Twitch

by bandiits

In which Yang has trouble focusing, Blake and Ruby both keep secrets, and Weiss's wrath is to be avoided at all costs. A headcanon that eventually became a fic. Reviews welcome!

It was Ruby who noticed it first. Or, more accurately, it was Ruby who Ozpin came up to first. The headmaster had come up to greet her on what would have otherwise been regarded as a normal school afternoon, completely indistinguishable from the rest. Class had just let out, students chattering as they exited Professor Port's classroom. Weiss had already left the room, having another class all the way across campus that started in ten minutes (she hadn't forgotten to warn Ruby to study before she left, though).

As Ruby herself left Port's class, her mind filled with quickly fading equations and lectures, Ozpin came up to meet her.

"Miss Rose," he greeted kindly, causing her to turn around at her name, "how are you?"

"Er, good!" Ruby blurted, before clearing her throat and speaking again, "I'm fine, sir, thanks."

She wasn't sure why, but Ozpin liked coming up to talk to her – she was sure it had nothing to do with her dorm's tendency to cause minor explosions on campus – and frequent visits from the headmaster tended to make one nervous. Ozpin, on the other hand, took no notice of her rushed words (or if he did, he chose not to comment on it).

"Excellent," Ozpin replied, before his brow furrowed slightly and he glanced up and down the slowly emptying hallway, "do you have a moment to talk?"

Ruby nodded, wary of his question. Often, their meetings were impromptu, demanding to be spoken about, rather than being requested. Especially whenever team JNPR was involved.

Ozpin led her into a small alcove off of the hallway, one that faced the vending machines that had been broken by Yang during the first semester. Ruby waited for the headmaster to speak, resisting the urge to rock back and forth on her heels. Clearly, the man had something important to say. He didn't let her down.

"Ruby, how aware are you of your teammates' standings?"

"Standings?" she repeated, caught off guard by his question.

"Their marks," Ozpin supplied gently, giving her a moment to think.

"I don't know their exact numbers, but… they're all pretty good?" she answered after a pause, "I mean, Weiss is top of her class in every course Pyrrha isn't sharing with her, Blake reads all of her textbooks before she's even assigned the readings, and Yang…. Well, I'm not sure what Yang does, but she always manages to pass."

Ozpin pursed his lips slightly at her last comment, frowning and glancing away. He then sighed, and looked back up to meet silver eyes.

"It's your sister I'm here about," he explained, not pausing at the look of confusion and concern that passed over Ruby's face, "We've had several professors bring up concerns over her academic performance as of late."

"She's always done fine before," Ruby cut in, thrown off by Ozpin's explanation, "What's going on that would–"

Ozpin held up a hand, cutting off her question before it could fully come out of her mouth.

"I'm not here to punish anyone," he clarified, "but rather here as a warning. Miss Xiao Long's current progress has been rather alarming, but it is nothing that requires immediate action, yet."

He glanced at the girl over the top of his glasses, making sure his words sunk in.

"As headmaster, I deem it fit to make sure that team leaders know of their teammates situations' before administration takes any action. Ruby, I don't know how much you know about your sister's academic progress, but I would suggest you look into it. As of now, Yang's marks are not extremely worrisome, but if she continues on her current path, they will be. At that point, we will need to intervene. Sister or not, I advise you to take action, as team leader."

He paused, as if an afterthought had come to mind.

"Especially before any of your other teammates decide to," he added. It didn't take a genius to figure out which member of RWBY he was referring to – especially not for Ruby, who was partners with the one in question.

Ruby nodded, head reeling with questions and concerns over her sister. After a moment, she realized Ozpin was waiting for a reply.

"I'll look into it," she said at last, looking down at her feet, "I don't know what's going on with Yang, I mean…"

She trailed off, lost in thought for a moment. Then her head snapped back up, look of confusion replaced by one of fierce determination.

"I'll fix it!"

Ozpin smiled gently at this, clearly satisfied by her answer. He stepped out of the alcove, bidding her goodbye.

"Good luck then, Miss Rose."

Ruby smiled at him, also making her way down the now empty hallway.

"Ruby."

She turned at her name, finding the headmaster staring back at her with an apprehensive look.

"Don't let your guard down."

Then he turned and walked down the hallway, leaving Ruby alone with questions about more than just her course.

---

It wasn't like Yang's academics had never been a problem before – that much, Ruby knew for sure. For as long as she could remember, her dad had had multiple meetings and calls from concerned teachers about Yang's schoolwork or, more specifically, her lack thereof. The blonde, ever since elementary years, had never been particularly fond of her homework. And while she was frequently quoted as a 'bright young girl,' getting Yang to sit down and actually do her work was a task comparable to that of trying to get Blake to stop reading.

Over the years, Yang had eventually gotten better – she handed in her homework out of habit more than anything else, even though she despised it. Ruby couldn't place why exactly Yang had decided to start listening to her teachers, but she'd be willing to place money on the fact that their father had a stubbornness to match his eldest daughter's. In any case, the concern over Yang's academic performance had lessened over the years, written off as a youthful issue. She still hated doing homework, but Yang put up with it. As such, it wasn't the fact that Yang wasn't working that worried Ruby – but rather the fact that suddenly, she seemed like she couldn't.

Ozpin's words had sent the silver-eyed girl into a watchful state over the next few days, keeping track of her sister in the few classes they shared, and throughout Weiss's dictatorial studying sessions. It wasn't like anything noticeable had changed, but it was more that because she was paying attention, Ruby realized just how worrisome her sister's habits really were. For one, Yang slept a lot during her lectures, notebook staying void of actual notes, and slightly stained from escaped drool. As for the studying portion, it didn't seem like the blonde actually studied at all – instead doodling, or playing games on her phone, or even reading someone else's textbooks instead of her own.

After a few days of this, Ruby decided it was time for her to speak up. As Ozpin had said, sister or not, the team was going to suffer for Yang's studying methods if she didn't do something about it. And while her sister could sometimes be a pain in the ass, even Ruby wasn't heartless enough to let her fall to the wrath of Weiss – especially as a result of low grades. Pranking the heiress was one thing, but causing her marks to fall lower than Pyrrha's? That was asking for instant death.

Ruby waited until Yang and herself were alone in their dorm room, the other two usual inhabitants off on their own activities. Weiss was in class, even though she had left behind a number of pages for Ruby to have read and summarized by the time she made it back (Ruby wasn't sure if she appreciated or despised Weiss's help in studying for their shared courses). Blake was off 'studying' in the library – in other words, she was reading one of her many 'romance' novels, and would continue to do so until someone came along and dragged her off to dinner. Even the rest of their dorm floor was empty – team JNPR was on their own study session, which meant that no one would get any work done, and that Pyrrha would come back with ten confiscated comic books from Jaune. Sun and Neptune were also gone, the former probably having dragged the other exchange student off on some wild adventure. Even Velvet, the floor's RA, was off in class.

With no one else around to interrupt them, Ruby carefully plotted her confrontation. The pair was hanging around in Yang's bedroom, with the owner in question perched atop her bunk, playing a game on her phone. Judging by the frequent bursts of swearing, it was most likely a remaining version of flappy bird. After a particularly violent explosion of profanity, including some very descriptive comments about the game creator's mother, Ruby decided to make her move.

"So, Yang," she began conversationally, "guess who came up to speak with me the other day?"

"Was it Goodbitch?" her sister replied, not even bothering to look up from her phone, "I already told her the fountain incident wasn't started by me."

Ruby frowned at the comment, but didn't even bother to ask about it.

"Nah, it was Ozpin."

At this, Yang looked up, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Ozpin? But he usually only comes up to talk to us if something got lit on fire."

The blonde paused and peered suspiciously at her sister.

"Sun hasn't been introducing you to the world of arson, has he?"

"Wha– no!" Ruby waved her hands at the accusation, violently denying it, "that isn't what he came to talk to me about. Besides, that's more of your department, anyways."

"Huh," replied Yang, returning to her game, "then what'd he come up to you for?"

"Actually… he was asking about you," Ruby said slowly, watching her sister's reaction.

At this, Yang's hands froze momentarily, before returning to tapping the screen. But as small as it was, the reaction didn't go unseen by Ruby.

"That's new," said the blonde, now pointedly staring at her phone, avoiding Ruby's eyes, "what did he want?"

There was a moment of silence, silver eyes staring towards the blonde, who was obviously feigning innocence. Ruby sighed, raising a hand to rub her head. Might as well go straight for the kill.

"He wanted to talk about your grades."

At this, Yang groaned quietly, dropping her phone and tilting her head back slightly. She rubbed her eyes, then turned to face her younger sister.

"Should have known," she muttered quietly, before addressing Ruby at full volume, "Look, Rubes, it's nothing big. Just haven't been getting the greatest marks lately."

"Ozpin said it's been going on for longer than 'lately,'" Ruby replied, not convinced by her sister's feeble excuse, "he said teachers have come up to him with concerns over your falling grades."

Yang muttered something crude under her breath, then returned to full volume.

"Ruby, it's nothing to be worried about. Even if Ozpin said so."

Yang said the last bit as her sister opened her mouth, already predicting what Ruby's comment would be.

"I've just been more tired lately," the blonde continued, "probably something to do with the weather. I'll be back to normal before you know it!"

