Have to apologize again for another delayed chapter. Took the week off to train the puppy, so I thought I would have some extra time to write this week. Clearly things didn't go as planned.
Also didn't realize my story would get the same photo as my profile. Guess Mina will be keeping an eye on my story for now. Not talented enough to make any artwork to take her place.
I fully intend to be back on schedule next week. Thank you all for putting up with me.
*Reuploaded due to formatting issues. Content is the same, just needed to restore italics for readability.*
The cold water of the shower poured down on Lilly, washing away both her sweat and any last traces of sleepiness. Her legs threatened to give way in protest of the trials they had just endured. Even now, at least fifteen minutes after they had stopped, her lungs frantically sucked down air.
Asking if she could join Randi's morning workout had seemed like a great idea at the time. Lilly was a huntress in training, just like her faunus teammate, so she figured she wouldn't be too far behind. After all, this was just how Randi started the day, not some intense boot camp or anything.
I've never been so wrong in my life.
Randi was like a machine, starting well before dawn with an incredibly long run before jumping straight to a series of lunges, squats, push-ups, and a bunch of other exercises Lilly didn't know the names of. She even had a timeslot devoted to dodge rolls. The final run started with a full-on sprint that eventually tampered off into a jog at the end, but not nearly soon enough. Lilly struggled to keep up, despite Randi wearing her armor the entire time.
At the end, Lilly was proud of herself for simply finishing the routine. Makes sense that it would take this much effort to perform at her level. I imagine Pyrrha is the same. Lilly was pretty sure they had passed Pyrrha a few times, but only because of the occasional flash of red in the corner of her eye. Desperate to try to keep pace, she never checked to be sure, but who else would be out training that early on a Saturday morning? Only crazy people did that!
Lilly shoved her face into the cascading droplets before shutting off the water. A towel soon encircled her dripping form as she flipped on the overhead heating lamp, basking in the warm glow. The girl in the mirror tried to force a smile for her, but failed to hold it for long. Never doing that again. Maybe I can get Randi to give me some advice for a morning workout, but that was too much! Lilly was fairly confident that her teammate was holding back for her, since Randi didn't typically return this early, which just embarrassed Lilly further.
A wave of hot air blasted her face as Lilly turned on her hair dryer. Readjusting her aim, her long hair slowly rid itself of the burdensome water and began dancing through the air before falling in a messy heap behind her again. She quickly began to brush it out, wincing anytime she caught a knot before glancing back to her mirrormate.
Unlike Yang's thick mane, Lilly's hair fell straight down without so much as a ripple before tapering off near the middle of her back. She hadn't worn her hair down like that since before Signal, back when it barely passed her shoulders. Her mom always said she should wear her hair down, but that was probably just her reminiscing about when Lilly was still so young. Instead, Lilly got dressed and spent the next few minutes weaving the intricate braid that she felt more comfortable with. Content that it was perfect, she emerged from the bathroom to find the room bustling with activity.
Randi, apparently intent on continuing her relentless exercising, was doing push-ups beside her bed. Meanwhile, Honey was rushing around the room looking for her wallet while Smit was heading for the door, typing away on his scroll. No doubt messaging Yang again.
Smit had held true to his wager, serving RWBY lunch the entire week. As promised, Lilly, Honey, and Randi had come along each day to support him in exchange for him serving them as well. Smit had hammed it up, wearing a suit each time and draping a washcloth over one arm, despite it being far shorter than a professional waiter's typical adornment. He overemphasized in a dramatic Atlesian accent, describing each meal in ridiculous ways to make it sound fancy. Yesterday's turkey and rice in gravy had been introduced as "roast poultry over a bed of soft grain, coated in a thickened broth." Smit even managed to get a hold of a pitcher to pour drinks from, keeping all of them topped off throughout each meal.
On Thursday, several of them had decided to mess with Smit by emptying their glasses as fast as possible. By the time he would refill one, another would be empty. Smit ended up running back and forth, trying in vain to keep up with the beverage demand. Lilly ended up regretting that prank during Combat Class that afternoon, as the numerous glasses of water shot through her system and demanded her full attention. Thankfully, it was only a theory class, so she didn't have to worry about wetting herself during a spar. As soon as class let out, Lilly took off, running over Sky and Dove along the way.
