Author's Note: So when I used the word intermission, I meant it strictly as a title and not in the literal sense. Unfortunately, during that last week of April when I said I would get this done I kind of ran into a few problems that occurred in my life. Nothing serious, it was just a series of setbacks after setbacks both minor and moderate in nature that kind of put my stress levels a bit too high. It left me with little motivation for a time, was stuck on this chapter at 10k words and just couldn't get it in me to sit down and finish it. So I took some time off to myself, dealt with each problem one-by-one, then relaxed.

Brain: With a new Xbox and the Master Chief Collection.

I NEEDED MY HALO FIX! And did you SEE how awesome those Warzones are for Halo: 5? DO WANT! *clears throat* Anyway, the time off paid off as I rekindled the spark enough that I found myself adding 10k more words to this chapter.

So, despite what the title of this chapter may imply, I hold no true negative views of Extracurricular. After the awesomeness that was the previous episodes and RT leaving us a week to digest how awesome Vol. 2 was going, this, in my mind, was a good way to bring us back to the fold. Pyrrha kicking CRDL's collective butts with her duel with Mercury following right after and even though RWBY managed to attain their own victories against Roman and the White Fang, you have Cinder and her gang plotting within the center of Beacon, completely unknown to our heroes. And Blake being put through stress Hell trying to figure out what it is with the wrong methods. And the Bumblbee talk. Greatness galore.

There were a couple flaws though, one being Jaune. However, I don't hold the whole Jaune chasing after Weiss thing with the same reasons and level of hatred that others may. It did put me off though as, when we first see Weiss and Jaune together in this volume, you have him going "Bring it on, Ice Queen!" It had me assuming that Jaune's infatuation with Weiss was a crush that passed with his "Are you kidding me!?" concerning Neptune's advances on Weiss being more of a "Why didn't that work for me when I tried?". So I was a little put off when he's trying so hard to ask her out the next time we see him which went as far as pulling out a guitar and some bad singing. I admit though, I had a pretty good laugh at that scene.

However, the thing with Jaune is that he did take away focus that could've been better elsewhere, specifically with Pyrrha. This episode, as well as the others leading up to the dance, was meant for developing Pyrrha. It's clear from the opening that she's meant to be the focus and, as we learn later, she's a prime target for our villains for whatever dastardly plans they have. Though we did get a lot of good development from Pyrrha, I think Jaune cluttered it up a bit. And what did we really get with Jaune in terms of information? He has seven sisters. Yaaaa…kind of falls short to all the other stuff we got out of his last arc in Volume 1.

Brain: But he wore the dress and that was AWESOME!

Don't get me wrong, was happy to see Jaune again, especially getting a look at how his training is going, but…eh. I think instead of going for the Jaune/Weiss/Neptune thing, you could've just had Weiss/Neptune and did something else more…worthwhile with Jaune and Pyrrha with emphasis on Pyrrha. At the very least, we could've learned more about Neptune and maybe people would've hated him less…maybe. …No, probably not. That's an angle I'll be shifting a bit later on.

The other flaw I find is Cinder. Now, I loved Cinder when I first saw her. Mysterious, powerful, clearly someone you don't want to mess with and RT really showed that they knew who to pick to voice characters as Jessica Nigri does an excellent Cinder. When Cinder popped in at Beacon, my immediate thought was "OH GOD CINDER'S IN THE HOUSE! GAME OVER MAN!" Unfortunately, the fear and respect of Cinder kind of dwindled a little with her evil sewing prowess and some of her lines. I still cringe a little at the whole 'It's about taking what power they have!'. I don't blame Nigri there though; kind of hard to make that line as threatening as the writers wanted it to be.

Brain: Better than her roof jumping skills.

*shudders* Yeah, that. While Cinder may be the main villain for now, I think it's pretty clear that she's not the true mastermind of whatever's going on. Or at least I don't think so. I think she should've stayed in the shadows. Maybe keep her in Beacon but…I think less would've been more. Anyway, other than those, I found Extracurricular to have been successful for what it was supposed to be as an episode. I enjoyed everything else. Hope you enjoy the alterations I made here for it and that the length will make up for my absence!


Pyrrha Nikos had a talent for being graceful no matter what she did. This included wiping the floor of the sparring arena with team CRDL.

It was always a spectacle to watch the 'Invincible Girl' live up to her reputation and this would probably be the only time that Yang would have to thank Cardin for agreeing to pit his whole team against her. As for Pyrrha, the usually friendly warrioress had been the one to suggest it as, originally, it was to be her against the big leader before she - a little too innocently - proposed to Goodwitch the idea of letting his teammates assist him in their sparring match.

Now Yang wouldn't usually think that Pyrrha was capable of holding a grudge but she couldn't help but wonder if the redhead was being influenced by some leftover aggression that she had towards CRDL as a whole for when they tormented Jaune at the beginning of first semester. During then, she had been forced to stand back and watch and Yang knew it had both pained and frustrated her during the time until the matter was settled. Something told the blonde that maybe Pyrrha hadn't put that completely behind her.

Whatever her intentions may be - actual or not -, Goodwitch had deigned it as acceptable and the bleachers gave Yang the perfect view of how Pyrrha moved through the attacking members of CRDL with such ease and skill that that could only be accomplished by the top graduate of Sanctum and champion of Mistral.

Whether as a rifle, sword, or javelin, Pyrrha could rapidly switch through Milo's functions back and forth, using each to their full effectiveness. She perfectly demonstrated that against Sky Lark, her javelin matching the length of his halberd but its speed put him on the defensive as she expertly spun it around with one hand, striking with shaft and tip. In the midst of her flurry, Milo transformed into a rifle, fired a shot that Sky blocked but left him open when it switched back to javelin and the next time it fired it was out from the bottom to give it the added power to Pyrrha's thrust that drove him back.

Akouo was just as much a weapon as it was a shield. Its durability that could withstand the mightiest of swings of Cardin's mace served just as well when the circular shield was thrown like a frisbee, impacting and then bouncing off Cardin's head to do the same to Sky and knocking both students down.

In Pyrrha's hands, Milo and Akouo never appeared as separate entites; more like two halves of a whole. Though a given of the sword-and-shield combo, when Pyrrha used them it was something miraculous. With Dove slashing with his short sword and Russel attacking with his daggers, Pyrrha blocked and parried each blow flawlessly with her weapons, not one getting through despite the impressive coordination of the two teammates. Upon gaining some distance, her shield was used as a brace for her rifle to provide stability for a volley of shots. Even when she donated both hands in wielding her javelin, Akouo's defensive capabilities remained in effect, the girl twisting around in the middle of her swings and thrusts in order to intercept an attack with her then back-mounted shield.

Then there was her Semblance. Whenever a weapon did leave her hand for whatever reason, it was never truly out of her possession as her power over magnetism would bring it back to her hand. Finally, though the handling of her weapons was beyond impressive, Pyrrha nonetheless had the power of her own body to rely on, driving knees into chins or abdomens or performing leg sweeps.

With all those capabilities, Pyrrha gave off an impression of a warrior born rather than one who still needed to be made like the rest of them. Despite being her friend, Yang had to admit that she wasn't immune to the intimidation that could be kindled by seeing Pyrrha's fighting prowess.

CRDL fell to them one-by-one. With Sky having fallen previously and unable to get back up, Russel was next to be defeated, uselessly throwing one of his daggers which Pyrrha deflected effortlessly before another shield throw disoriented him and a vicious swing of the javelin floored him. Dove followed after him but not by Pyrrha's efforts as he managed to skillfully dodge her sword swings.

No, Dove's downfall came from Cardin. His leader having been recovering from some previous hits, Cardin rose to his feet, and his desire for revenge led to his lifting of his mace in preparation for an attack on Pyrrha to accidentally bludgeon Dove. Unaware - or uncaring - of the blunder that felled his subordinate, Cardin went on with driving the heavy head of his mace into the floor, producing a controlled shockwave that carved a line across the arena towards the amazon.

A quick backflip put her out of harm's way and then Pyrrha was rushing towards Cardin with Yang wincing at the beating that followed. Several sword slashes against the boy's armor with a particularly savage one knocking him into the air and Pyrrha readily leaping up to continue exchanging blows. The finisher came when a use of Akouo and her Semblance turned the shield into a mid-air platform for Pyrrha to launch herself at Cardin, hook the shaft of Milo's now-javelin form beneath his chin, and send them both spinning towards the ground with Cardin's frightened yells being cut off when he found himself going headfirst back onto the arena.

Yang may have a low opinion of Cardin but still...ouch.

Having been standing at the sidelines the whole time, Professor Goodwitch strode into the center of the arena. "And that's the match."

Cardin groaned at her feet, somehow having managed to accomplish in getting on his hands and knees. "Lucky...shot..." With one last groan he collapsed.

"Well done, Miss Nikos," Goodwitch congratulated, giving the knocked out Cardin a cursory glance before regarding Pyrrha. "You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament."

The girl in question relaxed her stance, smiling gratefully as she switched from the unbeatable warrior that had just dominated an entire team of her fellow trainees to the kind and polite student. "Thank you, professor."

Turning to the scroll she held, Goodwitch tapped a few commands to record the results and clear the overhead monitor which, Yang noted, showed how Pyrrha's Aura bar remained a healthy green while those of CRDL were in the red. "Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow but we have enough time for one more sparring match." The older woman looked up to the stands. "Any volunteers?"

When the searching motion of her head stopped at the section where team RWBY happened to be, Yang thought for sure that Goodwitch was looking at her. She was soon corrected. "Miss Belladonna?"

Next to Yang, Blake sat up straight, having been bent over a notebook that she slammed shut. That and her extra-wide eyes told Yang that the faunus may as well have been snapped back to reality at their professor's call.

Not an inaccurate way to describe it either, Yang thought, frowning.

"You've been rather docile for the past few classes," Goodwitch noted, unaware of how much of an understatement that was. "Why don't you-?"

"I'll do it!" came a call from the seat directly behind them, the source being the tall, silvery-haired boy.

Glynda squinted up at him, lifting her glasses to better examine him. "Mercury, is it? Very well." She brought her scroll back up. "Let's find you an opponent."

"Actually," Mercury spoke up. "I wanna fight..." He pointed back down at the arena. "Her."

Pyrrha jerked at the finger directed at her. "Me?"

"I'm afraid Miss Nikos has just finished a match," Goodwitch sternly replied with a frown. "I recommend you choose another partner."

Pyrrha held up a hand. "No, it's fine." She looked up to Mercury, another of her sincere smiles on her face. "I'd be happy to oblige."

The exchange student shot up from his seat, lips twisted in a grin. "Sounds great!" Rather than take one of the corridors that would lead down to the arena, Mercury quickly descended from the stands and hopped over the short energy barrier to make the drop down to the arena.

"If Miss Nikos has agreed...very well." Though still appearing unfavorable to the arrangement, Goodwitch resumed tapping on her scroll to officialize it.

Yang watched the two duelists position themselves at opposing sides of the arena, gaze following Mercury with mild intrigue. She had at least heard of him, Ruby having mentioned bumping into him and his other teammates from Haven Academy when they were looking for the dormitory that was reserved for exchange students. Considering their investigation, Yang never had a chance to meet them up until the beginning of their sparring course when Mercury came up to them with a girl who he introduced as his partner Emerald and wondered if they could sit with RWBY. They seemed nice enough, the two having exchanged friendly greetings with the team of Huntresses and Emerald having accepted Ruby's second round of apologies for running into her with a smile and assurance that no harm was done. It would be interesting to see what Mercury could do.