Even Yang's reassuring smile, combined with her last statement, couldn't dispel all of Ruby's doubts. As much as she believed her sister, she also knew that if it hadn't been really serious, Ozpin wouldn't have come up to her. That, and Ozpin's comment about letting her guard down, kept Ruby from brushing off the issue as easily as her sister wanted her to.

"Yang," she said, watching her sisters smile falter, "you know you can always ask us for help, right?"

"And get one of Weiss's tyrannical studying regimes?" Yang laughed, "no thanks."

Ruby grimaced, unable to truthfully deny the accusation.

"I know what you meant," her sister continued, "but really, Ruby, I'm fine. Just give me a week or two, and my grades will be back to normal."

For a moment, Ruby was torn. She looked at Yang, whose grin was faltering slightly, trying to keep at bay worries and secrets she was unwilling to share. Ozpin's warning was rattling around in Ruby's head, battling with Yang's reassurances. As much as the silver-eyed girl knew her sister was lying, she still didn't want to expose that, or try and argue with Yang. At the same time, she didn't want to risk anything for her team, especially not when a wrong decision could affect them all terribly.

"… Fine," Ruby said finally, noting the way her sister perked up at her answer, "but you have to prove you can do it."

She said the last bit before Yang could interrupt – the blonde's face fell slightly at this.

"Keep your word and get your grades up before midterms begin, and I won't tell Weiss or Blake," Ruby clarified, "but if they get any worse, you know I'll have to tell them."

There was a pause, a silence heavy with words and consequences unspoken.

"… For the good of the team," Ruby finished, looking away.

"For the good of the team," Yang echoed, her voice sounding slightly hollow, "Thanks, Ruby."

"Don't thank me just yet," she replied, looking pointedly at her sister, "you have to keep your promises."

Yang laughed softly, her usual smile returning to her face, albeit a little bit strained.

"No worries, little sis!"

Ruby's face flushed at the nickname, and she frowned, the previous atmosphere dispelling into a lighter one.

"Don't call me that!" she protested amidst her sister's laughter, "and Yang... don't forget, you can always ask us for help."

Yang's laughter had dissipated by Ruby's last comment, and she grinned brightly at her younger sister.

"I know, Ruby. I'll be fine."

Ruby nodded, smiling back. Then she glanced at the clock – and promptly let out a squawk comparable to that of Oobleck's parrot, realizing the time.

"I'm late for Weiss's study session!" she cried, racing into her own room to collect her backpack.

Yang winced on her part, all too familiar with the heiress' stance on being late. Ruby burst out into their shared living room a second later, where Yang had made her way. She yanked open the door, backpack slung halfway onto one shoulder, then paused.

"Make sure I made the right decision," she said, giving Yang one last meaningful look.

Her sister smiled in response, then pointed behind her shoulder at the clock mounted on the wall. With another yelp, Ruby raced out of the room and down the dorm's hallway.

"Good luck with the ice queen!" her sister yelled at her retreating back, waving at the girl.

Once Ruby had disappeared around the corner, Yang lingered in the doorway for a moment, her smile falling slowly from her face. She turned and retreated back into their shared dorm, closing the door behind her. Yang leaned back against the solid wood, sliding down to the floor with a soft thump. The sound of the clock echoed through the empty room, leaving Yang to her own thoughts and Ruby's lingering warnings.

After a moment, the blonde drew her knees up to her chest, leaning her forehead against them and letting out a breathy sigh that carried through the rooms.

"… Shit."

---

Blake was the next one to figure it out. No one came up to her, or warned her of her partner's grades, but rather, she figured it out on her own. It wasn't that she specifically went looking for faults in her partner, but that over time, Blake slowly came to the conclusion that something was off about the blonde. Not in the sense that something seemed wrong with the girl, but more that she seemed to be struggling more and more.

However, despite taking notice of Yang's increasing stress and decreasing sleep, Blake didn't take action until one normal afternoon, completely indistinguishable from the rest. The pair were sitting in their dorm room, Yang sitting at the nearby desk and Blake reading on her bed. Ruby and Weiss were out, presumably on a study session.

That afternoon was quiet, the dorm settling into a relatively comfortable silence, each girl caught up in her own activity. That was, until Yang started tapping her pencil. The rapping filled the silence, becoming increasingly louder and annoying, until eventually Blake interrupted the impromptu beat.

"Yang," she said flatly, staring at her roommate.

The tapping stopped.

"Yes, Blake?" replied the blonde, spinning in her chair to face Blake.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to read."

"Oh, uh, no! Sorry about that," sputtered Yang, smiling sheepishly.

"It's alright," replied Blake, rolling her eyes at her partner's antics, though long used to them by now, "What are you working on, anyways?"

"Essay for Oobleck's class," she replied without hesitation, gesturing behind her with her pencil drumstick.

Blake's brow furrowed as she lowered her book slightly, turning to start straight at the blonde.

"You mean the essay he specifically told us not to write in one night?"

Yang's gaze dropped, staring at the floor.

"Er, yeah. That one."

Blake sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in slight exasperation.

"Yang, do you ever do things before the night they're due?" she asked, closing her eyes.

Then she paused, snapping them open again in realization. Now that she thought about it, Blake couldn't recall having seen a time when Yang wasn't finishing a large assignment the night before it was due. The dark haired girl turned to look at her partner again, who was now hunched back over her desk, pencil scribbling rapidly on her pages, limbs remarkably still. Yang, writing without moving some part of her body. Now Blake knew something was up.

"Yang, do you work on things in advance?"

"Of course I do!" the blonde replied, still keeping her back turned to Blake.

"Do you… ever finish them in advance?"

"Well, yeah!"

"In the same way that you 'study?'"

"I study!" Yang cried out at the last bit, spinning back around to face her partner, who was staring at her with an amused look.

"Studying other than when Weiss threatens to hit you over the head with her history of business textbook if you don't?"

For all of her light-hearted comments, Blake was actually becoming increasingly concerned the more she thought about her partner's habits. Because despite Yang's protests, Blake couldn't actually recall times when Yang was studying without being forced, or having her work done before its due date was right on top of her. While her partner's studying habits weren't usually of concern to her, Blake's realization of this, coupled with Yang's recent increase in stress and sleeplessness, was becoming increasingly worrisome.

And it was with this understanding, that Blake also realized Yang hadn't spoken about her grades in weeks. Ruby and Weiss often talked about their marks – Ruby cheered over what they'd done well in; Weiss balanced her out by criticizing their poor performances – and even Blake shared her grades once in a while, though not nearly as often as the other pair. Yang, on the other hand, never offered up her marks.

Blake pulled herself from her thoughts and stared at Yang, who was slowly swiveling back and forth slowly, arms crossed in a defensive posture, as if waiting for Blake's next accusation.

"Yang…" Blake began, catching the blonde's attention, "what are your grades like?"

At this, Yang faltered.

"Th-they're fine," she stuttered, not as quickly as her previous answers, "why do you ask?"

Blake narrowed her eyes at the blonde; Yang wouldn't fool anyone with that answer, least of all her partner who had spent months getting used to her mannerisms.

There was a brief pause – then Blake leapt forwards from her bed, lunging to grab Yang's backpack before the blonde could snatch it back. On her part, Yang attempted to hang onto her back, fingers narrowly missing the straps, scrabbling against the rough fabric. Blake retreated backwards, leaping up out of Yang's reach onto the blonde's top bunk. Her partner lost her balance from her sudden lunge and face planted onto the floor.

Without much sympathy for her partner's face, Blake wasted no time in unzipping Yang's backpack and digging through the mess of papers and disorganized school supplies, before unearthing a thick binder, stuffed with returned assignments.

Yang lifted herself from making out with the hardwood flooring just in time to catch her partner's face change in reaction to the marks on her assignments. The blonde cringed, pulling herself up to a sitting position before addressing her partner.

"Blake…" she began, but she was promptly cut off before she could start with any excuses.

"Yang Xiao Long," the dark haired girl said.

Yang froze – using full names was a Weiss tactic, and if Blake was resorting to those, then this was going to be very serious. Her partner looked right at her, holding up a handful of papers.

"What are these grades?"

Red marks plagued the pages like pimples on a teenager's face, scoring out words and slashing Yang's grades to pieces. Sixties and fifties crossed the tops of pages, often accompanied by disapproving comments and even a couple of frowning faces. The binder was filled with more assignments of the sort, a physical representation of Yang's falling grades over the past few weeks.

The room fell into silence again, Blake's question going unanswered by the blonde who had turned her attention back to the floor. The silence was punctuated only by the sounds of shuffling, as Blake sorted through paper after paper, looking for some sign of improvement. There wasn't one.

After a moment, she dropped the papers, turning to look back at Yang, the blonde pointedly keeping her gaze away from her partner.

"Yang," she began, voice much softer from before, "what's going on?"

"Nothing," the blonde replied sharply.

"This isn't nothing, Yang," Blake retorted, "why haven't you talked to us about this before?"

"About what?" Yang said, finally looking up at Blake, "that my grades are sinking faster than Jaune when he tries to swim?"

"That you need help," she replied, ignoring the quip about Jaune.

"I don't need help," the blonde shot back immediately, looking slightly angry, "I'm fine."

"This isn't fine!" Blake countered, shaking the papers at the girl, "it's okay to ask for help, Yang. We all do it from time to time."

"No, Blake," Yang said, shaking her head, "not when it comes down to this. I have to do this on my own!"

