Hey, guys, GaeaChronos here. I thought I might get one out for Halloween, considering it's also Ruby's birthday.
Anyways, on with the chapter!
Chapter 4: Happy Birthday, Ruby!
"You're all probably wondering why I brought you here today..."
These were the words spoken by Weiss Schnee as she walked around the classroom. Seated in the chairs were her teammates, minus their energetic leader, members of Team JNPR, CCLW, CFVY, and the team from Haven that she forgot the name of.
"...And you would be right to ask that." she continued as she paced back and forth the front of the classroom, stopping in the center.
"Well the answer is simple: I need your help in-"
"-Planning a surprise birthday party for Ruby, right?" a voice cut her off.
"How did you..." the heiress turned to the source of the voice. It was Walter Noir, a member of Team CCLW, looking quite disinterested.
"Come on, Weiss. Can't you be at least a little less obvious? Everyone here has interacted with your team enough to be considered friends, mostly because of Ruby, and the fact that the girl in question is currently absent from this little meeting. Also, I've heard you mention something about Ruby's birthday being around fall." Walter answered, gesturing towards everyone in the room.
"Well, yes. That's why..." the heiress answered, clearing her throat.
"Wait, so why am I here?" a new voice piped in.
Everyone in the room turned to the source of the voice, surprised to find a confused Cardin Winchester sitting in one of the seats far back.
"I mean, I don't really know any of you personally, and I'm pretty sure none of you would want me here, considering I basically bullied some of you guys with my team and all."
These past couple months have been quite an eye-opener for the bully, as he and his team have been continuously pummeled into the ground by almost everyone in this room, so he's trying to choose his words pretty carefully, as he doesn't want another beating.
Also, he was quite confused as to why anyone in this room would actually want him in here, let alone Weiss Schnee.
"Of course, you see, there is a chance that you and your team might come and crash anything we'd work for in this party," Weiss started, making Cardin look away slightly. She had a point. "So, we'll assign a role for you here. You'll be keeping your team in check, making sure they don't screw anything up. And, if you do it properly, you and your team will be given some of the food that will be served at the party."
Cardin looked around, and processed what he was being offered.
"...Alright. I'll keep an eye on 'em." Free food did sound better than bruises.
"Alright. I appreciate it. Let's continue."
"Wait."
She then turned to Team CCLW's leader, Clyde Schwartz.
"Why would you need our help? I mean, you've got two other people on your team that know your partner better than we do."
Weiss could only sigh.
"Remember the last time I tried to ask a teammate for advice?"
Everyone in the room shuddered at the memory. It was a couple of months back. Weiss wanted to ask Ruby out, so she asked the closest person to Ruby, Yang.
Yang, of course excited to help her sister's partner, immediately thought of a, brilliant, idea. Her plan basically involved pretending that the two of them were dating, to get her sister jealous enough to confess her feelings for her partner.
Of course, the result was not unexpected, well to Yang it was unexpected. Ruby simply smiled, and congratulated them. But her eyes looked like she was about to break into tears at any given instance.
Weiss, at the time, felt like she had kicked a puppy.
With cancer.
In a wheelchair.
Into a car compactor.
Over the next few days, the young leader became so depressed and heartbroken that her sad aura spread throughout Beacon, and even attracted a flock of Nevermores to their classroom.
That was when Weiss had the last straw. She had told the truth to her partner, who immediately after knowing the truth, went into a murderous rage, slaughtering the Grimm.
After that incident, she wouldn't speak to her sister and partner for an entire week, even opting to sleep at CCLW's dorm, as they actually had a spare bed.
Now, she and the heiress patched things up, but still chose to sleep at CCLW's dorm, mainly because the spare bed provided to her was a waterbed.
Shaking his head of the memory, Clyde could only agree.
"G-Good point... So, what do we do?"
"I need to know a few things first. Which one of you knows how to cook?"
All members of CCLW turned to their older teammate, Walter. The same for JNPR with Ren, RWBY with Yang, but no one from Cinder's team.
"Seriously? None of you know how to cook?" Cliff Zwart whispered to Cinder Fall, who was seated right next to him.
"I never saw it necessary." she simply shrugged.
"Okay," the heiress said. "So we've got three people who could cook, but do any of them know how to bake?"
Immediately, Nora raised her partner's hand for him, while Lumina pointed to Walter.