The lull before the match had Yang becoming concerned with someone else as she shifted back to Blake. Her girlfriend was reading her notebook and Yang discreetly tilted her head to try and get a look, already knowing what she was going to find before she saw the drawn wolf head in the center of a page of written notes.

That 'something else' that Ruby and Weiss wanted to talk to her about Blake was how they feared that she might be taking the investigation too far. It started off as a simple worry brought on by how neither of them had seen Blake go to bed and that she skipped a class with it only being revealed later that she had remained in the library after their team debrief.

The dark circles beneath Blake's eyes and her sagging posture were the signs that it had continued on for days now. Maybe not so much skipping but definitely coming in late for classes - and zoning out during them as she did here - while straying away from her teammates and other friends for whatever business she may have at the library or anywhere else where she could do what they all knew to be her own private investigation. She would come back late to their dorm room too but seeing her now had Yang questioning just how much of her time just lying in her bunk - a few of those instances being without changing - was for actual sleep.

Yang had thought that after everything they discovered and getting a lead on the White Fang, Blake would be able to relax. Apparently things had only gotten worse.

She would've tried to say something but that was when Pyrrha and Mercury's match was about to begin, the two latest combatants standing at the ready in front of one another; Pyrrha with sword and shield at the ready, Mercury with arms up and legs spread in a fighting stance. It was the latter who initiated the start of the duel, running forward and spinning to perform a roundhouse kick when Pyrrha rushed to meet him. His foot kicked into the rounded bronze with little effect and she responded by kneeling and sweeping his other leg out from under him with Milo, resulting in him falling onto his back. He recovered quickly, spinning his legs and pushing up with his arms to get back up and spring away from Pyrrha.

The amazon didn't give chase right away, granting him some respite while slowly rising from her knee. Only when he recovered did she return the favor and charge, Milo parrying another kick when she was in range before she spun around and brought up Akuo do block against another. Countering in the same manner in answer to three more kicks, Pyrrha switched with Milo to slap down one more to leave Mercury open to a shield bash, pushing him back a second time with those metal boots of his sending out sparks with how they scraped against the arena floor so forcefully from the exchange.

Again they didn't reengage right away, taking a few seconds to quietly appraise one another and what they learned. When compared to the recently finished duel with CRDL where attacks had followed one after another in a relentless fashion, it was different here. These were two opponents using the opening exchanges of a duel to gauge each other and get a feel for their individual styles and how best to counter them. Mercury was an exchange student and one who Pyrrha had never faced before so she was using caution; never fully committing and making the mistake of falling prey to a surprise attack that she could avoid.

Yang guessed it was the same with Mercury. Though he may've seen her fight previously - maybe even because of it -, he was taking his time to get his own in-depth analysis of Pyrrha's strengths instead of rushing in foolhardy like the members of CRDL had done. Probing for the weaknesses that Cardin and his subordinates had failed to recognize and exploit, instead relying on the brute force and numbers in a bid to overwhelm her and failing. He may've seemed cocky, but Yang could see that he had his own warrior cunning.

"Hey, your friend is doing pretty good," Ruby complimented to Emerald, recognizing the same thing.

Yang was taking special note of the armored plating at Mercury's boots and the shells that lined around his ankles. She had seen them when he was heading down to the arena and had already guessed as to what to expect as there was only one other opponent that she had faced with their weapons focused at their feet.

The art of 'kick-kicking', as she called it, was a style that had always been a conundrum to her. Sure, she could kick too and she took a measure of pride that her finishing blow against Melanie and her bladed heels had been with a foot to her face, but she didn't think how she could ever base her whole fighting technique on that. Yang saw her hand-to-hand as being rooted to the most sensible and inherent nature of people using their arms and fists to fight whether bare-handed or with a weapon. Legs and feet were to advance or retreat or generate additional power in the upper body by taking the appropriate stance. She would use them to attack but mostly when a window of opportunity presented itself.

Someone fighting with only their feet went against that and Yang had firsthand experience with how disorienting it could be. Even when Melanie had not thrown a single punch against her during the entire brawl at The Club, Yang couldn't remove her focus enough as she knew she should've from the other girl's arms in order to better defend and counter against her feet. It was a mental block that she wondered if she could get over as, despite encountering two such people in less than a year, they were a very rare breed.

If they ever fought, Yang wondered about her chances against Mercury. It wasn't just being skilled in a more unorthodox style, but he was definitely built more for it in other ways than Melanie. His legs were longer, stronger, and his body spun and twisted along with his kicks in such a dizzying pattern. With those boots that were yet another aspect that directly opposed Yang - like Ember Celica except worn at the feet -, the brawler wondered if she could win a first or even a second round with him if it was a straight-up contest with their weapons and physical strength alone. Even the vambraces at his arms could be another distraction, enhancing that unwillingness to direct attention away from them because, if they were armored, he had to have some use for them, right?

Like any other challenge though, Yang didn't let it discourage her. She could recognize her shortcomings but rather than be intimidated by them, it would only encourage her to overcome them and become better.

So she watched attentively when Mercury resumed the duel by jumping high and coming down with a drop kick that transitioned into a leg sweep after it hammered against Akuou. Pyrrha backed away from the second, bringing up her shield again to bear the brunt of another powerful roundhouse that had her retreating further away. Flipping Milo around in her hand to hold it in a reverse grip, Pyrrha knelt low, turtling herself up by bringing body and weapons close.

Mercury was willing to try and break through her shell, running into a short leap to batter her shield with consecutive kicks for a frontal assault before striking at her sides, each one met with either Akuou or Milo. Pyrrha's next movement was so fast, so subtle, that Yang almost missed it but she could see when the redhead let go of Milo and used her arm to block one kick, her sword flipping right next to her head that when she snatched it from the air, it had righted itself and she and Mercury were both spinning around for their next series of attacks. Milo came in, intercepting a boot, and then Akuou was blocking another with Milo coming back to stab high at Mercury-

Only to be kicked out of Pyrrha's hand and sent to stab deep into the floor.

Yang couldn't help but lean forward in her seat, eyes slightly wide, and she noted that Ruby and Weiss had done the same. This was the first time that any of them had seen Pyrrha disarmed in such a manner before. This guy is really good!

Both combatants paused, each glancing at Milo, and then Mercury was set on using the opening to deliver another spinning kick high at Pyrrha's head. She responded by lifting her now free hand up and almost too-casually brushing the foot on away from her.

The sudden wobble in Mercury's stance and how he awkwardly landed to the point of needing to take a knee to balance himself with his back to Pyrrha demonstrated how he hadn't been expecting her to have swept aside his attack like that. Yang wondered if he knew just how she had done so. To any casual onlooker and those who didn't know Pyrrha Nikos, they would've taken the sight for what it was: her having been able to deflect his foot with nothing but her hand. In truth, it was another subtle use of her Semblance.

One thing that Pyrrha made clear to them when it came to her Semblance when they discovered the true nature of it was that she was very reserved with its use. She would use it to manipulate her weapons in the littlest way possible but against her fellow students she would only do so as a last resort. True to her character, she would never, say, pull a weapon from another's hands or immobilize someone who was wearing armor. As a warrior, she detested the idea of fighting with such a significant advantage - not only due to the unfairness of applying it in such a way, but she didn't want anyone to question her fighting abilities as anything but genuine. With the restrictions she put on herself, Yang wouldn't be surprised if most of the student body at Beacon didn't know her Semblance. The only time she did make a big show of it was back when she attacked Blake with soda cans and only when the rest of the students had cleared out of the cafeteria.

Pyrrha pulled Milo out from the floor and ran at the still-kneeling Mercury, Akuou up for another shield bash. The Haven student stood and turned around at the last second, planting both boots against her shield and a bang of gunfire from one of them halted Pyrrha's charge while he was blasted clear, landing in another crouch.

Hands clutching her knees with excitement, Yang watched as Pyrrha sped after him, sure that the real fight was about to begin.

Mercury slowly stood up and looked to Goodwitch. "I forfeit."

It was Pyrrha's turn to stumble, barely avoiding running into him and coming to a stop a few feet after passing him. "You..." She faced him, baffled. "...don't even want to try?"

"What's the point?" he asked with an unconcerned shrug. "You're a world-renowned fighter. We're obviously leagues apart."

Pyrrha frowned, an annoyed hand on her hip.

"In that case, Pyrrha Nikos is the winner of the match...again," Goodwitch cut in. She tapped her scroll, logging the results, and directed a frown to Mercury as well. "Next time you may want to think a little harder before choosing an opponent."

"I'll be sure to do that," he replied, already walking out of the arena and throwing an easy wave over his shoulder.

Yang knew her features had to match her friend and professor's while tracking Mercury. A competent fighter he may be but there was something about that...passive-aggressiveness that came with his quips that didn't sit well with her.

The bell suddenly ran and out of the corner of her vision she happened to notice Blake once again suddenly sitting up straight like before, returning her back to her original problem.

"That is all for today," Glynda announced. "And remember, the dance is this weekend, but you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses!"

Ruby and Weiss were already standing up from their seats, ready to leave, and Yang got up to follow them. Blake was slow to do the same, getting up and walking after them but with her head remaining bowed and tired eyes trained on her notes.

I think we should have a talk about that dance, she decided.


Leaning against the wall next to the exit of the sparring arena, Emerald waited with arms crossed, passing off any questions from the students who were leaving and wondering what she was doing with the explanation that she was waiting for Mercury.

"It was nice to see you again!" one of them, the twerp with the red streaks in her hair, said to her while she left with the rest of her team.

Emerald feigned a smile like before to hide the disgust that roiled every time she had to associate herself with these people. Nonetheless, when they left the building she turned to watch them, her smile disappearing once she had no reason to maintain it while her red eyes narrowed dangerously at their backs.

How that idiot Roman can't handle them I have no idea.

As much as she would like to, Cinder had forbidden any direct action to be taken against anyone at Beacon. They were here to observe, gather intelligence, and select candidates based on the prerequisites that had been laid out by her for the later phases. The next step would be during the weekend with Cinder herself to carry it out personally despite Emerald's protests that she could do it without needing her to trouble herself. Alas, those same protests did little to offer any kind of sway and Emerald didn't put much effort behind them, not wishing to overstep her boundaries again after the incident with Tukson.

"The pieces are in place. All they need to do is move when and where I tell them to without deviation." The added fire in those eyes made it clear that Cinder expected Emerald to do the same. "Roman will play his part. Right now, it's all about making the opposition respond as we want them to." One corner of her lip curled upwards. "But I will not object to more thorough observations in the interest of preventing any more interference. And if any of them happen to qualify for our plans, well..."

Emerald was confident that Pyrrha Nikos would make it after the demonstration she just witnessed, but even with her addition their list of names may be found wanting for more.

When she swung back around it was to see Mercury finally joining her. Smiling darkly, he whispered, "Learning is so much fun."


Team RWBY left the building together with Blake trailing behind them...the distance of which steadily increasing with how the darker girl slowed to a crawl, her legs putting one foot in front of the other sluggishly and her body swaying with each step. The only thing that remained consistent was her grip and her gaze on her open notebook.

Yang was looking back over her shoulder to keep Blake in sight, chewing on her lip worriedly. Around her, she saw that Weiss and Ruby were doing the same and they all visibly shared their concern with one another. It was the heiress who met Yang's gaze, Weiss lifting a brow and pointing her chin to Blake.

Yang knew what the signals meant and she responded with a nod and coming to a stop with the other two following suit. The three teammates waited for Blake to catch up, the faunus completely unaware of what was going on and Yang took a quick look around to make sure that there wouldn't be anyone within hearing distance. Sun and Neptune were actually nearby with who Yang guessed was the rest of their team and it was the monkey faunus who caught Yang's eye. He appeared about ready to turn and join them but Yang held up her hand to stop him.