Apparently, Yang enjoyed Smit's showmanship and declared that he was all right. Smit had somehow managed to get a chat going with her on their scrolls, exchanging jokes a few times since, usually regarding his desire to fight again. He had made some comment last night about everything going according to plan.
"What's everyone up to today?" Lilly had agreed to give them the weekend off of training, already planning to increase their regimen on Monday. Considering what she had just been through, she was grateful for her decision.
Smit answered quickly, stopping in the doorway. "Gonna hit the gym for a bit. Need to be ready in case Yang agrees to my rematch. Besides," Smit flexed his arm, "gotta keep the guns lookin' good."
Lilly rolled her eyes at his display. "What about you, Honey. Where you off to in such a hurry?"
Honey was busy digging through a drawer and answered over her shoulder, "Ruby and her team are going into the city to see the preparations for the festival. They were gonna go yesterday but Ruby convinced them to wait so I could come along." Lilly had arranged for yet another team spar the night before. As expected, Randi added another trio of victories, leaving the rest of them nursing an array of bruises. Lilly was pretty sure that if they could make it to the singles rounds, Randi and Pyrrha would be squaring off for the tournament prize.
Despite the Vytal Festival still being a few months away, much of the city was busy preparing for the influx of business. After all, some of the competitors were supposed to arrive early according to Miss Goodwitch. Lilly figured the cost of travel would start climbing as they got closer to the event, so it made sense that some would opt to get here while the rates were still low.
"Hey, while you're out, can you pick up some ammo for me?" Lilly requested of her partner. Between the long slog of Initiation, the spar with Ruby, and countless training sessions, Lilly had quickly found her supply dwindling and needed to restock. "I've got the lien but really don't want to run into town just for that."
Honey turned with a shy grin, offering a compromise. "Why not come with us, then? We're gonna get lunch and walk along the pier. They also said Blake wants to stop by some bookstore in the area."
"Thanks, but I've got some stuff to do today." A weak excuse, but she was pretty sure Honey wouldn't push the issue. If there wasn't a certain blonde coming along, Lilly would have jumped at the offer. "You don't have to pick anything up. I can run out tomorrow or something and take care of it."
"No, it's fine. Send me a list of what you need. You can pay me back later." Honey hid her disappointment well, but not well enough to fool Lilly, turning back to her quest for her wallet. "We'll probably get back sometime this eve– found it!" Honey hoisted her wallet out of the depths of her clothing with a triumphant cry. Prize obtained, she rushed to her bed to get her shoes on. "Anyways, their waiting for me outside, so I've gotta get going. See you all later!"
With the quick farewell, Honey jogged out the door after Smit, who saw an opportunity to finally slip away. Lilly waited a moment to make sure both were actually gone before trying to figure out what she was going to do all day. Contrary to what she had told Honey, she didn't really have anything to do. She was still too tired to go do any kind of training but the adrenaline pumping through her meant a nap was out of the question right now. Guess now's as good a time as any to work on my History assignment. Ugh.
The thick textbook thudded against the wooden desk as Lilly pulled out her notes from yesterday's class. Only seven pages this time. He must have gone easy on us for once. Even then, each page was crammed with line after line of information, covering both the front and back with countless details of the founding of Vale. As the built-in monitor rose from her desk, Lilly typed in her password and brought up a blank document to start her five-thousand-word essay. The white screen sat empty for several minutes as she blindly stared, waiting for words that never came.
"Big, important plans, eh?" Randi spoke from just over Lilly's shoulder, causing her to jump as she turned to face the faunus.
"Oh, uh, yeah. Need to get this paper done for Oobleck." Thankfully, Randi didn't see a need to press the issue of Lilly's poor excuse any further.
"Looks like you've got a bit of writer's block." Randi nodded towards the still-blank screen, emphasizing her point. "It's not due until Wednesday, so you've got time. Maybe you just need to take your mind off of it for a bit."
"What did you have in mind?" Lilly asked curiously, Randi had never invited her – or anyone else, for that matter – to do anything together. She hastened to add, "If it's more training, I'm out. Still recovering from the gauntlet you put me through this morning."
With a quick chuckle, Randi assured her, "Nothing like that. You did well this morning, but it's important to pace yourself. I was thinking of dropping by Juniper's room. Wanna come?"