"Excellent. You three will be overseeing the team of chefs I've hired for this occasion."
"Wait." Yang interrupted "You hired a team of chefs specifically for this occasion? Seriously?"
"Yes, I did. So?"
"Where did you even get them?"
"... Found them..."
Meanwhile, back in Atlas...
"What happened to my team of highly-trained chefs?!" Jacques Schnee exclaimed as he looked upon his empty kitchen.
Back to Beacon...
"Somehow, I don't see that past her." Cliff commented.
"As for the cake, you will be helped by my personal favorite butler, the Cake Butler."
"So... you brought Klein here?" Blake asked her teammate.
"Well, yes, but I also brought my cake butler." Weiss answered, looking confused.
"Wait. I thought Klein was the cake butler." came the confused reply from the cat faunus. Given how Weiss described Klein as the father she never had, and that her favorite butler is her cake butler, she thought that it was natural to put two and two together.
"No. Klein is my coffee butler."
Everyone just stared at her.
"What? Was it something I said?"
At that moment, only one thought came into all of their collective minds:
"She lives in a completely different world from us."
And so, everyone decided to just roll along with her plans, just to get it over with.
"So..." Jaune Arc started "We got the team of cooks and bakers down, but what else do we need?"
"Well, for starters, what type of party is it?" Lumina asked "I highly doubt Ruby would be a fan of your high-end, posh, intimate get-togethers." she finished, emphasizing with an offensively-exaggerated, sophisticated accent.
Weiss could only scoff.
"Please. As if you'd know 'high-end' and 'posh'."
"Ballrooms, rich scumbags, and a shit ton of wine and deceit, right?" the younger Schwartz answered with a cheeky grin.
"We're getting off topic here." Pyrrha Nikos piped in. "When is Ruby's birthday, anyway?"
"October 31st." Yang answered.
"Wait. Her birthday's on Halloween?" Clyde asked.
"Yeah. Why?"
"I think we just got a great idea on what type of party it is."
Immediately, both pairs of eyes lit up as they shouted in unison:
"A costume party!"
Both looked to the heiress for approval.
"A costume party? That seems a bit... childish."
"But it's perfect!" the fiery blonde argued. "A birthday on Halloween just screams 'costume party'! It would be a crime to not do it!"
"Also, it'll be killing two birds with one stone. We get to celebrate Ruby's birthday, and get a Halloween party done at the same time. Saves time and money. Seems pretty good if you ask me." Clyde added.
Weiss sighed.
"Alright. All in favor of a costume party, say 'Aye'."
Everyone in the room responded with "Aye!". With the exception of Neo, who held up a sign with said word.
"Very well. We'll have a costume party. But remember, nothing too indecent. Save that for a different Halloween party. Remember it's Ruby's birthday first."
There was a bit of murmuring amongst each other, before they all agreed.
"Alright." the heiress clapped her hands together. "Now let's assign the other roles. Who can be the Distraction Team?"
Nora, mishearing Weiss's words, raised her hands.
"Ooh, ooh, me!!! Pick me!!!"
"Anyone else?"
Jaune raised his hand.
"I guess me?"
"Okay. Your job will be to keep Ruby occupied until we give you the signal. You will also keep us updated on what Ruby is doing, and where she is, to avoid any encounters. Can I trust both of you to do that?"
Both nodded.
"Good. As for the rest of you, you will be working on the decorations for the party. I'll inform you more by text, we've been gone for too long, so we'll end this meeting for now. I'll keep all of you informed, thank you for your cooperation."
On October 31st
After two weeks of planning, regular meetings, and working on recipes, it was finally time. The Distraction Team was on the move.
Prior to this, they had asked Ruby on a trip to the arcade down in Vale, and she agreed.
Right now, they were at the airship docks, going over their strategy on how to keep her distracted.
"So, we do anything to keep her from coming back here, right?" Nora asked.
"Yup. Just keep her down in Vale until they give us the signal." Jaune answered.
"So we can-"
"No, Nora. No breaking legs."
"But that doesn't make sense!" she whined. "How are we called the 'Destruction Team' if we don't destroy anything?"
"Nora, it's distraction, not destruction."
"What?! Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Nora, we did. You were just too excited."
"I feel like I've been lied to! Oh, how cruel!"
"Come on, Nora. Don't be like that."
"I can't believe I've just been led on like that!"