He complied, his confusion lasting the second it took him to see the swaying Blake and understanding instantly.

Blake remained oblivious to everything around her, even when she wandered into the middle of her teammates. It was only when Yang reached out and gently prodded her that she came to a stop and she got a real good look at those baggy eyes when Blake stared up at her, confusion breaking through the exhaustion.

It was heartbreaking to watch, Blake slowly blinking up at Yang and then taking in Weiss and Ruby, unable to comprehend what was going on. She was a mess. The dark circles under her reddened eyes, the hanging lids, the lines that dug into the unhealthier paleness of her skin, and the strands of her dark hair hanging limp over those sleep-deprived features. Ruby appeared just as concerned while Weiss's curved down lips expressed how she wasn't immune to her teammate's plight either.

Blake lowered her notebook and took in the stares that were directed at her. "What?"

"So Goodwitch mentioned a dance that's happening soon," Yang spoke, volunteering to go first.

Her girlfriend switched back to her and she wondered if the long, drawn-out blink she made was as much as her not getting it as it was her trying to relieve the heaviness that weighed down her lids.

"There's going to be a lot of...uh...dancing going on!" Ruby awkwardly added. "And I'm sure some other stuff. I guess, like, music to go with it since...yeah, I guess you would have music. Um, drinks and maybe food?" She glanced at Yang and Weiss to confirm that and, at their nods, she pushed on with, "Sounds like a lot of fun."

Another slow blink but nothing else.

"Look, Blake," came Weiss. "I'll come right out and say it: we want you to go to the dance."

Blake's eyes widened, better revealing the extent of her bloodshot eyes. "What?"

"The dance this weekend," Yang further clarified, honestly believing that it was needed. "We all want you to go."

A new set of lines became evident on Blake's face as she regarded her teammates, shock giving way to agitation. "I don't have time for a stupid dance."

"Blake, we're worried about you. This investigation is starting to mess with your head."

"You can't sleep, you hardly eat," Weiss listed with a tick of her fingers. "And to be honest, your grades have been suffering."

"You think I care about grades?" Blake snapped. "People's lives are at stake!"

Yang placed a hand on her shoulder, both as support and to prevent her from attracting any unnecessary attention with her shouts. "We know, and we're all still trying to figure out more about what Torchwick and the White Fang are up to."

"It's thanks to you and Sun that we know they're operating somewhere outside of southeast Vale in the first place," Ruby said.

"We'll be able to strike at them soon," Weiss assisted. "We've got a better idea of their activities in Vale thanks to the Schnee Dust Company's records."

"And their missing military tech," Yang added.

Blake shrugged off Yang's supportive hand. "But there are still unanswered questions!"

Ruby frowned while she again examined her teammate's state. "Blake, you won't be able to find anything if you can't even keep your eyes open."

"All we're asking is for you to take it easy for one day," Yang pleaded.

"It will be fun," Weiss chimed in. "Yang and I will make sure of it."

"Yeah! We're planning the whole event!"

Blake swiveled her head between the yellow and white pair. "Excuse me?"

The faunus hadn't been the only one who had been busy. Her efforts in trying to uncover more about their enemies' plans allowed Weiss and Yang to fulfill their obligations to prepare for the dance in secret, both of them having spent plenty of time and effort to come up with ideas and agreeing on what they would implement while Blake remained unaware. It had been meant as a surprise with the two planners only now choosing to unveil it in a bid to get Blake to relax.

"Team CFVY's away mission lasted longer than expected," Weiss explained.

"So Weiss and I were asked to pick up where they left off." Yang smiled brightly at her girlfriend. "And now we can make sure that you have the perfect night."

"And once it's all over, we'll return to our search - rested and ready."

"So what do you think?" Ruby asked, her grin exhibiting the hope that Blake would agree with their plan.

The faunus sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing at them with her free hand. For just a moment, Yang let herself believe that Blake was actually going to agree. Unfortunately, she knew they were all going to be disappointed for, when Blake opened her eyes, it was to see them having hardened with irritation. "I think this is a colossal waste of time." She singled out Yang and there was something else that was added with her ire. "I thought you of all people would get that."

The disappointment that she not only saw bared on her face but felt all too acutely left Yang stunned with the hurt that it bred. It kept her frozen when Blake turned away from them all and proceeded down one of the courtyard's stone paths to drift away from them, shutting them out in favor of the notebook she returned to.

"She can't keep going like this," Weiss stated.

Yang didn't reply, experiencing a chilling sense of deja vu as she viewed Blake walking down that path. Determined, her mind set on her objective, but not realizing the toll it was taking on her body...or what it was doing to those who cared about her.

"I guess she's still being all...Blake-y?"

Yang glanced over to see Sun having joined them. "Yeah, you can say that."

Neptune had accompanied his partner and was engaging in a conversation with Weiss who was smiling as they spoke, obviously happy to see him. Ruby was with them but rather than talking she was covertly inspecting Neptune's weapon while he was distracted, having yet to get that good look at it like he originally promised her.

"Did anything happen when you two were at the rally?" Yang asked, lowering her voice. With her having been out of it for those couple of days, the investigation, and she and Weiss having focused so much on the dance, she never got the full story about what may've gone on. Maybe something that could explain more about Blake's behavior.

"You mean other than Roman discovering us and chasing us across half the city in his mech?"

"Yeah, besides that."

Sun had quirked a grin but smoothed it over. "Well before that whole thing...I hate to say it but you were right."

That got her worried and she immediately began assuming just how it was that Roman had discovered the two of them in the first place. "She didn't try to attack Torchwick or anything crazy like that, did she?"

Sun quickly shook his head. "Oh, no! It was just bad luck that he happened to see us when he did. She didn't do anything like that but..." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Honestly, I would've maybe felt better if she had done that."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"No, I suppose not." Sun stared out to where Blake had been traveling. She had disappeared at this point but his distant look said that he hadn't meant to regain sight of her. "There were a lot of faunus there - as many as a hundred I'd wager. I wasn't really paying attention but I think Blake may've been surprised with just how many there were. That wasn't what got me worried though. That would be when Torchwick came up on stage."

"What happened after that?" Yang asked.

"A lot of the White Fang seemed pretty chill with him there but there were others who weren't happy seeing him. Other than showing off that Paladin, he made this big speech about all the injustices that humans have done to faunus, how they're so evil, what the Fang is doing is right - blah, blah, blah." Sun shrugged. "He won them all over with that somehow but what scared me was that Blake was listening to him too. She got fired up like the rest of them, started telling me just what it was like in the White Fang and what humans had done to push them that far and...she just seemed really angry."

Yang saw the shudder that went down his spine and travel all the way down to his tail. "We were wearing those masks at the time and, I'll admit it, it spooked me with how she was acting before I snapped her out of it. She said that she could've been one of them."

Yang's brow furrowed with concern, briefly remembering how Blake had opened up to her and spoke of the anger that had been her own - was still her own, and hearing Sun made that abundantly clear. "That was what I was worried about. I was afraid that being at such a place with the White Fang might give her bad memories and...well, I guess I was right. I'm glad you were there, Sun. Thanks."

"Hey, anytime. So what do we do now?"

Unfortunately, the answer for that remained the same. "For now, we wait. We got the dance coming up and I want her to go. Get her to relax, have fun, and just get the White Fang out of her mind for a night. Maybe that'll help."

"I could ask her to go with me," Sun suggested. "Maybe I could convince her to come and...oh, no?"

Yang's features had begun to darken at the suggestion, Sun only getting it when her eyes had narrowed into slits. "No. I'll take her if I can convince her, thank you very much."

Sun leaned slightly away from her. "Yeah, sure, no problem. I was thinking that it might've been kind of lame anyway with suits and ties and all. Well if you need anything else..."

"There is one thing I wanted to ask." Yang angled her head to better stick him with that severe look. "On the subject of help, I can't help but wonder where you and Neptune had gone off to during the fight. You two couldn't have been knocked that far away from where we were fighting Torchwick."

"Oh, that?" He chuckled nervously and added a step between them. "The police were coming in and I figured you guys would be fine so-"

"Neptune!"

Sun's partner turned to Yang at hearing his name.

"What were you and Sun doing while we were fighting Roman?"

"That? We were..." What had to be the beginnings of a lie dissolved when he saw himself at the receiving end of the same look that Yang had given Sun. "We were eating at a noodle bar!"

"Dammit, Nep!"

"Sun said you would be fine!"

"I can't trust you with anything!"

"I am not dying for you and a plate of street-side noodles!"


Weiss placed the two samples on the table and slid them towards Ruby. "I need you to pick a tablecloth."

Ruby, who had her head resting on top of her folded arms, lifted her chin just enough to examine the two squares of fabric. Her gaze slid from one to the other, appearing more and more confused. Understandable as, even with her refined tastes, Weiss was having trouble picking between pearl white and ivory. Both suited her needs equally so the logical strategy was to get another's opinion to break her out of her quandary.

"Aren't they both the same?" Ruby finally asked.

...Given that the second opinion was actually helpful. Bunching the samples together in her frustration, Weiss huffed, "I don't even know why I asked!"

Ruby just dropped her chin back onto her arms by the time Weiss turned away. Her next order of business was at the other side of the ballroom, boxes stacked upon one of the unclothed tables that they had dragged in with more to follow. She happened to pass by Yang who was carrying a heavy speaker that had to be nearly twice as tall as she was, its destination being with the others that were gathered on and around the stage where the DJ was to set up.

A few of the decorations were already in place. Streamers rose and fell up high from where they were tied to perfectly-lined chandeliers decorated with multi-colored balloons. Chairs were lined up along the side, ready to be positioned once the rest of the tables were brought in, including a long one that would carry the punch bowl and other refreshments. By the time tomorrow night came, everything would be ready.

Weiss broke the seal on top of the first box to open it and retrieve one of the pure white paper lace doilies. She set it down and placed the tablecloth samples on either side. Stepping back with a hand on her chin, she spent a minute silently deliberating the best course of action before deciding on ivory. Just the right shade where the doilies would stand out just enough without blending too much with the cloth.

Her sense of accomplishment was stymied when she regarded her fellow planners. Ruby was still lying hunched over on the table, busying herself with scratching her nails against the wood but uncaring of what she would carve out of it. Yang was crouched behind the speaker she set down, shifting through the extension cords to plug into the back but, like her sister, her movements lacked any real sense of purpose.

Weiss took the doily and her chosen cloth, heading over to Yang who she held the items out to. "What do you think?"

"Hm?" Yang gave them a cursory glance. "They're fine." She went back to the cords that she fiddled with.

The fencer frowned. Yang had earlier refused the idea of doilies but Weiss had gone behind her back and ordered them anyway. She had been counting on a reaction from her at seeing them and was ready to counter any objections by denying her her fog machines.

Weiss knew what this was about - not just Yang's attitude but also Ruby's. It was Blake, their teammate's rejection of coming to the dance taking away all meaning for the work on an event that had been meant for her. While she hid away in the library following up on what Weiss could only guess was empty leads at this point - this being under the assumption of her having even come up with any as Blake hadn't given them any kind of results -, they had been working hard to try and surprise her with a fun night out to counter all the craziness they've all been put through lately.

Weiss's first instinct was to be mad at the faunus. To accuse her of being ungrateful for what they were doing for her and the rest of the school.

But that's not true, is it? No, Weiss could see that despite the ridiculous lengths that Blake was going to, it wasn't for selfish reasons. Besides, she would be the crazy one if she was to seriously argue that attending a school dance was more important than discovering more details on what could very well be a terrorist attack on Vale.