Lilly shot out of her chair, perhaps a little too enthusiastic to be away from the homework. I haven't really spoken to Pyrrha since Forever Fall. Her teammates – well, two of them – are really skilled, too. Definitely people to be on the good side of.
Randi, wearing the simple athletic shirt and jeans that was usually hidden under armor, grabbed her scroll and headed for the door. "I was talking with Nora on Tuesday. She practically cornered me and insisted that I needed to hang out with her sometime. Not sure how long I have until she drags me out to spend time with her team."
Recalling Nora's immediate victory in Miss Goodwitch's class, Lilly could understand Randi's concern. Seeing an opportunity to poke fun at her teammate, Lilly asked, "Aw, is my teammate too shy to go meet the big, bad Nora all alone? Don't worry, I'll make sure she plays nice."
Randi came to a sudden stop, spinning quickly to face her leader with her head cocked to the side. After a quick second of silence, Randi barked out a hearty laugh and commented, "Where's this side of you been hiding? It's nice to be surprised once in a while." As her laughter died down, Randi wiped away the precursor of a tear. "Actually, I could tell you didn't really want to be working on that assignment right now. Also felt bad leaving you alone with nothing but homework while we all went to do stuff."
"That's really nice of you, Randi. Thanks."
Randi raised a fist and knocked on the door of Team JNPR's room, only for the wooden barrier to swing open at the contact. As the room was revealed, Lilly saw Ren sitting on a bed, eyes closed in meditation. His calm demeanor contrasted with the excitable girl bouncing on the next bed over as Nora turned to look at the new arrivals with a huge grin.
"Visitors!" Nora shouted with a mighty bounce, launching her over the quiet boy and landing directly in front of Randi. Ren didn't so much as flinch when the girl passed only a few inches overhead, a single eye opening to observe them.
With a faint hint of a smile, Ren nodded and welcomed them. "Good morning."
"Morning Ren. Hey Nora. Mind if we come in?" Randi led the way inside after escaping a bear hug from their bubbly welcome wagon. In the corner of the room, Jaune looked up from a familiarly thick textbook and yawned. His eyes were weary from study, no doubt aided by the partner that hovered closely behind him. Pyrrha waved to them with a friendly smile before leaning over Jaune's shoulder and pointing to something on the next page. Jaune's eyes glazed over again as he turned to mindlessly acknowledge the emphasized info, not seeming to care about the rather close proximity of his redheaded tutor.
"Ren, it's our first guests! Fire up the griddle! We need celebratory pancakes, stat!"
"Sorry to drop in on you." Lilly stepped up beside her teammate. "We're not interrupting anything, are we?"
"Absolutely not, Lilly. It's nice to have you drop by for a visit." Pyrrha turned to face them, a hint of pink across her cheeks as she broke contact with Jaune. Well, that's new. Not sure what brought on that relationship. Then again, I'm not sure he even realizes it yet. "where's the rest of Team Laser?"
Randi quickly filled them in. "Smit's busy training again. I think he hopes Yang will be impressed if he can win a few spars."
"Yeah, it's crazy some are willing to do to get another's attention." Lilly made sure not to look directly at Pyrrha, but caught her intensified blush from the corner of her eye. So, I was right. She really does have a thing for that imbecile. What's up with that?
"Yeah. Crazy." Nora replied, staring at her own partner. "You'd think it would be easier to get someone to notice them." The last few words sounded a little strained, but the obvious target of her statement simply nodded in agreement. What is up with this team? Is there some unwritten rule about having to date your male teammate or something? She shuddered at the thought of that applying to her. Smit was a nice guy and all, but she wasn't sure if she could stand someone pursuing her like Randi's partner did with Yang. Hopefully, she would never have to find out.
"What about Honey?"
"She went into town with Ruby and her team," Randi continued. "They wanted to go see all the preparations for the Vytal Festival. You guys looking forward to the tournament?"
"I'm sure–"
"WE WILL CRUSH EVERYONE!" Nora shouted over Pyrrha's likely diplomatic response. "I mean, we've got a world-renowned fighter, what's basically a ninja, I can bench five of me, Jaune..." The eccentric girl trailed off, before changing direction to cover her lapse. "We've trained all year, our weapons are awesome, Glynda barely yells at us anymore, and, uh...Jaune!"
