Nothing Says 'Summer' Like The Beach

[Part Tres]

Blake found herself meandering up and down the massive rows of books stored within the house's library room one morning, revelling in the tranquil atmosphere so far detached from the loud vibrancy of their surroundings outside. She inhaled deeply, savouring the scent of stale musky books and a hint of lavender; a trademark of all Schnees and their cleaning agents, if the Weiss she knew, and had been close to not a few days earlier, was any indication to go by.

Gliding to one of beautifully crafted mahogany shelves, she lightly ran her fingertip along the row of book spines at eye level until she touched a thin title-less leather spine wedged between two thick tomes, one labelled 'The History of Remnant' and the other, 'Properties of Dust: An Introduction'.

Pulling the innocuous little book out from where it was crammed, the curious faunus weighed it in her hands and flipped it about, inspecting the cover for any identifying features. There were none, with the exception of the scuffs and creases typically seen on old, worn leather.

She stared at the wordless cover. Pursing her lips, Blake began to pry it open. The noise of crinkling paper broke the still as she painstakingly separated pages stuck together as a result of compression and long age.

Deft fingers slid into the folds between the book's front cover and its yellowed first page, revealing to amber eyes nothing but a cursive name written in black ink.

'General Reiner Schnee,' the faunus inwardly read.

"General?" she muttered to herself, leaning down for closer examination. "For what?"

"Blake? You there?"

The faunus's heart leapt into her throat. She straightened and reflexively clamped the book shut without a second thought. The hand that held it quickly moved to subtly obscure it behind her back as she turned to face the newcomer.

"Weiss," Blake greeted the heiress staring in from the door frame. "Is there a problem?"

The heiress shook her head, walking into the library. "I didn't see you outside with them," Weiss said, referring to the sisters, "so I decided to look for you." She smirked. "Finding you in the library. Fancy that."

Blake smiled slightly at the dry humour. "Who would have thought," she replied, playing along.

The smirk didn't leave Weiss's face. "So what brings you here?"

Blake considered bringing up the book she had just found, but for some reason, was oddly unnerved. Instead she shrugged casually, half-turning her torso to trace the row to her side, all too aware of the minor gap left behind by the thin journal. "I thought I'd finally check out the library you had mentioned," she started. "It has quite the selection. I don't think I've ever seen more than half of these."

Weiss flashed Blake a proud smile as she plucked one of the thicker novels – one Blake noticed had its cover etched in a breathtakingly elaborate floral design – from the bookshelf. The heiress glanced down at its binding. "'A Dream of Fair Women' by Lord Alfred Tennyson. Blocked in gilt, with red onsets and insets with five garnet cabochons and six turquoise," she recited, tracing her hand down the jacket. She looked up to meet Blake's eyes with soft eyes. "Father was always proud of his collection."

Alarms sounded in the faunus's mind, warning her of the dangerous grounds she had unknowingly treaded upon. Nevertheless, Blake's lips quirked as if unfazed, not revealing the conflict waging within her. "I see," she said. Thinking over Weiss's words, Blake found a conversation to lead on from. "You finally let Ruby out of the house?" she asked, tactfully sidestepping away from the topic of family.

Weiss sighed, carefully putting the novel back in its place. "You try fighting a stir-crazy Ruby."

Blake smirked. "I have her sister to contend with, so I think I'll pass."

Weiss huffed, crossing her arms. "Don't get me started on Yang," she groused.

The faunus's posture relaxed as she chuckled heartily. "So much for keeping Ruby monitored inside. Then again," she said, shifting her weight onto one of her legs, "I'm surprised you managed to keep her entertained for the whole of yesterday."

"As I am," Weiss wearily replied. "I didn't take into account her... small attention span. It was my mistake to assume she'd be any less bouncy after passing out that night."

Blake nodded. "It helped that you had such a large assortment of video games, though." The faunus's eyebrows knitted. "Speaking of which, where did those come from?"

The heiress stiffened.

"You seemed to know a lot about them," Blake continued, sounding befuddled.

"They... were a gift," Weiss said, looking Blake dead in the eye, "I... The family doesn't like keeping such trivialities in our manor."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "That still doesn't answer the question."

Weiss cleared her throat, her eyes dropping to wander aimlessly around the faunus's body and their surroundings as she wracked her brain for an answer.

Blake chortled, the action jarring her body enough for Weiss to catch a glimpse of the leather-bound journal she held in her grip.

The heiress's eyes widened in surprise. "That book," Weiss breathed.

Blake tensed, gaze dropping down to follow Weiss's line of sight. Despite feeling her stomach churn uncomfortably, the faunus played it cool, uncertainly bringing it up to chest level as her eyes moved to watch the heiress. "This?"

Weiss took a step forward, expression pensive. "That..." she trailed off, pondering over whether or not to divulge its origins, before finally finishing with, "was written by my great-great-grandfather."

After doing some quick arithmetics in her head, Blake queried, "He fought in the war?"

Weiss smiled wistfully. "Yes." She paused for a moment. "He was a faunus sympathiser."

Blake's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She glanced down at the little relic of time she had uncovered and held tentatively in her hand, a lot more respectful of it.

The heiress leaned back against the nearest shelf and exhaled. "I was surprised too." She closed her eyes. "I had found that shortly another one of the White Fang's attempts on my grandfather, when we fled to one of our more secure homes in Atlas." Her eyelids opened to reveal melancholic ice-blues. "… My parents had been fighting one night, when they thought I wasn't awake," she whispered. "So I slipped out of bed and ran to the only place I knew no one and nothing could reach me; the attic I had discovered when we had first hid there."

"And that's where you found this little gem?" Blake quietly asked.

"Yes. I had curled myself up between a corner and a large wooden crate." Weiss's lips twitched. "And it had been storming that night, so I decided to take shelter in the box," she said, nostalgia and a tinge of humour colouring her tone. "I wiggled out and dug through the box, removing everything so I could flip it over and hide for the rest of the night." Her expression relaxed as she confessed, "I fell asleep like that."

Blake smiled, silently prompting the heiress onwards.

"When I woke up the next morning and crawled out of the little shelter I had made myself, the light that trickled through the attic's small window allowed me to see what exactly I had strewn around," Weiss continued. "No one had bothered looking for me, so I thought I would go through everything; there wasn't much else to do at any rate."

She unconsciously began to play with the end of her asymmetrically tied ponytail. "I discovered that it was all memorabilia from the war," she softly said. "Jackets, pins, stitchings, equipment that had rusted and broke over time," Weiss listed. "The only thing that was still intact was that book."

"I'm surprised no one else in your family had found it before," Blake said.

"I'm not," Weiss flatly replied. "They probably hid it away for a reason, I figured." Weiss shrugged. "It was none of my concern, so I never asked. Nevertheless, I had kept that book my secret. I would carry it around wherever we went and read it late at night when I should have been asleep."