Except they really had nothing else to go on. They were at a dead end but only until they were able to go on their mission that they'll use as a cover to investigate further. What Blake was doing was wasting time and energy. If she kept going...

We need to get her to stop, Weiss declared. It doesn't have to be a dance. Just...something. Given their relationship, she believed that Yang was the best hope for that.

She knelt down next to Yang but she didn't react, whether because she didn't notice or she preferred ignoring Weiss in favor of passing extension cords back and forth between her hands. "Yang, are you sure this is the best idea?"

"Relax, princess," Yang replied. "I know what I'm doing."

Weiss shook her head. "No, not that. I meant about Blake. Maybe you should go talk to her."

"We still have a few more things to do."

"Nothing that can't be finished before tomorrow night. Look, Yang, do you really think that this is what you should be doing right now? You just saw what this whole thing is doing to Blake."

"That's why I want to get everything for the dance done," Yang explained as she plugged in the speaker. "I want the night to be perfect for her so that she'll be able to relax and forget about everything, if only for that one night."

Weiss frowned a bit. "Don't you think that the better thing to do is talk to her?"

"Yeah, 'cause that went so well before." She tried to cover it up with this more off-handed approach but Weiss saw the slowing of her movements. Although she finished with the speaker, Yang's palms rested against it as she stared off into space. "It's just...it's more than just getting her to relax. Once I learned the truth about Blake and what she had gone through while growing up with the White Fang, I couldn't help but think of all that she lost or missed out on whether because of all the prejudice against the faunus or just her fighting against it. The reason I want to make tomorrow night perfect for her is because I want her to experience some of the joys in life that she missed out on."

Weiss silently nodded although it wasn't a full conscious effort on her part, Yang's explanation appealedto her and the reasons as to why she chose to volunteer and put so much effort into the dance as well. "I can sympathize with that but I don't think it's the dance that Blake really needs right now. Believe it or not, I can understand what she's going through."

Seeing Blake and her getting worse each day reminded Weiss more and more of when she had gone through something similar. It had only been weeks ago and she could still remember all too vividly of when Ruby had nearly been killed, when she had bonded to her, and the three days afterwards when Ruby had been in the hospital with Weiss being forced to go through the aftermath of not only nearly losing her partner but the pain that came with their separation. She had initially thought that she needed to break their bond in order to get the pain to stop and revert back to her former, lonely self.

It was only when she went to the hospital and found herself taking solace in Ruby's arms that she realized that what she really needed was for someone to share her burdens with. Proof that she didn't have to face the world and its problems by herself.

"What Blake really needs is you," Weiss said. "She's taking too much of this on herself. She feels responsible for not only the White Fang being here but for you getting hurt. You need to show her that she's not alone and that you'll be there for her. That everything will be okay."

Yang was quiet the entire time, lost in thought. She eventually nodded. "You're right; I should go talk to her." She lifted her head to look at Weiss, smiling appreciatively. "Thanks, Weiss. You really do care, don't you?"

"Why would you ask something like that?" Weiss crossed her arms tight against her chest and experienced a sudden urge to turn her gaze off to the side. "Of course I care."

"I'm glad to see that Blake is included too."

"Why wouldn't she be? I told Ruby before that I don't hate her." She shuffled uncomfortably. "I may even go as far as to admit that we might be more similar than I thought given our...backgrounds. In any case, it's not just her that I'm worried about. I worry about our team and considering what we're going up against, I want to do all I can to make sure that we can fight and work together. So why don't you stop messing with that thing and go see to your partner?"

"Yeah, I will." Yang stood up. "But first..."

Before Weiss could ask what it was, Yang stepped towards her unexpectedly and she stiffened when the taller girl brought her into a hug.

"I never did apologize for that one time," Yang explained. "When I called you stone cold and almost...well, you know."

It took longer than it should've for Weiss to realize what Yang was talking about, her ability to think stalling out with this sudden closeness and warmth that she was still trying to get used to. With Yang it was more disorienting as Weiss couldn't remember thinking the brawler as that much bigger than her. Those strong arms that held her smaller frame and how Yang's chin touched the top of her head to demonstrate the height difference between them.

"We both said things that we regret," Weiss nonetheless replied, unable to do anything else with how still she became. "It's something else that I'm in favor of forgetting about."

Yang chuckled, Weiss not only able to hear but feel it with the vibrations transferring between them along with the warmth. "Consider it forgotten." Thankfully the embrace didn't last, Yang separating but she didn't let it end there, patting the top of Weiss's head. "I'm glad you're with us, Weiss. Thanks for all your help."

She walked past Weiss but the fencer didn't turn after her as she remained stationary. It was when the sound of Yang's heavy boots receded that Weiss moved, touching the top of her head where she had been patted.

Weiss spun around, the last traces of a lingering smile being erased as she switched priorities again. "So, Ruby."

Ruby had lifted her head back up in order to watch her sister leave with the curiosity which she then directed to Weiss

"Have you picked out a dress yet?"


Blake's fingers tapped against the keyboard, the repetition of the last few days being responsible for her hitting the right keys rather than any margin of attention that she wasn't devoting to the task. The screen was all but incomprehensible: a green block with words that were blurred together. The ones that Blake wanted - that she needed - to see weren't on this page and her finger was already tapping to the next page of results.

It was all repetition at this point. Begin her search with today's news articles, try and fail to find the name 'White Fang' featured with any prominence, and then when that didn't work she went through her memorized checklist of other words, names, and phrases that she was just retyping for a different day. Uses of Dust, southeast Vale, Roman Torchwick, Paladin, Atlas military, and any other ones - new or old - that would come to mind and would immediately type in.

It went about as well as one would expect. Much like yesterday, she was surfing through pages and articles that she had already visited and revisited with the rare few that she had yet to examine amounting to virtually nothing. There was very little change with her just going through the motions.

Her inadequate findings were just another burden that was weighing her down with all the others. The ones that made her lids lower halfway, cause her chin to droop, and then with a jerk she was up again, another short-lived burst of energy having her type in another search or click another article and then the process repeated as it all began to drain out of her.

She was very aware of how exhausted she was and she had given sleep a try when there came moments where she had to admit that she needed it. Yet when she would lie on her bed, concede the fight to her body's needs and let her eyes close, a reversal would occur. Her mind would suddenly be abuzz, questioning her with what she hadn't done or hadn't checked. Worst of all, she would ask herself as to what were Roman and the White Fang doing at that moment when she was laying there doing nothing to foil what they were planning.

Her heart would race. The exhaustion that she had struggled against and was then allowing to win became absent, leaving her to toss and turn restlessly on her bunk. Soon she'd be reaching for her scroll or a textbook, reasoning that she could go on for just another hour or so until she decided that she was ready for that sleep.

She wasn't sure if she succeeded. There were instances where she thought she slept; moments when she'd close her eyes and when she would open them again and see the clock, more time than what she considered as reasonable had been added to it.

When those moments did occur, she figured that it was enough for her to keep going.

It was for them that she was doing it for. Yang, Ruby, Weiss - her team. Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora - their friends. Sun and Velvet - those who had their own stake in this whether they knew it or not because of what they were and what it would mean if this conflict was allowed to grow and play out.

Somewhere beneath all of them, she was doing this for herself too despite what her state may say otherwise.

What haven't I checked? she wondered, staring tiredly at the screen. There's gotta be something. Where haven't I - huh?

Blake's attention snapped to the little red dot that appeared on the middle of the screen without warning. It spun around in a small little circle and began moving up and down, Blake stupidly following its movements with the ridiculous notion that she had perhaps clicked on something and it was the terminal she was accessing that was responsible for it.

She quickly understood that that wasn't the case even before the red dot slid down and off the screen in order to move onto the back of her hand. She lifted her hand, the dot sticking with it.

No, someone had to be doing this. Blake looked behind her, trying to pinpoint the culprit and saw that it was going to be difficult. She wasn't the only one in the library with students seated at the other study tables or navigating through the shelves, making it impossible for her to single out any one person who could be responsible for the interruption.

The dot had vanished by the time she returned to her screen and she carried the hope that whatever that was was now over with. Maybe she had been seeing things with her lack of sleep finally getting to her.

The dot appearing on the same hand again said she was wrong in that assumption.

Increased irritability was one consequence of her lack of sleep and having someone pulling something so childish on her - not to mention it being a stereotype that played on her feline heritage - had Blake spinning around in her chair with narrowed eyes and gritted teeth. Still she couldn't find anyone and the red dot had once again disappeared.

She was prepared for when it appeared for a third time and she tried to ignore it. It was a battle she lost instantly, the red light having chosen to appear on the center of the screen again where it moved in a left-to-right pattern before breaking off to perform figure eights. It worked too well as a distraction and if ever asked Blake would argue it was due to her exhaustion that had her so fixated on it that her eyes tracked it the whole time before she closed them, growled, and slammed her fists onto the edge of the table.

Her chair violently scraped along the floor while sliding back as she stood and whirled around, intent on putting an end to this once and for all, but again there was nothing. Nothing save for the red dot that, rather than disappear again, was currently at her feet. It slowly began to move away from her.

Unfortunately for her, she knew when something was telling her to follow it and with no other choice she did just that, feet stomping after it. It kept just ahead of her toes, tempting her, and Blake gave in when a couple of her steps were made in an attempt to smash directly onto it with, obviously, no effect. Only when it led her to the end of one row of bookshelves did it pull further away and disappear around the last shelf. She spun around to continue the chase - and nearly bumped right into Yang.

"Hellllooo~" Yang greeted, waving her hand with a laser pointer held between her fingers.

Blake stared at her with surprise. "What are you-?"

Her partner reached out and grabbed her wrist. "We need to talk."

Blake made a noise at the sudden yank that had her stumbling after Yang, any attempt to pull free immediately proven to be futile with the grip that was on her wrist - not tight enough to hurt, but enough where the faunus wasn't going to be able to remove her arm without the effort that she knew she couldn't make. "Yang, I was in the middle of something!"

"Yeah, when haven't you been lately?" Yang asked, her back to Blake while she kept moving, effortlessly dragging the darker ninja behind her.

"Whatever you're up to, I don't have time for it."

"You know what, Blake? You're about to make time for it whether you want to or not."

The steel in her voice and the miniscule tightening of her fingers almost made Blake surrender. Almost. "If this is about the dance, I already told you that I'm not interested."

"It actually isn't. So why don't you wait until you hear what it is?"

"Can't you just tell me now?" Blake asked, wondering why walking needed to be involved.

"No."

Blake was rendered silent after that rebuke, unable to do anything other than follow Yang as they turned a corner, then another. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long to find out where her girlfriend was taking her, Yang stopping and pushing open the imposing double doors of a lecture hall.

When Yang entered, pulling Blake along, it was to see that it was a currently empty lecture hall – devoid of any sign of life save for the two of them which made her question if Yang had planned at least this far ahead. The blonde took a second to close the doors behind them and then descended down the stairs in order to reach the absent professor's desk, not once letting go of Blake who was forced to follow. Only when they cleared the last step did Yang loosen her grip and let her hand drop away so that she could boost herself up onto one side of the expansive desk, folding her legs together.

Blake didn't give her a chance to speak, already doing so when Yang rotated to her. "Yang, if you're going to tell me to stop, you might as well save your breath."

"I don't want you to stop," Yang replied, her tone and features having softened. "I want you to slow down."

Blake narrowed her eyes, wondering what kind of game she was playing. "We don't have the luxury to slow down."

"It's not a luxury; it's a necessity."

The soft, easy words played at Blake's exhaustion and she shook her head against the subtle manipulation, raising her own in response. "The necessity is stopping Torchwick."

"And we're going to," Yang gently assured, the faunus failing to break the serenity she emanated. She tapped the empty side of the desk with her hand. "But first, you need to sit down and hear what I have to say."