Silence settled, each girl falling into the quiet with a different expression. Blake, one of unease and worry; Yang, one of defensiveness and desperation.

It wasn't like they'd never fought before, but this was different. Their arguments usually fell somewhere in the range of one partner convincing the other, or keeping them from doing stupid things. But they'd never fought before over trying to help the other. It was common for neither girl to ask the other for help in anything, be it studying or even personal problems, but they balanced each other out in that aspect, hiding their own problems while being able to notice when the other was struggling. Over their time as partners, Blake had become accustomed to looking out for Yang, and the blonde for her. But they'd never fought over it before.

"Yang," Blake tried one last time, "let us help you."

The blonde shook her head again, slower than the last time.

"Blake, I can make it through this on my own. I can't ask to drag anyone else into this. It's bad enough that Ruby already knows, and now you–"

"Wait a minute," Blake interrupted, "Ruby knows about this?"

Yang winced, clearly not having meant to let that detail slip.

"Ozpin came to her about it," she said, "but it's not like–"

"Ozpin talked to her about this? Yang, the headmaster of our school came up to your team leader to talk about your grades – and you still say this is nothing?"

"Blake, I–"

"No, Yang! This isn't something you have to do on your own. We can tell Weiss about it before it gets any worse, and together we'll help you get back on track. You'd do this for any of us, so why can't we do the same for you? Even Pyrrha will help if you ask – any of team JNPR, for that matter."

"No."

Yang cut her off, voice cold and yet at the same time filled with desperation. The blonde raised her head to stare at Blake, eyes full of emotion.

"Blake, please."

The dark haired girl had no words, instead letting Yang finish her own.

"Don't bring anyone else into this. I can do it on my own."

It wasn't like Blake to get caught up in others' emotions when making decisions – when it came to her own, sure, but not with others'. Yet something in Yang's voice, combined with the level of sheer desperation and panic in her eyes, made the brunette pause. She knew Yang needed help – that much was true in the papers alone, even if you left the lack of sleep and rise in stress out of it – but she couldn't bring herself to force the blonde to accept the help she needed, even if she needed it greatly.

Yang, on her part, had returned to studying the floor, her last words echoing in the silence of the room. Blake sighed softly, closing her eyes and tilting her head back slightly. Then:

"Two weeks."

Yang's head snapped up, brow furrowed in confusion at her partner's words.

"What?"

"Two weeks," Blake repeated, eyes opening and focusing on the blonde, "you have two weeks to change my mind, Yang. Raise your grades, and I won't tell Weiss. But if they get any lower, you know I won't have much of a choice."

At this, Yang's smile returned – but it wasn't nearly the same as before, instead filled with poorly disguised anxiety, threatening to spill through her façade like water through a dam.

"You got it, partner."

Her voice sounded hollow, but Blake chose not to comment on it. Instead, the dark haired girl slowly climbed down from Yang's bunk, tossing the bag back towards its rightful owner. She then returned to her own bunk, picking up her book from where it had fallen during her lunge. Yang stood awkwardly for a moment, before she dropped her backpack into its previous position, and sat back down to her essay.

Silence filled the room once more, but heavier than before, laden down with words unsaid and worries unspoken. For Blake, she worried for her partner, knowing that her stubbornness would lead to her downfall before she ever asked for help – but also fully aware that no matter how much she wanted to help, she couldn't, not as long as Yang's desperation reached as deep as it did.

For Yang, the clock kept ticking, the pressure kept increasing. Not only Ruby's warning filled her thoughts now, but Blake's as well – an endless torrent of worry and warnings, distracting her even more from the work she was already struggling with.

The silence kept building. Blake kept reading. Yang kept writing, her leg bouncing in time with her pencil.

---

The next week was a rough one. Between midterms fast approaching, and keeping an eye on Yang's performance, Blake was starting to become stressed herself. Studying season had awakened at Beacon, sending the students into dull or frenzied states, either diving headfirst into midterm material or pretending it didn't exist at all. Nora and Jaune were part of the latter, while Pyrrha and Weiss took charge in the former.

Speaking of the heiress, her studying regimes had become increasingly intense as of late, the white haired girl determined to keep her team's (and therefore, her own) standings on top. Ruby had complained, predictably, but even she was facing her notes with determination. Blake didn't have as much trouble sitting down to study – she was weeks ahead in readings for some of her classes, and easily remembered her history lessons. It was Yang, on the other hand, that she was worried about.

The blonde had been trying to keep her promises, but while her grades didn't fall any further, they didn't rise any, either. The stress was starting to show on the girl – dark circles ringed her eyes, the coffee cups by her desk grew worrying in numbers, exhaustion starting to overtake her movements. Pyrrha had even come up to ask Blake at one point if Yang was feeling alright, the blonde not having been at her best during their weekly sparring practice.

But as worried for Yang as the dark haired girl was, she was preoccupied with her own issues, too – mainly keeping her own grades in line, and preventing Weiss from finding out about those of her partner's. The latter was becoming slightly more difficult, as the daily studying sessions within their team were clearly showing the stress on the blonde, with Weiss muttering comments about 'unsatisfactory performance.' Yang, surprisingly, didn't bother to react at all, other than focusing even harder on her open textbooks.

It was the week right before midterms that Oobleck came up to speak with Blake. The green-haired man was easily her favorite professor – while his coffee-induced antics could be… distracting, at best, he was brilliant in his ways of teaching history. Yang and Blake both had him as their professor, just in different classes. It was after her class that the man came up to speak to her, asking her to stay behind a moment after the other students had left.

"Blake," Oobleck said, "may I speak with you for a minute?"

Blake nodded, stepping back away from the door to let her classmates pass through. Oobleck watched them filter out of the classroom, an awkward silence settling upon the pair once the other students had all left. The professor continued to stare at the doorway, as though lost in thought.

"What did you need to speak to me about, sir?" Blake asked after a minute, pulling the professor's attention back to herself.

"Ah, yes!" he replied, his speech falling back into its usual rapid pattern, "I just had a quick question."

"About a homework assignment?" she said, trying to recall their most recent work.

"No, no. As a matter of fact, I wanted to ask about Miss Xiao Long."

"Yang?" Blake answered in confusion, thrown off by his request.

"Yes, precisely! You see, Miss Belladonna, I needed to ask someone close to Miss Xiao Long a question about her, and it came down between you and Miss Rose – and as her partner in study, the ideal choice was you!"

Blake blinked, taking a moment to take in his rapid words.

"Fair enough," she replied at last, "What did you want to ask about?"

"Ah, yes! My question, Miss Belladonna, is simple."

He paused, as if figuring out how to phrase it best.

"Has Miss Xiao Long ever had troubling concentrating?"

"Trouble… concentrating?" Blake repeated, not entirely sure how to answer.

"I mean, does she ever avoid her work constantly? Do things right before their deadline? Have you ever noticed her relaxing while others are studying?"

"Uh…"

"Think, Miss Belladonna, think!"

Blake did think. In fact, she was thinking about how well Oobleck had just managed to describe Yang's work habits – almost, she thought, as if he had seen them himself. But all of the man's questions did apply, and after a moment of silence, she turned and nodded to her professor.

"Yes, all those do apply to Yang," she said, not wanting to give too much away about her blonde partner. It felt something like treason.

Oobleck nodded sagely – Blake suddenly felt as if he hadn't actually expected her to say anything other than yes. The man raised a finger to his chin for a moment, tapping it with the speed he was often well known for. Then he lowered it, staring straight at Blake.

"Miss Belladonna," he began, startling Blake with the sudden serious tone to his words, "would you be able to ask Yang to come speak with me?"

"Speak with you?"

"Yes," he affirmed, "I would ask her myself, but we both know she can be rather… prickly about these sorts of things. I'm sure Miss Xiao Long wouldn't be very open if I asked her to come speak to me, but coming from you, it might put her more at ease."

Blake nodded, still not fully on board with what he was asking. Or, more, why.

"Don't worry," Oobleck said, eyes crinkling into a soft smile, "she's not in trouble. If it's any reassurance, these matters are not anybody's fault, least of all your partner's."

Blake nodded at this, his words easing her worries slightly.

"You'd best be on your way," Oobleck continued, jerking his head towards the clock on the wall, "it'd be best not to raise any of your teammates' concerns, least of all those of Miss Xiao Long herself."

As the dark haired girl turned to leave, collecting her items and her thoughts, she heard Oobleck's voice from behind her once more.

"Take care," he said, "both of you."

Blake didn't turn around, instead making her way out of the classroom and down the hallway in the direction of the dorms. It was evening on campus, the sun's last rays settling in the corners of windows as it retreated down below the city skyline. Beacon's campus was massive, and it was a bit of a walk back to their room, so she had plenty of times to sort out her thoughts about Oobleck's comments on her blonde partner.

Even she wasn't sure why the green-haired man wanted to see Yang – obviously, he knew something neither of them had figured out, but Blake for the life of her couldn't guess as to what it was. Only one thing for it, then. Either drag Yang to see Oobleck – which she knew might only make matters worse, considering Yang's unease around the rapid speaking professor – or try and convince Ruby to help her out. Mind set on the latter, Blake entered the dormitory lobby, pausing to say hi to Velvet on the way up to their floor. The RA smiled and nodded in return.