Her eyebrows knitted. "It always boggled me how he could have seen them in a different light," she murmured, barely loud enough for Blake to hear. "When all they had done was steal from my family, and kill those I held dear."

Blake looked down and said nothing.

"But from what I could tell," Weiss said, this time with certainty, "my great-great-grandfather was a good man, with good intent. His journal spoke of hope. Of calm. Of peace for the future." She turned her head and looked past Blake to stare out at the view beyond the enormous window in the room. "It's funny. As a child, I always used to wonder why his words and my reality were so far apart."

Silence enveloped the room as both parties pondered over Weiss's words.

"... Is this," Blake paused to wave the thin journal between her thumb and index finger, "why you decided to forgive me so quickly?"

"Partially," Weiss admitted, gaze flitting back to the faunus.

Blake canted her head. "So what were the other reasons?"

Weiss pressed her lips together. Seconds ticked by, and not a word passed her lips. Blake opened her mouth, on the verge of retracting her question, but Weiss blurted, "You," interrupting the apology that lingered on Blake's tongue.

"Pardon?" Blake instead said.

"You... And the time I spent with you," Weiss hastily clarified, "made me realise something. My grandfather was right, saying that your kind were misunderstood."

Blake waited for a few moments, expecting Weiss to elaborate further. However, the heiress never did. The faunus gleaned enough from Weiss's sparse reply, though, and her amber eyes softened. "... He sounds like a good man," she gently complimented.

"He does."

"I would have liked to have met him."

The heiress lightly bit her lower lip. "... As would have I," Weiss whispered.

Blake walked up to the heiress and leaned against the section of bookshelf right next to her. "Perhaps the Schnees aren't all that bad," she reflected aloud.

Weiss chuckled wryly. "Oh? I didn't think this story would convert you into a Schnee Dust Company advocate, Blake."

Blake shook her head, countenance completely serious. "It didn't, and I'm not. I'll never condone its flagrant disregard for faunus rights," she acknowledged. She stared at the heiress out of the corner of her eye. "But the Weiss Schnee I've gotten to know is leagues above the tarnished reputation the Schnees are plagued with amongst my people."

Weiss said nothing, but Blake noticed her cynical smile was slowly neutralising.

"I believe we've forged a bond that surpasses the inane grudge I hold against your family name," Blake continued, shifting her gaze ahead to stare at the opposite bookshelf. "And while I know it's not my place to talk about family..."

Blake turned to face the heiress, whose head lifted when she caught the action out of her peripheral. "They aren't you, and you aren't them," the faunus firmly declared. A small smile played on her lips. "And I would be glad if I could call you my friend, and vice versa."

Weiss glanced down at the polished wooden floorboards, before her eyes glanced up to meet intense, confident ambers. Her lips twitched upwards almost imperceptibly. "... I would like that," she replied.

Blake's smile stretched wider as a comfortable still washed over them. Weiss beckoned for the faunus to pass her the book, who did so without qualm.

She thumbed through the thin journal with her dexterous fingers, stopping precisely on pages that had a crude illustration of a faunus chieftain the General sketched.

Blake leaned over, watching a thin finger delicately trace over the drawing; how it seemed so real, with every minute detail – the tick in his brow, the wrinkles around his eyes and lips, the tension in his lean muscles – attributing to the man's life-like stature. She thought if she blinked, the chieftain would draw breath.

A part of Blake wondered if Weiss could draw as well. There was still so much they didn't know about each other.

"I always thought that he looked so human, if not for his..." Weiss trailed off, hand flitting to touch the black crow feathers crowning his head.

"... Have you told anyone else about all this?" Blake asked after a few beats, purposely leaving it vague.

Weiss shook her head, gently closing the book. "There was never a need. The topic of my past has never popped up in a conversation." She paused for a moment before looking at Blake with amusement swirling in her eyes. "Though I have a feeling Ruby'll wheedle it out of me eventually."

Blake's body shook with silent laughter, stunning Weiss momentarily – enough for the amusement to dissipate into faint confusion; she hadn't expected the faunus to find it funny, because she certainly didn't.

Blake shot her a knowing look. "You're getting along awfully well," she teased.

A faint pink blush speckled the heiress's pale cheeks. "Well of course, we're friends," Weiss reasoned. Her gaze flickered towards the exit.

"Mhm," Blake hummed. Deciding to let Weiss off the hook – for now – the faunus changed the topic. "So what did you come to get me for?"

Weiss did a double-take. "Huh? Oh." Her forehead creased as she thought back to their earlier conversation. "Since they're out at the beach again, I was wondering if you would like to join us."

Blake looked around the library before nodding. "I suppose I could read later. But..."

Weiss's eyebrows knitted. "But?"

The faunus gestured to the journal Weiss held in her hand. "Do you mind if I borrow that for awhile?"

Weiss reluctantly proffered it to Blake. "Don't get it wet."

"I wouldn't dream of it."


After both changed into their swimsuits – with Weiss opting for her white one-piece because of obvious reasons – they left the house in search of the rambunctious loud, familiar yells as soon as they stepped out of the door made Weiss stopped dead in her tracks. Her head dropped and she rubbed her nose bridge in exasperation.

Only when she felt Blake's callous hand on her shoulder did she reluctantly lift her head to look up at the faunus. Weiss's lips parted slightly so she could speak, but immediately clamped shut when she flinched, a ear-grating wail having caught her by surprise.

Traces of gloom seeped from Weiss's pores as she stared at Blake in despondence, as if to wordlessly apologise for dragging her away from the quiet, tranquil haven she had discovered.

Blake brushed the matter aside with a shake of the head. Glancing quickly out of the corner of her eye at the sisters, Blake used the same hand to gesture briefly at the rowdy twosome, silently asking if Weiss legitimately wished to join them now. Her eyes then flickered to the door, giving her fellow teammate a way out.

Never one to back down from a challenge, the heiress sighed heavily and replied with a half-hearted shrug. Without wasting another moment, Weiss trudged in the general direction of almost inhuman cries.

Blake watched the heiress plod off, admiring her friend's obstinacy, if nothing else.

The faunus would never say it aloud, at the risk of being caught between another heated argument, but she could see why Yang and Weiss got along as splendidly as they did; two hardheaded peas in a pod were destined to find kinship with one another, after all.

Her imagination unthinkingly conjured the image of her friends' heads in a green husk, literally 'butting heads' as they fought for dominance.

With that in mind, Blake faintly chortled before leisurely trailing after Weiss.

It was a short walk, since they found Ruby and Yang kicking sand at each other on the plot of sand near their usual spot. However, by no means was it pleasant; the incessant shouting only grew closer with each step.

