A/N: Hey guys, welcome back to RWBY Homecoming.
Sorry, it took so long but I wanted to see how people would find this story before I continued with it. But since you guys really liked what you read so far, the show must go on. I'm trying to aim for a new chapter every 1 or 2 weeks but that could change over the course of this story, so be on the lookout for that.
Also, if you have any question you like to ask about this story, write them in a review and I'll answer them at the beginning of every chapter, starting next chapter. I won't be able to answer every question, but I'll try my hardest to do so.
Anyway, enough of all this talking. Let's get back to the story and see how Ruby is handling the school day so far.
The first half of school was just as long and boring as any other school day would be. Every class the girls attended was just them learning something that neither girl - except Weiss - would find useful in their future. First, there was science, which focused on the study of chemical reactions between elements. Then there was maths and it's all so confusing numbers of algebra, which Yang, could not understand for the life of her. After that, there was a short break before the students continued with art which took an awkward turn when Ruby painted a picture of her pet dog's butt. The teacher was less than thrilled by her obscene humour. Finally, there was physical education where the class was forced to play dodgeball, much to their dismay, as Yang was always able to come out the victor in every match due to her athletic build. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for one thing.
Ruby was quiet. Too quiet. Normally she would walk into class with a cheerful smile and an optimistic mind, even if she did find most of the classes to be mind-numbingly boring. But other than her talk with her art teacher over her unique form of art and the amount of screaming and shouting she did during gym, she remained unnaturally silent. The reason for this was only known by Ruby herself. She was thinking about the outburst she had with her friends this morning. She was hoping that they would forgive her and never talk about what happened ever again, but she knew they would ask her about it and that would mean talking about her 'crush'.
These thoughts followed Ruby when she entered the school cafeteria. Like always, it was packed with a variety of students from every year, both Human and Faunus alike, all chatting to each other, either about upcoming exams or about the latest embarrassing rumour about a random student that someone was spreading around. That wasn't the kind of thing Ruby was interested in. She never liked telling anyone false information as it made her seem cruel and selfish, the last thing she wanted to be called.
A familiar smell assaulted Ruby's nose, a smell that could only be found in the canteen on a Friday. She looked in the direction of the kitchen to see the 'Meal of the Day' board, with today's special written on it, noodles served with tuna. It was a meal that made Ruby's mouth water. It wasn't her favourite food, however, nothing would topple her love for her mother's cookies, but it was still something she enjoyed. That didn't stop Ruby from worrying about the apology she would have to give to her friends as she grabbed a food tray from the rack, walked over to the food counter and came to a stop.
'What is the best way to make up with them?' She thought to herself. 'Maybe I could do them favours. No, wait, I already help them with a lot of stuff already. Or I could treat them to something like a girls night out… but I don't have the money to pull something like that off. Perhaps I could-'
"Are you going to just stand there and hold up the lunch line or are we going to get our food?"
Ruby was broken from her thoughts as she turned her head to see Weiss, Blake and Yang to her right, holding empty food trays in their hands and staring directly at her with looks of concern, comfort or seriousness on their faces. It took Ruby a few seconds to respond to Weiss' question.
"Oh. Y-yeah, right." She mumbled, finally moving from her place and allowing her friends to join the food counter queue. Ruby was given her noodles along with a carton of milk from the drinks section,
"So, you've been very quiet today." Weiss said bluntly, attempting to get Ruby to talk as she received her noodles and took a bottle of water from the counter.
"Is it a good thing to be quiet sometimes?"
"Yes, but not for you it isn't," Blake stated, taking her noodles along with some extra tuna - a common occurrence on Fridays - and a bottle of flavoured water. "You're usually loud, energetic and always talking to us about the newest weapons you found online. But you haven't spoken to us ever since this morning and you barely interacted with any of the other students. Is there something wrong?"
Ruby never answered Blake's question, looking anywhere but at her friends. She wanted to answer her, but she had to structure her answer carefully. One wrong slip of the tongue and who knows what her friends would say.
"Sis, you don't have to shut us out like this." Yang took her noodles and grabbed an energy drink to go with it. "We're your friends, you can share anything with us. So what's bothering you?"
She couldn't wait any longer. She had to answer her sister or she may overreact and think that she was unwell or something. With a little hesitation, she finally answered her sister's question. "Look, I'm sorry for what happened this morning. I didn't mean to shout at you guys like that. It's just…" Ruby paused as she headed to the collection of mostly filled tables with Weiss, Blake and Yang right behind her. She stopped again and turned to face them. "There's a lot going on in my head right now. Things that I don't really want to talk about right now."
Their faces read different expressions. Yang was smiling, practically grinning from ear to ear which scared Ruby. It was clear she knew what she was thinking of. Blake looked at her with a raised eyebrow, the bow on top of her head moving ever so slightly. She didn't know like Yang did, but she was curious about it. But Weiss' was the most interesting one, simply because her face hadn't changed a single bit like she already knew what Ruby was going to say before she said it.
"You don't have to apologise to us you know?" Ruby continued to focus on Weiss as she spoke. "We know you wouldn't act like that without a reason, and now we know why. We understand if you don't want to talk about it right now, but at some point, you are going to tell us what's on your mind. Promise?"
Weiss' cold blue eyes glared into Ruby's silver eyes. "Promise." Ruby replied, her eyes still locked onto Weiss. There was something oddly soothing when looking into Weiss' eyes, something that filled Ruby with a weird feeling in her stomach. While it was a common joke that a Schnee glare would freeze someone solid, it had the exact opposite effect on Ruby. It made her feel warm inside.