The rest of their floor was silent – it appeared Pyrrha had dragged JNPR on yet another midterm studying crusade, while Sun and Neptune were off on a trip to the city overnight. Knowing a perfect opportunity when she saw one, Blake entered their dorm. Both sisters were sitting in their shared living room, glancing up at her sudden entrance. Yang raised a hand in recognition; Ruby waved and smiled brightly. Weiss was nowhere to be seen (or heard).

Before Blake could ask Ruby to come talk with her, however, the missing heiress made her appearance.

"Blake, why are you standing in the doorway?"

The dark haired girl whirled to face behind her, Weiss's flat voice emanating from just behind her shoulder. Blake was ready to reproach her teammate for sneaking up behind her like that, but the words stopped dead in her throat when she saw the heiress' expression. Eyes narrowed, brows lowered, mouth a firm line set in her face. Combined with the crossed arms, it was easy to read the heiress' temper – she was pissed, and Blake had a sinking suspicion she knew exactly why.

"Weiss!"

Ruby had noticed her partner's return, jumping up from her chair to greet the white haired girl. Yang, too, had noticed, judging by the way she gripped her textbook tighter.

Blake stepped out of the doorway, allowing Weiss to pass through – the girl artfully dodged Ruby's oncoming tackle hug, nearly sending her partner careening into the door frame. Luckily for all of them, a hospital visit was avoided.

"So."

Weiss's voice cut through the air, sharp and clear, catching all of their attention. Blake looked at her; Ruby's oncoming complaints about her near make-out session with a door jamb halted in her throat; Yang's knuckles turned white against the spine of her book.

"I received notice," Weiss began, "about a meeting today."

Blake felt her stomach drop down to her feet - a quick glance at Ruby showed that the younger girl was having a similar reaction, too.

"Tomorrow morning," the heiress continued, seemingly oblivious to the rising tension in the room, "we are to meet with Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch, up in their offices at eleven. Now, I don't know why this meeting is being called, and as much as I'd like to assume it's for a good reason, that's highly unlikely when you three are involved. So, if there's anything I should know about before we walk into that office tomorrow, now would be an excellent time to tell me."

Silence met her words. It was obvious Weiss knew something was afoot – and also knew that try as she might, there was no way to forcibly drag it out of them. Ruby and Blake exchanged panicked glances, trying to keep their gazes from falling on Yang. The blonde herself was staring at her textbook, but judging from her unfocused gaze, wasn't actually paying it any attention. After a minute of heavy silence, Weiss quirked an eyebrow.

"Fine," she said, obviously displeased with their unwillingness to talk, "in that case, I'm going off to the library to study. I'd suggest you all do the same, or go to sleep. After all, it doesn't look like tomorrow is going to be pleasant."

No, thought Blake, as her teammate stalked out the door, no it doesn't.

Once Weiss's footsteps had retreated down the hallway, Ruby and Blake turned to look at Yang. The blonde was very pointedly avoiding their eyes, face cast in shadow by her hair falling over it. No one said anything, the younger sister and the partner not even entirely sure what they could say at this point. Things had gone too far, and try as they might, all three of them knew they couldn't change anything at this point.

Yang suddenly closed her book heavily, the snap resounding in the heavy atmosphere of the room. Throwing the textbook onto the chair as she vacated it, the blonde stalked off into the room she shared with Blake, making sure not to make eye contact as she left. The door slammed behind her, leaving Ruby and Blake with regrets and words unspoken.

The two girls exchanged another glance – this time worried, but resigned. There was no longer anything they could do; this time tomorrow, Weiss would know, and they'd be lucky if Yang wasn't dead (or buried under a semester's worth of textbooks and assignments). There was nothing left to do, other than prepare for the inevitable explosion that was sure to come – and hope that the fallout wasn't too much to handle.

---

"Yaaaaaang!"

The cry of her name shook the blonde brawler awake, bringing her out of the realm of sleep and back into the library of Beacon. Slowly sitting up, Yang swiped at her eyes to clear them, catching sight of the culprit of the cry. Nora stood in front of her desk, palms flat on the wooden surface, leaning in close. Yang rolled her eyes, well acquainted with the orange haired girl's antics; the pair shared the same major, and as a result, many of their classes together.

Seeing that her friend was now awake, Nora gave a giggle, bouncing back to rock on her heels. Shaking her head slightly at the girl's seemingly endless supply of energy, Yang turned back to face the books she'd fallen asleep on. Textbooks and notebooks were sprawled across the desk, filled with half finished notes and pointers. The blonde had woken early that morning, sneaking off to the library while her teammates were still asleep. While she knew she'd have to face them later that day, Yang deemed it best to avoid them as much as she could until she ran out of time. That, and maybe studying even more would somewhat appease the heiress' anger.

"So…" Nora started, dragging out the word as she rocked back and forth, "what are you doing here?"

Yang quirked an eyebrow at that; she'd assumed the textbooks would speak for themselves. Gesturing to the mess on the desk, she continued to stare pointedly at her friend. Nora laughed in response.

"No," she said, in between giggles, "I mean, why are you still in the library? Weiss mentioned something about a meeting for your team today."

"What?" Yang replied, wondering just how fast news spread along Beacon's grapevine, "that's later today. At eleven."

She paused then, realizing that Nora was, in fact, at the library much earlier than the girl usually even woke up by.

"Wait, why are you even up so early?"

"She's not."

A voice from behind them answered her question before Nora could – turning to face the owner of the comment, Yang realized Ren had joined their conversation.

"It's almost ten thirty, Yang," he continued, lifting an eyebrow at her apparent confusion.

At his comment, Yang dove back to her desk, tossing papers and books every which way in an effort to find her phone. Once unearthing it from beneath a stack of medical definitions, she unlocked it realize that yes, it was in fact almost ten thirty, and yes, she'd slept for far longer than she'd meant to. Her phone was lit up with messages – all from her teammates, reminding her of the meeting. Ruby's and Blake's messages were tentative, kindlier, while Weiss's had the sensitivity of a cactus.

Groaning, Yang leaned back in her chair, resting a hand over her eyes.

"Lost track of time?" Nora teased, before looking thoughtful, "Actually, that's why we're here."

Yang lowered a finger from over her eyes, giving herself a chance to stare at her friend questioningly. Nora clarified.

"Ruby asked us this morning if we'd seen where you'd went, since they'd woken up to find you not in the dorm. Weiss seemed to think you ran away or something? But Blake defended your honour, saying you'd probably just wandered off to do something else."

"We figured you had forgotten."

Another new voice joined them; this one, Yang recognized instantly as Pyrrha. Turning to face the redhead, she realized that her partner was tagging along behind her – Jaune's jaw dropped at the appearance of the blonde, eyebrows rising comically.

"Whoa, Yang…" he said, words out of his mouth before he had the chance to think them over, "you look terrible."

His words were abruptly cut off by a squawk that could have belonged to a parrot – no doubt the result of Pyrrha's pinch to his arm, and Ren's foot squarely planted on his toes. But the damage had been done – Yang narrowed her eyes at the blond boy, not amused by his comment.

Through some unspoken agreement, Ren and Pyrrha nodded, the former latching an arm around Jaune's shoulders, dragging his teammate down an aisle, the blond boy hopping on one foot in pain. Nora followed lazily, sauntering out of sight as she gave Yang a friendly wave goodbye. This left Yang and Pyrrha, alone in the quiet of the library.

"Yang," the redhead said after a moment, catching the blonde's attention, "are you going to be okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied instinctively, looking away.

"I didn't ask how you are now," Pyrrha said slowly, cautiously, the way one might talk to a wounded animal, "I asked how you were going to be."

Yang froze – trust Pyrrha to be the one to catch her automatic response. She sighed heavily in resignation, scrubbing her hands across her face.

"I don't know, Pyrrha," she admitted, knowing she wouldn't be able to lie to her friend. Yang had found it was increasingly difficult not to tell the truth to someone once they had thrown you across a room in a hundred different ways.

Pyrrha hummed understandingly, taking a seat beside the blonde.

"No offense," she said, "but Jaune was right. You do look awful."

"You sure you're not just backing him up 'cause he's your 'partner?'" Yang teased, casting a smirk to the redhead, who blushed hard enough to match her hair.

Scowling, Pyrrha gave Yang a light shove, who didn't bother to return it. Truthfully, she knew both Jaune and Pyrrha were right – she looked run down, worn out, tired. The darkness of the rings around her eyes could match the pits of Glynda's soul, and she'd lost weight recently too – which was surprising, considering the blonde was almost completely made of muscle. Pyrrha had commented on it the last time they had sparred – she'd joked about Yang being suddenly easier to pick up and throw, but the blonde had caught the worry in the undertones of her voice. The same worry that now mixed into Pyrrha's current words, concern and lightheartedness causing a strange combination.

The pair fell into silence, watching the minutes tick by on a clock mounted high on the wall.

"You should get going," Pyrrha said eventually, "better not give Weiss another reason to yell at you. And Nora reminded you of the meeting, so you don't have the 'forgot' excuse anymore."

Yang scowled at this; truthfully, she might have actually played the forgetfulness card. But in the long run, she knew it wouldn't have solved anything.

The blonde stood and began to gather her things, tossing books and papers haphazardly back into her bag. It was never organized to begin with; it didn't matter which way she put them back. Pyrrha reached out and grabbed her arm after a moment, halting the blonde in her actions. Glancing at the redhead revealed a look of thinly veiled concern on her face, worry evident in her emerald eyes.