Ruby, who was facing their direction, stopped the instant she spotted their approach. It was as if something in her had clicked, and instead of focusing on the match with her sister, her body relaxed as she waved enthusiastically, calling their names.

Despite that, Yang – who only registered Ruby's actions a split second later – was still in mid-kick, and couldn't terminate the wave of sand she punted at her defenceless sister's face as the momentum carried her foot forward. Shock and horror freezing her in place, the blonde could only cry, "Ruby, I'm sorry!"

Ruby sputtered and fell to her knees, coughing and spitting out the sand that had gotten into her mouth. Thankfully, she screwed her eyes shut just in the nick of time, preventing the grains from getting into her sensitive eyes.

Mouth dry and gritty, she look up at Weiss – who had, within the span of time, walked up to the kneeling leader.

"Ruby," Weiss wearily began, reaching an arm out to the girl, "are you–"

"Weiss!" she choked, wrenching forward to hug her partner. Unfortunately, because of their positions, Ruby could only wrap her arms around the heiress's waist. As a result of the weight imbalance, Weiss was incapable of stabilising the additional mass dumped onto her lower half, and promptly lost her footing.

Weiss slipped and fell onto her butt with a grunt, while Ruby yelped, having accidentally bit her tongue as they crashed onto the sand. The latter pulled away slightly so she could inspect her injured muscle. After a few seconds, she felt the sharp pain recede into a dull ache, and gave it the a-okay. Ruby then sheepishly glanced up at Weiss with an apology readied, but halted the second she met furious, piercing ice-blues.

Ruby tried to gulp, but all she felt was dry, gritty sand irritate her throat. Instead, Ruby jerked away from Weiss and used her hands to cup her mouth in an attempt to contain her dry, violent coughs.

Weiss stared at Ruby for a couple of beats. However, her hacking didn't let up – if anything, it seemed to get worse as the young leader hunched over, face scrunched in pain as an uncontrollable coughing fit wracked through her body.

Baring witness to that, the heiress started to feel worry seep in. Her head darted around, looking for some sort of stand that sold water. As soon as she spotted one, her eyes lit up and she quickly jumped to her feet, about to sprint to the vendor.

However, she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She wrenched her shoulder away from the hold and turned around, about to chew out whoever dared interrupt her, but ceased when she noticed it was Blake.

Still, she felt inexplicit rage coursing through her. Before Weiss could question the faunus, Blake calmly pointed at where Weiss knew Ruby would still be.

Her head jerked in that direction, allowing Weiss to see Yang knelt next to her sister, tenderly rubbing her back as Ruby guzzled a cold bottle of water the blonde passed her.

Weiss breathed a sigh of relief and mild annoyance. "Honestly..." she muttered.

Blake smirked at the heiress's one-eighty personality flip. She carefully scrutinised her friend, wondering if Weiss was aware as to how her body noticeably relaxed after realising Ruby was out of danger.

Meanwhile, Yang – after ensuring her little sister was alright and patting her solicitously – unhurriedly got to her feet and stretched. She stared pensively at her distracted faunus partner.

Yang, despite what most thought, had far more beyond the breezy disposition she maintained; behind the flippant attitude held an analytical, scheming mind of the highest caliber.

… That, unfortunately, only appeared when there was an objective Yang personally strived towards.

Getting Blake wet had become high on her priority list over the course of their holiday together.

However, Ruby's unfortunate mishap put a damper on her intricate, detailed plan to somehow lure Blake into the sea.

Thankfully, Yang was genre savvy enough to have also devised a Plan B, on the not-so-unlikely chance that Plan A would get foiled.

Regrettably for the blonde, it was far less elaborate than the first scheme.

She sucked in a deep breath and released in a rush. 'It's all or nothing,' she thought to herself, changing her stance; her knees bent slightly and she leaned forward, primed to pounce ahead as her sight zeroed in on Blake.

Before Blake could even blink, she was swept off her feet and hauled over the sturdy shoulder of her partner, fireman carry style. "Yang!" she yelped in surprise.

"You're comin' with me, little missy," Yang gruffed in a faux-mobster accent, marching purposefully to the ocean.

"Put me down, Yang!" Blake yelled as she wiggled as best she could in the uncomfortable position. Yang simply wrapped her arms tighter around her partner's legs.

"YANG!" Blake barked. Failing to receive any reaction, the irate Blake growled and began mercilessly punching the blonde's back with one loose fist and a book. Weiss's ancestor's journal.

That she wasn't supposed to damage.

She stopped pounding Yang's back with the book, but doubled her other fist's attack.

Said blonde cried out in hurt, the sting of each hard hit leaving her back muscles sore and tender. However, rather than force Yang to halt, it only spurred her to cross the stretch of sand faster so she could throw the faunus – who Yang now believed totally deserved the treatment – into the briny sea.

Blake grimaced, the jarring up-and-down motion of her friend's clumsy gallops making her clench her teeth together and brace her body. As the sound of sloshing water drew nearer, desperation gripped and squeezed her heart. Blake fought harder, flailing and shouting and smacking, but to no avail. Yang was practically a tank, absorbing the beating with pained grunts as she continued to close the distance between them and the ocean.

The faunus could hear the advancing tides just behind her, feel the little specks of water upon her back. Bitterly resigning herself to fate, Blake glanced down at the worn leather-bound book in hand.

At least one of them would make it safe. Blake hurriedly scanned their nearby vicinity in search of the heiress and spotted her dragging Ruby away.

With a strangled snarl, Blake pushed herself up as best she could and reared her arm back. "Weiss, catch!" she yelled, chucking the book in their direction just as Yang dove into the water, bringing the faunus down with her.

Amber eyes wrenched shut as the sounds and sensations of being underwater assaulted her senses. The unprepared, distraught Blake scrambled out of Yang's now loose hold, and proceeded to kick up towards the surface. Once she broke that, she sucked in deep lungfuls of air and pushed the wet tendrils of hair out of her face in indignation. "Yang!" she snapped at the sheepish blonde, who had taken to distancing herself from the furious faunus.

"... I'll make it up to you?" she offered, shrinking away from the menacing, predatory gaze Blake shot her.

"I know you will," Blake seethed.

Yang shrieked as her fuming partner lurched forward to grab her.


Meanwhile, Weiss and Ruby had watched them leave in mild confusion and concern – the latter on Ruby's part – before the young leader felt another cough tickle her throat and forced it out.

Weiss frowned and didn't hesitant to inch towards her partner. Not saying a word, she grabbed Ruby's free hand and tugged her to her feet, then dragged her to their chaises longues.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked between barely contained coughs.

Said girl looked out of her periphery at Ruby. Weiss didn't have any time to reply, for the next thing they heard was Blake shout, "Weiss, catch!"