The stare between the two was broken when Yang growled loudly, catching their attention. "Blah, blah, blah. Enough of all this mushy talk! Let's find our table and eat already! I'm starving!"
Weiss rolled her eyes over Yang's impatient attitude while Ruby just smiled at her older sister. "She's not wrong, you know." Blake joined in as the group heard an audible growl coming from her stomach. "Come on. Our table is-"
"HEY GUYS, OVER HERE!"
The four girls winched at the loud voice shouting at them from across the cafeteria. Looking to its origin, they could see a girl with bright, short orange hair and bright blue eyes, standing from her seat with her arm stretched out waving, signalling for them to come over to her. She wore a white shirt with a pink heart on the front along with a skirt and belt to match, a dark navy blue jacket with pink detailing and puffy sleeves, pink and white striped socks that reached past her knees and a pair of dark navy blue sneakers to match her jacket.
The girls looked at each other, with Ruby giving them a simple shrug of her shoulders, and began moving closer to their bright-haired friend. As they got closer to her, they could see that she was sitting with three other students. The first was a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a black hoodie with a rabbit on the front of it, a pair of faded blue jeans and black trainers. He had a nervous frown on his face and was rubbing the back of his neck. Next to him was a girl with vivid green eyes and bright red hair, tied in a ponytail. She wore a dark orange tunic with a grey belt wrapped around her waist, dark grey tights and brown, high heel boots. She was looking at her currently still standing friend with an uneasy smile, showing that she was a bit embarrassed by her actions. The final figure was a boy with long, black hair with a single streak of pink in it and pink eyes. He wore a green, short sleeved jacket over a black t-shirt, a pair of black trousers and black dress shoes. He had his hand up to his head, shaking it in disapproval. He seemed to be the most embarrassed out of all of them.
"Nora, they know where our table is. You don't have to shout out for them every time we go for lunch." The boy said in a visibly annoyed tone.
"Oh Ren, what if they didn't remember where it was, huh?" Nora cheerfully retorted. "I mean, they could be suffering from amnesia for all we know."
The redhead held back a laugh before correcting her friend. "I don't think they would be in school today if they had amnesia, Nora."
"Oh." Nora's volume was a lot lower now as she spoke, finally sitting back down in her seat. "I could have been right."
"Well, we're standing right in front of you, so that means you're wrong." Weiss remarks, her voice sounding both annoyed and pleasant, as she and her friends took their seats at the table.
"So how are you guys doing?" The blonde boy asked. "Have your classes been as rough on you as ours were?"
"Not really, everything's been a-okay today, Jaune." Ruby explained before she felt Weiss bumping her arm. She turns to the heiress to see her staring at her with a look that said 'seriously?'. With that, Ruby turned back to Jaune and laughed awkwardly "Well, other than a few bumps here and there, it's been… normal."
"I wouldn't call 'being shouted at by the teacher normal." Blake's comment caused the others at the table to turn to Ruby for answers.
"It's not my fault that she didn't understand my vision!"
"Ruby, your idea of art is your dog's filthy behind!" Weiss angrily spat out with disgust in her voice.
"It's not a "behind"..." Ruby proceeds to open her school bag and rummage through it until she pulls out a highly detailed drawing of a black and white corgi from the back, with its butthole indicated by an 'X' below its tail. She shows the image to her friends and proudly smiles. "...It's a butt."
Silence was all she got from her friends, their faces trying to process what their eyes were looking at. They had to admit, it was very detailed drawing. A bit too detailed. But then again, it was drawn by Ruby, and she was younger than them. But for someone who skipped 2 years of school because of her smarts, she sure acts like a child sometimes.
"Well? What do think?" She chipperly asks, aiming her question to the redheaded girl first. "Pyrrha?"
Pyrrha continued to analyse the drawing for a few more seconds before her mouth curved into a straining smile. "Um…? I-it's very... creative, Ruby."
Ruby's face lights up in excitement as she joyfully squeals over Pyrrha's 'complement'. She looks over to Ren and Nora, waiting for their opinions.
"It's certainly a unique painting." Ren calmly remarks before taking a sip of his green tea.
"I like it!" Nora shouts out loudly, giving the thumbs up to Ruby's drawing. That usually meant you were given "Nora's Seal of Approval" which was… something at least, but it was always good to know that you had Nora by your side on something.
With a smug look of confidence on her face, Ruby turns back to Weiss and sticks her tongue out to her. "See, Weiss. Some people know what true art is."
Weiss rubs her forehead in frustration as she watches Ruby put her 'art' back into her bag. "To this day, I still can't believe that we are friends."
"Well, at least your having a decent day." Jaune grumbles as he takes a drink of his milkshake.
"What to tell us, Vomit Boy?" Yang asks curiously, showing interest in the boy's displeasure.
Jaune finishes his drink before taking a deep breath. It looked like he had a lot to get off his chest. "Ok, so ever since these tests have begun, they started off pretty simple and understandable. I mean, they're not pathetically easy, or overwhelmingly hard, they're in middle. I thought that they couldn't get any more difficult and that I would be able to blow through these in an instant." He pauses. "I was so wrong! I started getting incredibly difficult questions in my test papers that I think we haven't even covered in class! And yet, I ask Pyrrha, Ren and Nora and they say that the test was easy! Honestly, I think the teachers at this school must have something out for me because I swear they are giving me the toughest questions on purpose!"
"It can't be that hard Jaune." Yang stops eating her noodles to gesture towards Pyrrha. "I mean, you have Pyrrha, the smartest out of all of us here, personal teaching you to help with your studying."