"Nora, you're overreacting-"
"I've never felt so betrayed!!!"
"Betrayed by who?" a voice piped in behind Jaune.
Startled, the blonde leader shrieked, jumping into Nora's arms. They looked at the source of the voice, the birthday girl herself.
"Oh! Um, it was uh... Ren!" Nora managed to get out, dropping her leader onto the ground. "Yeah! It was Ren! We were playing a game, and he... uh... double-crossed me!!! Right, Jauney?"
"Y-Yeah!" he added, scrambling to his feet. "That's why we left early, y'know? Nora kinda got upset with what happened in the game, so I thought to leave early so that we can get some fresh air!"
They looked nervously at Ruby, hoping she'd buy it. There was a really long, awkward silence before she finally spoke.
"Oh! Okay. I was kinda worried, since Nora sounded really upset. But things are fine now, right?"
"Yup! I just need some fresh air and some video games, that's all!"
"Well, what are we waiting for? The airship's here!"
The rest of the day played out as they had planned. They went to the arcade, played a few games, and talked about shows that they loved. In fact, that is what they are doing right now. They're having lunch at a nearby cafe, and Jaune is talking about the latest season in his favorite soccer anime.
"I'm just saying, they really aren't treating the legacy characters so well."
"Well, maybe it's to give focus on the newer generation. I mean, I get it could still use some work, but it was just a sort of buildup for next season, right?" Ruby answered back.
"Hm, could be, But I am willing to give it another chance, though." he shrugged.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Nora exclaimed, before reaching into her pocket for a small box wrapped in gift wrap, and handed it to Ruby. "Happy birthday! Yang told me your birthday was today, so I thought I should buy you something nice. I know it's not much, but, here!"
"Oh, thanks!" she said, taking the small box. "Mind if I unwrap it now?"
"Go ahead!"
Upon unwrapping it, her eyes widened.
"Lightning Dust rounds? Awesome!!!"
"Yeah! It should cover for your next mission out in the field."
"I promise I'll put it into good use!"
"You better! I will be so disappointed in you if no Grimm got electrocuted in your report."
"You got it!" the birthday girl said.
"Sorry I couldn't get you anything, though." the blonde apologized.
"It's fine," she assured "I don't really tell people about my birthday, since I don't really like celebrating it."
"Really?"
That's not a good sign, he thought.
"Yeah. You see, my Mom went away on a mission the day after my birthday, and she... never came back. I really didn't wanna celebrate my birthday again, since it was too close to the day she went on that mission. It's just... hard, you know?"
"Oh... sorry to hear about that." he then proceeded to stand. "I'm just... gonna go... powder my nose." he proceeded to walk to the restroom.
"That's what girls say!" Nora exclaimed.
"You get the idea!"
With that, Jaune disappeared into the restroom, leaving the two girls by themselves.
"So..." Nora started.
"So...?"
"You think Blake and Cinder are sisters?"
The question literally left the hooded girl deep in thought.
In the restroom, Jaune was in a hurry sending a message to the guys back at Beacon:
"She doesn't want to celebrate. Too personal. Abort. ABORT!!!"
Back at Beacon...
"You sure you guys aren't sisters?" Clyde asked Blake and Cinder.
"Yes!!! For the last time we are not related!" both yelled out for what felt like the millionth time.
"For God's sake, why does everyone keep asking that?!" the cat faunus exclaimed angrily.
"Alright, alright. Sheesh."
"Guys! We have a problem!"
All turned to the source of the voice, revealing an out of breath Weiss.
"Jaune just texted me. Ruby doesn't like celebrating her birthday. Says it's too personal!!"
Clyde approached the panicking heiress.
"Weiss-"
"I-I should have known this!"
"Weiss, calm down-"
"I'm a terrible girlfriend! I failed her again-"
"Weiss."
Weiss then felt a hand on her shoulder, looking up to see Clyde's calm expression.
"Relax. We got a backup plan." he then turned around. "Yang!"
"Got it!" exclaimed the blonde. "Flip her around, boys!!!"
Yatsuhashi and Cliff then proceeded to turn the 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' banner around, revealing the words 'HAPPY HALLOWEEN'.
"Don't worry, Weiss." Yang assured her friend "We came prepared."
Weiss looked around. It looked just like a normal Halloween party. She sighed in relief.
"Thank goodness."
