's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Wait, what other competition?"
"Pyrrha," Weiss said simply. "Pyrrha freaking Nikos. How exactly am I supposed to compete with her?"
"What do you mean?" asked Blake automatically, trying and failing to avoid falling into more confusion.
Weiss snorted. "She has money, she has fame, and unlike me, she's actually a self-made woman, and her money is clean. She's an amazing fighter, gorgeous, and actually nice to him. And they're on the same team, so they spend all that time together, living together, training together, sleeping together- Not like that!"
"And yet, you're the one he asked out," Blake interjected softly. "Not Pyrrha. And not Ruby. Now what was that about Ruby declaring open season on her boyfriend?"
"Just the other day, she told me how Pyrrha feels about him," Weiss explained, "and then she confronted me about my feelings, and when I confirmed them, she... kind of told me 'may the best woman win.'"
Blake blinked. Audibly. Twice. "What."
"-what you can change and what you cannot," Optimus Prime's voice rumbled. "In my experience, Adam, the former is all that truly matters."
"So, you're suggesting a hopeless fight should not be fought?" Adam queried, distaste evident in his voice.
"No," the Autobot leader denied, shaking his head. "While the outcome of a battle may often be out of our hands, there is no way to predict that with a hundred percent certainty. If you fight, why you fight, how you fight, those are what matter." He reached out and tapped his finger on Adam's chest. "In here." He tapped Adam on his mask over his forehead. "And in here."
Yang smiled as she watched the exchange, having just entered into the room. The two of them had certainly become closer over the last few months, and she thought it was for the better. Adam seemed much... well, perhaps not nicer, but less abrasive, much more comfortable in his skin.
"Sunfire, good, you're here," said Adam, taking notice of her, then glancing back at Optimus. "This, however, is something I can change, that we can change."
"What is?" asked Yang, supremely curious now.
Adam picked up a manilla folder off a nearby desk and walked over to give it to her. She met him halfway and accepted it.
"People are going missing," he explained. "Informants, friends and neighbors, random people. At least a dozen, and all from mostly faunus neighborhoods."
As she opened up the folder, Yang began to look through the available information. "A dozen people have gone missing, and there's already a pattern? Surely the cops must be all over this. What are they doing?"
"Not a thing," answered Adam distastefully. "Not a gods forsaken thing."
Yang tried and failed to keep from gritting her teeth in revulsion. It was bad enough with the dust robberies, but with kidnappings as well? Vale's police force was either the most incompetent law enforcement agency on the planet, or there was corruption from bottom to top. Probably both.
Her eyes fell upon one of the pictures of the victims, and she was again thankful for the wraparound glasses that covered them. To keep up appearances of actually being a charity volunteer -- in case anyone at Beacon got suspicious of where she went during the day -- she had helped out at various organizations dedicated to helping those in need. It was sporadic, but people still recognized her well enough to throw any curious students off the trail. One of those was a soup kitchen, and one of the people who visited every time she was there was staring back at her.
His name was Ollie Oakenfri, and he was a good kid, about her age, smart as a whip and driven to work. Problem was that his family had fallen on hard times; it was a choice between rent and food, and so they chose rent. He should have been getting a job, but the businesses near him were all filled up, and so far, he hadn't been able to find a job elsewhere that was willing to take a chance on some frog faunus teenager from the poor neighborhood. So he went to the soup kitchen to eat, and when he was there, Yang would speak a few words to him and watch him with the same sort of interest that all small business owners pay their regulars.
Now he was gone, and the police weren't even lifting a finger to help him. People could be dead. Or worse. No one cared though, no one cared at all what happened to them… she cared.
"Sunfire, calm down," ordered Optimus Prime sternly.
Like a switch had been flipped in her head, the roiling fire disappeared from Yang's hair, and she handed the folder back to Adam. "I'll take the case."
"I'm not a cop, and this isn't a case," pointed out Adam. "We were just discussing what we were going to do, and thought we could take your input. Given the closeness of some of the kidnapees, we think that Cinder could be involved. This might be an attempt to track us down."
"My input?" asked Yang. "My input is that it doesn't matter who's involved. We need to rescue those people. They need to be found, and everyone here needs to know that if anything happens to them that there will be a rescue party coming."
"Well said," affirmed Optimus, "but what is going to be the follow up? You have other duties to attend to and can't be on the case every cycle of the day."
Yang paused and worked the thought through her head. "You're right. What's Prowl doing? Didn't he have experience with CySec? This sort of thing would be right up his alley."