"I know, but even with her help, I feel like I'm gonna flunk it no matter what."
Jaune looks down at his lunch as he pokes his fork into it absent-mindedly. Ruby couldn't help but understand what Jaune was going through. When she first met him, his grades were obscenely terrible, worst than any other student she had seen. It wasn't because Jaune was a bad boy who didn't care about an education, it was because he really struggled to pay attention in class. She and her friends tried to help tutor him, but he was in a completely different class from them which resulted in different studies that they didn't know a single thing about. It seemed like they needed a miracle to help improve Jaune's grades. Thankfully, one came.
One day, Jaune's class had a new student called Pyrrha Nikos. She was an exchange student from Mistral who had moved to Vale so that she could get the best education possible. Ironically, she chose to sit right next to Jaune in every class they were in, which meant the two would be partnered up for most tasks the teachers would give them. At first, Jaune didn't pay too much attention to Pyrrha, thinking she was just another smart girl being forced to work with the class idiot and that she didn't care for him. But over time, He soon realised that she was genuinely concerned about his grades and that she was perfectly fine about working with him as she found him incredibly likeable and honest. Eventually, Jaune asked Pyrrha if she would be his tutor so that he could hopefully bump his grades up by a few levels. Of course, Pyrrha accepted his offer. Thanks to her, Jaune's grades improved greatly, enabling him to pass every year of high school with ease. He didn't have the best grades in the class, but they were still passable. Not only that, but Jaune and Pyrrha became closer together as a result. It first started as them just being friends, but it then evolved into a full-on relationship. They have been dating for about two years now and the two's love for one another is still going strong.
Jaune stopped playing with his food when he felt his girlfriend's hand resting on his shoulder. He turned his head in her direction. "You have nothing to worry about Jaune. You have greatly improved over the last few years and there are no signs of you losing your education anytime soon. You just have to remember what I taught you and you'll be fine."
The gang watched as Jaune's confidence return to him in the form of a weak, but hopeful smile on his face.
"She's right Jaune." Everyone looked over to Nora who had a proud smile on her face. "Don't be so nervous! The worst that can happen is that you fail, which will lead to you walking around town with everyone knowing you're a failure, then all of your friends will abandon you so they won't also be seen as losers too, you will be forced to get a job at crummy business with below average pay, your family will despise you and kick you out when you can't afford rent, you'll then lose your job and find yourself sitting on streets asking for change and think to yourself 'Where did my life go so wrong'!"
The happy mood had all but broke thanks to Nora, as Jaune slumps over the table with a groan escaping his mouth. Everyone stared at Nora. She would always make any situation worse no matter what. All she had to do was open her mouth and let the absolute nonsense flow out of her like a waterfall. Eventually, she noticed the strange looks everyone was giving her and gave back her own.
"What? Too much?"
"Yeah. Way too much, Nora." Ren agreed with her, sounding completely unfazed from what just happened.
That was always the weird thing about Ren. For being such a quiet person who rarely displays his emotions, he sure knew how to handle and put up with Nora. It could be because the two were friends long before they met Ruby and co. , but even then it was surprising that he would be able to withstand her crazy and wild outbursts.
After a short period of silence, Blake decided to shift the topic to something else. "Look on the bright side Jaune, you only have two more weeks of these exams before graduation day and then you don't have to worry about another test for an entire year."
"Hooray for me then." Jaune muttered sarcastically, as he lifted himself off the table. "So how are the rest of you guys feeling about graduation?"
"Well, I'm still a bit nervous about the whole thing," Ruby quickly answered first. "But I'll get through it. All I have to do is walk up on stage when my name is called, grab my diploma, shake the principal's hand and smile for the camera."
"I don't think it will be that easy, Ruby." Pyrrha interjected. "You still have to pass the exams before you can earn your diploma."
"I wish it was that easy." Ruby pouted, crossing her arms in a pretend huff.
Blake smiled at the brunette's childishness, before returning to a more serious expression. "Still, It's definitely one of the most important moments in our lives. This is where we decide what we want to do with ourselves, what path we want to take, and who we want to bec-"
Yang Immediately interrupted her friend before she could finish."Well, I know that I'm going to start my graduation off with a Yang! Eh? Guys?"
Yang's pun was received with a mixture of groans and held back chuckles from Nora, who was the only one to appreciate her jokes. If there was one thing to like about Yang's puns, it was that they always seemed to lighten the mood over a tense situation. After she was done groaning, Ruby swung her head towards her best friend. "What about you Weiss? How do you feel about graduation?"
As her eyes focused on Weiss, she noticed something off about her. She was stirring her fork through her half-finished noodles in a figure eight pattern, starting at it with eyes that were more focused on the noodles than her own friends, with a crooked frown plastered on her face. It looked like she was paying no interest in the conversation at all, in fact, it seemed she didn't even react to Yang's joke. Weiss would always be involved in a conversation with someone, even if the topic was of no interest to her, heck she would even enjoy these types of conversation. But this was a first. She had completely shut herself out from her friends. The only other time she did this was when she and Ruby first met. Something was wrong.
"Um… Weiss?"
Ruby pressed her hand on the girl's shoulder, her motions stopping as it happened. She broke her line of sight with the noodles and looked directly into Ruby's silver eyes with her own. They looked a lot duller than Ruby remembered, making them a bit more bluey-grey than the cold ice blue colour. It was almost like a rain cloud covering the clear blue sky. Suddenly, Weiss shook herself a little, like she just came back to reality and realised that Ruby was talking to her. "Oh. Um… Y-y-yeah. I-I'm looking forward to graduation."
