A/N: I wrote this on the same day that I wrote the first chapter, and boy don't I feel like I wrote this one way better than I wrote the last one. Intros are the second hardest part of writing a story, the first being the summary. Anyways, I'll try to keep this author's note short and let you read.
The ceremony ended quickly allowing team RWBY to return back to their dorm in time to go to sleep. While they were newly rested after having slept for a good portion of time during the day, travelling still bore down hard on them. Fresh air mixed with the changing of time zones drilled onto them, despite the rest they had taken a simple fifteen minutes ago. Once they arrived, all of them took turns in the washroom getting dressed, even though Yang took longer than the rest. They all jumped into their respective beds, sleep clearly on their minds. The thought of beginning a conversation floated through Ruby's mind, but the thought was dismissed as her conscience faded away, dreams of weapons wafting through her mind. Below her, the heiress lay on her side, thoughts filling her mind. Thoughts of studying, the test tomorrow and the life she left behind merely scraped the surface. Her stomach growled at her, reminding her of the meal she had failed to obtain today. Her hands made their way towards it, the pain pulling her legs towards her head. In the sheer panic and disorder that came along with moving, she had forgotten to tell her chauffer to stop somewhere to eat. And the thoughts of eating didn't even cross her mind during the travel.
"Ruby, are you still awake up there?" she asked, seeing if the girl was awake. After a minute of silence, she deduced that her leader was sound asleep. "You dolt" she said to the wall. "You're our team leader. You only go to sleep once everyone else is. Why did they pick you as the team lead? I could've done so much better."
She picked herself up and lurched towards the fridge. Midway, her knees began to buckle, the pain in her chest once again returning. She slouched towards the fridge, but didn't make it before collapsing against the ground, curled into a ball in pain. She let out moans of agony as her stomach began to retaliate, jolting her mind with thoughts of uneasiness. The feeling of nausea began to make its way up her throat as she attempted to stand. Her knees refused to cooperate, leaving her stranded on the floor mere feet from the sink. She could do nothing but turn her head away, hoping to spew away from her clothes. A sudden jolt startled her as she fought to keep the nausea down, struggling to save her dignity. Small arms wrapped themselves around Weiss's own, dragging her to the washroom. She arrived on time, spewing away into the toilet. She collapsed against the wall, her stomach cooperating for now. The aftertaste filled her senses, threatening to return the nausea she had just experienced. Her eyes fought against the sudden burst of light as Ruby flicked the switch, her senses disoriented.
"Here Weiss" Ruby whispered, extending a hand with medication and another with water. "They'll make you feel a lot better."
Weiss's pride fought against her, telling her to refuse the help. "I don't need the help you dunce. I'm fine on my own. Now just leave me alone and go back to bed."
"Weiss, just please take the pills. You know that you want them. I don't want to see my partner like this." Ruby begged, her silver eyes locked on her own forcing her hand.
"Fine, fine, I'll take the pills. But don't you tell anyone that you helped me. The heiress would never take help from anyone."
"It's fine Weiss. I just want to see you get better. Besides, we have that test tomorrow. You don't want to be sick for it do you?"
"Just hand me the pills and stop talking. Your voice is hurting my ears more than normal right now."
Ruby let off a small frown, but quickly removed it. "Do you want something for the after taste? I think we have a small thing of breath mints on the counter somewhere."
"I've already said it Ruby, I don't need your help!" Barked Weiss, her thick and cold shell refusing the compatriotic help from well of innocence before her.
"Are you sure Weiss? I really don't like the after taste after I get sick. It won't take me more than a second to get you them. I just want to help you."
"If you want to help me, you can leave me alone and silence that annoying voice of yours before you drive me up this wall!" She ordered angrily. Too angrily. Her cold shell spoke for her, the inner Weiss engaged in a war with her stomach. The face of destroyed hope washed over Ruby, her mouth dropping to a pout. Guilt hit her in the chest, causing her uneasiness to swell.
"I'm sorry Weiss. I really just wanted to make you feel better. I thought that maybe we could work out the kinks we had from last year. I really didn't know that I made you that mad. I should've stayed in bed. I probably only made your illness worse. I really wasn't made to be a leader was I? I can't even help my teammate with a small sickness without angering her. I'm really sorry Weiss. I really only wanted to make you feel better, that's all I wanted. I wanted you to feel better, I wanted to help. I'll just go back to bed and let you take care of yourself." Ruby pouted as she left the bathroom, jumping back on her bunk.