"You gonna take that?" Ren inquired of his leader.
"She's not wrong..." Jaune mumbled with his face planted firmly in the fold of his book. Not sure if osmosis is the best way to learn. Nora began rambling about the lifelong consequences of losing, spiraling out of control until she groaned in agony and face-planted on Ren's mattress. Her partner tried to console her, but his flat tone made his encouragement sound sarcastic.
"I'm sure we'll be ready. Jaune is training hard and is improving wonderfully!" The blonde groaned softly into the pages of his book. Pyrrha didn't seem to realize she had just admitted he needed improvement as she continued, "In the end, we'll do our best and let the chips fall where they may. Regardless, it's good to see our teams bonding. We're all on the same side, after all."
Ren had gotten Nora sitting back up and chimed in, "I agree. It's important that we all try to get along."
Even if Ren hadn't looked directly at her, Lilly felt it was obvious what they were trying to say. She could feel herself tensing in frustration but managed to calm down quickly before it became obvious. After having to spend the last four lunches at Yang's table, she had gotten a little better about controlling herself in regards to her rival. They still didn't get along – and we never will after what she did – but the two could ignore each other fairly well now.
Randi gently nudged Lilly with an understanding smile, almost as if to congratulate her on not lashing out. Hoping to change subjects, Randi looked over at the room's beleaguered young leader. "How goes the studying, Jaune?"
Finally lifting his face from the textbook, Jaune sat hunched over with a tired expression. "There's just so much information. How are we supposed to remember all of this?"
"It's not that bad," Lilly answered. "I mean, most of this was covered in the last two years of prep school, Oobleck just goes into much more detail. Didn't they cover this at your school?" As far as Lilly knew, only Randi, Ren, and Nora had gotten into Beacon without going to some sort of preparatory school.
From what she had heard, it was pretty rare for that to happen – the year above them didn't have even a single one. You would have to outperform people that had trained for years, both physically and academically. With his poor performance in both, it's a wonder he got in at all. No way he made it on his skills alone.
Jaune suddenly looked really nervous as his eyes darted between his teammates. Before Lilly could press further, Pyrrha spoke up. "Jaune may have gotten distracted by his duties at home. I guess his family took priority. With seven sisters, he had to help out a lot."
Jaune hesitantly nodded along but seemed unsure about himself. Why is Pyrrha answering for him? Couldn't he have told us? As her mind debated the questionable details of the answer, she finally realized what Pyrrha had ended with.
"Wait, what? Seven sisters?!" The number boggled Lilly's mind. I've only got one sister, and we don't always get along! The thought of living with seven Violets terrified her.
Jaune shrugged, more comfortable with the new topic. "Mom really wanted a large family, and Dad...well, let's just say he didn't complain." Lilly shuddered along with Jaune's grimace. Meanwhile, Pyrrha's face was beginning to match her hair as Nora cackled at their embarrassment.
"Well, you've definitely been improving in combat lately. Keep up the good work." Randi was kind enough to derail the current train of thought and get them back on track.
Jaune brightened up and nodded to his teammate. "That's more Pyrrha's doing than mine. She's a good teacher."
Somehow, Pyrrha's face seemed to grow redder at his praise before she quickly added, "And you're a good student. Speaking of which, now's probably a good time to get in some more practice." Pyrrha hooked Jaune's arm and pulled him towards the door, grabbing both of their weaponry on the way. To his credit, Jaune didn't protest beyond a quick sigh, nodding a quick farewell before vanishing into the hall.
After the door closed, Lilly looked to Ren, hoping to confirm her suspicions. "How has he not figured it out yet? I mean, how obvious does a girl have to be?"
"Jaune is not the most adept at such things. I believe his hopeless pursuit of Weiss has blinded him to what may be right in front of him."
Randi chuckled and asked exactly what Lilly was wondering. "You guys think they're practicing or practicing." The air quotes she added to the second option made it clear what she meant.
Ren actually paused to consider the possibility for a moment. "They have been running off to train more often lately..." He stroked his chin in contemplation before discarding the possibility. "I doubt he would still be reluctant to go to these...sessions...if they were getting up to such things."