She immediately returned to her noodles without hesitating. Ruby started to process what just happened in her head. 'She stuttered.' she thought. 'Weiss never stutters. The only time she does that is when she's nervous about something. And she is fidgeting with her food. She never does this either.' Her face started to fill with concern. Something was bothering Weiss, and she was hiding it from her friends. Why?
"Weiss are you ok? You seem... off." She asked the white-haired girl, who continued to fiddle with her food.
"I-I'm fine Ruby, I'm just thinking about something."
Ruby was about to ask her what exactly was she thinking, but she immediately halted that action when she realised that it was probably the best idea to leave Weiss' thoughts alone. 'She's nervous about something, but I can't just expect her to tell me what it is. I'll just have to leave it for now, and if she's still thinking about it, I'll ask her later.' Ruby hid a smile as she thought of her plan. She wanted to know what was on Weiss' mind, but she would have to wait for the right time before she could explore her head. And besides, Weiss respected the privacy of Ruby's thoughts, so she should return the favour.
With that done, Ruby returned to her friends who were still wrapped up in their own conversation, something about sloths fighting each other in a pizza war, but she wasn't paying attention. She eventually joined in on the conversation and continued to eat her noodles, only stopping when she wanted to say something, but throughout it all, the thoughts about Weiss remained in her head. She couldn't stop thinking about it and she didn't want to stop. She wanted to find out what was going on in the Schnee's head, and she will… in time.
After Lunch was over, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang made their way to their final class of the day, history. It was time for the girls to face their next exam, and hopefully, they would get through it without any issues. Thankfully, the test was easy for the girls to deal with. Yang was the only one to somewhat struggle with the test, but even then, she was able to finish the test with minutes to spare. Surprisingly, Ruby was the first of the four to finish the test, with about 45 minutes left on the clock, but since she wasn't allowed to leave the class until the bell rang, she was stuck in a classroom with nothing to do. Luckily, she brought her sketchpad wherever she went, so she wasn't doomed to boredom just yet.
But as she started to press her pencil onto the paper, she couldn't help but think back to Weiss. She looked over to where she was sitting to see her still hard at work. She should've been finished by now if not before Ruby finished, but she was still at it, quickly scribbling down the answers to each question. It was clear that her nervousness from lunch had followed her to class and it was hindering her. When she did finally finish, Ruby returned her attention to her empty page to avoid getting started at by her.
When the bell finally rang, she put all of her school supplies back in her bag and slung it over her shoulders as she and her friends walked out the classroom.
"That's another day of school done and dusted!" Yang yelled out loudly, fist bumping the air as she did so. "I thought that this day would never end!"
"You say that after every school day." Blake interjected.
Yang crossed her arms and turned away from Blake dramatically. "Well, this time I mean it!"
"Sure sis, like the time you thought you could drink thirty shots in a row when you already had about five drinks beforehand." Said Ruby with an evil smirk on her face.
"So? I was able to do it!"
"No, you didn't. You thought you did, but in reality, you passed out after the tenth shot." Blake also had a smirk on her face, not as evil as Ruby's, but still a smirk nonetheless.
"Hey! I did not-" Yang stopped mid-sentence to think for a second. "Okay, you guys got a point." She shrugs her shoulders in agreement. Ruby and Blake laughed at the blonde until she wrapped her metallic arm around Blake's shoulders.
"So what are your plans for tonight, Kitty Kat?"
Blake rolled her eyes and groaned, her bow twitching again before she responded. "I was going to head to the town library, catch up on some homework I still have to complete and then head home for some reading. You?"
"Well, I'm heading down to the gym tonight and getting a workout going. Can't let this body get outta shape if you know what I mean." Yang flexed her left arm to her raven-haired friend who gave her a light smile. After she stopped flexing, she looked to her sister and walked in front of her to see her face. "I take it that you want a ride home, Rubes? I need to drop by the house anyway to pick up my gear."
"Yang, I'm not going home tonight. Don't you remember?" Ruby raised an eyebrow over Yang's question. She had forgotten again about what happens on a Friday night. She could see the blonde's brain at work as she removed her metal hand from Blake and began to rub her chin with it until she snapped her fingers upon realising what she meant.
"Oh yeah, that's right, I forgot! You're going over to Weiss' house, right?"
"Yeah, I go over there every Friday night so that we can study together. We compare notes, ask each other questions and after we're done, I get to watch Weiss practice her fencing."
"Um, Ruby, about that." She turned to her other side to see Weiss, who hadn't spoken until now. Her face wasn't happy in the slightest, it was in a depressing frown and her eyes were still in the same dull blue colour from before. She seemed hesitant to speak like she was afraid of what she might say may hurt Ruby's feelings, but she then opened her mouth and let her voice be heard. "I-I'm afraid that I am going to have to cancel our study session tonight."
Everyone stopped on the spot and faced the pale girl, all staring at her with the same look, a look that showed confusion. But Ruby's showed more than confusion. It showed worry, concern and worst of all: sadness.
"Why?" She asked quietly, the sadness evident in her voice.
Weiss looked down to the floor for a split second before she returned her gaze back to Ruby, this time with a look of guilt on her face. "I have other plans tonight that are more important than studying right now. Sorry, I hope you understand."