"He does," said Adam. "It's why I asked for him specifically."
"And why I called him to bring him up to speed," confirmed Optimus.
Yang crossed her arms as she looked at them. "I'm still helping with this."
"I wasn't denying you the chance," said Adam.
"But you aren't in this alone," clarified Optimus. "You don't have to monofocus on this."
Yang gave a slight bow. "Thank you for the counsel, Optimus. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to do my job."
She pivoted around and began walking out to Bumblebee. He was still conversing with some of the White Fang but rushed to meet her when he saw her. Soon, they were driving away.
"Nine faunus, three humans, all kidnapped," listed off Yang. "Police won't do anything, so it's up to us. I got pictures of the case file on my glasses, and apparently, Prowl's already on the case. Can you get us on the line with him?"
"Sure, give me a sec," said Bumblebee, and then his tone shifted. "Hey, you planning to ask Sun out to the dance at all?"
Yang clutched the steering wheel that much tighter. "No idea. I'm pretty busy. I don't know if I'm going to be able to make it."
"Yang, I don't want to see you burn yourself out on this. One night to relax won't kill you," reasoned Bumblebee.
"But it might kill them," pointed out Yang.
"So might their rescuer showing up so delirious with stress and lack of sleep that she can't aim her shot-gauntlets," countered Bumblebee.
After a pause, Yang spoke again. "I'll see what I can do. Have you managed to get in contact with Prowl yet?"
"Yeah, I got him on the line," admitted Bumblebee.
"Good, put him on."
"We actually came looking for you to bring you home," Weiss said. She pulled some papers on a clipboard out from her bag. "I talked to Professor Greene to get the paperwork. All we need is to get your tutor to verify that your special training is complete and sign off on your grades."
"Knightshade."
Blake very definitely did not jump in surprise. She'd learned to restrain that impulse months ago. Weiss, on the other hand, had not been training with a ninja for months.
"Meep!"
"Sensei," Blake greeted as her friend regained control of herself. "Weiss, this is my teacher, Storm Shadow."
"A pleasure to meet you." Weiss curtsied on instinct.
"Likewise," responded Storm Shadow with a nod. His gaze shifted back to Blake. "You will return to Beacon."
Blake blinked. "I will? But... my training..."
Storm Shadow put out his hand, and realizing what was happening, Weiss gave him the clipboard and papers. The trio fell into a tense silence as the ninja master's pen ran across the documents. When he was done, he tucked the writing implement back into his white clothes and pulled out a manilla envelope.
"You have passed with full marks," he assured her, giving all the documents back to Weiss to put back into her bag. "Turn this in to your headmaster to receive credit for it."
"'Full marks'?" Blake shook her head. "You're always telling me I can improve."
"Of course," he confirmed. "There is always room for improvement. Perfection is an ideal to strive for, not a goal to achieve, and you have learned as much as I can reasonably teach you before the semester ends. Further pursuit of ninjitsu would require you to sacrifice your other studies as a Huntress-in-training."
"Hey!" Sun's voice called out. The two girls turned to see the blond waving at them as he returned with the rest of the now-reunited Team RRANNBWW and Neptune in tow. They looked back to Storm Shadow... only to find him gone.
"Where did he go?" queried Weiss.
Blake sighed. "You get used to it."
"Hello again!" Pyrrha waved.
"Heyyy," said Neptune, offering a pair of finger guns.
"Blake, it's good to see you," Jaune greeted the fledgeling ninja.
Ren remained his usual taciturn self, offering only a friendly nod in greeting. Ruby seemed equally subdued, unusually for her.
"Hey, Blake," Nora said, exaggerated disapproval in her voice. "You don't call, you don't write... when are you coming back?"
"Tonight, apparently," Blake said, glancing at Weiss's bag.
"Really?!" Sun blurted out. "That's great!"
"It will be good to have you back," Ren said, breaking his silence.
"Listen, Blake," Sun said, scratching the back of his head nervously, his tail twitching back and forth behind him, "since you'll be back, um, have you given any thought to who you're going to the Beacon Dance with?"
Blake blinked at him.
"Are you... are you asking me?"
He nodded, confused. "Well... yeah. Who else would I ask?"
Blake blushed. "Yang! I told you she was a better choice! Maybe someone else who came in over the last few months!"
"Penny," offered Neptune from the back.
"Penny!" repeated Blake, and then her head whipped around to look at him in befuddlement. "Wait, what? Penny?!"