"I'm sorry Ruby. I didn't mean to be that rude. I really did want your help too." But she was far out of earshot of her, her words meeting yet again only the wall. The sound of Ruby crying echoed off the walls, fuelling Weiss's self imposed guilt. And it was only made worse by the terrible after taste.
Weiss awoke still in the bathroom, the stench of last night now merely a memory. She awoke to seeing herself cleaned up and feeling much better. As she lifted her head from its crooked position on the wall, she awoke to see a plate of toast and a glass of water next to it. It bore no note, but she knew who it was from. She picked up a slice and felt its warmth. Toast was not known for its ability to maintain heat, which meant that Ruby had just made it for her. She looked inside of the glass and saw two small pills in the bottom, currently dissolving into the liquid. Their size, shape and color all bore evidence to rubinal, a headache soothing medicine. From outside the door, she heard the whistling of Ruby, her tune filling the dorm. Weiss downed the water and toast as fast as she could, despite the fighting of her inner heiress. She commanded her legs to stand, to which they complied. The pain in her stomach was gone, and easiness was a feeling that she accepted with open arms. She slid herself against the wall, looking into the small kitchen that the dorm possessed. Ruby stood poised above the sink, a pile of soapy, but clean dishes stood piled neatly beside her. The girl wasn't doing it properly, but at least she possessed the thought to do so. Why they had so many dishes on their second day surprised her, but the appetite of Yang placed it easily in the realm of possibility.
"Ruby" coughed Weiss, the illness still somewhat apparent in her system.
"Oh, I'm sorry Weiss. I didn't know you'd be up so early." Replied Ruby, fear lining her voice. "I'm really, really sorry. I'll leave right away. Don't yell at me please! You're scary when you yell!"
"Ruby, can you please wait?" But before the words could leave her mouth, the girl had vanished into a wave of rose petals, leaving Weiss alone in the room as they floated gently down to the floor.
"Nice going Weiss. You've really made a mess this time, haven't you?" She spoke to the wall, the only friend she really had right now.
Several minutes later, Yang and Blake returned to the dorm to find the damaged Weiss lying on her bed, a book in her face. Their primary assumption was that Weiss hadn't slept well and was hoping to find a couple more minutes to ease her into the day they had ahead.
"Hey Weiss, are you awake over there? It's not like you to be sleeping in this late, even if you are sick." Yang asked across the room, placing her newly found groceries against the floor before walking over towards the heiress.
"No, I'm perfectly awake. I'm just not feeling too good, and the light is hurting my eyes. What do you need?" She moaned out, holding the disguise of illness as well as she could. She had cut Ruby really deep, and she was going to have a hard time finding her way out of this one if Yang was to find out.
"I'm just wondering where Ruby went. It's not like her to leave her room, let alone completely by herself. It just seems kind of strange on her part. Do you know where she went by any chance?" Questioned Yang, signs of worry planted deep within her words.
"I'm sorry Yang, but I don't even have a clue as to where she has gone. Maybe she went outside for a breath of fresh air?" Weiss replied through her gritted teeth. Her disguise was wearing thin, and she hoping that Yang didn't suspect that something was up. If she did, the cops would never be able to find Weiss's body with a microscope.
"I'm going to try and find Ruby, make sure she's ok. I'll let her know that you're still not feeling too good. She was really concerned over you this morning and she nearly knocked herself out trying to heal you up. But at least she'll be happy to know that you're still alive right?"
The newly parted wave of guilt returned, smashing the heiress back into a state of sadness. The girl had every intention of making rights with what she had done wrong, but it was hard to right them when there were none. Now she had literally scared the girl away, traumatized to even be in the same dorm as her. Weiss just replied with silence as the blonde haired girl fled the room in search of her sister.
Beacon courtyard,
Ruby
Steps of sadness traced their way behind Ruby as she walked around the open aired courtyard of Beacon. The events of last night played through her mind vividly, her own failures pulling and pushing her emotions, tossing them around in a hurricane of guilt. Weiss was a strong girl. And as Weiss had mentioned, she didn't need help from someone as annoying and frustrating as herself. Her eyes traced the grass, watching as small bugs skittered around, living on their normal lives.