"What about you, Nora? What do you think of those two?"
Nora looked around, checking to make sure the coast was clear despite no one else being in the room, before leaning forward and loudly whispering, "Can you guys keep a secret?" Before Lilly could respond, Nora suddenly yelled, "Pyrrha's in love with Jaune!"
"Calm down, Nora." Seated directly beside the girl, it was a wonder Ren wasn't deaf from the sudden explosion of sound. "She is definitely interested in him, but I'm not sure love is the correct description."
"Love takes time to develop," Randi added, earning an agreeing smile from Ren. "I just hope he comes to his senses soon. Must be hard for her to keep waiting, but she clearly isn't ready to just outright tell him."
"Oh, what do you guys know?" Nora questioned. "Those two are going to be together for the rest of their lives."
Randi winked at Lilly before turning back to Nora. "Guess I will defer to you, then. Clearly you're the expert." Nora smugly hummed in agreement as to her vast knowledge on such matters. "Maybe if things work out, they can be as close as you and Ren."
A quick snort slipped out of Lilly as she tried to keep from laughing at the sudden change in Nora's demeanor. "What? No. W-we're not together-together. What would make you think that? That's ridiculous..." The onslaught of denials continued as Ren gave Randi an exasperated look, knowing that this would continue for quite a while. Serves you right, Ren. At least Jaune's oblivious. You're just refusing to address Nora's feelings.
Nora continued rambling on about the specifics of their relationship as Randi and Lilly slipped out. Once they were clear of the room, both burst into laughter.
"That was cruel, Randi." Lilly's continued chuckling made her accusation ring hollow, not that there was any heat behind it.
Unashamed to have thrown the poor boy under the bus, Randi replied, "Oh, like you didn't enjoy it. I give it maybe a year before they finally admit it. Pretty sure if he doesn't say something by then, Nora will just drag him to a Justice of the Peace herself."
Lilly couldn't really disagree with Randi's assessment, except that she would peg it at a few months rather than a year. "Thanks for inviting me along. You know, you're a lot funnier than you let on. We should do this more often."
"What, visit random rooms or make fun of everyone's hopeless dating lives?"
"Both." The two shared another short laugh before Lilly checked her scroll. "Smit says he's on his way back to the room. By the time he gets cleaned up, we can probably head to the cafeteria."
Randi grinned mischievously. "Want to make fun of his love life over lunch?"
"I thought you'd never ask."
/- - - - - - - - - -/
Honey had never seen so many balloons in her life. Every building seemed to have at least a few floating above them. Colorful banners crisscrossed above several areas, with a large banner welcoming everyone to Vale flapping lazily in the salty breeze. The design was pretty simple, the plain coloration standing out against the bright colors of the decorations beyond.
Deciding on where to eat lunch had been an interesting affair. Yang kept trying to head into a nearby burger joint. Weiss refused, worried that the grease would stain her outfit. As they argued, Blake spied a seafood restaurant and offered it as a compromise. Honey was pretty sure that was Blake's plan all along, judging by the droplets of drool that the reserved girl kept trying to conceal.
Eventually, Ruby had found a Mistralian carry-out that had satisfied everyone. The five had claimed a table outside, basking in the warm sunlight as the cool ocean air kept them cooled. Yang, still holding a grudge from the earlier argument, was pretending that she would fling a greasy noodle at Weiss, who threatened to freeze the antagonist's food solid in retaliation. Neither of them seemed to notice Blake stealthily swiping shrimp from Yang's open container. Their team is really weird, but at least they have fun together. Wish my team would get along half as well.
While the standoff continued, Honey quietly dug into her lunch of chicken in a tangy orange sauce. She savored the sweet scent as the warm food quickly filled her, leaving only a small puddle of sauce and a few orange peels as she sat back. Being the only other one not involved in the brewing conflict, Ruby finished soon after and scooted closer.
"Thanks for coming along, Honey. Was you team okay with you spending the day with us?" Unspoken was the true question of whether Lilly was okay with her spending time with Yang.
"Lilly gave us the day off, saying we were going to be training harder next week and deserved a rest." Honey sipped her bottle of soda, enjoying the sugary drink. "Honestly, she's been a little better lately."
"That's good. Maybe they can get along eventually." Honey had given up on that a long time ago, but it seemed Ruby's optimism was more resilient.