Blake glanced at the closed doors, contemplated on running, and caught on to the futility of it. Yang would probably stop her and, in her state, she wouldn't be able to outrun her if she did pursue. Even if she did manage to escape, Yang would just track her down again. It was best to get this over with.

"Fine," Blake sighed, sliding onto the designated spot.

Yang appeared pleased, waiting until Blake settled herself before she began. "Ruby and I grew up in Patch: an island just off the coast of Vale."

Blake quirked a brow but stayed quiet. She knew of the island and that the sisters hailed from it so that wasn't what piqued her interest. What she was interested in was what this had anything to do with Roman and the White Fang.

"Our parents were Huntsmen," Yang continued. "Our dad taught at Signal and our mom would take on missions around the kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose." A wistful smile, one full of warmth and fondness of a cherished memory, blossomed at her face. "And she was like, Supermom: baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters."

The tips of her lips fell as did her gaze, the warmth draining from them as Yang gazed down at her folded legs. "And then, one day she went on a mission and never came back. It was tough. Ruby was really torn up but…I think she was really still too young to get what was going on, you know?"

Blake didn't reply although she hoped she mustered up an expression of sympathy when sad lilac eyes slid up to her. And with it, perhaps a measure of understanding.

She…couldn't remember her mother. For as long as Blake knew, the White Fang had been the only thing that she could consider as family. There had been faunus who looked after her, older members of both genders who took care of and tried to establish themselves as mother and father figures, but Blake couldn't remember having one like Yang and Ruby's – or a normal family life at all, really.

Like Ruby, she had probably just been too young at the time; unable to understand the full significance of losing someone like that and, thus, leave any lasting impressions or memories that would've made their disappearance so painful. That, and she had been raised by others to uphold a commitment that took a higher priority in her life.

She supposed that she should've felt unfortunate in that regard but…she couldn't really miss what she never really had to begin with.

"My dad kind of…shut down." Unlike her though, she could get a clear reading of pain from Yang. "It wasn't long before I learned why. Summer wasn't the first love he'd lost; she was his second. The first…was my mom."

It took a second for the significance of the statement to hit. When it did, Blake couldn't stop the widening of her eyes, her mouth hanging open an inch. She had wondered, but never truly considered the possibility…

Yang and Ruby looking so different from one another she passed off as nothing: simply one sibling possessing more of the features of one parent while the other had the characteristics of another. Even the difference of their names hadn't derived any special scrutiny. Naming conventions were anything but standard on Remnant and were made even more diverse in the different kingdoms, human and faunus culture, and even the villages and wandering nomads who abided by their own set of laws. It wasn't unheard of for Huntsmen and Huntresses – particularly those who came from a legacy of some renown – to not give up their family names when married and if they had children they would impart each one with both their names so that they can each be carried on by their offspring.

And just the love that Yang and Ruby held for each other was more than genuine enough for Blake to doubt it to be anything less than sisterly. Then again, for all the times they would mention their family life to their partners, Blake couldn't recall any such stories including their mother – or mothers.

"He wouldn't tell me everything," Yang revealed. "But I learned that the two of them had been on a team together with Summer and Qrow, and that she had left me with him just after I was born." She resumed looking down at her legs. "No one has seen her since."

"Why did she leave you?" Blake asked, the story having grown enough to temporarily overshadow her own concerns.

Yang breathed out slowly. "That question." She spun around so that her legs were hanging off the edge of the desk. "Why?" She pushed herself off to stand in front of the chalkboard located behind it. "I didn't know the answer but I was determined to find out."

She picked up a piece of chalk. "It was all I thought about. I would ask anybody I could what they knew about her." She held it up to the board, drawing a single, curved line to mark the beginning of the story. "Then, one day…I found something. What I thought was a clue that could lead me to answers…or maybe even my mother."

Blake didn't make any comment, watching silently as Yang kept drawing and speaking.

"I waited for dad to leave the house, put Ruby in a wagon, and headed out." The long line was joined by another. "We must've walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises; I was totally exhausted. But I wasn't going to let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand."

Yang kept adding lines, lengthening them, and then curved back to form what Blake could only describe as an elongated, feathered C. "But I didn't care – I had made it." She moved the chalk to the mouth of the C, stabbing the tip into the board hard. "And then I saw them. Those burning red eyes…" She drew a circle, the motion made with enough force that the chalk screeched as it was moved.

"There we were," she scoffed. "A toddler asleep in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter."

The circle, as it turned out, wasn't that. Yang had the teeth of what was really a cog located inwards. Its position gave it the appearance of an eyeball with that C being a feathered brow.

"But," she went on, "as luck would have it, our uncle showed up just in time." Her last addition to the image was a smaller cog, the teeth positioned outwards. If the larger one was the eye, than this one was the pupil. It wasn't centered though, instead located higher up and to the left as if looking at something out at the corner of its vision.

Her drawing, and story, apparently finished, Yang set the chalk down, her shoulders and head following it as she stood slumped, appearing ashamed under the gaze of the makeshift eye. "My stubbornness should've gotten us killed that night."

Blake shifted on the desk, repeating Yang's actions as her legs briefly hung over the edge before she got off. Her voice was low and she hoped that Yang would know that her compassion was sincere as she said, "Yang, I'm sorry that happened to you, and I understand what you're trying to tell me…" She stood straight, staring resolutely at her partner's back. "But this is different. I'm not a child and this isn't just a search for answers. I can't just-"

"I told you," Yang interrupted sternly and Blake could make out how she was tightening her grip on the short ledge of the chalkboard. "I'm not telling you to stop. I haven't. 'Till this day I still want to know what happened to my mother and why she left me. But I will never let that search control me. We're going to find the answers we're looking for, Blake, but if we destroy ourselves in the process then what good are we?"

Frustration boiled, Blake's own hands curling into fists. "You don't understand; I'm the only one who can do this!"

"No, you don't understand!" Yang whirled around and Blake had to prevent herself from flinching at her own burning red eyes that stared angrily at her. The blonde pointed back towards the door of the classroom. "If Roman Torchwick walked through that door, what would you do?"

Blake remained steadfast, gazing straight into the heart of that molten fury while she tensed in preparation. "I'd fight him!"

She saw the attack coming and her arms came up to block but it was useless as Yang lashed out with a shove that knocked her back against the desk. "You'd lose!"

Blake struck back, pushing off the desk and using the momentum and all the strength she had to respond. "I can stop him!"

Compared to how Yang nearly knocked her over the furniture, the few inches that Blake managed to achieve in moving the brawler's shoulder back were pitiful. "You can't even stop me!"

Yang's next shove was harder and this time Blake nearly toppled over the desk, her hands slamming down onto the surface to stop herself and leaving her sprawled on top of it. She twisted around, glaring up at Yang who stood indomitably, her eyes still burning.

Despite such opposition, Blake lifted herself back up as she had done before – as she's been doing. Even against Yang she rose, her muscles tensing while her mind latched onto the single-minded purpose to keep going.

She couldn't stop. Couldn't slow down. If she did either and something happened, how could she live with herself if she couldn't say that she had done everything that she could to stop it? That she had searched and looked and fought with all that she had?

It was her fault. She helped bring the Fang here. It was her responsibility. Hers to make right. She was the only one who could.

Yang wasn't waiting, already closing the distance to continue.

It was Yang she was doing it for. For her, for Ruby, for Weiss – everyone. To make sure that they wouldn't pay for her mistakes. That they wouldn't get hurt again. She couldn't let anything happen to them. She couldn't-

Yang's shadow fell over her, Blake bracing for the next assault - and then jolting in surprise when those arms didn't savagely attack but drew her into a tender embrace.

"I'm not asking you to stop," Yang said quietly, resting her head on top of Blake's shoulder. "Just please, get some rest. Not just for you, but for the people you care about."

Blake was still, looking off to the side where nothing but her partner's golden mane was to be seen, the tips of those curls brushing against her cheeks as tenderly as Yang's hold on her.

This…this was familiar. Not just the hug but…they've done all this before. Blake having been put at the forefront of Yang's fury, she having been expecting the girl to strike her down, only to find herself being enveloped with what had really been worry for her wellbeing and utter relief that she was safe.

The docks. When Yang found her. When she had been throwing herself at Torchwick and the White Fang like she was now. When she got her to stop just like this.

But there was a difference. Along with her own natural warmth, what Blake felt was Yang's own Aura enshrouding her. While she was immersed in its radiance though, it was their bond that gave her a look deep into its source.

And it wasn't pure. It was tainted. Contaminated.

"Please, Blake," Yang whispered. "Don't leave. Not again."

It was her. The shroud that dimmed the luminous core was of Blake's making. The fibers that constructed this web of anguish that darkened her girlfriend's essence.

She was already hurting Yang. All her efforts to try and protect her from harm were doing the reverse.

And I had…done this before too.

Had this been what Yang had gone through when she ran from her team last time? The days she hid, leaving Yang to worry about her safety? She had heard Yang's relief in her tears, felt it in her arms, but never had she been able to see so deep into her soul to witness the damage that Blake had caused with her actions.

And remind her of how another had left her with no explanation.

Tears gathered in Blake's eyes and there was nothing to interrupt them this time. When her arms finally came up, her hands clutching onto Yang's jacket, it was not to throw them to safety but draw her closer. She buried her face into the leather.

"I'm sorry," came her muffled words.

"It's all right, Blake," Yang spoke, rubbing her back.

But it wasn't. She had done it once, swore that she wouldn't do it again, but here she was now, seeing for herself just what that same foolishness had done. Guilt and her gathered exhaustion broke her down and Blake was clinging to Yang for support. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

Blake shook against Yang in time with her muffled sobs. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Yang rocked along her heels, trying to calm her with the comforting back-and-forth movement of their bodies. "You're here now and that's all that matters."

It was another thing that had taken too long to learn but Blake tearfully agreed: this was all that mattered.


Weiss used the long mirror of to the side to help with her final touches. She shifted the black mesh to a comfortable position on her shoulders, smoothed down the white silk of the dress, and finished with a couple tugs on the skirt. It was a perfect fit, the dress hugging tightly to her form save for where the sides of her waist were bared due to how the material of the dress slanted inwards upon reaching her ribs, covering her navel and smash of her back before going to the skirt.

It was a good mix of colors, blending well with her own natural beauty such as her hair and pale complexion if she was able to say so herself. Without a doubt, this dress was perfect for her.

But once again she found herself desiring a second opinion. Once she was sure the dress was properly fitted, she pulled the curtain of the dressing room to the side and stepped on through, spinning gracefully on the heels of her pumps to show it all off before coming to a stop. "Well, what do you think?"

Ruby had been sitting idly by in front of the fitting room of the clothing boutique, lazily swinging her legs until Weiss appeared. Giving her partner her full attention, Ruby's gaze swept up and down along Weiss and, unlike the doilies, there was true appreciation to be found with her risen brows and impressed smile. "Very pretty! You look great!"

Weiss held her chin up high at the praise, a movement that had become instinctive but the heiress noted that she was holding it higher than usual. "Naturally. I'll change back into my clothes and we'll see how you look in yours."

Returning to the fitting room and closing the curtain back behind her, Weiss went to her hanging combat attire, first checking the pocket of her jacket for her scroll to look for any new messages. She was rewarded with one that was tagged as from Yang and it was after reading it that she smiled.

Taking the rest of the day off, huh? Weiss mused, comprehending the subtext of the message without Yang's atrocious use of a crude emotional face at the end. She thought it safe to assume that things were going well with the latter half of RWBY which was what she hoped for by taking this little trip with Ruby when Weiss discovered that her leader hadn't made the most basic preparation of choosing out a dress for the dance, giving time for Yang to talk some sense into Blake which she hopefully had just done.