"Yang," she said softly, "you know you can always talk to us, right?"

It was the same thing Blake and Ruby had said; the same thing Yang had been hearing for a long time. And now, with her possible death less than half an hour away, the blonde was inclined to for once talk someone up on the offer. But, stubborn as she was, Yang still didn't want to admit she couldn't solve things on her own.

The blonde shook her head, pulling her arm from Pyrrha's grip.

"I know, Pyrrha," she said, cramming the last of her belongings into her bag, then zipping it back up, "Thanks."

Pyrrha nodded, getting to her feet the same time as Yang did. She rested a hand on her shoulder, looking straight into the blonde's eyes.

"When this is all over," she said, voice firm once more, "get some rest. You look like crap, and I can't exactly count my wins as true victories when you're not at your full game."

"Sure thing," she said, laughing, "Once this meeting finishes, and the… aftermath has settled, I'm going to sleep for ages. Then I can return to kicking your ass all over the room."

The friends grinned, well acquainted to the sparring jabs tossed into their conversations. Then Pyrrha frowned, having caught on to the aftermath comment. Yang didn't give her the chance to ask, though, instead speaking first.

"Well, I'd best be on my way," she said, shouldering her bag, "I'll see you later. After all, can't give Weiss a reason to kill me before Ozpin does!"

With that, she raised a hand in goodbye, turning and quickly leaving the library before Pyrrha could call her back. The redhead stood, watching her friend leave, worry once again having returned to her features. The sound of footsteps alerted her to the reappearance of her teammates.

"She's not okay, is she?" Jaune asked, as she turned to face them.

"No," Pyrrha sighed, "I don't think she is."

"She's not going to be once Weiss sees those grades of hers," Nora said, rocking on the balls of her feet, "that's for sure."

Her three teammates shot her confused looks at this, and the freckled girl grinned and shrugged in response.

"Her grades fell a lot in the courses we share," she clarified simply, "I can only imagine the rest of her classes are the same."

Pyrrha hummed at this, pursing her lips in thought. Then she shrugged, turning to face her team.

"Well," she said, "there's not much we can do for her now. Might as well get a head start on studying now, so that our own grades don't fall either."

The three had varying reactions to her comment – Ren smirked, Nora grinned sheepishly, and Jaune paled considerably. Pyrrha whirled, turning and walking towards one of Beacon's multiple study rooms.

"I hope everyone's got their phones charged, by the way," she said, "I have a feeling we'll be needing them soon."

Her teammates shared looks of confusion at this – it was obvious that the redhead had caught on to something they hadn't, but they knew well enough by this point not to doubt her judgment. Ren shrugged, walking off to follow Pyrrha. Nora and Jaune did the same after a moment – the redhead was right; nothing they could do could help Yang now.

---

Of all the ways Yang had thought she would die, she never would have predicted an execution squad of her sister, an heiress, and her partner. Well, more the middle teammate, but still. Speaking of Weiss, the white haired girl had almost tried to kill her before the meeting had even begun, the blonde showing up just before eleven rolled around. She'd made her way to Ozpin's office slowly, after tossing her belongings back in their dorm room – not surprised to find it empty – and had found that all three of her teammates were already waiting there for her.

Upon rounding the corner, Weiss had seen her first – her face had changed to that of anger, and the tirade she was no doubt prepared to unleash upon the blonde for nearly being late started to make its out of her mouth, only to be stopped by Ruby. Yang's sister had taken hold of the heiresses arm, grabbing her attention. When Weiss turned to face her partner, Ruby had shaken her head, mouth in a firm line – this wasn't the time, nor the place. Insults and lectures could wait until later. For now, though, they had professors to deal with.

Yang came to stand beside Blake, pointedly ignoring the concerned glances the dark haired girl kept sending her way. Ruby looked at all three of them, making sure they were ready, before taking a deep breath, reaching out tentatively, and knocking on the heavy wooden door. There was a pause, then Ozpin's voiced echoed from within.

"Come in."

Weiss complied, reaching and opening the door. She strode through it first, Ruby following after, but not before reaching back and taking hold of Yang's hand. The blonde herself followed as well, Blake behind her, but she stopped dead in the doorway for a moment, afraid to go in. A gentle tug from Ruby and Blake's fingertips pushing between her shoulder blades sent the blonde into the room though, not giving her a chance to run.

"Team RWBY," Ozpin said from his position at his desk, sitting in his chair with his fingers steepled, "please, take a seat."

The four complied, sitting in the chairs that made a semi circle in front of his desk. Goodwitch, standing behind Opzin, watched them as they did so – her eyes mostly focused on the blonde, who immediately sat in a defensive position, arms crossed and legs crossed, eyes worried but defiant.

"I'd imagine," Ozpin began, once they had all gotten comfortable, "that some of you find yourselves in need of an explanation about this meeting."

He gauged all of their reactions as he spoke – Yang sank farther into her chair; Blake and Ruby both looked vaguely guilty; Weiss just looked pissed off and demanding of an answer.

"It's a custom here at Beacon," Ozpin continued, "to make sure that our teams stay in communication with one another; making sure that information isn't lost in translation between members of each team. As such, when the situation calls for it, we make meetings like this in order to make sure that everyone is on the same page, before taking any sort of action."

He exchanged a glance with Glynda then, before addressing the team once more.

"However, this meeting is more of a formality at this point than anything else. I'm afraid that things have gotten a little out of hand – and while we don't deem it necessary to contact parents yet, it seems that staff might need to step in to provide some kind of support."

At this, Weiss's face changed – it dropped from irratation to a mixture of worry, confusion, and plain anger. The looks on Blake's and Ruby's faces became increasingly worried, filled with guilt – Yang herself was staring at her feet, fingers digging into the arms of her chair.

"But," Ozpin continued, "it's not like we can take any action before all of you are aware of the situation. While this news can be… hard to take, at first, I'd advise that each of you remembers that you are teammates, and that having a strong support system is one of the most important things in this school. One member's performance may reflect poorly on the others', but you have to keep in mind that you can all help each other."

"As such, the professors who offered up their concern have agreed to hold back until midterms, before stepping in. This will give you the chance, as a team, to help one another out. If things continue to get worse after that point, however, then I'm afraid we will be forced to take action in contacting parents. But before that happens, I hope that you can resolve this, together."

Ozpin lowered his gaze, looking at them over the tops of his glasses with a kind smile.

"Your team is one of the strongest ones we've seen in a while, particularly in terms of understanding one another. I have high hopes that you will all be able to work through this, together."

With that, he turned to the papers resting on his desk. Slowly, he turned them around to face the girls – Blake's heart sank as she realized they were lists of their current grades. It dropped even further when she saw Yang's list – the blonde's marks had fallen even further since she'd seen them last, the sixties dropping down to fifties, the formers of that range down to forties. There was no longer any doubt as to why Ozpin had called this meeting.

Blake glanced up just in time to see Weiss's reaction to the list. The heiress paled considerably, blood draining completely from her cheeks. Considering how pale the girl usually was, it was kind of a neat trick. Blake idly wondered if they could convince Weiss to do it at parties.

But in the current moment, it was anything but a party. Yang had gone completely still – she wasn't even looking at the papers, already acutely aware of what was written on them – while Ruby and Blake were looking nervously at Weiss. She'd gone still as well, but in a different way – in the same way that a predator stills all movements before viciously capturing their prey. Ozpin and Glynda were still in the room, though, so that would have to wait.

The headmaster leaned back in his chair, having seen all of their reactions.

"We'll give you time to talk this out," he repeated, "Following the midterms, your professors will start to take action. But for now, just speak with one another – I wish you the best in resolving this. You are dismissed, team RWBY."

Ruby nodded – no one said anything in reply; there weren't a lot of words that didn't qualify as swear words at the tips of their tongues, at the moment. Goodwitch called out a final comment before they left the room.

"Good luck."

Glynda Goodwitch, wishing them luck. Now Yang knew for sure she was screwed.

The four retreated out into the empty hallway, the heavy wooden door sealing off the entrance at once. They stood in silence for a moment – no one was sure how to break it, no one really wanted to – until Weiss finally began to speak, stil staring at the ground, fists clenched.

"Yang Xiao Long," she said tersely, each word dripping with fury, her entire frame shaking with barely repressed anger, "Would you care to explain–"

"Weiss!"

The heiress snapped her head up at Ruby's cry.

"What?!" she barked, staring at her partner, who shied away from her glare.

Ruby held up her hands in defense, then pointed a lone finger behind the heiress.

"She's gone," she said simply.

Weiss whirled just in time to catch the last curls of blonde disappearing around the hallway's corner. She stalked over towards the window at the opposite end of the hall, staring down into the courtyard below. A few seconds later, Yang burst out of the doors of the building, taking off at full speed down the stone path.

"Holy shit," Ruby breathed, "I haven't seen her run that fast since Dad caught her–"

"Blake," Weiss snapped, cutting off Ruby's comment, "call Pyrrha. Tell her we're going to need her help."

The dark haired girl complied, quickly sorting through her contacts to find the familiar redhead's name. The girl picked up on the first ring, her voice coming clear through the small speaker.

"Which way's she headed?"

"North," Blake replied, before Pyrrha's words fully registered, "Wait, how do you–"

"Ah, never mind," the redhead cut her off, "She just passed by the library. Oh boy, she's moving fast. So, what's the plan?"