"Enough about that. This is supposed to be a day off from all that drama." Honey enjoyed hanging out with Ruby, but her main reason for coming along was to get a breather from her leader's angst. "Any cute guys catch your eye yet?"
Ruby sputtered slightly at the sudden question. "N-no. C'mon, Honey. I'm two years younger than anyone at Beacon."
"That's really not a huge gap, Ruby." Maybe it seemed that way now, but in a few years' time it would be an insignificant age difference. "I guess you could always go after one of the new guys next year." Ruby's sudden blushing let Honey know she had just exposed Ruby's super-secret plans. Contrary to what the young girl claimed, the thought of dating was clearly on her mind recently. "Then again, you and Jaune get along pretty well..."
"Hon-eeeee," Ruby whined as she shoved her friend playfully. "We're not like that. Jaune's just a friend. Even if I was interested – which I'm not – he's after Weiss."
"And Pyrrha's after him." Honey chuckled as Ruby paled. Guess she's not interested in getting in Pyrrha's way. "So what? That just means not gets what they think they want. It might not work out for any of them. Why should you give up just because someone else is trying? You deserve to be happy just as much as anyone else."
"You're one to talk. I saw how you were checking out Ren the other day." It was Honey's turn to be embarrassed. "You giving up just because of Nora? Seems a little hypocritical of you." Ruby gloated at her own logical victory.
"To be fair, she's made her intentions clear. Plus, I'd rather not become acquainted with the ceiling like that guy she fought on Monday." The two shared a laugh at the memory of Nora's triumph before Ruby paused and scooted closer.
"So..." Ruby trailed off, glancing to her team to make sure they were still preoccupied. Yang had finally noticed the lack of shrimp in her lo mein and started complaining of getting ripped off. Blake pretended not to notice while Weiss tried to distract Yang so she wouldn't storm back inside to complain. "Has she figured it out yet?"
Honey's smile vanished. "No. I thought she might have known when we first teamed up, but it's pretty clear she doesn't, despite your meddling." Honey's accusatory look had Ruby ducking her head slightly, embarrassed to have been caught.
"I was just trying to help. You should tell her." Ruby straightened up slowly, confident that she was in the right.
"No." Honey's resolute denial surprised her friend. "She's still too focused on her vendetta against your sister. I'm assuming Yang doesn't know either."
"I don't think so." Ruby hung her head slightly in disappointment. Honey expected as much. Not like anyone ever notices me. It seemed to be a common theme in her life. "Have you told anyone?"
"I don't see why they would care. Smit barely notices anything other than Yang lately. I think Randi knows. Either way, it wouldn't really affect them."
"If it bothers you so much, why don't you just tell Lilly? She might be a little embarrassed not to have known, but I think it would help." Honey had considered the same numerous times. It's not like it will change anything. Might even give her something to think about and bring us closer. Partners really shouldn't be keeping secrets, especially not such pointless ones.
With a sigh, Honey shook her head again. "I want to, but how do I tell her? I wanted her to realize on her own at first, but now I've waited too long. If I said anything at this point, it would just be awkward. If she figures it out, great. If not, I'll be fine."
Neither of them believed her lie.
The rest of the team finally finished up, with Ruby taking their trays back inside for everyone. After lunch, the group decided to swing by the closest dust shop, as Honey needed to pick up some ammo. Fearing what Yang's reaction might be, she chose to omit the detail of who it was for, instead telling them she needed some dust for her whip. She had restocked a few days ago but figured she would grab some extra to prepare for Lilly's revamped training schedule. Technically, I didn't lie. Besides, I don't want to ruin today with more Lily drama.
"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss exclaimed from ahead, having charged to the front and leading them towards the waterfront.
"She seems happy," Honey said as the group stopped to admire their surroundings.
Ruby, stood beside her, had a surprised look as she replied, her eyes on Weiss still. "Yeah. I don't think I've ever seen her smile this much. It's kinda weirding me out."
Weiss suddenly whipped around, having clearly overheard their observation. Instead of the scolding glare that Honey expected, however, Weiss's face shone with pure excitement. "How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances, parades, a tournament!"