The heiress's head twisted around to see her ancestor's journal arc through the air and slam right into the side of an inattentive Ruby's head.

Everything over the next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion for Weiss. She watched as Ruby slowly collapse onto the sand, and felt the loose grip of her leader's hand slip out of hers until all Weiss touched was air.

Ruby laid motionless on the warm, gritty ground. The journal that clocked her laid next to her innocently, as if it hadn't just acted as a dangerous projectile.

As time warped back into its normal, natural flow, Weiss exhaled slowly. She crouched down and grabbed the book in one hand, giving it a light shake to remove as much of the sand as possible, while using the other hand to gently shake Ruby's shoulder. "Are you alright?" Weiss asked.

Ruby groaned, carefully lifting herself off the sand. Her cheek was coated with the abrasive grains, but otherwise, Ruby escaped unscathed.

"Can you stand?"

Ruby nodded, and began to sluggishly get to her feet.

The heiress sighed and did the same. "Honestly," she muttered, trudging back to their claimed spot with a dazed Ruby in tow.

Once at the chairs, Weiss dumped her journal on the seat and crossed her arms huffily. "I told you it was best if you stayed in bed for another day or two," she lectured Ruby, who solemnly stood next to her with the most contemplative look on her face. "Rest is essential when one doesn't feel well. Look what happens when you don't listen to me."

Weiss paused, waiting for an apology – or at least a reply that conceded defeat – that never came. Turning to face her partner, Weiss noted the pensive expression the other girl had and frowned. "Ruby? You're still not listening–"

"I want ice-cream, Weiss," Ruby said with a pout. She stomped her foot lightly on the sand. "We didn't get ice-cream last time!"

Weiss stared disbelievingly at the young leader. Without hesitation, she leaned over and rested a cold hand against Ruby's forehead, despite the latter's protests. "Your aura must be all over the place if you couldn't even stop a journal from knocking out what little sense you had left," she gravely replied. With her other hand, she grasped Ruby's upper-arm and tugged her down to sit on the chair. "Clearly, you're not fit to be wandering about outside."

Ruby's cheeks puffed out in disgruntlement. "I am! And I'll prove it!" she stubbornly cried.

Weiss scowled. "I don't need or want you to prove anything, Ruby Rose. We'll have a doctor be the judge of your health."

The heiress made to leave, but was stopped in her tracks by Ruby, who jumped to her feet and lifted Weiss in an unsteady bridal carry.

"You dolt, what–"

Not giving Weiss time to say or do anything else, Ruby activated her semblance, zipping both of them across the stretch of beach and straight into the water.

Weiss sputtered, pushing her mischievously grinning partner away from her.

"See!" Ruby shouted over the loud, crashing waves, "Totally okay!"

An ear-piercing shriek that morphed into noisy gargling interrupted whatever retort Weiss had. Swivelling their heads in the direction of the relentless splashing, Ruby and Weiss spotted Blake holding a valiantly struggling person's head underwater.

Judging from the wisps of blonde hair floating on top of the buoyant seawater, they rightly assumed that it was Yang.

"Fine day we're having, isn't it?" Blake blithely remarked.


Yang's shoulders slumped as she shuffled behind her other companions, staring blankly at the receipt she had received earlier from Cardin's grandmother.

There went the rest of her allowance.

She sighed loudly, irately crumpling the sheet of paper in her hand as she recalled the events leading up to now.

Following Weiss and Ruby's arrival in the ocean, Yang managed to squirm away from Blake's deadly hold and make it back to shore. The blonde had stumbled to her hands and knees to hack out any water she accidentally inhaled. Her sister attended to her quickly and pounded on Yang's back in a recreation of what happened prior, albeit with the roles reversed.

Rather than take pity on her, despite the blonde almost drowning at Blake's own two hands, the unruffled faunus sashayed past her partner and unsympathetically demanded that Yang paid for her lunch as compensation.

Figuring it was a relatively light sentence, and desperately seeking atonement, Yang agreed, and everybody swiftly set home to get changed out of their swimwear.

When their bill arrived, courtesy of Cardin's grandmother, Yang hadn't expected Blake to umbrella the rest of the group's costs into what was considered her 'lunch'. Though Yang supposed she should have seen it coming; clearly, only paying for the faunus's lunch was too weak a punishment. And Blake knew very well how Yang was terrible with saving money – this put a major dent into all her plans.

Yang morosely pouted.

At least she got to make fun of Cardin a little before they left. That cheered her up slightly, if nothing else.

She just wished Blake hadn't convinced Ruby to cave into her urges – despite Yang's pleas – and purchase the most expensive sundae on the menu. The sly, conniving woman.

"Yang," Blake called, "are you listening?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, the blonde realised that they had walked all the way to the centre of town, stopping just in front of the square's fountain. "Huh?"

Weiss crossed her arms. "Evidently, she wasn't." The testy heiress shook her head and sighed. "Ruby proposed we have a barbecue tonight, Yang," Weiss informed, "and we're discussing how we'd like to do this. Any suggestions?"

"Oh," Yang said, scratching her jaw. "Why don't we split up into twos, then? One pair buys the food, the other sets up the pit. Simple."

Weiss nodded. "Logical. Ruby and I'll handle the former task the–"

"Whoa hang on," Yang interrupted. "It'd be safer if you guys set up the pit, since it's your vacation home."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you care about 'safety'? And what part of letting Ruby near a fire is safe?"

Mildly offended by the patronising comment, Ruby yelled an affronted 'hey!' that went largely ignored by everyone except Blake, who patted her back empathetically.

Yang waved off Weiss's concern. "She'll be fine. Besides, I don't want you blaming me if I accidentally mess something up."

Weiss rolled her eyes and was about to reprimand the blonde for her flippant irresponsibility, but paused. Her active imagination conjured snippets of what could potentially happen if she left Yang accountable.

Fire. Chaos. Destruction.

She could practically feel the smouldering heat exuding from the wreckage of her once pristine house, now a heaping pile of ashes and cinder; she could hear her parents' scathing words. They would berate her for surrounding herself with riffraff, and finally find enough reason to pull her out of Beacon Academy. Then, they would continue grooming her to become the perfect heiress and wife to the coveted Dust Company throne.

'For once,' a pale Weiss mused, 'Yang has a point.'

Noting how colour quickly drained away from her partner's face, a worried Ruby gently touched her shoulder and asked, "Are you okay?"

The skin contact jerked Weiss out of her daydream, who immediately stared at Yang with clear, humourless eyes. "Ruby and I will handle the fire."

Yang beamed. "Glad you could see things my way. Oh, by the way…" the blonde trailed off and extended her hand out to the heiress. "We'll need money."

Weiss thinned her lips.

"Hey, you saw me spend all of mine just now. I have nothing more to give," Yang declared, lifting her arms into the air.