"Meet us by the grand hall," Weiss answered, already striding down the hallway, "We've got ourselves a blonde to catch."

"Got it," Pyrrha replied, before the line went dead, leaving Blake and Ruby to marvel over the redhead's incredible perception. She always seemed to know what was going to happen before anyone else did.

Minutes later, the remaining members of team RWBY were meeting up with the full members of JNPR, all of whom had varying expressions on their faces – worry, anticipation, indifference, and excitement. It wasn't hard to tell who wore what.

"So," Pyrrha began, "where's she going?"

"Ruby?"

Weiss addressed the younger girl, who had climbed atop the statue in the courtyard, scanning the campus for her sister. It didn't take her long to find the streak of blonde, and when she did, her face paled slightly.

"Bus terminal" she said, "… and front gates."

"Not too bad," Pyrrha said, lost in thought, "she took the wrong way out of the building, so it'll take her a little longer to work her way there. Gives us time to cut her off, if we take the shortcuts."

Weiss nodded, before turning to her team leader, who had jumped down from the statue.

"Well?" she said, raising an eyebrow, "I'd assume you have a plan."

Ruby nodded, about to speak when a voice cut through the air.

"Hey!"

They looked up to see Sun and Neptune walking towards them, looking intrigued.

"Sun? Neptune? When'd you two get back?"

"Just now, actually," the blue haired boy answered, "we were headed back to the dorms when we nearly got ran over by Yang. What's that about, anyways?"

Ruby grinned, her plan evolving in her mind.

"Perfect," she said, "this'll make things a lot easier."

"Wait, what'll make things–"

"Alright," Ruby cut the question off, "here's what we're going to do."

Everyone leaned in around her to hear the plan. Smiles and nods greeted the plan, along with a couple of eye rolls. Sun laughed openly, his hands resting behind his head.

"Never a dull moment," he said, grinning, "man, I love you guys."

---

Yang didn't think she'd ever run this fast in her life. Well, maybe except for that time when her dad – no, that was a little different, and it hadn't been her fault. This, on the other hand, only had her to blame. Yang hadn't been planning to run, but the moment Weiss had opened her mouth, Yang's name as cold as ice, the blonde had instinctively bolted. And now that she was on her way, long golden hair flowing behind her, she couldn't even remotely think of stopping.

Still, Beacon's campus was massive, and she was tiring pretty quickly. The blonde might have been in shape, but weeks of limited sleep and large amounts of stress had eaten away at her stamina – and it was all she could do to keep up a steady sprint as she fled towards the front gates of the campus, cursing herself for accidentally taking a longer route. At this point, adrenaline and sheer fear of facing the heiress were keeping her going.

Yang was so lost in though, she nearly missed the calling of her name.

"Yang! Hey Yaaaaaaang!"

She glance ahead of her to see Nora racing towards her, waving her arms excitedly. Yang smiled for a moment – before she realized exactly what Nora was trying to do: that wasn't a friendly smile, that was a predatory one. She dodged the freckled girl's sweeping arms at the last possible second; narrowly avoiding what probably would have been a chokehold.

She glanced up just in time to see Ren's arm sweeping to grab her, as well – ducking, she felt his fingers glance across her collar, missing by a couple of millimeters. Renewed by the threat of capture, Yang took off sprinting even faster, hearing Nora yelling into her phone from behind her.

"Agent Ice Queen! Agents Bruce Lee and Female Thor have failed their objective!"

"Affirmed, Nora. Which way is she heading now? Also, don't call me ice queen."

Weiss's voice rang out behind her, but Yang was too far away by the time Nora replied to hear it. So, team JNPR was in on it too? In that case, the blonde might as well count all of her friends as potential threats – including Sun and Neptune, who were now coming right at her. But this time, Yang was prepared.

The boys were coming at her from the left and the right, and she was right in the middle. Grinning slightly, Yang slowed down momentarily – then, right before the moment of impact, shot forwards in a burst of sudden speed. Her sudden aversion caught the boys off guard, and they ran right into each other, falling into a heap on the stone path.

As Neptune groaned, Sun whipped out his own phone, laughing and pronouncing their own failures to Weiss as well. Yang continued on, unperturbed now that they were behind her.

She glance to locate herself – she'd reached the end of Beacon's sprawling parks, and was about to enter the main sections of classrooms, which meant lots of narrow pathways, and good hiding spots for anyone trying to catch her. Trying to go around the buildings, however, would wake too much time – so Yang shot into the maze of corners, eyes scanning for anyone nearby. Almost immediately, she found them.

Down the end of the pathway were Jaune and Pyrrha, each blocking off a path of their own. Either way, Yang was going to have to go through one of them.

"Come on, Yang!" Pyrrha yelled, arms ready to catch the blonde, "Bring it on!"

Yeah, there was no way she was going through that. Yang made a split second decision, which really wasn't much of a decision at all – either face down the blonde boy she knew couldn't hold a match to her candle in terms of power, or go up against the redhead who had been an even match for her on her best days. Yang planted her foot solidly, barreling straight towards the blonde boy, not even giving him the chance to react.

"Sorry!" she yelled over her shoulder as she charged right into him, plowing into the boy and knocking him right off his feet.

"It's alright…" she heard him groan behind her, Pyrrha's laugh echoing through the air.

It was then that Yang noticed the lack of a report to Weiss – and realized she'd made a terrible mistake. That had been a trap, and she'd fallen for it big time. Her suspicions were confirmed a second later, as she heard a call of her name getting increasingly closer.

"Yaaaaaaaaang!"

The blonde didn't even need to look behind her to know who the voice belonged to; her sister was hot on her tail, and that was a very bad thing – Ruby was one of the fastest people in her grade.

"What ever happened to sisterly love?!" she yelled over her shoulder, continuing to sprint.

"Weiss promised me cookies!"

Yang grimaced at that. Curse the heiress for knowing the best bargaining chips when it came to her sister.

The pair ran for about a minute more – Yang could hear Ruby steadily gaining on her – when they reached the last crossroads in the building segment. Beyond the two paths was the open courtyard that led to the campus gates – but of course, it was never that easy.

Yang chose the right path first, then planted her foot and wildly tried to change her direction – Weiss stood in the middle of the path, her face the very picture of pure fury. Seriously, if you looked up 'wrath' in the dictionary, you'd find Weiss's photo beside it.

Yang heard the heiress yell her name, but she'd somehow managed to change directions completely, and turned to sprint down the left path. Her error, however, had all but closed the gap between her and Ruby – she could hear her sister's footsteps thundering right behind her now.

Yang shot down the small path way, taking the final turn before her freedom – only to find one, final obstacle standing in the way. A barricade she'd never be able to break through: Blake. The blonde screeched to a halt on instinct – and that was all the chance Ruby needed.

With cries from both sisters, the younger girl slammed into her elder sister from behind, plowing into the blonde and knocking them both onto the floor. Ruby rolled off her, yelping in pain about bad decisions and poorly placed nerves, clutching her elbow. Yang took a moment, most of her breath knocked out of her from the sister's attack.

Shaking her head, she began to get to her feet – her muscles screamed at her for it, but she couldn't give in now, not when she was so close – only to be dropped back onto the ground. Blake's weight landed squarely on the small of her back, knocking out what little breath Yang had left as she once again collapsed to the floor. Her own feet keeping Yang's leg's pinned, arms holding down her shoulder, butt heavy on her back, Blake looked up as her final teammate approached.

Weiss stalked towards them, casting a glance to Ruby, who had gotten to her feet, face in obvious pain. The heiress quirked an eyebrow towards her partner, prompting an explanation.

"Hit my funny bone," Ruby said mournfully, rubbing her arm. Weiss rolled her eyes.

The other remaining members of the chase had arrived – Jaune, supported by Pyrrha; Sun and Neptune, the former grinning wide as the latter rubbed the back of his head; Ren and Nora, striding at a leisurely pace as they walked up to the captured blonde.

There was silence for a moment. Yang's fingers scrabbled against the stone, somehow trying to dislodge Blake in order to make another runaway attempt. It was pointless though – Blake had her well pinned, and Yang was too tired to knock her off, even if she didn't. The blonde went still, however, as Weiss tried to begin her tirade once more.

"You complete and utter imbecile," she began, voice raising steadily louder, "Do you have any idea–"

"Weiss," Ruby interrupted, getting a glare for cutting off the heiress once more, "Not here."

She gestured around her at that – their group had gathered quite a bit of attention, students pausing to stare at them. Ruby's attack had knocked the pair out into the courtyard, in complete view of a great deal of people, which was not the ideal place for Weiss to chew out her teammate.

Weiss, showing a great deal of self-control, managed to agree. She sighed, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Fine," she said, snapping her eyes open and staring at Ruby, "but how do you propose we move her? If Blake lets her up, she's just going to try to run again."

Ruby cast a guilty glance down at her sister, but Pyrrha cut in before she could offer a suggestion.

"I think I could help with that," the redhead said, dumping the half-conscious Jaune onto Ren and Nora and striding over towards where Blake sat.

The dark haired girl slowly got up at her arrival – as Weiss predicted, Yang immediately moved to race off again, only to be grabbed by Pyrrha's firm grip. Ignoring the blonde's struggles, Pyrrha simply picked up her friend and slung her over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, Yang's upper body dangling helplessly over her shoulder. The blonde fought valiantly for a moment, struggling to break free before she felt a soft tug on a strand of hair.