This was not right. Something was off with Weiss. First, she ignores her friends for the second half of the day, then she takes longer than usual to finish a test that she would have easily aced through, and now she was cancelling their study session over something "more important". She would never do that. She always made time for Ruby on Fridays, she would even reschedule her Friday activities just so the two could hang out together. So seeing her with a guilty look on her face when she spoke, made Ruby draw an answer from her head.
'You're lying. You're lying to me, Weiss. You're trying to hide something from me, from us. Why though? What is scaring you so much that you have to hide it from everyone?'
After standing in silence for a few seconds, Ruby faked a smile and nodded to the heiress. "I understand."
She could she Weiss' mouth turn into her own fake smile as she said, "Thank you, Ruby. I'll see you all on Monday morning." And with that, Weiss walked towards the exit of the school by herself without looking back. Ruby just stared at her, even after she was gone from her sight, as her smile faded into a frown. Her sister noticed this and attempted to cheer her up.
"Don't worry sis, you can't always have everything planned out the way you wanted." She wrapped her arm around her shoulder and pulled her into her side. "Come on, let's get you home before mom and dad get worried."
"Oh, I'm not giving up just yet." She broke away from her sister's grasp and turned to face her. "Something has been bothering Weiss since lunch, and it is causing her to act weird all of a sudden. I don't know what it is exactly, but it's bothering me now, and I need to know what did this. So I am going to Weiss' house. Whether she likes it or not."
"Ruby, she's probably just stressed out from everything that's going on right now. Just let her be alone for one Friday night and she'll come around on Monday."
"No, Yang." She shook her head in disagreement. "I can't ignore this. Weiss is the first friend I ever made in my life. She's my best friend, And best friends look out for one another, and if I just stand here while she clearly needs someone to help her overcome whatever's wrong, then I would be breaking a promise that I made with her a long time ago. So I'm going to see her, and that's final."
The tone in Ruby's voice was dead serious, causing the two sisters to stare at one another in silence like they were having an argument. It was incredibly unsettling for her, but she continued to stare down her older sister. Unexpectedly, Yang began to laugh with herself which made Ruby confused beyond belief. "What?"
Her grin never left her face as she tried to regain her composure. "Nothing, nothing. It's just… It's just…"
"Come on Yang, Spit it out!"
"It's just that you are clearly doing this just so you can spend some 'alone time' with your girlfriend so that you can confess your love for her." Yang went straight back to laughing, unable to hold it back any longer. This was the part of her that Ruby didn't like, the part of her that gets carried away with a joke and runs with it, not knowing that she's being incredibly rude in the process. She knew that she didn't mean it, but it still got on her nerves.
"I am not doing this because of a crush! I'm doing this because I feel like I have to!" Ruby shouted in annoyance, her face turning a bright red from both embarrassment and anger.
Yang flinched at her sister's anger as she stopped her intense laughing fit and pulled her hands up in front of her in defence. "Woah! Okay, Okay! I get it! Sorry! I'm just yanking your chain sis." She put out her hands and saw her sister's angry face being replaced with a forgiving smile. "So, you want me to escort you to the castle of your princess?"
"No. I'll take the scenic route." Ruby joked, letting out a small laugh as she began to walk away from the older girls, but not before facing them one last time and waving her arm in the air. " Bye Blake! See you back at home, Yang!"
Yang and Blake both waved back to her, with Yang waving with more energy than Blake. "Good luck, Rubes!" She shouted. With the encouragement from her sister, Ruby turned around and ran straight for the main entrance of the school, her legs running like they never ran before. She burst out of the door and into the outside world, feeling the wind smack against her face as she bolted to the gates. As she ran out onto the pavement, she began to mutter something to herself.
"Don't worry Weiss. Your best friend is on the way."
The warm light of the fireplace reflected off the cold, blue tiled floor and walls, bringing a warm feeling into the room. The room was wide and open, with only a few objects spread across the place, ranging from suits of armour to furniture that should belong in a castle. The windows revealed the evening sky as the light of the shattered moon shined through, add extra light to the dark hall. The walls were adorned with several paintings, most of them depicting people with white hair and blue eyes, others were just simple pieces of art put there for decoration. Even with all the decorations, the room still felt lifeless. The only living thing in there was Weiss, now wearing a pure white suit while holding a silver rapier in her left hand.
Weiss swiped her arm in a quick and swift motion, striking the dummy in front of her with her rapier. Out of all the hobbies that she enjoyed the most, fencing would be in Weiss' top three. There were many reasons as to why it was her favourite. The feeling of wind blowing right past her, the satisfaction of hearing her blade striking the enemy, the energy she felt with every moment of the activity, she could go on for hours. She continued to attack the training dummy with fast slices and stabs, but still maintaining her grace while doing so. She hadn't perfected the art of fencing yet, but she wanted to one day.
"That's enough."
With one last stab, Weiss retracted her blade from the dummy and rested the sword in front of her, placing both hands on the handle and having the tip of the blade touching the floor. She wiped the sweat from her forehead as she heard the sound of heels clicking against the marble floor approaching her. She turns to its source to see a woman with the same blue eyes and white hair as hers, except her hair was shorter and was tied up into a small bun on the back of her head. She wore a white business suit with some traces of blue from her undershirt showing itself from underneath and white high heels to make her taller than most men. She was standing with her back straight and her arms behind her, her face showing no emotion in any shape or form.
"Your form is on point, sister." The woman spoke in a professional manner, her voice sounding dominating, but also complementing. "I did, however, spot several mistakes you made during your training."
Weiss frowned as she took in her sister's words. 'Imperfect again.' She thought. She looked to her sister with pleading eyes. "Sorry Winter, I'll keep practising."