Ruby leaned in close to her sister and narrowed her eyes, scrutinising Yang's chest. Reaching forward, Ruby poked her sister's cleavage a few times before nodding. "She's dry," she affirmed.

Weiss and Blake stared at them blankly.

"What? Don't you keep stuff in your bra?" Yang unabashedly asked. "It's a woman's au naturel extra storage space!"

Weiss's eyebrows knitted, but rather than retort, the heiress simply sighed in a mixture of resignation and defeat. Reaching into her purse, Weiss pulled out her wallet. Her hand hovered over a black card, before the heiress had second thoughts. Trusting the duo with limitless credit was probably the dumbest thing she could do. Not outwardly showing the distrust she felt, Weiss instead extracted a platinum card from one of its many pockets. Then, she specifically passed it to Blake, slapping away the blonde's hand that attempted to swipe the card from her grasp.

"Just get whatever food and drinks you'll think we need. The items needed to start the pit's already in the house, so don't worry about that," Weiss said.

Blake nodded and pocketed the card in her capris.

"So what's the limit?" chimed Yang as she threw an arm around the impassive faunus.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Let's just say that if you reached it, I'd be well and truly shocked."

Ruby nudged the heiress with an elbow. "Uh, Weiss? It's Yang. We've seen her shopping habits before."

"Yeah," Yang echoed the sentiment. "That kinda only makes me want to try harder. I mean, I'm totally up for the challenge if that was your intent, Weiss."

A shadow of a smirk crept onto Weiss's face as she crossed her arms. "I gave my card to Blake for a reason."

The blonde grinned. "And what makes you think–"

She was interrupted by her own yelp of shock as Blake unceremoniously pulled away, leaving Yang to stumble awkwardly after losing her faunus crutch.

Not paying any heed to Yang's surprised cry, the faunus slipped the sunglasses perched atop her head over her eyes and walked off in the direction of the shopping district. "I'm still marginally mad at you," Blake flippantly mentioned, expecting the blonde to obediently follow her.

And rightfully so, for even with all her pride, Yang could never resist the lure of Weiss's seemingly bottomless spending credit when dangled so dangerously near and practically served on a silver platter.

Despite her plans being thwarted by Blake's mood, Yang shamelessly departed without another word, not one to give up so easily. Ruby and Weiss watched her chase after her partner until the duo disappeared into the crowd.

As Ruby and Weiss made for the house, Ruby couldn't help but cast quick backward glances in the direction her sister left in.

She knew the heiress herself was not in the least bit worried, and so Ruby had no real cause for concern. However, the young leader wondered if Weiss understood just what she unwittingly signed up for.

While she trusted Blake's willpower, she also knew from first-hand experience how persuasive and persistent Yang could be.

Ruby fully expected a substantial dent made in her partner's banking account.

She only prayed Weiss – in all her goodwill – wouldn't demand any compensation, because they'd be hard-pressed to explain to their parents how or why they wound up in debt only after their first year.


Yang groaned, feeling the numerous heavy grocery-filled plastic bags rub into her hands and shoulders until they left vibrant red welts behind. Encumbered by the mass, the blonde slogged after her partner, who was substantially less inhibited, considering Blake only had to carry a small bag of cookies.

The blonde had been whining throughout the trip as they moved from one store to the next, gathering the foods and drinks Blake determined they needed and nothing else. Her ceaseless begging went ignored by the faunus, who was resolved to keep the credit card well out of Yang's reach.

"Maybe if you hadn't hauled me into the sea," Blake had sassed after Yang's complaints of unfairness, "I would be a little more gracious."

Recalling her partner's petty grudge, Yang's shoulders slumped in regret.

She hadn't even been able to enjoy watching Blake in all her wet, nubile glory. This entire circumstance had been a lose-lose situation.

Meanwhile, Blake halted to check her slim watch. They spent the better part of an hour shopping for groceries, and she could tell Yang was exhausted, considering she had stopped complaining awhile ago.

Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Blake saw her partner meandering along, hunched over and bogged down by the bags. "I think we have time to take a break," Blake nonchalantly said, making a show of glancing around the open-air strip mall. "Perhaps we might even have time to shop and just take a cab back to the house."

Yang's head perked up. "Really?"

Blake smiled a little at the blonde's innocent childlike response. "Yes," she replied, turning to look at the excited Yang. "On one condition," she continued, holding up a finger with her free hand.

Yang nodded enthusiastically, ready and willing to hear and oblige.

"Use your own money."

Yang's expression fell. "But..." She dropped a handful of bags, heedless of Blake's protests, and reached around to pull out her wallet from the back pocket of her shorts. With a deft flick of the hand, she popped open her wallet and displayed the empty wallet for her partner to see. "But I have nothing left!" she cried, staring up at the faunus in despair.

Blake inspected the purse. "You have your debit card."

Yang frowned. "Unless you expect me to walk back to my parents' place and forage for food, it's technically empty."

Blake shrugged. "Then that's a shame."

"Blaaaaaake," Yang whined, dropping the remaining bags to sidle up to the faunus. "Pleeaaaaseeee?" she dragged out, draping herself over Blake.

Blake made a disgruntled noise, trying to shrink away from the blonde. When that only made Yang cling harder, Blake reached with her free hand to poke and shove the blonde hard in the side.

Yang didn't budge. Rather, she hung on even tighter. "I'm not letting go until you say yes!" she yelled.

Blake winced, the sentence having been shouted near her sensitive ears. "Don't be a child!"

"But I wanna shop!"

The faunus noticed that their shenanigans had slowly gathered the attention of a small crowd. "Yang!" she hissed, "You're causing a scene!"

"I don't care!" wailed the blonde at the top of her lungs, "I won't let go of you until you say yes!"

Blake's human ears began to flush as she noticed more people watch them in her periphery. "No you buffoon, let go!" she said under her breath as her pushes grew more violent.

"Give me a yes, then!" Yang shouted.

"I'm not letting you–"

"Just say yes!" a stranger cried, cupping his hands around his mouth. The small crowd that had formed started to howl words of encouragement for Yang, alternately screaming for Blake to 'change her mind'.

The faunus found herself growing disorientated by the uproar; change her mind? Why did she–

Her train of thought was stalled by a particularly loud yell that came simultaneously from a husky biker and Yang. With the insistent hollering around them, in addition to having to shoulder most of Yang's weight, the pressure – and uproar – became too much for Blake to endure. "Alright, fine!" she said.

"Fine what?" Yang cried, though the cheeky grin on her face told Blake the blonde was intentionally playing coy.

Blake scowled, but growled, "Yes Yang, now get off!"

Hearing that, the blonde leapt off with a cheer as the rest of the onlookers hurrahed.