"Don't try and fight me," Pyrrha said softly, concern mixing with amusement in her tone, "You know you're far too tired to win, anyways."

At this, Yang stopped struggling. She knew the redhead was right – and besides, she wouldn't make it far even if she did somehow get free. Weiss, Blake, and Ruby stared at Pyrrha in amazement – the girl smiled then turned, making her way back across campus towards the dorms, ignoring the strange looks passed their way.

Velvet and her team had noticed the display – their RA came up to stand beside Ruby and Weiss, casting a questioning glance their way.

"Team bonding," the pair supplied in unison, not even looking at Velvet, eyes still following the captured blonde.

Velvet shook her head, well used to their antics at this point, and returned to her team. The others also went their separate ways – Ren and Nora dragged Jaune back towards the library, the enthusiastic girl commenting on how that had been far more fun than studying. Sun trailed beside Ruby and Weiss, cracking some kind of joke. That left Blake and Neptune, still standing in partial shock.

"Well," Neptune began, "as exciting as that was, I still have no idea what's going on. Care to explain?"

"Weiss wanted to kill Yang over her grades," Blake stated, as though this were the most normal occurrence in the world, "But she ran off before she had the chance, so we had to catch her before she made it off campus, which… wasn't the easiest task to do alone."

Neptune nodded sagely, cracking his neck.

"Yeah," he said, "that was almost as hard as trying to get Sun to focus."

Blake nodded, then did a double take at the blue haired boy's words.

"Wait, Neptune, what'd you just say?"

---

They eventually reached the dorms – no one tried to stop them on the way, although they got many strange looks. Ruby pushed open the door to their dorm room, allowing Pyrrha to march right into the room and drop Yang unceremoniously in the middle of the floor.

"Talk," she said commandingly, pointing a finger at the girl.

Yang scowled, but didn't try to run off again, so the redhead took it as acceptance. Pyrrha nodded to Weiss and Ruby, mouthing good luck as she left the room. She almost bumped into Blake in the doorway, who had raced to catch up with the others. Weiss raised an eyebrow at her late appearance but said nothing, instead turning her attention back to the blonde. Yang still sat in the middle of the room, staring at the floor, her posture suggesting anything but defiance – she'd given up.

"Yang Xiao Long," Weiss began once more, "Just what do you have to say–"

"Weiss."

The heiress threw her hands up in frustration as she whirled to face the speaker, clearly unhappy about having been interrupted a third time. Blake, on the other hand, showed no signs of caring about her, instead continuing to speak.

"Hang on a second."

The dark haired girl crossed the room to their bookshelf, laden with heavy textbooks. She scanned the covers until she found one that belonged to Yang – a large, thick medical dictionary. Turning back to the other three occupants of the room, she called out to the blonde.

"Yang, catch."

The blonde's head snapped up at her call just in time to see the heavy textbook flying straight towards her face. She yelped and caught it just in time, narrowly avoiding a broken nose.

"Hey," she growled, "What's the big idea? Are you trying to kill–"

"Put these on."

Blake cut her off, tossing a pair of red reading glasses towards the blonde, communicating just how much she cared about her partner's well being at the moment.

Yang scowled, catching the glasses, but didn't say anything more. Instead, she slipped them on, giving Blake a look that clearly read 'now what?'

"Open to any page, and start reading."

The blonde complied, flipping through the pages until she settled on one and started reading it.

"… the nodular portion stretches, flattens, and smooths the lips, especially the lower lip. It widens and flattens the lower face, and the furrowing passing downward and outward from the angle of the mouth is deepened and elongated. The prominence of the chin is flattened and–"

"Stop there," Blake commanded, causing the blonde to look at her in confusion, "Now, summarize what you just read."

By now, both Ruby and Yang were looking at her in confusion and curiousity. Weiss still had a pissy look on her face, but at least she looked intrigued.

Yang thought for a moment, then began speaking, summarizing perfectly the information she'd just read aloud. When she had finished, even Weiss was staring at Blake in curiosity. It seemed none of them had any idea what the dark haired girl was trying to accomplish. Blake thought for a moment, finger pressed to her chin. It wasn't that Yang was having trouble with the material, she realized. The blonde's ability to summarize what she'd just taken in proved that – which meant that there was another, entirely different reason for her falling grades. After a moment, Blake asked her a question.

"Yang," she said slowly, the blonde cocking an eyebrow at her, "do you have trouble focusing?"

Whatever Yang had been expecting her partner to say, it obviously wasn't that. For a moment, surprise took over the blonde's face, a look similar to that of being caught with your hand in the cookie jar, before her mask of indifference replaced it.

"N-no," she stammered, her voice betraying her lie, "Not at all – I'm fine."

"Yang."

Blake and Ruby looked up in surprise, not having expected Weiss to comment on the blonde's reply.

"Cut the crap," the heiress continued, her voice softer but still unyielding, "it's obvious that you aren't fine. Even if your grades didn't show it, you yourself do. You're not all right, Yang, and it's showing. So quit trying to pretend that everything is fine, that you're okay, and answer the damn question – do you have trouble focusing?"

Yang's mouth was hanging slightly open at the heiress's outburst – even Blake was surprised, but more by the fact that Weiss was actually being somewhat supportive, for once.

Silence stretched into the room, Weiss keeping eye contact with a reluctant Yang. Then, after a moment, the blonde looked down and whispered something that even Blake had trouble hearing.

"Yes."

"Speak up, Yang."

Weiss's reprimand was what finally broke Yang's dam. The blonde's head shot up, eyes filled with hurt and anger and desperation.

"Yes, okay? Is that what you've been wanting to hear?"

Her tone was filled not with anger, but with sadness, disappointment. Blake felt her heart break at the sound of the blonde's voice; she'd finally reached the end of being able to hold out on her own, and the stress of trying to keep it together was showing all at once.

"No, I can't focus. I can't study, can't finish my assignments, can't even sit still for five minutes. I can't do anything – and I don't know why."

Yang's voice broke at the end of her sentence; her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. There was a silence in the room, each of them taking the blonde's words differently. Yang sat breathing heavily, trying to regain some control, trying to keep herself from breaking down completely. Ruby was staring at her sister with sadness and guilt splashed all across her face – Blake knew she was probably feeling responsible for not having taken action sooner; she herself was as well. Weiss was staring at the blonde in shock, clearly not having expected that intense a reaction. Blake couldn't blame her – the heiress hadn't even known there was a problem until an hour ago, not the mention how long it had been going on for. Blake herself, on the other hand, was looking thoughtfully at the blonde.

After a minute or two of silence, Blake made her move. She reached out and grabbed Yang's forearm, pulling the brawler to her feet before she could react.

"Come with me."

She stalked out of the room, Yang stumbling behind her as she was pulled along behind her partner. Blake ignored the calls of her name – Weiss's indignant, Ruby's confused – and instead made her way along, partner in tow, down the hallway.

---

… Straight to Oobleck's office. The green haired man didn't seem surprised to see them at all – if anything, he looked as though he'd been expecting them. As Blake knocked on the door, he shot off his position on his desk, waving towards the both of them.

"Ah, Miss Belladonna, Miss Xiao Long. Please, please, do come in!"

Blake complied, gently tugging Yang in behind her. She stopped not far from the doorway, but pushed her partner further in, gentle fingertips on her back. Yang turned and gave her an apprehensive look, but Blake smiled supportively, prodding her once more. Yang turned back to face their professor, eyes wary. The man smiled at the both of them, apparently not offended by the fact that Yang looked ready to bolt at any second.

"Welcome, Miss Xiao Long," Oobleck said, sweeping his arms in large gestures, "I'd asked Miss Belladonna to ask you to come and visit me. It would appear she has been successful!"

Yang's features furrowed in confusion at this, but she said nothing, instead letting the man continue to talk.

"Now, I'd asked your partner to bring you to see me because I had some very important questions to ask you!"

"Questions?" Yang echoed, looking worried and very, very confused.

"Yes, precisely! Miss Xiao Long – have you ever had trouble focusing?"

At this, Yang froze. Blake couldn't see her face, but she prepared to catch her partner, just in case she did try to bolt. Given the afternoons past events, it wouldn't be unreasonable. Yang, however, didn't try to run – instead, she swallowed nervously, then answered the question.

"Y-yeah… I guess I do."

Blake held in a snort at the 'I guess.' Oobleck nodded understandingly.

"Then, let me guess. You also find yourself brimming with energy at some times, even if nothing is happening? You tend to always be moving some part of your body when sitting idly, such as tapping a thumb or shaking a knee? You find that you can't just sit down and do your work when you want to, or know you have to, in the same way that your teammates do? You often find that the only times you can truly sit down and work is when you have a deadline nearly on top of you – and even then, can't focus one hundred percent?"

As the man continued to talk, Yang's mouth slowly fell open. What her professor was saying, every last bit of it, had been her life for as long as she could remember. It had gotten worse in the last month, unable to be dealt with by sleepless nights and forced deadlines. But even before it had become a major problem, she'd dealt with all of those issues – and hearing Oobleck list all of them before her felt as if he were reading a list of her life.

Seeing her reaction, Oobleck smiled, stopping his barrage of questions.

"I'd expect, Miss Xiao Long, that all of this sounds familiar?"