Put like that, Honey could understand the thrill Weiss must have felt, especially being on one of the strongest teams of their class. Some of the students had already begun betting on the tournament, both on which four teams would qualify and how far each would make it, or at least that's what Smit had told her that morning. The smart money was on JNPR, but RWBY was pretty high as well.
Honey wasn't surprised when Smit had told her they were listed as a long shot. He had put a decent amount of lien on them qualifying anyways, saying the payout would be pretty nice when they made it in. That he said "when" and not "if" showed that he had far more confidence than her.
Less surprising was Weiss's continued reasoning. "Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!"
Yang grumbled something about Weiss making it boring, earning a sharp reprimand from the heiress. It seemed the back-and-forth between the two was about to start up again when they rounded a corner and came to a sudden halt.
In front of them lay the very store they were looking for, but Honey doubted they would be getting anything here. If the empty display cases and dust tubes weren't bad enough, the bright yellow police tape meant the store was probably closed right now.
"What happened here?" Ruby wondered aloud. One of the doors was wide open. The other had been knocked into the store and lay across a toppled shelving unit. The windows were blasted outwards, small bits of glass still visible within the cracks of the sidewalk.
"Another dust robbery." Honey jumped at the sudden male voice behind her. They all turned to find a blonde boy smiling at them as he took a bite from a large apple. His white shirt hung open, revealing a set of tan, chiseled abs. A long monkey tail curled behind him. "Place was cleaned out Friday morning, I think."
"And just who are you?" Weiss's question was less than friendly. Honey just hoped it was a result of them being spooked by the boy.
"Oh, my bad. I'm Sun." The faunus boy winked at Blake as he flexed slightly. "You ladies from Beacon?"
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, you're about the age of students there, your clothes are brighter than most, and you're kinda walking around town armed to the teeth." He nodded to the rapier Weiss wore as proof. "It would be a little weird otherwise."
"Hmph!" Weiss couldn't refute his logic. "How do you know so much about the robbery here?"
"Well, I–"
"Hey, you! Stay right there!" Two men came jogging over as they pointed towards the faunus boy. One had a hand on the holster on his side.
"Oops. Gotta go!" Sun turned to run but was shocked when he couldn't move. Ice had sprung from the ground beneath him, trapping his feet before he could take a single step. Behind Honey, Weiss knelt with her weapon stabbed into a gap in the pavement. She looked up at the boy with a satisfied grin.
"Thanks, young lady." The two men slowed to a walk as they neared, one flashing a badge to identify them as police. He nodded in gratitude to Weiss before turning to the frozen monkey boy. "Where you off to in such a hurry?"
"Hey guys, can't we talk this out?"
"Thought you gave us the slip yesterday, didn't you?" The second officer handcuffed the boy's hands behind him as the first pulled out a notepad and flipped a few pages. "First, you stowaway on a vessel to our city. Now, I find you in front of a recently robbed dust shop. You admiring your friends' handiwork?"
"What? No!" Sun was shocked by the accusation but didn't struggle. "I had nothing to do with the robbery! Why would you even think that?"
"Bunch of White Fang loot the place, then we find a foreign faunus hanging around the scene of the crime? We've already got you on charges for illegally boarding a vessel, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police officer."
"It was just a banana!" Sun protested.
"Officers," Blake stepped forward, bristling slightly, "he was just passing by and heard us asking about the robbery. Besides, you said he arrived yesterday, but the robbery happened before that."
The officer stared her down for a moment before sighing, "Fine, maybe he wasn't involved in the robbery, but we still need to bring you in for the altercation yesterday. Miss," he directed his attention to Weiss, "um, do you mind?"
"Oh, of course." Weiss focused for a moment as the ice receded, freeing the boy's legs as he tried to shake some warmth into them. She stood back up with a frown and asked, "Did you say the White Fang were involved?"
"Yeah. Bunch of them came in led by that Torchwick guy. Store clerk surrendered and was left tied up in the back room unharmed. They snatched all the dust and fled before we could respond. Anyways, thanks again for your assistance."
With that, they led the boy away as he continued to protest. Honey watched them go before a snarl from Weiss drew everyone's attention.
"Figures it would be those animals. What an awful bunch of degenerates." Weiss clenched her weapon tightly, her knuckles turning white from the pressure.