Blake slumped, tired from the surprisingly taxing ordeal. 'This was supposed to be a simple shopping trip...'

An affable old lady approached them with a kind smile. "That was quite the show there."

Yang leaned over to loop an arm around Blake's hunched shoulders and pull her in closer. "Thank you! Glad you liked it."

The elderly woman laughed. "So vibrant and full of youth. You remind me of me when I was your age," she said, pointing a shaky finger at the grinning blonde.

"I hope to age as beautifully as you, m'am," Yang replied impishly.

"My," the lady said as she looked at Blake with a twinkle in her eyes. "Better keep this one on a leash."

Blake smiled weakly, but only managed to voice a feeble "Yeah."

The woman laughed again, her wrinkles creasing even more. "Ah, so shy. You'll grow out of it," she said, misinterpreting Blake's response for bashfulness. "Congratulations, by the way. We don't typically see youngsters like yourselves around, since this is a relatively old town, so being able to witness young love like this makes us all feel sprightly again."

"Wait," Blake said, snapping out of her defeated daze before Yang could react. She pulled herself away from the blonde's hold and stepped closer to the elderly woman, bending slightly to maintain their eye levels. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

She chuckled. "I'm sure you're far from deaf my dear," she cheekily replied, motioning to Blake's bow. "No need to be sheepish about this – it's a wonderful thing when one finds their mate!"

Blake gaped, mouth moving silently as she tried to speak.

"Oh, but look at me intruding; it must be awkward when other people talk to you about this, especially when it's so new. I'll leave you two alone – do enjoy your vacation." Without another word, the elderly lady turned around and hobbled away, leaving the stunned faunus behind. She shook her head and muttered loud enough for the two teenagers to hear, "What a cute couple."

"Huh," Yang said. "The old folks here sure are surprisingly accepting of faunus–"

Recovering from shock, Blake yelled after the old woman with wild, dilated amber eyes: "No! You don't understand, we aren't like that!"

Yang's eyebrows flew up at how violently her partner was reacting. Slinging her arm around the faunus again, the blonde was taken aback by how desperately Blake tried to surge away; feeling her arm almost pop out of its socket from the first yank, Yang tightened her grip, not giving Blake any space to flail. "Whoa," Yang said, "calm–"

"But we're not–"

The blonde faked hurt. "What, am I really that bad, that you'd outright reject even the idea of dating me?"

Blake sputtered. She was certain the blonde would make a decent – if not frenetic – romantic partner, but... them? Together?

Seeing Blake's befuddled expression caused Yang to break down in a fit of laughter.

Blake scowled, snapping out of her stunned reverie. "It's not funny!"

Yang grinned. "It is! Is this really what you're worried about?"

"Yes!" the faunus glowered at her insouciant partner, sorely tempted to smack the grin off her face. "Why aren't you?"

"Hm?" Yang's expression scrunched in confusion. "Because why should I be? I know we aren't going out, and you," she emphasised the word by poking the distressed faunus lightly on the cheek, "know that too. So what's there to be concerned over?"

"But–"

Yang rolled her eyes and pulled away from Blake, trudging back towards the grocery she left behind. "It's not like we'll ever see these people again or anything, or that it'll go into the rumour mill." Yang carried the heavy load relatively effortlessly – now that her arms had a bit of a break – and finished, "Besides, even if it did, we know the truth. Who cares what other people think?"

Yang shrugged, twirling on her heel to face her partner. "That's how I see it, anyway."

Blake looked over her shoulder and weakly shook her head, though her lips curved slightly. "... You can be surprisingly simple when you want to be, Yang."

The blonde beamed. "I'll take that as a compliment." She marched past Blake to the row of stores, a jaunty little bounce in her steps. "Now c'mon! You said we'd go shopping with Weiss's card!"

Blake grimaced, remembering her brief moment of weakness. Strolling up quickly to walk alongside the blonde – who slowed down to a lazy saunter as Blake approached out of her periphery – the faunus said, "Really, let's not. I'll lend you some money instead, Yang."

"Seriously?" Yang frowned. "... But it's not the same," she muttered, looking downcast.

One of Blake's eyebrows raised. "How is it not the same? I know I don't have as much as this card's limits–"

"It's not that," Yang interrupted. "It's... the power. Power associated with swiping out that card."

Blake's eyebrows furrowed. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah!" she exclaimed, springing in front of Blake. She spun around to face the faunus, never once breaking stride, and said, "I mean..." Her expression twisted with indignation. "I mean, you did it! When we went to the grocery story, you went to the fishmonger and asked for the most expensive ones! Bluefin tuna, Blake! I didn't even know they carried that stuff in normal markets!"

Blake shuffled uneasily. "... I didn't either," she replied. "... That's why I got it," she admitted in a whisper.

"See!" Yang cried, the crinkling of plastic bags accenting her yell as she pointed an accusatory finger at Blake. "That card is power! I just want to try it once – just once – on something big!"

The faunus pursed her lips together. "You could have told me earlier. I would have let you buy the–"

"No!" Yang shouted, putting her foot down. "I want something that appeals to me! You got bluefin tuna! I want like, new clothes! Or boots! Or a new punching bag because I accidentally broke the one in our room!"

Blake was taken aback by the last admission. "... You broke our punching bag?"

Yang paused. "... Yes."

Blake heaved a frustrated sigh, rubbing her face with a hand. "We can't charge Weiss for that," she asserted. "This is our problem."

The blonde petulantly pouted. "Well then, what about a," her forehead creased as the cogs in her head whirred, "leather jacket? I... I need one for... biking?"

Blake was about to shoot the blonde down, but stopped, mulling over what Yang said. She imagined the blonde in a sleek, form-fitting brown bomber jacket that complimented the rest of her neutral outfit. Allowing her mind to wander, the faunus conceived a short snippet of what it'd be like; she could envision Yang – wearing it unzipped – effortlessly straddling her bike as it cruised down Vale's roads, the high-speeds Yang frequently travelled at whipping the sturdy leather about behind the blonde.

For some baffling reason, Blake thought it most appealing.

"... Okay," she answered thoughtfully after a few seconds.

Yang halted and stared at her partner in disbelief, not having think it'd work. "Wait. Really?"

"Yes. Let's go find you a leather jacket." With that, Blake overtook the stunned blonde and strode to the nearest fashion boutique. 'Sorry Weiss,' Blake thought, apologising to the heiress in her head. 'But I'm sure it wouldn't be too bad if we splurged a little more.'

The blonde lit up and rushed after Blake.

"Oh, but if Weiss asks, it's completely on you," Blake called out.

Yang smirked slyly. "Don't worry about her! I'll take care of things."


Weiss daintily sneezed.

As she sniffed and gently rubbed her nose, her partner glanced over from the fire she was stoking in one of the pits they had spruced up. "Are you okay?" Ruby asked, concern in her voice.