Winter noticed the disappointment in her little sister's began to move closer to Weiss as her lips curved into a subtle smile. "No. That will be enough training for today."
Weiss mood brightened upon hearing the comforting tone of her sister's voice. That was something Weiss always liked about Winter, she knew when to be strict and when to be caring for her. It was one of many traits about her that let her know that she was looking out for her, and who wouldn't be after all the trouble they went through back in Atlas years ago. 'No. I must not remember those time.' Weiss shook her her head. She didn't want to dwell on the past for too long, it would bring back unpleasant memories. Memories of being controlled by her father, memories of being under constant threats from Faunus, memories of sitting in her room with no one to talk to. Memories of being alone.
"So, How was school today? Did you enjoy it?" Weiss
"It was a pretty uneventful day." She replied. "Well, Ruby was acting weird for some reason, but we sorted it out and she was back to her normal, upbeat self."
"Hm, Interesting." Winter looked out the window as she thought about something, leaving a small silence between the two. She turned back to her with curiosity over her face, an expression that she rarely showed. "Speaking of Miss Rose, isn't she supposed to be here with you right now? If I'm not mistaken, today is a Friday, correct?"
Weiss immediately froze on the spot at the question. She could remember the look on Ruby's face when she told her that she was cancelling their study session tonight, and. She didn't want to hurt her feelings, but she needed some time alone to think. She noticed the odd look that Winter was giving her and realised she hadn't answered her question. She needed to think of a lie that would not throw suspicion on her. After thinking for a few quick seconds, she came up with one. "Oh, she had other plans tonight, something to do with her sister."
She saw her sister raise an eyebrow at her answer. "Really?" she asked surprisingly. " I thought she was free this week."
"Well, apparently she decided to mix things up for this week." Weiss angrily huffed out, looking directly at Winter's face.
Weiss saw her sister's less than happy face stare right through her. She could tell that she wasn't buying her lies. She knew Winter wasn't so easily fooled when it came to lying, that was because of her position as the head of Schnee Tech, which required her to understand the methods of running a business correctly. She had faced with multiple CEOs of rival companies and was able to determine if they would hold up to their deals by listening to the sound of their voices. Weiss was no exception.
"Weiss, what's really going on?" Winter's voice was strict and ruthless as it echoed throughout the room. No answer came from Weiss as she stared at the floor. She didn't want to talk her reasons for isolating herself from her friends, at least not yet. She needed time to think about it, time to herself and not with her sister. The cold silence was broken by the sound of a ringtone. Winter reached into her pocket and pulled out her scroll. The light of the device reflected on her face, showing the stern expression she still had on her face. A sigh escaped her mouth as looked back to Weiss. "I have to take this call. When I get back, I expect you to tell me the truth and nothing more. Do I make myself clear?"
The younger sibling only nodded at her question. With nothing more to add, Winter made her way to the large double doors that lead out into the hallway of the house. She opened the door and promptly closed it behind. Weiss' anger left her once her sister left the room. She turned to face the fireplace and took a few steps closer to it, still holding her rapier with both hands.
She looked above herself to see the family portrait of herself, her sister and her parents hanging over the fireplace. Seeing the image just reminded her of her childhood, growing up in Atlas, surrounded by people who acted like they were the happiest people in the world, but Weiss knew that it was all but lies. It was a joyless, dull experience for her to go through, all thanks to her father. She never liked her parents, not one bit. Her father was cold and harsh, never showing any emotion other than anger and her mother was just a trophy wife, only caring about gossip and fashion, and not caring or feeling concerned for her daughters. Winter was the only family member she could fully trust, but back then, she knew that she would have no control over her life. That was until the incident occurred.
She raised her hand and lightly stroke the scar that was etched over her left eye. It was a reminder of the day that changed her whole life. She could remember every detail from that day, the blood that ran across her face and the floor, the sight of her parents lifeless bodies lying in a pool of their own blood, and the image of a man wearing a white mask, wielding a blade that was soaked in red, standing over her dead parents. All Weiss could do that day was stare. She was too shaken up by the ordeal that she lost her will to speak for a week. It was too much for her to take in. She watched her own parents being murdered right in front of her and was left with something that she couldn't hide from. She closed her eyes, attempting to hold back the tears that we're building up inside her. "Why do you have to be there? Why do you haunt me?" She whispered, her grip on her rapier tightening.
"Weiss?"
Without a second thought, Weiss swung herself around so that she was facing the intruder. She raised her rapier so that the blade was pointing straight at them, only inches away from their neck. She was about to shout at them in hopes of scaring them off but couldn't bring herself to do it when she noticed that the person in front of her had red tipped hair and silver eyes.
"Weiss, it's me, Ruby!" The girl shouted, raising her hands in defence. Upon realising her mistake, Weiss lowered her weapon, leaving the frightened girl to relax since she wasn't being threatened, but making her feel the blood in her body boil.
"Ruby, you dolt!" she yelled. "You shouldn't sneak up on someone who is armed with a weapon! I thought you were an intruder! I could have killed you!"
She watched as Ruby nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "I thought you would recognise the sound of my voice and… well… you know? Not attack me."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "Well next time, try knocking before you just come barging into my home unannounced!" She saw Ruby's face drop into an upsetting frown due to her shouting. Realising what she had done, she took a deep breath to calm herself. She hated seeing Ruby like this. Seeing her get upset made her want to get upset as well, she hated it even more if she was the one who caused it. She walked away from her friend and to an empty stand where her rapier would be if not in use. She placed said weapon back but didn't move from her spot. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought I told you that I was busy tonight."