"See? Now all that's left are the costumes."
Weiss froze.
"You... did have one prepared... right?"
No response.
"Hoooooh, boy..."
If Weiss were a bit more responsive at the moment, she would have noticed Jaune's constant stream of messages.
"Uh-oh. Ruby's on her way back. Is everything good there?"
"Weiss? Why aren't you answering?"
"Weiss, is everything okay there???"
"What's going on, Weiss? Why won't you answer?!"
"Weiss? WEISS?! SHE'S ON HER WAY THERE, WHAT DO WE DO?!?!"
"WEISS?!?!"
Outside the ballroom...
"Hmm... Where is everyone?" Ruby wondered out loud as she walked around campus near the ballroom. However, her focus wasn't on the very visible from the outside, obviously-decorated ballroom, no, she hadn't noticed it yet. Her focus was on her friend's words from earlier:
You think Blake and Cinder are sisters?
Why didn't I think of that before? she thought. Wavy, black hair, yellow eyes, nice curves- WAIT! What am I thinking?! Well, they are lookers- NO! Bad Ruby, BAD!!! Weiss will hate you if you think that! But still... the resemblance... it can't be a coincidence... Are they sisters?!
"Ruby?" a voice snapped her out of her trance.
Ruby looked up to find the younger Schwartz in front of her, concern on her face.
"Oh, uhh... hey, Lumina."
She stared at Lumina for a good while. Not because of her concerned expression. No, it was because she was dressed as a giant penguin, her face popping out of where the mouth would be.
"Umm... Why are you dressed like that?"
"Oh! This? We're throwing a little Halloween party for the leaders!" she lied through her teeth.
If there's anything I'm awesome at, it's making shit up! she thought.
"Really?" the birthday girl tilted her head.
"Yeah. Clyde's already in there, since he kinda followed us when we were decorating. He did promise to keep it secret to the others, though."
"Okay. So, who else is invited?"
"Well, it was planned by the members of RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, and CCLW. It was a costume party, so I thought I'd go all out."
"You... really did."
"So... you coming? Jaune's the only one left, and we plan to scare him shitless."
"Sure!" It did sound like fun.
"Cool! Follow me!"
Lumina then proceeded to waddle, yes, waddle, her way to the ballroom.
"Umm... Lumina? Just curious, but why a penguin?"
"Why not? It's awesome!!!"
Back at the ballroom...
Back here in the ballroom, Yang was still trying to snap her teammate out of her panic-induced trance.
"Great." she muttered.
Cliff waved a hand in front of the heiress, but there was still no response.
"Y'think she'll buy it if we say this is an ice sculpture?"
"Cliff, this isn't funny. Ruby might be on her way any minute, and the one behind this party is currently frozen in place."
"I know. Just trying to make the most of a pretty bad situation."
"What do you guys think we should do?"
"How about tell her the truth?" Walter piped in.
That seemed to snap Weiss out of it, as she suddenly straightened up with a loud "NO!!!"
"W-We might end up opening some old wounds, and she might get upset, on her birthday of all days!"
"Weiss. Let's just tell her. Ruby isn't the type to hold a grudge against someone she cares about, especially since we really weren't aware of her situation. She'll understand."
"I... suppose you're right."
"Also," Yang added "the 7 foot cake already has 'Happy Birthday' plastered all over it. And Blake already called in Team SSSN, and they're set to perform " Happy Birthday" by The Click Five. So this is kinda the best way to go."
"But... I still forgot to prepare a costume..."
"Now that's a stupid argument. Do you honestly think Ruby would expect you to wear a cheap, campy Halloween costume to a party?"
"Also," Blake also piped in "it's a party, Weiss. It doesn't have to be completely according to plan to be perfect, just have a good time. I know you think Ruby deserves the best, but don't strain yourself over the small things. Just make sure she enjoys it. Remember, as you said before, it's Ruby's birthday first."
"I... you're right. Yang, tell them to flip the banner."
"On it!"
With that, Yang gave the signal, and they were to go with their first plan. As they worked on final adjustments, Weiss went to look at her scroll. Her eyes widened upon seeing the unread messages.
"Uh-oh. Guys!" Weiss exclaimed. "Jaune just sent the messages. Ruby's coming!"
Quickly, everyone dropped what they were doing and hid behind the tables.
After a minute, the doors opened, and Lumina came waddling in her penguin costume.