"I'm fine," Weiss casually replied, setting up the rest of the outdoor table in preparation of the barbecue. "It must have been dust."

"Dust?" Ruby's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Oh, oh, oh! Yang taught me this! Is Weiss schneezing–"

The heiress glared daggers at her partner, who took the hint and kept quiet. "Be thankful you're not your sister, or there would have been no mercy," she warned.

Ruby hastily apologised, though Weiss's threat failed to wipe off the smile from her face.

Weiss stared at Ruby – who continued to observe her with a tiny knowing smile – for awhile before the heiress began to feel uncomfortable under her partner's gaze. "What?"

Ruby tilted her head. "You and Yang are close, aren't you?"

Weiss scoffed. "I wouldn't use the word 'close', Ruby."

"In any case, you've really opened up, Weiss," Ruby remarked with soft grey eyes. "I'm glad."

The heiress looked away. "Well, perhaps we should thank my dolt of a leader, then." Weiss glanced meaningfully out of the corner of her eye at Ruby. "It turns out her commanding the team wasn't such a terrible decision after all."

Ruby couldn't suppress the elated grin that stretched across her face from the compliment. "I'll pass along the word."

A comfortable silence then fell upon them, as they picked up where they left off with their tasks.

"Hey Weiss?" Ruby asked as she threw more charcoal into the pit.

The heiress hummed, signalling that the younger girl had her attention.

Ruby used her tongs to flip a few of the coals, her grey eyes tinted orange while watching the embers dance. "Think you'll be doing anything for the last week of our summer break?"

Weiss paused. Her eyebrows knitted as she ran through her schedule in her head. "I don't believe so. Why?"

"I was wondering if you'd be interested in tagging along with me and Yang back to our hometown," Ruby started. "We told you Blake's coming too, right? So it wouldn't be awkward for you."

The heiress blinked. "You're inviting me over to your house?"

"Mhm!" Ruby chirped, placing her tongs to the side. "It's not as big as this place, but I think it could handle another four people. Our parents are super nice and cool too, so don't worry about that stuff."

Despite Ruby's encouraging words, Weiss felt conflicted. On one hand, a part of her bubbled with ecstasy, thrilled by the idea that she was finally offered the chance to leisurely spend time with friends; it being something she had only ever read in stories – something she had only been able to fantasise about until that very moment – made the child in Weiss bounce off the walls she had been confined within.

However, the seventeen-year-old in Weiss – the prim and proper Schnee heiress – subdued that emotion, not letting it slip and expose her adolescent dream.

The only indication of Weiss's reaction was the small crease on her forehead. "Are you sure about this? Would Yang be alright with it?"

"Oh yeah, totally!" Ruby exclaimed. "Don't worry about it, I cleared it with my parents and Yang ages ago."

Warmth filled the heiress's chest at hearing that Ruby had gone through the time, effort and trouble to plan it beforehand; while it would seem insignificant to some, Weiss understood that it meant Ruby actually intended for her to join them – that inviting Weiss along wasn't simply a throwaway thought. Pretending to be reluctant – and pulling it off perfectly – the heiress gingerly replied, "I... suppose it wouldn't hurt."

"Great!" The beaming youth ran up to her partner and grabbed her hands in a strong, yet gentle, grip. "I promise you won't regret it!" she enthused.

"Oi, what are you two doing!" they heard someone shout from a distance. Hands still clasped together between themselves, they turned their head in synchrony to find a swiftly approaching Yang waving a fist – that had multiple plastic bags dangling from it – in greeting. "We're back!"

Weiss noted the way Blake shuffled behind the blonde, more bags in tow; if the heiress hadn't spent the last year working with Blake, she would have missed how the faunus's shoulders were slightly heavier, a stark contrast to her typical proud-yet-humble bearing. Scrutinising her expression, Weiss seemed to detect faint traces of... remorse?

The heiress's eyebrows furrowed, and she eyed the gaining blonde. There was something different–

Ice-blue eyes widened on realising Yang hadn't sported a crisp brown leather jacket on top of her summer ensemble earlier. Ripping her hands out of Ruby's grasp, Weiss stormed off to meet Yang halfway to their house. "You bought a jacket with my money!" she accused.

Yang gasped. "I would never! What a bold statement!"

The blonde's reply only made her seethe. "Then how did you acquire it?" she demanded.

"With your card," Yang answered easily. "It's not money per se, because it's technically credit–"

"Yang Xiao Long!" Weiss barked, stomping her foot on the ground as she launched into a tirade.

Meanwhile, Blake slipped past the quarrelling duo and carefully placed her handful of groceries on an empty wooden table near their barbecue pit. Ruby looked away from the ensuing argument to shoot the faunus an eloquent look.

Blake sighed. "How do you keep up with her?" she asked, referring to Yang.

"Years of training, young padawan," Ruby sagely answered, nodding her head.

Blake cowed her head deferentially as a sympathetic Ruby stepped forward and patted her on the shoulder. "I still have much to learn."

As this happened, Weiss – whose face was turning red from screaming – finally began winding down as she caught her breath.

Yang cleared her throat. "Now that that's out of your system, would you let me speak?"

Weiss glared daggers at the blonde, but said nothing.

Taking that as an 'okay', Yang rummaged through the multitude of bags in hand until she found a nondescript one, its material made of paper. She dexterously moved the various handles in her hands until only the featureless bag remained in her left hand. Offering it to the heiress, Yang said, "See! I got something for you too!"

"With my money, Yang Xiao Long–"

"Yeah yeah, you should have expected it," Yang replied flippantly, brushing off the disgruntled heiress's comment. "This is a good gift anyway! Take it!"

Weiss stared at it with suspicion. "I don't trust anything you willingly purchase for me that gets placed in a generic brown paper bag."

Yang huffed, shoving it into her hands. "Don't be a party pooper! Open it!"

When Weiss didn't budge, the blonde rolled her eyes. "It's not going to bite. Completely harmless, I swear."

Certain that Yang would not move until she checked the contents, Weiss unwillingly peered into its depths. Her face contorted with a mix of shock and outrage as she thought she saw something... lacy and red.

Her hands flew to the bag's opening and spread it open, allowing light to illuminate its interior to confirm what Weiss already suspected.

The heiress sputtered, head bobbing up and down as she moved between gaping at the madly grinning blonde and her indecent purchase. "You spent my money on skimpy lingerie?" she shrieked.

"I checked the size, and it totally fits you!" Yang had the cheek to reply.

She pointed a finger into the bag and cried, "Why would I ever need... this?! What is your problem! And how do you know my size?!"