"That's actually the reason why I'm here." She turned to face her with curiosity plaguing her eyes. "You've been acting weirdly today, and I don't mean you almost stabbing me with a sword." The brunette let out a chuckle from her joke before she continued speaking. "Ever since lunch, you have been completely uninterested in everything around you, pushing yourself away from the conversation and going into your own little world. Then you go and lie to me about tonight. It has me concerned, so I came over anyway. I wanted to see if you needed to talk it out with someone, like me, your super bestie."
Keeping her face as straight as possible, Weiss walked closer to the silver eyed girl and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Ruby, I appreciate your concern for me, but I've already told you I'm fine. I'm just stressed out from all the-"
"Cut the bullshit, Weiss. I know you're hiding something from me." Ruby interrupted, grabbing Weiss' arm and lifting it off her shoulder. "Something has been bothering you, and you've been hiding it from everyone. They can't see it, but I can. So please, tell me whats wrong.
The heiress pulled her arm out of Ruby's grip. "I keep telling you, I'm fine!"
"No your not! You're ignoring the problem!"
"I am not!"
"Yes, you are!" Weiss was taken aback by the shouting that Ruby was doing. This was the loudest she had ever been, but it wasn't filled with anger, it was more like worry. "Why can't you just tell me whats wrong? Don't you trust me?"
That last question caused Weiss to gasp in shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Did Ruby really think that she didn't trust her? Was she hurting her because of that? "Of course I trust you! It's just that… that… that, urgh!" She grasped her head in frustration and turned away from Ruby, walking away from her. Her mind was racing with too much information that she didn't know what to say. A part of her wanted to tell the truth, another wanted to continue to hide it. She couldn't do anything, she was hopelessly lost.
"Weiss, do you remember the promise we made together when we were kids?" She heard the girl's words and stopped moving. How could she forget that promise. "We promised each other that if any one of us, whether it was me, you, Yang, Blake or even one of our own families is struggling with something that they can't overcome, we would help them in any way we can. But I can't help you if don't tell me what that problem is. So I'm gonna say it again." She turned around to see that Ruby had moved closer to her and was trying to hold together a sympathetic smile. "What's the matter, Weiss? What are you so worried about?"
As Weiss stared into her silver orbs, she felt a strange feeling wash over her body, a feeling of comfort that she never felt before. The more she looked at Ruby, the stronger that feeling became. She felt like all the troubles in her mind had washed away and it was all because of Ruby. She didn't know what it was about her that made her feel this way, but it gave her the confirmation that she could trust Ruby with her troubles.
"I'm scared." She whispered.
"Scared of what?"
The ivory haired girl looked out the window, rearranging her thoughts and thinking about her next words. "When you guys were talking about graduation back at school, it made me realise something." Ruby waited in anticipation as Weiss returned her gaze to her. "When you and the others leave school, you will all be able to choose whatever career path you desire. My path, however, has already been chosen for me. My path is to become the CEO of Schnee Tech, just like Winter."
"I thought you wanted to take over the company?" Ruby asked, scratching her head in confusion.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, I still dream of taking control of the family business one day." She reassured her friend with a smile before it turned into a frown. "It's just… in order for me to take up the title of CEO, I need to learn directly from Winter because it is such a responsibility, which means I can't go to college, or spend time with friends." She paused and looked down at her hands. "You see, Ruby. I'm afraid that after graduation is done, I'll be forced to stand by my sister's side and be told what to do, just like my childhood. I'm afraid that I will have to abandon my only friends just to live my dream. I'm scared that I'll be alone again."
Her speech left her shaking. Just speaking about her issues was making her even more scared, scared of what her friends would think when they saw what the richest girl in their school was breaking down over. Her shaking stopped when she saw Ruby's hands grab hold of her own. She looked up and saw her with a smile that let her know that she understood what was wrong.
"That's nothing to be afraid of Weiss." Ruby comfortingly said. "Winter is nothing like your father. She wouldn't force you to do something that you're not keen on unlike him, and just because you won't be able to hang with us as much as you like, doesn't mean that you will never see us again." Her grip on Weiss' hands grew stronger as she paused for a moment. "But most importantly, you will never be alone. Not now and not anytime soon. Even if all friends had to leave us, even if you have to move to a whole other country, I will be there for you Weiss, because you are my friend, My first and best friend."
Weiss could feel the tears running down her cheeks. Ruby's little talk had caused her to let her emotions out. She couldn't believe how much she really cared for her. It was more than anyone had ever shown her, more than Winter. It made her heart pump. She noticed that Ruby's face was back to its concerned look from before. "Weiss, are you ok? Your crying."
Suddenly, Weiss wrapped her arms around the younger one and pulled her into a tight hug, resting her head on her shoulder. Ruby soon embraced her friend's hug and patted her back.
"Thank you, Ruby" She whispered into her ear, still sobbing tears of joy. "Thank you for being a true friend."
"It's ok Weiss. What are friends for."
The red and white duo stayed locked together for what Weiss thought were hours, never loosening their grip on each other, she didn't want to. After all the stress and worry over her own future, she needed this. Out of nowhere, Ruby let out a loud gasp and pulled out of the hug, but still holding onto Weiss' shoulders. "I've just had the best idea ever!" She said excitedly.
"What is it?" Weiss asked with raised eyebrows.
She took a step back "Well since we've lost our study time this week and you still feel uneasy about the whole "graduation" thing, Why don't we drop the studies for now and have a girls day out tomorrow?"