"Why do I have to be such a bad leader?" Ruby moped to herself quietly, making sure not to distract anyone else. "Weiss is far stronger than I could ever hope of being. Ozpin made a mistake when he chose me. I wish he'd chosen her."
The thought of Weiss yelling at her replayed in her mind like a broken CD, pestering her inner conscience as she fought away the worse of her negative thoughts. A small tear formed on her eye, dripping its way down her face and splashing against the ground. Her hand made its way across her face, pulling away the rest of her tears as she regained her composure. Her train of self guilt was only ceased when she heard the familiar voice of her sister from behind her, forcing herself to calm down to avoid pulling any attention.
"Hey Ruby! What are you doing out here? It's not like you to just go randomly running around places, let alone by yourself. Is something wrong?" Her sister yelled from halfway across the courtyard, diverting the attention of other students who tried to live on their normal lives.
"No, I'm fine Yang. Thanks for coming to check on me though." Her sentence merely had time to finish before her sisters presence washed up beside her. Her sister could really move if you gave her reason to.
"Weiss is still sick. I guess she's really not feeling any better. But you really tried though, so I mean it's the thought that counts right? It doesn't really matter if it worked or not right? Your nursing must have done something positive for her at least, right?" Comforted Yang, trying to boost her sister's mood
But it doesn't matter if she intended the words to help her sister, or if they'd been meant to hurt. They both yielded the same results. Her sister's words were the drop of water that broke the damn. Her face connected into Yang's shoulder as her already cracked shell smashed into pieces and collapsed to the floor. Her sister took a step back, but quickly placed her hand against her sisters hair, pulling her closer. The unwanted moisture built up against her clothing as she tried to comfort her weeping sister. She had no idea as to what had set her off, but something cracked her. After several minutes and a lot of questioning looks, Ruby had regained the composure to speak to her sister.
"I tried to help out Weiss, and all I did was made it worse. I wanted to try and make her better, but all I did was anger her. Why did Ozpin pick me for this job Yang? Why did he think that I had the power to be a leader I don't even have the power to be a friend?" Choked Ruby, her throat still contracted due to her weeping. She quickly turned around, vanishing in a pile of rose petals.
Yang knew two things. She was never going to catch up to her sister. It was hard enough trying to catch someone who didn't want to be caught, especially when that person was Ruby. And second, it would take her less than a minute to get back to their dorm. The only thing that she had yet to find out was what Weiss's last chocked words would be as she strangled her to death.
Team RWBY's dorm,
Yang
Her shoes slid to a stop as she stopped in front of the door, having to concentrate just so that she didn't rip the door square off its hinges. As she entered, she noticed the terrified face of Weiss, and that expression had a good reason behind it. She knew the moment she saw her facial expression that she was not going to leave this room as pretty as she was, and that's if she left in one piece.
"You" Declared Yang, her voice booming with the power of thunder. "You really shouldn't have stayed Weiss. You knew I'd come back for you. You must be pretty confident if you didn't think that I'd come back to teach you a lesson.
Weiss's heart sunk down into her foot as she curled herself back into her bed, trying to keep herself away from the murderous sister that she had incurred the wrath of. She couldn't even wriggle herself back more than a few inches before Yang's powerful hand gripped her by the throat and pulled her out of her nest.
"You made my sister cry on my shoulder in the middle of a courtyard. She never cries in front of me. Whatever you did to her, you'll never get the chance to apologize for." Her free hand formed a fist and swung at the heiress's ribs. A hit to the face caused more upfront damage, but a few broken ribs made ones death far more painful. Small, dainty hands fought against her own, but to no avail. The only reason that her neck was still in once piece was her wish to inflict as much pain before she breathed her last. That would be giving her too much. Anyone who was willing to make her sister cry was someone who didn't value their life any higher than they value the ground they walk on. Weiss managed to force a small, choked gasp before her oppressor's hand connecting firmly into her side. The pain that she knew was coming seemed to arrive slower, and slower, and slower, until it never did. Her tensed muscles in her abdomen never absorbing the blunt of a hit.
"I don't think that'd be doing you good enough. You know what? I don't think these walls are really that sound. Would you be willing to test them out for me?"