"What's your problem?" Blake took a defiant tone with the heiress.
"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane."
Arms crossed, Blake met the girl's glare. "The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided faunus." That's an overly kind way of putting it. From what I've heard, they're a bunch of violent terrorists.
"Misguided?!" Weiss seemed equally doubtful of Blake description. "They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!"
"So then they're very misguided." Blake's amber eyes drifted away from a fuming Weiss as she glanced back to the battered storefront, deep in thought. "Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale."
"They are still a bunch of scum." Weiss practically spat the word. "Those faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal. That filthy, monkey-tailed rapscallion from earlier is yet another example of their proclivity for criminal activity."
"Stop calling him that. Faunus or not, he is still a person!"
"He's also still a criminal." Weiss snapped in retort. "You heard those officers. He already broke the law. Give him time, he'll probably join up with those other faunus in the White Fang."
"You ignorant little brat!" Blake stormed off down the street to clear her head, which was probably a good idea considering the small crowd that had gathered. Hopefully, they would both calm down.
"How dare you talk to me like that!" Or Weiss could chase her down and make things worse.
The two continued to argue a little way down the street as Yang tried to clear out the spectators. Ruby and Honey exchanged worried looks as only a few left, most sticking around to see the inevitable fireworks. Yang, not being the most diplomatic sort, stomped her foot and yelled for them to beat it, her gauntlets deploying as her eyes glowed red. The remaining onlookers quickly fled the area, several shooting angry looks at the blonde but unwilling to say anything.
"Well, that's taken care of." Yang said before looking over at the continuing feud. "Not sure how we are gonna deal with them, though."
The three quietly approached, noticing that Weiss seemed more composed as she asked, "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the faunus?" With a heavy sigh, Weiss explained, "It's because they've been at war with my family for years."
Weiss began to detail countless run-ins her family had with the White Fang over the years. Thefts. Kidnappings. Murders. The list went on, Weiss looking more and more tired with each detail, as if the weight of them were once again crashing down on her. Blake's defiance cracked under the deluge of suffering, flinching when Weiss mentioned the theft of a train car.
"And every day, my father would come home furious, and that made for a very difficult childhood." Weiss growled out the final words, eyes shut as she concluded the retelling of her memories. Ruby stepped forward, unwilling to watch her partner suffer in silence, but was startled as Weiss whipped around to face Blake once more. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars...thieves...and murderers."
"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"
Everyone froze at the sudden outburst; realization of what Blake had just revealed stunning them. Weiss stepped back with a look mixed with terror and disappointment as Blake gasped at her own revelation. She took a step back, trying to stammer some sort of denial but unable to find a way to take the incriminating words back.
And then, Blake ran.
"Blake! Wait! Come back!"
/- - - - - - - - - -/
Three hours. They had searched tirelessly through the city, hoping to catch their teammate's trail. A couple people thought they may have seen her, but the information was always conflicting. Honey and the remainder of RWBY made their way back towards the bullhead docks, unsure of what to do next.
"Maybe she'll come back tonight," Ruby theorized. Honey doubted it would be that simple but didn't have the heart to say so.
"Blake's a big girl. I'm sure she can take care of herself."
"Weiss, come on," Yang groaned. "She's one of our teammates."
With a scoff, Weiss stopped and asked, "Is she? We all heard what she said."
"It doesn't matter. She's missing, and we need to find her." Yang was tired of hearing Weiss's complaints and checked her scroll. "We'll run back to Beacon and see if anyone's heard from her."
"How are we ever going to find her, anyways? We've been searching all afternoon and haven't found anything."
Honey stopped, snagging Ruby's sleeve. "Actually, I may know someone who can help."
This chapter was originally going to be much shorter until I got a review mentioning my unintentional neglect of Honey. I realized I had planned most of her development later in the story while everyone else got time early, so I added the entire Honey section here this week.
Quick foreshadowing of one of Honey's issues, but don't expect that one to pop up for a while still. I've hinted at it before if you look closely, but it's not earth-shattering. We also have the setup for the first climax here, meaning I'm finally getting to one of the parts I've been looking forward to most.
Next chapter (should be Friday) the hunt for Blake, with some help from Lilly. As a bonus, Randi's Semblance will finally be revealed (feel free to guess in advance).