Weiss swore she could hear Clyde groaning somewhere in the room.
Lumina saw the heiress from behind one of the tables, and winked at her.
"Alright, Ruby, come on in!"
Hesitantly, the young leader walked through the door, and shut it. Once she faced the decorations, she was met with a loud:
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!"
Everyone came out of their hiding spots, dressed in all sorts of costumes. The costumes ranged from simple, like Walter, who was dressed like a doctor of sorts with a large screw going through his head, to over the top, like Lumina in her penguin costume.
Everyone looked on nervously, watching the girl's reaction. Thankfully, everyone sighed in relief internally after she grew a wide smile on her face.
"You guys!!!"
"Hope you like it! We worked, like, all week for this!" Cliff exclaimed from behind the group.
"Thanks! I sure will!"
The party went on as planned. Everyone was laughing, dancing, and just overall having a great time.
There was a minor event, with Lumina tripping and ended up rolling across the floor, sending everyone into a laughing frenzy, except for Clyde, who just buried his head in his hands in shame.
But what mattered most was Ruby. She was having fun, and to all of them, all the planning was worth it.
An hour into the party, and Team SSSN had arrived. While they set up their equipment, Ruby looked for someone in the group, namely the only other person without a costume. After she had located her partner and girlfriend, she approached her.
"Hey."
"Hey to you."
"So... I heard you were the one who planned this."
"Yeah. You are having fun, right?" her expression turned to that of concern.
Ruby nodded, her smile genuine.
"Yeah. Though honestly, you guys caught me off guard with this party. I came in expecting a Halloween party. Lumina is a really good liar."
"To be honest, that was Plan B. The banner is reversible. That was also why it's a costume party."
"What happened?"
"The cake had 'Happy Birthday' plastered all over it."
"Oh."
"You're not... mad, right?"
"What? No, of course not! Sure, my birthday is a bit of a sore subject, but I appreciate what you guys did for me! You guys went out of your way to throw me a party. Thank you, Weiss!"
"But... I thought you don't wanna celebrate?"
"Huh? Oh, no, I don't like celebrating it, but that doesn't mean I don't want to celebrate! It's just a bit hard, because I'm scared."
"Scared."
Ruby nodded.
"Yeah. You see, the day my Mom went on the mission that... she never came back from, that day was right after my birthday. I was scared that, if I throw a birthday party, all I'll remember was what happened to Mom and end up ruining everybody's good time.
You know that when I get emotional, it's really in large waves. Remember the Nevermores?"
Weiss shuddered at the memory, but nodded.
"That was just one example. One time, when I went to visit my Mom's grave, I got so sad that I attracted a pack of Beowolves to my location. I was lucky that they were very young, still no armor, but I was aware of what my emotions did.
I thought that, if that was what my emotions could do if I remembered my Mom, I might end up attracting something even more dangerous, like Goliaths, or a Beringel, so I just kept quiet, to try and avoid that conflict."
Ruby was cut off by a flick on her forehead.
"Dolt." Weiss muttered. "If you get any more negative than that, you'll really attract those Grimm here."
"I-I know, and that's why you should've let me finish." she pouted. "All this time, I've been worrying about the small things, that I was forgetting to simply enjoy what's in front of me, so I'll have something to remember by in the future. You guys reminded me of that."
She then proceeded to wrsp her girlfriend in a tight hug.
"Thank you. Really."
Weiss couldn't say anything, so she just hugged back.
Yang, who was watching from a distance, smiled at the two.
"You're in a good mood." Walter commented.
"Of course. For years, I've been trying to get Ruby to just enjoy her birthday, and Weiss did it. I'm just, happy, y'know? My baby sister is having fun on her birthday again, and it's just... amazing."
"Hm." Walter hummed.
"By the way, what about CRDL's food?"
"Clyde sent it to them. They seemed pretty content according to him."
"Hm." she hummed back.
"Ruby's lucky to have you as a sister, you know that?"
The sincerity in his voice caught the blonde off guard.
"Huh?"
All of a sudden, the screw on Walter's head came loose, dropping on the floor.
"Damn. Yang, a little help? This thing's a rental."
Yang just chuckled.
"Fine. But you owe me after this."
So... I did a thing. I know it's not much, but hope you liked it!
GaeaChronos is out. Happy Halloween! Peace!