Weiss chose to believe it, if only to remove that worry from Ruby's mind as well. While undoing the back of her dress, Weiss called out, "I just got a message from Yang. It sounds like her and Blake are going to be fine."

"Are they?" Weiss could barely make out Ruby's relieved sigh. "That's good. I hope that means that Blake is going to be at the dance too."

"She might," Weiss allowed although she knew that just getting the faunus to gain some much-needed sleep was enough.

She changed quickly, no longer needing to worry about giving their teammates as much time as possible which was why she had proposed her and Ruby taking turns on trying out their dresses and let the other critique on it. After folding her dance dress neatly and gathering up her high heels, she left the changing room, leaving the curtain open for Ruby. "Your turn."

Ruby nodded, standing up and picking up her own dress that she left hanging on the back before the two switched places, Weiss seating herself on the chair while Ruby disappeared into the changing room.

The boutique was rather trendy, a quick look around able to tell anyone that its wares were all manner of expensive and flashy and meant for those who would purchase and wear them to make an impression. There were even holo-units scattered amongst the stores that were meant for patrons to customize their own dresses if they were unsatisfied with the ones displayed on the racks. They could trim and lengthen skirts, color them however they wanted, and then place their orders and have them sent to their homes.

The place screamed expensive and Weiss had noticed how uncomfortable Ruby was upon first walking through the door and nearly getting overwhelmed when she saw the price tags on the initial samples that Weiss held out for her to examine. It had been one that Weiss had selected beforehand and she took it upon herself to guide Ruby through it, her assistance slowly easing the younger girl into the environment. She was still nervous about the pricing and their travels had been restricted to styles and brands that were the least expensive. Weiss had yet to mention that price was something that she wasn't going to have to worry about as it was her partner who was going to pay for everything.

It got Ruby's mind off of Blake at least, it being plain that she was still worried about her teammate during the flight to Vale and walk to the store. Weiss had taken care to not bring it back up but, with the matter apparently settled, those worries no longer mattered as she raised her voice so that Ruby could hear her through the curtains. "So do you have a date for the dance?"

"Huh?" The rustling paused, Ruby needing time to digest the question. "Oh, um, no. No one had really asked me to go with them."

"You don't have anyone in mind to ask yourself?"

"Well I don't really know anyone well enough to ask out for something like this," Ruby admitted, clearly embarrassed about the subject. "I mean the only people I really know are Jaune or Ren but I figured that they were going to go with Pyrrha and Nora. Other than them, there's no one else that I can really ask with all my other friends that I could ask still at Signal."

With how close their team was, it sometimes slipped Weiss's mind about Ruby's circumstances and that she did have other friends that she had to leave behind. Despite the progress that Ruby made since first semester, she was still a fifteen-year-old girl, thrust into a whole new environment with a bunch of new people and, with her leadership duties, it was difficult for her to really get to know many other people.

"So what do you expect to do at the dance?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know. I guess just attending could be fun. It's going to be my first time going to something like this. We have dances at Signal and there was going to be one for third-year students but I kinda got transferred here before it happened. But it's totally fine if you guys will be there!"

Weiss smiled softly. "Yeah, I suppose."

"What about you, Weiss? Do you have anyone in mind?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"Is it Neptune?"

Weiss probably shouldn't have been surprised at Ruby's perceptiveness as the answer was pretty obvious but she still was a little. "Yes. I haven't really gotten the chance to ask him though since I've been working so hard on the preparations."

"Yeah, you have," Ruby agreed. "You and Yang both. I figured that you had to have attended a lot of these kind of things though."

"I...have," Weiss hesitantly replied. "I mean I don't have to tell you about how famous my family is. We plan and have events like dinner parties to get business partners together to discuss the future of Schnee Dust."

"I see!" Ruby grunted, having been struggling with something while Weiss spoke. "Oh, that reminds me! The Paladin; your family had some help in making it, right? I thought all your company did was Dust."

Weiss was thankful for the curtain as it prevented Ruby from seeing how her expression fell. "Dust and its different applications. It gives the SDC openings for the various markets, the military chief among them. I don't really know too much about that though so I can't really say much about that."

It was a half-lie. Having been out of contact with her family, Weiss wasn't aware of whatever their most recent exploits were concerning their connections to the Atlesian military but it was an arrangement that had existed for years now. Like all other things, the White Fang was the biggest motivator for that, her father having funded and even set aside scientific personnel for the development of more powerful weapons that were accomplished by using Dust to power them more efficiently. Other than profit, their efforts gave the Schnee family a way to arm themselves with those same weapons that they've helped developed being willingly given to them in their own personal war with the Fang.

It was another aspect of her family that Weiss would like to avoid discussing. "Those parties though, they weren't really for me. I mean they were all business-related with only my father's associates and their heirs attending and I really didn't know anything about them."

"You never got to know any of them?"

"I never had a reason to." Weiss sighed. "All my life, boys have only cared about the perks of my last name. They never really cared about getting to know about me so much as what I would be able to do for them with my family name. When I told you about my singing and how I came to hate it when it became a talent that was exploited...it was kind of like that."

Leaning back against her seat, Weiss stared down at how her legs were crossed with one on top of the other. "It's why I'm putting so much effort into this. This dance has nothing to do with business or politics and Neptune isn't like those other boys either which is why I find him interesting. I just want to have fun and thanks to you and our team, I've been having a lot of fun. The card game and the food fight...those were things I've never done before and even though I didn't really take to most of them...it was fun to try. You guys are my friends, really my only friends, and I'm happy what you and Beacon have done for me."

Ruby was silent and when Weiss looked up when she heard the curtain move, it was to see her having poked her head out of the fitting room to look at her. "I guess I never really thought of it that way even with all that you've told me about you." She smiled. "I hope this all goes really well for you, Weiss. And don't worry, I definitely consider you as one of my best friends!"

That bright smile and the assurance that was not only transmitted through it but through that little spot that was Ruby in her heart got what she was thinking about calling the Ruby-warmth to spread through her, giving birth to her answering smile. "Thank you, Ruby. I'm sure I will."

With a lingering smile, Ruby ducked back into the fitting room to finish changing. "That does make me feel better about going to the dance, even it's without a date. I want to see you guys all have fun."

"Speaking of the others, there was something I wanted to ask you," Weiss said, that 'something' having been bugging her for a while now. "Your sister. Did you know that she...liked girls?"

"Liked? ...Ooooh. Liked. I, um, no I hadn't really known. I mean, Yang had gone out with boys before. Dad always got on her case, especially if she brought them home and he got back from work early but I don't know if she like, liked girls in that way too. Although when I think about it, she did bring home a couple girls home too but I just assumed they were study buddies or, you know, something that wasn't that."

"Do you find that..." Weiss shifted in her seat uncomfortably, trying to find the right word to end the question with but quickly found herself struggling to think of one that wasn't insulting. "...Unusual?"

Ruby was slow in answering and she sounded just as uncomfortable. "I...don't know. I mean, I never went out with anyone - boys or girls. I was having trouble at Signal Academy at the time and with dad giving Yang such a hard time with her dates, it was something that I didn't really want to get into and I never really liked someone like that before anyway. But Blake and Yang seem really happy and maybe it seems a little unusual but it doesn't feel wrong, does it?"

"No, I suppose not," Weiss answered truthfully. "It just never really occurred to me that girls could like other girls like that."

Mostly because it was a concept that had never been brought up in her household when she was growing up. When it came to love, marriage, and the romantic union of two people, it was always spoken as a thing strictly between a man and a woman. Every suitor that had come to try for Weiss's hand had always been male and any discussion of her potential future for marriage by her parents had always been spoken of with a husband in mind. The thought of loving and possibly marrying another girl...it had been unheard of for Weiss until Yang and Blake came into the picture.

Unusual hadn't been all that Weiss thought to describe their relationship and it hadn't been the least flattering word that she came up with. It had been downright weird to her. Maybe even as far as wrong.

Like everything else that had come from Beacon though, Weiss's initial opinions began to give the more she thought and saw of it. Those sneaky shows of affection that their teammates would pass to one another – chaste kisses, squeezes of held hands, gentle embraces, the smiles and affection they carried – and Weiss asking herself if any one of those looked or felt wrong only to come up in negative. Being happy was never wrong and something that Weiss herself wanted to feel more often so she couldn't justifiably say what those two had was wrong. It was just different from what she was used to.

Honestly, a part of her was kind of envious. Having come to compare herself more and more to Blake, the faunus being able to find happiness in the wake of her own troubled past had Weiss wishing that she could do the same.

Unlike everything else that was different and what she partook in regardless though, she doubted she would do so in the same way that Blake did: finding it with another girl. It was just something she was wondering if she could accept of other people, not reject. She was satisfied that she found the answer that she could and she didn't need to stay on the subject anymore.

"Are you done yet?" Weiss asked in order to better remove herself from it. Even if Ruby required more time to change due to the nature of her outfits, it shouldn't be taking her this long.

Ruby was so slow in answering that Weiss almost asked the question again with the thought that she didn't hear her before her timid answer finally came. "Yeah, I am."

"Well hurry up and let me see!"

There came a bit more hesitation with Weiss wondering why that was. Finally, the curtain was slid to the side and out stepped Ruby.

Weiss quietly appraised her partner's dress. It was somewhat similar to her own in some aspects, sleeveless, with Ruby having chosen one with the same mesh material that went over her shoulders and down to cover her chest. The dress itself – red and black, of course, not that Weiss could really judge her for it – was of red silk that was split at her chest, bound together with strings reminiscent of the corset of her regular attire. Rather than let any of her skin show at the middle, a black sash was tied around her waist before the dress fell to its flowing red skirt with its black trimmings.

The snowy princess tilted her head slightly to the side to get a better angle on Ruby and the strange question came of why no one would bother asking the young girl out. Sure, she was the youngest at Beacon, but she was already showing the beginnings of an attractive young woman with the slight plump – remnant baby fat or consumption of sweets both valid reasons for it – at areas such as her stomach and hips made up for what puberty had yet to fully hit her with. Then there were the signs of what she did have and-

Wait a minute.

Somehow Weiss didn't know how it hadn't been the first thing that she should've noticed. Having gone down to admire the black pantyhose that clung to Ruby's legs, Weiss realized that Ruby was missing something.

"Ruby, where are the heels that I picked out for you?"

Ruby had been fidgeting uneasily during Weiss's examination and at the query she stiffened and looked away from Weiss, proving what the heiress had already been suspecting. Ruby was not wearing the black pumps. She wasn't wearing anything at all!

"I thought that you'd be able to get a better opinion on my dress by not wearing the heels?" If Ruby had stated instead of asking that, Weiss might have actually believed her. If only a little.

"You can't complete the dress without the heels," Weiss argued. "I know you took them in with you so go put them on."

Ruby made no move to do so, still standing uneasily in front of Weiss. "Am I able to wear my boots instead?"

"Are you insane?" The image of that dress with Ruby's standard boots was so atrocious that Weiss banished it before it could even come to mind. "No you can't wear your boots!"

With a groan, Ruby made the two-step trip back to the changing room. When she returned though, it was with the heels in hand and she sat on one of the chairs before she put them on. Weiss said nothing, waiting with arms crossed while she did so…and then made no move at all. Ruby clutched at the edges of the chair, teeth chewing on her bottom lip.

"Well?" Weiss coaxed impatiently.

"Okay," Ruby whispered, so lowly that it was when she whispered it again that Weiss understood that she was saying it to herself. "Okay, okay. Here we go."