Weiss managed to scream as her oppressor launched her towards the wall, her body once again tensing itself as she braced for the collision. What she was met with instead was a comforting poof as she was absorbed into, what felt like, the wall. Placing her hand against her lower back, the feeling of a pillow sunk softly into her hand, its presence strange.
"Yang, what are you doing!" Screamed the startled Ruby, whose petite form blocked all vision between Weiss and Yang. "Why are you trying to kill Weiss?"
"If she did something so bad that it caused to you break down in public, they don't deserve to live." Her red eyes flared with anger as she fought to restrain herself, her body sending mixed signals. Blake had managed to find her way to her feet, still in shock of the rapid chain of events. Her arms were now wrapped around the stomach of Yang, prepared to fight back in case her anger got the best of her again. She was immediately caught off guard again as Yang shot herself towards her sister. She tried to pull back and stop Yang, but her grip merely broke off, causing her to collapse to the ground.
"Move Ruby!" She screamed as she darted towards her sister, who she was certain would listen. And move she did. Only instead of moving away, she moved towards her sister, wrapping her arms around her sides, burying her face against her taller sisters chest.
"I don't care if Weiss made me cry. I don't care if Weiss hates me. I don't even care if you hate me after this. But Weiss is my partner, and she's your teammate. Whatever she has against me, that's between me and her." Her voice calmed down as she bargained with her enraged sister, trying desperately to save Weiss's life. "And if I need your help, I'll make sure to ask for it. But right now, I don't need your help. I need you to be my sister and back away. I'm not a kid anymore Yang. I don't need you to watch over me every minute of everyday. I can take care of myself sometimes. And this is one of those times. So please, for me, just let it go."
Reasoning returned itself back into the mind of Yang as her eyes returned to their normal colour. Her muscles eased out, her fists returning back to their less aggressive stance.
"If this doesn't prove to you that you're a leader sis, I don't think anyone can convince you. But don't think that just because you stood up for her means that I'll forget what she did. I'm going to get back at her. Now if you'd excuse me, I believe it's my turn to go for a quick walk."
Her quick footsteps shot out of the room, followed immediately after by an equally quick pair owned by the fauness. Ruby looked back to the startled Weiss, who was surprised that she wasn't glued to the wall right now. Ruby extended her hand, to which Weiss happily accepted.
"I'm sorry about what I did last night. I should've known that you were strong enough and just left you alone. Then none of this would have happened. Now you've got Yang all mad, and it's all my fault. I'm really sorry Weiss" quavered Ruby as she pulled the heiress to her feet.
"No, it's I who should be apologizing to you Ruby. You just wanted to help me out and do your job as a leader, and I shot you down. I didn't even give you a reason as to why I did it. I just lashed out at your for something you never did, and I hurt you because of it."
"So you don't actually hate me Weiss?" Asked Ruby with her innocent voice and matching eyes.
"No Ruby, in fact, it's quite the opposite. I'm proud to have you as our team leader. I see now that Ozpin made the right choice. I never would have the strength to do what you just did. That's what separates us Ruby. You're a natural born leader. I'm just a natural born ice queen."
Ruby walked up and wrapped her arms around Weiss's chest and tucked her head on the heiress's shoulder. Weiss merely gave her a pat on the back, trying to hide her true emotions. But in reality, every muscle told her to return it. To return the sign of friendship that Ruby desperately needed. But she lacked the strength to do it. Inside, she felt small pieces of ice begin to crack and break off her shell, her true self starting to show through.
A/N: Wow. I actually feel kind of impressed by this chapter. Its one of the view chapters that after having written it, I feel impressed by what I'm able to do. Also, thank you to NobleMETA for such a quick review. Also, thank you to those who have already followed. It's a pretty good feeling to know that some people look forward to your work. It really helps. Anyways, if you have any feedback or recommendations stated at the end of the last chapter, feel free to drop a comment or send me a PM. I'll be more than happy to reply. It's probably the most exciting part about being a writer I find. But eh, that's just me. Also, I'm still looking for a cover art, so if any of you are our there… ;)
Also, the speed that I put up these chapters can be affected by those who read it. If you guys follow it, favourite it, review it or even read it, it's motivation for me to keep putting them up. And don't worry about me feeling rushed to get new chapters up and the quality suffering for it. As long as I have people who want to read it, I will keep putting up the best chapters I can for you guys
Anyways, have a great morning, day, evening, night and take it easy.