Yang nodded slowly, words not fully with her at the moment. Oobleck's grin grew wider, and he swept his hands out before him.

"It is highly likely," he said slowly, "with little room for doubt, that you, Yang, have a severe case of ADHD."

At this, Yang frowned. She'd heard of the term before, but knew little about it – she'd only ever heard it tossed around in nearby conversations, often debating whether or not the condition was real or not. It had never occurred to her to look into it – and definitely not to question if she had it.

Blake, on the other hand, had broken into a rare, wide grin. Neptune had told her of it – as well as his experiences with Sun – and realized that Oobleck had figured it out long before anyone else had, seeing the symptoms in the young girl. Hearing what the condition was had only dispelled Blake's doubts about her partner – while she herself couldn't verify every symptom, those she had seen had convinced her completely that her partner did, in fact, have ADHD.

"A-ADHD?"

Yang's voice had returned to her, confusion colouring her tone. Oobleck nodded.

"Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder," he clarified, "ADHD for short. Most often found in younger children, but it can carry through to adulthood, as well. Many people go through life with it, but never know what exactly it is."

Yang shook her head, causing Blake to frown.

"No," the blonde began, "that's impossible. I mean, I can't have…"

She trailed off, unsure of how to say her doubts. Oobleck laughed understandingly, having heard attempts to dispel the diagnosis for sure.

"Why is it impossible?" he asked, causing Yang to frown in thought, "many people say that, but the truth is, it is not impossible to have ADHD. It is a very real condition – whether it exists with hyperactivity or not – and does affect your life, often in very large ways. There is, of course, a chance you do not have it. But, if I may be honest, Yang, I think you're one of the largest shoe-ins for ADHD I've seen in years."

"But…"

"He's right, Yang."

The blonde turned at the sound of Blake's voice, who was staring back at her kindly.

"I was talking to Neptune about it. Sun has ADHD as well, so he's well accustomed to symptoms of people with the condition – and when he was explaining them to me, all I could think of was how it perfectly described you."

Yang frowned at this, clearly not thinking of it as a compliment. Blake rushed to clarify.

"Honestly, Yang, I believe you have it. I – we could be wrong, but I don't think we are. And that's okay. It isn't anything to be ashamed of – it's just another part of yourself, something you have to learn to accept."

"Excellently put, Miss Belladonna," Oobleck said, drawing Yang's attention back to him, "She's absolutely right, Miss Xiao Long. Many people see ADHD as a burden – and it can be, if you let it. Everyone who has it often struggles with it – it might grow easier, but you'll still have times of trouble – but it also gives you a great gift."

"Gift?" Yang repeated.

"Absolutely! People with ADHD are often more creative, more energetic, more perceptive – it depends on the person, but people with the condition often have something positive to balance out the negative. The key is finding that strength, and building on it. It may be hard to do, but once you have your feet back under you, you will go far."

Yang took his words in stride, brows furrowed slightly as she thought them over. Blake waited nervously, waiting for her partner to possibly deny all accusations. Oobleck was doing the same, albeit not nervously, simply understandingly. After a minute or two, Yang suddenly shook her head, clenching and unclenching her fists. She took a deep breath, eyes closed, then let it out as she opened them. Oobleck smiled – eyes once filled with doubt and confusion now shone with determination.

"Alright," Yang said, standing a little straighter, "let's say I've got ADHD. Now what?"

Blake had never been more proud of her partner.

---

The weeks flew by in a blur. Yang's troubles aside, midterms still existed – a fact that, Weiss made very clear, they weren't about to forget. The days up until the tests were stressful for them all – while Oobleck's revelation had brought some things to light, making Yang's struggles clearer, there was still a lot to work through. The four studied together, but some things had changed – the three knew to convince Yang to stay on her work, but not to annoy her (a task easier said than done). But, somehow, the blonde managed to study enough to earn her passing grades in every course – even returning to seventies in some, a fact that made Weiss acknowledge her improvement.

Once the midterms passed, Ozpin's promise came into effect – Yang's professors asked to speak with her, setting up meetings about her concerning grades. Now, however, armed with Oobleck's enlightening, said meetings were a lot easier to deal with. Blake often went along with Yang to them – and for the times she couldn't, Ruby did. Weiss even went to one, showing her promise to be the best teammate she could, for all of them. It didn't take long for her professors to agree whole heartedly with Oobleck's theory – which didn't exactly make Yang happy – and started coming up with ways to help the blonde adapt, well accustomed to dealing with other students with ADHD.

Oobleck's prediction had, in fact, turned out to be true, to no one's surprise. Ozpin had managed to find someone willing to test the blonde – the diagnosis had been expected, but welcomed nonetheless. Ozpin had congratulated the blonde on accepting the fact – even Goodwitch had nodded to Yang in acknowledgement. Oobleck had been ever supportive throughout it all – while he might not have been Yang's choice for helpful professor, he himself had ADHD, and was the best person to help her work through it.

Their dorm had taken the news positively, as well. Neptune and Sun had grinned at the news – Blake had the suspicion that Neptune had figured it out the moment she'd begun asking about Sun – and the blonde boy himself had laughed, declaring himself and Yang 'ADHD buddies.' Velvet, too, had smiled at the news, wishing Yang luck. Team JNPR's reactions had been varied, but positive. Jaune, predictably, knew very little about it. Nora had exclaimed that her entire family was diagnosed with it – but not she herself, for reasons that made sense to absolutely no one, ever. Ren had nodded his regards, stating that he was well accustomed to the condition, having dealt with Nora's family for years. Pyrrha, upon hearing the news, had said nothing – instead, she'd grinned knowingly, as though she'd been aware of it the entire time. Now that Yang thought about it, she probably had. Pyrrha was dangerously perceptive that way.

As for her team, they'd all accepted the diagnosis with open arms. Weiss, unsurprisingly, had struggled with the news the most – probably more over the fact that she couldn't exactly chew out her teammate anymore, than anything else – but had slowly come to accept it, doing her best to help Yang in her own ways. Given the fact that Weiss had the sympathy of a cactus, it didn't come off nearly as strongly as it did from the others. But the small things – packages of sticky notes appearing around the dorm, schedules printed up and hung around their room – were noticeable in their own ways, and greatly appreciated by the blonde. She did, however, have the sneaking suspicion that Weiss's acceptance was greatly fueled by pressure from Ruby.

The younger sister had been hugely supportive herself. Having been around Yang the longest, she'd smacked a hand to her forehead the moment she'd heard the news, wondering how she hadn't figured it out sooner. Ruby had then spent the entire night reading up about her sister's diagnosis and stating how much it summed her up perfectly, much to the blonde's both amusement and chagrin. Her sister had also rummaged through her engineering scraps and created a small contraption for Yang to play with whenever she got bored, keeping her hands from being idle. She'd also even offered to share the cookies she'd gotten as a reward from Weiss for Yang's capture, although her eyes looked as though she were begging for the blonde to not actually take her up on the offer.

As for Blake, the dark haired girl had simply accepted her parent's condition as just another part of the personality she'd come so well to know. Of course, now that she knew about it, other things she'd questioned before now made a lot more sense. Blake took the role of a sort of 'coach' for Yang – Oobleck had suggested it; a person to watch over the blonde and keep her on track whenever she needed it, and support her if necessary. Blake had been meeting with Oobleck a lot as of late, for more than just in depth talks about history – the man had been every helpful, answering all of her questions that he could. In some ways, Blake had been the one to start her partner on the path of facing down her diagnosis, and she'd be damned if she abandoned her in the middle of it.

Blake thought about this, sneaking a glance at her blonde partner. Yang sat at the study table with the rest of them, eyes focused on her textbook. Ruby and Weiss were quiet as they worked on their own work, allowing a familiar silence to fall over them, broken only by the scratching on pens on paper. As the dark haired girl watched, Yang looked away from her textbook, eyes wandering up to the nearby window to stare out of it.

Having been expecting this, Blake leaned towards her own textbook, on which were lined several balls of paper. She took aim carefully, then flicked one of them – it bounced off the blonde's head, causing her to turn and look at her partner. Blake quirked an eyebrow at the blonde, raising a corner of her mouth slightly. Yang grinned sheepishly, then returned to reading her textbook. Out of the corner of her eye, Blake saw Weiss and Ruby both smile.

It wasn't to say that things were perfect yet – in fact, as long as Yang had ADHD, things would never be – but they were certainly getting better. Yang's marks had returned to their former glory, some even sailing higher than they once were. The look on Weiss's face when they all presented their latest grades – something the heiress had come up with, following the entire fiasco – had been worth all of the blonde's hard work up until that point (having a higher grade than the heiress had previously been a feat achieved only by Pyrrha).

They all knew there were rough times ahead, just like the ones they had left behind. But the difference now was that they all knew that they were coming – and they were prepared for them, ready to help Yang as much as they could. As for Yang – things finally felt right again, as if something that had been off balance for the past seventeen years of her life had finally fallen back into place. Things made sense, and she knew she wouldn't have figured it out if it weren't for her teammates, especially Blake.

A paper ball to her forehead drew her attention to the girl in question – her partner was looking at her expectantly, mouth in an amused smile and eyebrow raised. Yang grinned sheepishly – she hadn't even noticed herself drifting away from her work – and returned to her textbook. As she read, her foot bounced up and down, settling into a familiar twitch.