Weiss was caught by surprise over Ruby's change in tone. One minute ago, she was quiet, comforting and accepting, now she was loud, happy and filled with confidence. All she could say was, "A girls day out?"
"Yep. Just the two of us." Ruby proudly proclaimed, placing her hand on hips. The action caused Weiss to giggle her face turned a bright red and wave her arms in front of her vigorously. "But it's not a date! I mean, I know what I said makes it sound like a date, but it's not! It's just going to be a hang out type thing between us! That is if you want to go out?"
The Schnee came back into her thoughts. 'A day out in town with Ruby? That sounds like a good idea, and it's probably the best idea that she has ever come up with.' Most of the time, Ruby would come up with plans for different activities that she and her friends could do together. Weiss would disagree with most of them, seeing them as rough, unladylike or just plain barbaric, but there were some that she found enjoyable like the time they went ice skating or the time they started a food fight in the school canteen; which she surprisingly enjoyed. This was the just the thing she needed to eliminate her fears for good.
She smiled and returned her attention back to Ruby."I like the sound of that."
Ruby practically jumped with excitement, her happiness levels literally going through the roof. "Great! Then it's settled! Ruby and her best friend Weiss are going on a girls day out in Vale town centre tomorrow!"
The silver eyed girl's cheering was halted when she saw Weiss with crossed arms and a stern expression. She quickly composed herself and straightened herself out, realising that she was being obnoxiously loud. Another bout of silence settled between them until Ruby spoke up.
"Um… I better get going. Mom and dad are expecting me back really soon." She awkwardly said. Weiss kept her eyes locked on her as Ruby made her way to the door that she came in from. As she opened the door, Ruby turned back around. "See you tomorrow?"
"Goodnight, Ruby. See you tomorrow."
With one last smile, Ruby exited the room, leaving Weiss to think about the talk they just had. She wondered how would tomorrow play out. Maybe she could go shopping for some new clothes, or maybe she and Ruby could go see a movie together, or perhaps they could visit the art galleries. As she thought of all the things she could get up to tomorrow, she felt a strange build up in her stomach every time she thought of Ruby. It weirded her out beyond belief. Why was Ruby causing these feelings to surface? What was it about her that made her heart pump? All these emotions made her cheeks blush heavily and brought a smile to her face.
"I think that went rather well, don't you say?" A voice came from behind her, sounding like it was trying to make a joke. She turned around to see Winter, standing in a professional manner, but with a smile across her face. Weiss' brain suddenly clicked when she realised what her sister had done.
"You let her in, didn't you?" She asked sceptically.
"I thought it would get you to open up and I was right." Winter knew how Weiss works. She would always express her troubles with her whenever she needed her assistance, but sometimes, she needed support from someone other than her sister, and Ruby was the right person for the job.
Weiss lowered her head in guilt. She just remembered how she talked with Winter before Ruby came in and how rude she was to her. She already knew what she had to say next. "Look, Winter. I'm sorry for snapping at you before. I had a lot of things on my mind and it was getting to me."
"That's okay Weiss. You were troubled and you needed someone to talk it out with. Thankfully, you have someone who trusts you for who you are on the inside, not on the outside." Weiss raised her head back up and faced her sister to see she still had that smile on her face. To be honest, it creeped her out, she never seen her smile this much for this long."Come. Dinner is just about ready."
The two sisters began to walk out of the room and down the hallway of the manor, heading for the dining room where their supper was waiting for them. During their walk through the house, Winter asked her sister a question. "So, you and Miss Rose are going into town tomorrow?"
"Yes. that is correct." Weiss responded, still keeping her eyes focused on the hall in front of her.
"Well, I hope it shows you that you have plenty of control over your life, sister." Winter stated. Weiss could tell that Winter was concerned over her fears, but she was still hoping that she would overcome them herself one day. Weiss hoped she would too. "May I ask you to do a small favour while you are out tomorrow?"
"Sure, what do you want?" Weiss replied. It was sometimes common for her to run some errands for her sister, due to her busy work schedule. She didn't mind it much, as she found it to be just helping her sister deal with her own stress. She didn't show it at all, but Weiss knew she still feels the same problems that she had.
Winter looked down at her little sister, but still keeping an eye on where she was going."Come to Schnee Tower first thing tomorrow. And bring Miss Rose with you as well."
"Why?"
"I'll tell you when you get there." Weiss stopped walking as Winter continued to walk down the hall. This was weird. Winter never kept big secrets from her unless there were meant to surprise her. She resumed her stride to catch up with her, but now with thoughts of this big surprise that her sister was planning. Only one question popped into her head.
'What are you planning, sister?'
A/N: Well, this was a fun chapter to write. Not only did I get introduce Team JNPR into the story, but I also got to delve into a little bit of Weiss' backstory. I made it slightly different from the original just keep this story a bit more interesting.
Fun Fact: The Schnee Manor scene is actually based off of the Wayne Manor scene from The Lego Batman Movie. It kinda makes sense, as both Weiss and Batman share a similar fear, that being losing people that are close to you. Although unlike Weiss, Batman doesn't actually admit it until much later on in the movie
Speaking of movies, Who here can't wait for Volume 5 next week? I sure can't. I'm so excited to see what it has in store for us. Hopefully, it shows us more development for Yang and her arm, A more in-depth look at the city of mistral and for the girls of Team RWBY to finally meet up and come back together (Although that seems a bit unlikely).
Well, that's all I have for now folks, come back next time where we will see what Ruby and Weiss get up to in Vale.
Bye!