The last time Weiss had seen Ruby do something like this was when she was psyching herself up for their midterm exams at the end of the semester. When she was about to ask what was the matter, Ruby pushed herself off the chair, shooting straight up to her feet.

Then she wobbled.

Tipped.

And fell flat on her face.

"Oooowww," she moaned.

There came the slap of Weiss's hand meeting her forehead. Oh, you have got to be kidding me. She lowered her hand to regard the fallen Ruby. "I know you aren't the most coordinated of us but, seriously, this?"

"How can you blame me?" came Ruby's indignant cry as she struggled to get back on her feet. "I'm trying to balance on stilts!" It was those 'stilts' that were giving her trouble, Ruby able to get on her hands and knees but soon finding it impossible to get the thin heels to settle beneath her in order to stand back up.

"Any lady should be able to walk in high heels!" Weiss understood what she said as soon as it left her lips. "Then again, I guess that wouldn't include you, would it?"

"Stop making fun of me and help me!" When Weiss complied and bent down, Ruby desperately clutched onto the hands that were offered to her. "It's not like I ever have a reason to wear these. I can't even begin to understand how you're able to fight in these!"

"They promote balance and dexterity," Weiss lectured, slowly accomplishing in bringing Ruby to her feet. "Much like my fighting style and very unlike yours. Can't your sister walk in heels?" Even with her own boots, Yang had that strut with a swaying that Weiss had to admit was graceful – if showy - and made her believe that the older sister could do well in a pair.

"She does," Ruby quietly admitted. Though she was now on her feet, she didn't relinquish her hold on Weiss's hands with the heiress needing to pull them out and nearly toppling over Ruby again with the small struggle. Without her support, Ruby stood stiffly as if afraid the slightest movement on her part would bring her low again.

"You know, this only proves my point," Weiss said, referring to the current posture.

Ruby pouted, the only thing she was brave enough to perform.

"Alright, look. There isn't anything to this; they're like any other kind of footwear. Land on the heel, then the toes. This isn't like the stomping that I know you're more accustomed to. Watch."

Weiss took several steps back in order to attain the needed space. With Ruby watching, Weiss walked around in front of her. As she was taught, Weiss held herself poised with the lifting of her chin. When she walked, there was no thought to it. She took her first step with her left, landing perfectly on the heel with an audible tap and rolling her foot onto the toes. With her next one, her right leg swung around her left in order to bring her foot in front of the other, repeating the action with the added effect of a small swaying of her hips.

Back and forth she went, her spin just as artful when she rotated around to continue. Her arms were down, her hands moving alongside her hips with a rolling of her shoulders. A show of dignity that grabbed attention in its own way as it had done in the past. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ruby staring harder than she probably needed, doing her best to make out and memorize every detail that was shown.

Weiss did seven laps before stopping and refacing Ruby. "Alright, now you try."

Concentration immediately caved and Ruby stood nervously. "Could you stand close? Just in case."

Weiss rolled her eyes but complied. Ruby seemed willing to make the effort at least although out of all the things Weiss expected to teach and help Ruby with, this had not been one of them. With the proximity of her partner giving her the suitable amount of courage, Ruby made a tiny step forward with Weiss biting back a comment of how she landed on both toes and heel at once.

Her next step was nearly just as disastrous. Her initial 'success' made her confident enough to try and clear a larger amount of space with her next step. Her landing was just as sloppy though and Weiss nearly leapt forward when Ruby wobbled, arms swinging out to balance herself. She remained back though, watching with some growing amusement when Ruby was able to succeed with a few more steps but each one just as wobbly as the last. The girl looked more like she was walking on a tightrope.

After managing to cross a generous distance, Ruby made her attempt to mimic more of Weiss's movements, swinging her back leg around the front. Weiss all but anticipated the fall when she saw the awkward shift of Ruby's hips, her leader already tipping when she brought her foot down with no balance to speak of, heel and foot being knocked over, and then she was crying out, arms now swinging to grab a hold of something as she fell.

Fortunately, Weiss did spring forward in time, clasping Ruby's hands and a quick, forceful pull brought Ruby out of her fall and righting her back up.

"Well it's…progress," Weiss commented, definitely being too generous with that while Ruby stood before her hunched over with a death grip on her partner's hands. "A bit more practice at our dorm might help though I doubt you'll get the needed amount before the dance. At least you'll have some privacy."

Ruby swiveled her head around, having been concentrating so hard on walking that she didn't notice that a couple other customers and associates of the boutique had been discreetly watching and quickly turned away when she spotted them. She caught them though and her cheeks reddened to match her dress while her head sunk low.

Weiss had to admit that it was rather cute but it was probably best to spare her from any more suffering. "Anyway, I think we've spent enough time here. Go change and I'll meet you at the registers."

Relieved didn't even begin to describe Ruby with how quickly she kicked off her heels, only letting go of Weiss once she removed them. Inwardly chuckling, Weiss went to where she left her own outfit, gathering them up.

"Hey, Weiss?"

Weiss looked over her shoulder, seeing Ruby having paused at the mouth of the changing room with her heels in one hand, curtain in the other. "Yes?"

"This was fun," her partner stated, a smile splitting between her still rosy cheeks. She gave a light shake of the heels. "Even with nearly getting a broken ankle."

"I'm glad."

Ruby tilted her head curiously at her. "Was this fun for you?"

The answer came easily as well as the honesty that was in it and the heiress's own smile. "Yes, actually. A lot of fun. Especially the near-broken ankle."

Ruby puffed out her cheeks indignantly, Weiss's chuckle lasting as long as it took the younger girl to forcefully pull the curtain between them and then the fencer was making her way to the registers where she would wait for her. Already Weiss was predicting Ruby's objections when she found out who was paying for everything, blatantly ignoring her wealth and how even a dress at a place like this was nothing to her.

Besides, I owe her more than she'll ever know, Weiss thought while glancing around the interior of the store one last time, this being another thing. Whenever the heiress needed new dresses for a party or clothes in general, typically she would be sized and measured at home and it being the expertise of the best tailors that would decide what the 'perfect' dress would be for her. A few times Weiss had perused through stores but it was in the presence of bodyguards and other means of protection and security.

But never had she done so in the company of someone who she considered as her best friend. Just the two of them and the racks of clothing that they shifted through, commenting on whatever caught their attention – the color, the style, and, in Ruby's case, the price -, before eventually agreeing together as to what to wear.

Then we'd try them on, talk about things like boys while changing, and…

Weiss slowed to a stop within a section that was meant for beauty accessories; lip gloss, concealers, highlighters, mascara – basic makeup. What became the center of her attention though were the neatly-rowed bottles of nail polish. After some silent deliberation, Weiss stepped over to them, selected a couple of colorful bottles that she deemed as suitable matches for her and Ruby's outfits, and then went on her way with them in her possession.


The pain was subdued by a cocoon of soft warmth. Present, but not prominent.

When she opened her eyes, it was to see fire. It was just as contained, the flames burning within the brick fireplace, the space enough for her to feel their own measure of comforting warmth at her face. She watched as they danced upon their wooden stage that burned and charred beneath their feet, so captivated by the spectacle that all she could think about was how pretty and relaxing it was.

The spell was broken by a series of images that passed through her mind's eye in an instant. The worn, rickety cabin, the angry red eyes staring from within which were soon accompanied by the teeth, claws, and snarls of the Beowolves that leapt out. Her on her knees, too tired to run or scream, fated to die along with her sister who slept in the wagon, unknowing of the doom that was about to fall upon them until that last moment. Their lives saved by their uncle and then...

A different kind of terror robbed her of her comforts when she realized that she wasn't alone. Along with the blanket that was wrapped around her, she was being cradled in the arms of the strong presence that held her against him. He wasn't any kind of Grimm but she felt nearly as scared as she did upon sighting the Beowolves that had been ready to devour her.

It all hit her in the wake of his presence. The shame of what she had done, how the task that she had thought to be so pure she now realized had been so incredibly foolish, the guilt for putting herself and her sister in so much danger, and what had nearly happened because of her stupidity. Her quest to put her family back together had nearly destroyed those who were left.

Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision, and it was only because of that that she got the courage to look up at him if only so that she wouldn't be able to see the anger that had to be on his face. The tangled ball of emotions lodged in her throat, choking her, and it was all she could do to breathe. Somewhere in the middle her vain apology was carried with her breaths.

"D-daddy," she whimpered, those tears breaking through to spill down her cheeks. "I'm sorry."

She flinched at the caress at her cheek that did away with the forming wet trails. She attempted to retreat into the folds of the blanket, wishing that she would disappear, but he wouldn't let her. He better tucked her against his chest while he leaned down, his head touching her own to better bring his mouth to her ear.

"It's okay, sunshine," he whispered, fingers stroking through her hair. "You both are back home, safe and sound, and that's all that matters." He tipped his chin up so that his lips could touch her temple. "I'm so, so sorry."

She laid unmoving in his arms, not understanding why he wasn't angry and why he was the one apologizing. It didn't make her feel any better, actually making her feel worse. His soft-spoken words, how he touched her hair and clung to her so tight, it was all just so wrong. Her daddy wasn't supposed to be afraid. He wasn't supposed to be so sad. This was what she had wanted to fix, not make it worse.

The tears returned anew along with the guilt when she understood that this was something else that was her fault. Again came that urge to run and hide but a desperate squeeze from her daddy convinced her not to. So rather than do that, she wiggled one arm out from the blanket, followed by the other, and her bandaged hands grabbed what she could of him while she turned to better press herself against him.

That was how they remained for however long it took before she fell asleep again. The pain of her body and that of her heart soothed by the warmth of the fire and that of their closeness. Of the love and the light that she swore she would never endanger again.


A flex and a quiver there. A twitch and a flick in the other direction. A pause, and then one was making a fluttering motion. Yang watched each move that those ears made the best that she could with Blake tucked so close against her to the point that the furred tips brushed against her chin.

They hadn't bothered to change into their pajamas, Yang having led Blake to her bunk and refusing any deviation. Instead, they stripped what they could; Yang with her jacket, gloves, skirt, and boots, Blake of her vest, shoes, armband, and bow. It was the last that Yang insisted on and Blake hadn't put up a fight.

The faunus was asleep now, having done so almost as soon as Yang joined her on the mattress. Having fought it off for so long and building up such a huge demand for sleep, it had taken advantage of Blake's show of weakness immediately with Yang having been convinced that she wasn't going to make it to her bed. Despite what had to be her deepest sleep, her cat-like ears continued to move, giving Yang this show that was occupying her time.

It had amazed her when she saw them for the first time of just how much they could move and she wondered just how that black bow was able to keep each movement concealed. It still amazed her now but with that amazement was something else: sadness. Each motion of those ears carried with it an emotion that desired to be expressed. Binding those ears and hiding them from sight was hiding a part of Blake from everyone else.

Yang had confronted her about it once. While Blake had revealed everything to her, she hadn't stopped wearing her bow. Their teammates had forgiven and accepted her, their friends in JNPR became entrusted with her secret, and now there were others like Sun and Neptune who knew. Yet still she wore it.

"I just want to avoid unnecessary attention," Blake had explained.

"By hiding," Yang pointed out with a frown, having made clear beforehand as to her feelings on that.

"Not everyone is ready to accept the faunus, even here at Beacon. For now, I just want to avoid unnecessary attention and have people see me for who I am." She refocused on the book she was reading. "Not what I am."

Yang quietly regarded Blake before moving to take a seat at her side. "But being a faunus is part of who you are."