She shook her head. "Never mind. The point is that there are many more women who are more worthy than I for your affection. So why? Why me?"
Sun was shocking in how calm and collected he was. "Why not?"
Blake looked away. "Because I'm a coward," she whispered. "I ran from my parents because we disagreed, I ran from my ex because he went psycho, I even ran from Weiss just because I said the wrong thing." Her voice rose. "I'm always running away from my problems!"
Sun placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "And as long as you keep running, I'll keep following you." He paused and frowned, then winced. "That… came out super-creepy, didn't it?"
Blake couldn't help it. She giggled. She held up a hand, thumb and forefinger an inch apart. "A little bit."
"What he means to say, Blake," Jaune said, stepping into the rescue, "is that we're your friends; we all are. With us, you always have somewhere to run to."
Blake turned her head and stared at Jaune, blinking back tears. In a flash of movement, she lunged for the safer target, wrapping her arms around the startled knight. "Thanks, Jaune. That… means a lot."
Jaune reflexively hugged her back, and as Blake felt his arms wrap around her, she could begin to appreciate what Weiss -- and apparently Ruby and Pyrrha too -- saw in the guy. It was a bit awkward, though, with his arms around her shoulders like this. Maybe if he was an inch or so shorter. And while she could appreciate the look and combat utility of his chestplate, it was hard and unyielding, not exactly comfortable for hugging; he could stand to lose it in moments like this, and she had a suspicion that, by now, he wouldn't have anything to be ashamed of if he left his chest bare. And maybe if he was a faunus, maybe with a tai- NOPE! Nope nope nope! She was not going there!
As she stiffened in mental denial, a hand reached up and brushed a tear from her cheek. "Hey," Jaune said, "I'm just saying what we're all thinking." He looked up and swept his gaze across the others. "Right, guys?"
"Heck yeah!" Sun agreed. "Why don't I get a hug?"
Blake pulled half-way away from Jaune and reached out her arm with a smile. "Come here, you goof."
The monkey faunus eagerly obliged.
"GROUP HUG!"
"Nora! No! Wait! ACK!"
Team RRANNBWW celebrated the return of their missing member, and Blake found herself wondering why she'd left in the first place.
She hadn't felt like this since... well, it had been a long time.
Weiss hadn't been quite right. She'd mentioned bringing Blake home. She'd meant Beacon, but...
This is home, Blake thought fondly, surrounded by her team, her friends. The scene wasn't quite perfect, no, but... it felt right. Even if it seemed like her home had been moved to Crazytown while she was away, but then again, the madness was part of the charm.
As the sky began to darken, the teenagers began making their way back to Beacon.
With a pensive look on her face as they walked toward the landing pads for the Bullhead shuttles, Ruby reached over and tugged on Jaune's wrist.
"Jaune?" she asked. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure thing, Ruby," he agreed cheerfully, slowing his long strides to let the main group pull ahead. "What's up?"
The night air was cool as Ruby looked out over the Emerald Forest from her rooftop perch. It seemed fitting to go to this roof in particular. After all, this was the place where that first date had ended. It certainly was better than mingling around with the rest of Team RRANNBWW. Out here, under the stars, she meditated in solitude.
She'd taken Raven's advice and done what she had to do. What Raven would have done. What Raven had done once, long ago. It had been difficult, getting up the courage to make that hard decision, but once she had committed, crossing and burning that bridge had been surprisingly easy. She would have to maintain a certain amount of distance from the rest of her team from then on out, of course, something she was already sliding into. She may not be buddy-buddy friends with them anymore, but it would all work out in the end. They'd fight against it, but they'd see.
Suddenly, the door to the roof slammed open, accompanied by heavy, angry breathing.
"Ruby, what have you done?!" demanded Yang furiously.
"Hello, dear sister," replied Ruby without looking back.
"Don't you 'dear sister' me, Rubes," demanded Yang. "What the heck was that? Jaune's down there… he's… You broke up with him, and I want to know why!"
"Tsk. I have my reasons, and they're of no concern to you or anyone else," answered Ruby, noticing a dark shape flying nearby and wondering if it was friend or foe.
"It's a concern to him," objected the elder sister. "You didn't tell him a thing! He's hurt and confused right now, and I want to know why."
It was then that Ruby turned and faced her sibling, her silver eyes cool and unforgiving. "A better question, Yang, would be how long you've known about Pyrrha's feelings for Jaune."