Her partner sighed, snapping her book shut so that she could properly face her. "Yang, I spent most of my life trying to change the world and willingly exposing myself to the opinions of others. I won't say that hiding from them is the right choice nor is it one that I prefer to make but I will say that it's more than just necessity. This time, for this life, I want to take it slow and try to ease into this by having those we know accepting me bit by bit. I don't want them to think of me as part of a race that's different from them and I don't want to force them to see and accept me as a faunus."

"I still don't like it."

"I'm happy right now," Blake said. "At the beginning of first semester, I didn't think I'd be able to be this happy." She leaned over to rest her head against Yang's shoulder who responded by throwing an arm around hers. "You're my world, and I can settle with that."

Yang sat there for a moment, then she snorted. "Was that something you took from your book there?"

Blake nuzzled her cheek against Yang's shoulder, a ripple of amusement going through her. "It might've been."

"You say my puns are bad but then you pull out such a corny romance line." Yang kissed Blake's upturned cheek, giving her a squeeze to go with it. "We'll make this work."

Back in the present, Yang noticed how Blake's cat ears had stilled, the little movements that she had drawn entertainment from having ceased. Acting on a whim, she focused on flaring out her Aura.

She got a reaction instantly. Those cat ears suddenly stood high in attention and the grip that Blake had on her tightened, the faunus shifting deeper against Yang's front. What Yang couldn't see but feel was how Blake's Aura reached out in response, the energies of her soul clinging and twining around Yang's own.

Blake was more of the romantic but even Yang could make out the picture here. Blake curled up against her, taking shelter within her arms, their hair as entwined as their souls. The shadow beneath the sun.

To be the pillar from which your shadow is cast, Yang remembered. The shadow cast by your light.

Those had been the final lines of each of their oaths for their bonding. Oaths made by their heart's desires. Blake to separate from her past and embrace the future, and Yang who would be the one to help lead her to it.

When those ears stopped moving again, Yang was tempted to encourage just a bit more by blowing a quick breath into those ears, causing them to flutter. It ended up not solely the ears that moved, Blake shifting and then opening her eyes with a groan.

"Sorry," Yang apologized when those sleep-heavy ambers stared up at her. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"What were you doing?" Blake murmured tiredly.

"Admiring your ears."

Blake tilted her head. "…My ears?"

"Yeah. They were moving a lot even though you were sleeping." Yang stroked a finger behind one of them, getting it to twitch. "I thought it was cute."

With them being this close with their Auras touching and Blake's defenses down, Yang was able to detect Blake's sudden unease, her partner tilting her head down to get her cat ears to disappear beneath Yang's chin. Thinking that she said something wrong, Yang immediately began to apologize. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make fun or anything."

"No, I know you aren't," Blake assured. "You were the one who said what I had always wanted to hear when you saw my ears. About being beautiful, about being able to live my life no matter what others say."

Yang hummed in acknowledgement.

"With that in mind and all you've done for me, I had been thinking that I hadn't really been that good of a …girlfriend to you."

How Blake said the word was what Yang had already expected when she and Blake started their relationship. She expected it to be slow, having assumed correctly that this wasn't something that Blake was used to or had ever done before. And then there were the other factors that she began to list off. "I don't mind. To be fair, I suppose that this might've been a bad time to start a relationship. Bad guys doing bad things and us trying to stop them when we're supposed to just be studying and training to become Huntresses."

"It's not just that," Blake said, her voice still heavy with exhaustion. "You and the others were right about letting the White Fang get to my head and I know that I hurt you. Not just by what I said but what I was doing to myself."

"It's all right," Yang responded, her stroking moving from Blake's ears to her black hair and down her back. "You're getting the rest you need now. Go back to sleep, Blake."

Blake breathed in and out deeply and when Yang brought her fingers back to those cat ears to scratch near the backs, those breaths became gratified purrs that she hoped would help.

"I don't-" A yawn interrupted her and just before Yang's ministrations finished her off, she murmured, "I don't want this to end…"

The fear of such a thing, dwelling deep within Blake's heart, was palpable enough that it stung Yang's and the blonde could comprehend just what it was that had made Blake push herself so hard – not just within the past few days but for the weeks that led up to this.

This all happened before. Once, there had been a Blake Belladonna who hadn't needed bows or lies to hide who she was. Even if there were those who hated her for what she was, she had been able to hold herself up proudly, with friends and comrades who liked and supported her for who she was. Then it all fell apart – her beliefs corroded, her friends now monsters with her closest one having hurt her, and she herself carrying a piece of the blame that they all shared.

Coming to Beacon, making new friends who accepted her with one who loved her, and finding another duty that she could uphold with pride…she should be happy now, her worries able to be left behind.

In reality, it was the opposite.

This had been exactly what Blake wanted to avoid. She came to Beacon completely closed off, intent on keeping everything to herself. What she now had instead were more and more people finding out who she was with her true self slowly being brought back to be exposed to the world. Even her and Yang…it was all too fast and too similar to how it had once been before.

And now there was the White Fang and how they were gaining so much momentum in Vale. The war that had torn Blake's previous life apart and sent her into hiding was here again, setting the stage for a potential repeat to do the same to this one.

But she didn't have me last time.

Yang had the advantage of being the one who Blake trusted the most and the bond they had would offer a steady and stable platform to help Blake overcome whatever may be in store for them. She earned Blake's trust and love but the difficult parts had only just begun. She needed to be there, at Blake's side, to help her keep going until she could reach that moment in her life where she will truly be free and honest with herself.

"I'll be there every step of the way," came Yang's whispered pledge, the same one that she had made so long ago and one cat ear turned in order to hear it. She kissed the top of Blake's head and held her tight. "I promise."


Ruby rolled onto her back, unsure of this restlessness that was keeping her up as she stared at the ceiling of RWBY's dorm room.

After she and Weiss returned to the school's grounds, they had parted at the airship; Ruby to the dorm, Weiss to somewhere that the young leader didn't know, only getting an explanation that there was something that her partner needed to do. When Ruby entered the room, it was to immediately see her sister and Blake curled up together on the latter's bunk and sleeping peacefully.

The good mood that Ruby had been feeling since her and Weiss's trip to buy dresses together was made even better upon seeing them. She had all but skipped to the team's shared closet, hanging up her dress and taking a quick shower with her humming a tune during the whole process, thinking about the dance that was to take place tomorrow.

Whenever she had thought of the dance, she had done so with a measure of dread. She hadn't lied to Weiss when she said she never really experienced one before and the whole concept of dancing hadn't sat well with her – something that she didn't mention. Dancing with someone, especially with a random stranger, felt too weird. That and, as Weiss saw, dancing itself – with high heels no less –, was not part of Ruby's set of skills. At all.

Then there was the fact that no one had asked her out, meaning that if she did attend, it would be without any kind of dancing partner. And that meant she would probably end up standing in a corner somewhere awkwardly while watching everyone else have a good time.

Ironically, it was actually that that made her feel good about it. Going over what she and Weiss spoke about and how much the heiress was looking forward to it, followed by it being so obvious that Yang got Blake to calm down so those two may be ready to go and have fun too…it might really be nice to attend and see everyone else having fun. So, after toweling herself off and putting on her pajamas, Ruby had gone up to her bunk with the idea of a nice, peaceful sleep.

But here she was now, tossing and turning within her bunk, bothered by something that she couldn't figure out. Eyes still on the ceiling with one arm tucked behind her head and the other across her chest, Ruby couldn't help but feel like something was…off. Something…

Unconsciously, the hand at her chest moved, fingers brushing along the center of the heart-shaped Beowolf of her black top.

The darkness of the dorm room was cut by the light that streamed in from the hall thanks to the door opening and closing slowly, the latest arrival taking care to remain as quiet as possible. Ruby sat up in her bed, already assuming who it could possibly be. "Weiss?"

She tried to remain silent but Ruby still heard her quiet footsteps. They paused at Ruby's voice, but then moved on as if Weiss hadn't heard her. There came a pair of thuds, one after the other, which Ruby knew to be Weiss kicking off her boots. There was a different noise that wasn't normal though, the crinkling of plastic at the edge of Weiss's bunk and then the squeaking of springs as the heiress dropped onto it.

Ruby frowned curiously, that same feeling of something being wrong made even worse by Weiss's actions. She hadn't taken the time to change into her gown or bother with a shower. "Weiss?"

"Go to sleep, Ruby," came the terse response.

That didn't sound like the Weiss that Ruby had spent the afternoon with. Curiosity switching to concern, Ruby slid the curtains of her bed to the side and dropped down to the floor.

Weiss's boots had indeed been kicked off at the side of her bed where they laid sloppily on the floor. The crinkling that Ruby heard earlier was the plastic cover that she knew without needing to look closely was what held Weiss's chosen dress for the dance. It had been thrown just as carelessly as her boots at the edge of her bed, half of it hanging off and touching the floor.

Weiss was resting on her side, her back pointed to Ruby. The position let Ruby know for sure that, while she had taken off her boots, Weiss had kept everything else on, including her jacket.

"Weiss?" Ruby questioned again. "Is something wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong," was her reply, as curt as the last. "Go back to bed, Ruby."

But there was definitely something wrong. Other than how Weiss was acting, there was that odd feeling that told Ruby that there was something that was upsetting her. Kneeling down next to her bed, Ruby reached over, a hand clasping Weiss's shoulder.

The fencer curled into herself. "Go away. Don't touch me."

It was a defensive measure of Weiss's, one that only Ruby could get around. Despite her attempts at shutting her out, Ruby caught subtle sensations. Embarrassment. Shame. Confusion. The more Weiss tried to lock them away and keep them to herself, the more they stood out to Ruby thanks to their bond.

"Okay," Ruby quietly said but didn't let go. Even if she didn't know what was making Weiss feel this way, she had learned the proper methods of helping her.

She was rewarded for her efforts. While Weiss didn't turn to face her, her hand slowly came up, finding and gripping tightly to Ruby's.


Author's Note: Do you know how many times I watched, rewound, and rewatched those few seconds with Weiss strutting away from Ruby and Blake in The Shining Beacon to accurately get her walk down? A lot.

One thing I LOVED about what RT did with Vol. 2 was Weiss. Seeing Weiss having come at ease and trying to enjoy the normal life of a teenaged girl that she hadn't been able to experience was downright adorable in some cases like that dainty, shy walk of hers when coming up to Neptune.

Brain: SO dainty and adorable.

Again, this was something that RT should've focused more on. While Jaune can be considered as the 'normal' guy where he would be the obvious choice for high school shenanigans like his bullying last volume, there were far more worthy characters that come from a background that – while not as normal – makes it more interesting like Weiss's. And my alterations for not only this chapter but the next will focus on this angle for Weiss, coming complete with her reacting to the disappointments that, unfortunately, also come with normal growing up. And Ruby, as you've just seen, will be there to help her like her good partner and best friend.

One alteration I'm not sure people will agree with is how Yang approached Blake. Now, I found it to be great that Yang took it upon herself to confront Blake about her habits and changing it like this with Weiss being the one to convince her to go may detract from her character. However, in canon, you didn't have Blake putting down Yang instead of Sun and changing it the way I did opened up the opportunity for Yang and Weiss to truly bury the hatchet that occurred in Soulbound and Weiss becoming more sympathetic to Blake. I hope the gains made with this were enough.

If the quality of the chapter fluctuated at certain parts, I do apologize for that. I did my best to clean up and rework what I already had nearly a month ago to what I was writing now but I may not have pulled it off as successfully as I wanted to. I won't lie, I may've been inclined to rush here and there to finally get something up after my long absence.

Welp, you know what next chapter is gonna focus on: the dance. One of the main focal points for Reflection and I hope getting there will spur my reclaimed motivation. In light of recent events though, I make no promises about my schedule and chapter releases: they'll be released when they're done. Hope to see you all when that day arrives next!