Realization spread across Yang's face, and she seemed to grow very small. "Oh."
"You knew," growled Ruby in a lupine fashion. "Don't try to deny it. It's written all over your face. You knew all about Pyrrha's feelings for Jaune long before any feelings for him even entered my head, and instead of telling me the truth, you led me on with that… that…"
"Dammit, Ruby, what do you want from me?" interjected Yang hotly, defensively.
"I want my sister back!" shot back Ruby. "I want it to be like it used to be, back before you were keeping secrets like this from me!"
Yang bristled and advanced. "I've always kept secrets from you, Ruby, and it was always to protect you!"
"Oh, well, you did just a wonderful job at that," mocked Ruby sarcastically. "Newsflash, Yang. Protecting me from secrets like this doesn't protect me!"
"Like you would have done any different," countered Yang, her eyes flashing red.
"You're right. I don't do any different," admitted Ruby, her voice starting off harsh and then growing very soft as she looked into those crimson orbs. "I do the exact same thing… all the time."
The bloodcrowned girl lowered herself onto the ground to sit then, and her sister soon followed. They'd been so angry before, but now… now they were just so tired. Nothing was said between them for some time. They just sat there, watching the stars and each other.
"I'm sorry, Ruby," said Yang, breaking the silence. "I'm sorry. I want to tell you everything, but…"
"Don't," interrupted the younger sister.
"I've made promises," continued Yang. "I can't break them, not even for you."
"And I don't want you to," replied Ruby softly. "Like I said, I know what it's like to keep secrets."
Yang looked at her in wonder. "Please tell me that this isn't leading into you spilling all your guts."
Ruby shook her head. "No. No, I can't, Yang. I've made promises too. People -- a lot of people -- are counting on me to keep their secrets."
"And you're going to," said Yang. It wasn't a question It was a statement of fact as obvious as the coming dawn.
On a whim, Ruby scooched closer to Yang to sit side-by-side with her instead of merely looking at each other. The two sisters leaned into each other and rested head against head. They sat there for a moment, watching the sky.
"So, we're keeping secrets from each other," observed Yang.
"Eeyup," confirmed Ruby.
"And we won't tell each other what they are."
"That's about the size of it."
Yang smiled in reply. "Good."
"Good," echoed Ruby.
"I… I am sorry about not telling you about Pyrrha and Jaune," said Yang morosely. "That wasn't a secret. That was just wrong of me, and I knew it when I did it. I knew you'd do what... you just did, but I wanted you to be happy and didn't think the consequences through. So I kept my mouth shut and nudged you into it."
"Eh, water under the bridge," dismissed Ruby without a second thought. "Just… we're not going to tell Pyrrha, right? If she knew why I did what I did, she would never get together with Jaune like she should."
"No, of course we're not telling Pyrrha anything," agreed Yang, and then something struck her about that tone. "Over him already?"
"It hurts," Ruby admitted, "but... I'll get over it. So will Jaune. And then he'll realize what's been right in front of him this whole time, and they'll be happy together." She looked down. "I've always wanted to be a Huntress. This whole romance thing... was just a passing fancy."
"That's a lie, and you know it," countered Yang, wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders. "Ruby, I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but some day, you're going to meet a guy that will sweep you right off your feet. You'll get married, have kids, and look back on all this and laugh."
"Just like Mom and Dad," offered Ruby.
"Just like Mom and Dad," repeated Yang in affirmation.
Their words were the same, but only one of the faces brought to mind was the same.
Ruby wrapped an arm in turn around Yang, and the two stayed like that for a long, long time. Eventually though, the hour was drawing late, and they needed to go. So it was that they walked hand in hand back down to the dorm.
It was when they had nearly returned that they ran into Blake.
"Oh, hey!" said Yang, noticing her for the first time. "Blake, have you finally decided to stop brooding?"
Blake seemed offended at that. "I wasn't brooding."
"Suuure you weren't," replied Yang in a tone that made it absolutely clear she didn't believe that for a single moment.
The black-haired woman shook her head. "Never mind. Listen, can either of you tell me why I have a memorial?"
Yang and Ruby both blinked and answered in unison. "What memorial?"
(V2E11: Winter's Soldiers | V2E12: Relationships | V2E13: First Impressions)
- Author's Note 1 (Cyclone)
- Author's Note 2 (Cody MacArthur Fett)
There's only three episodes left in the volume, so join us next time as Teams CFVY and RFFL make some "First Impressions" of the third kind.
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