Yang tactfully refrained from telling the heiress how she obtained that particular piece of information from Ruby herself during one of their regular 'sister talks'. "Aw c'mon Weiss!" she exclaimed, digging a hand into the bag and pulling out a pair of lacy crimson panties between her fingers. "Look at this! Ruby loves red!"

Weiss took one glimpse at the underwear before her eyes hurriedly darted back to make contact with amused lilacs. "What does that have anything to do with this?!"

The blonde snorted. "Connect the dots yourself!" she answered, flicking the flimsy piece of cloth at Weiss's head, where it hit her forehead and slid to catch on her nose with amazing accuracy. Then, Yang dashed back to where Ruby and Blake were, cackling loudly.

Weiss ripped the underwear away from her face and promptly shoved it back into the bag, crumpling the surprisingly durable material from the force. "Yang!" she roared, chasing after the blonde who, after dropping her load of groceries, hastily ducked behind her faunus partner.

As she slid to a stop in front of Blake, Weiss exclaimed, "I cannot believe you let her buy these, Blake!"

Blake held her hands up apologetically. "I'm sorry, we'll make it up to you." She studied the creased bag in Weiss's hand. "If it's any consolation, I have no idea what's in there. Yang took the card and ran."

The heiress looked at Ruby, who politely said nothing, though it was as plain as day that her expression screamed: 'I told you so'.

"It's not like you're short on money anyway!" Yang said, peeking over the shoulder of her faunus meat shield.

"You owe me, Yang!" Weiss yelled, inching closer to the pair.

Yang firmly held Blake in place by her arms, noticing that the faunus had begun to slowly sidestep away. "That's why I got you the under–!"

"Don't you finish that sentence!" Weiss shouted, reaching for one of the sharp metal skewers usually reserved for grilling.

Sensing that things were rapidly taking a turn for the worse, Ruby swooped in and grabbed her partner's shoulders, shuffling her away from the dangerous tool with a nervous laugh. "Let's just all take a deep breath and calm down–"

"Yeah Weiss, don't get your knickers in a twist–"

The heiress's hands curled into claws as she lurched forward with reckless abandon, knocking Ruby over as she dove into the fray with her bare hands.


Ruby skipped on the brick pavement, the wooden sandals that complimented her yukata clacking rhythmically with every step as she giggled gleefully with her sister, who hopped alongside her.

Blake and Weiss trailed a short distance behind them, taking in the gorgeous, festive ambience. The streets were lined with lanterns that faintly illuminated the area – the same ones they saw the middle-aged man hanging up the first day they arrived in the quaint town, in fact. The crescent moon greeted them overhead, providing more lighting to the lively yet not rowdy atmosphere.

A few days had lapsed since the eventful barbecue together – all of which having been relatively uneventful – and since then, the town had shifted into high-gear, preparing for the celebration.

Tanabata; the event that happened to fall on the last night of their holiday together in the seaside municipality.

Having been informed that there would be a breathtaking firework display by Cardin's sweet grandmother, each girl thought that in some way, this festival would be the culmination of their time here.

They noticed as they continued walking towards the town square that with each step, the crowd grew larger and noisier, and the lights and displays became brighter and more ostentatious. Spotting something out of the corner of her eye when the sea of people momentarily parted, Yang – who was leading the group with her sister – stopped dead in her tracks.

"Yang?" Blake questioned, staring oddly at the still blonde. Beside her, Weiss also came to a halt, and was swiftly flanked by an equally perplexed Ruby.

Yang's hand reached back and roughly grabbed Blake by her yukata's sleeve. Breaking into a sprint, she tugged along the unsuspecting faunus, who yelped in bewilderment as she staggered ahead involuntarily. "Yang!"

Leaving a baffled Weiss and dumbfounded Ruby in their dust – who quickly vanished into the swarm of bodies – the duo raced towards a nearby stand that caught Yang's attention. Blake, despite her agility and the living blonde tank parting the way in front of her, found it difficult to keep apace, considering the vast amounts of bodies she had to shove past; she wasn't used to being so overt.

When they finally broke free from the main mob traversing through the street and escaped onto the slightly quieter side-roads, Yang skidded to a halt and pointed at the stand they faced. "Blake, look!"

Blake turned away from the bunch of people she had been apologising to, ready to berate her partner. However, she caught sight of what Yang dragged her to: a rowdy bunch of children also dressed in yukatas of varying colours and designs hunkered down around an inflatable pool filled with water. Closer inspection revealed to Blake that there were, in fact, little goldfishes swimming around, nimbly avoiding the children's aggressive attempts to catch them with little... nets?

"Goldfish?" faunus asked with dismay in her voice.

Yang grinned and released her hold on Blake's sleeve in favour of seizing her hand. "I've seen this in TV shows!" she gushed, wrenching Blake with her as they neared the pop-up booth.

Upon closing in on the stall, their eyes met the vendor's; the same old woman they met days prior. She flashed them a kind, wrinkly smile. "Oh, it's you two! Would you be interested in playing?"

Even if Blake wished to object, she wouldn't have been able to, since her boisterous partner swiftly replied, "Yeah! How much a pop, Miss?"

The elderly lady brought a hand to her mouth to cover a dainty giggle. "For you, I'll let your first rounds be free. How does that sound?"

Yang flashed her a thumbs up. "You drive a hard bargain, but we'll take it!"

They shared a laugh together.

As the woman hobbled deeper into the small stand and busied herself collecting the necessary equipment for her new clients, Blake observed the children gathered nearby, watching their every move as they tried to fish – rather futilely – for their prize.

The elderly woman returned shortly thereafter with two small bowls and two tiny nets; in Blake's eyes, they were simply rings placed on a thin stick-like handle, and covered with a solid opaque material of sorts. Once Yang passed the faunus her own set, Blake took the time to analyse the substance stretched across the ring's hollowed hole.

She was about to give the filmy component a firm poke, but a hand grabbed her outstretched finger and tugged her towards the small pool of water, popping the faunus's bone in the process.

Before she could say a word, Yang released the hold she had on Blake's finger and planted a sturdy hand on her partner's shoulder, forcing her to squat. Simultaneously, the blonde crouched next to her, a look of fiery determination and excitement on her face as she rolled up her long sleeves. The blonde then grasped her small net-like device in a firm grip and whipped it out of her basin, brandishing it with surprising finesse.

Blake watched her typically brash and rough friend seem to change right before her very eyes; after Yang scooped some of the water into her bowl and angled it just so the water gathered precariously in the lower half, she positioned her net in the air and patiently examined her fishy adversaries, not moving an inch.

Blake noted that the unusually tranquil brawler appeared to have set her sights on a single fish, from the way her lilac eyes tracked the lone black goldfish swimming near the centre with laser precision.

Some time passed like this, with an unmoving Yang ready and primed to strike upon her unsuspecting victim. The initially enraptured Blake had gradually grown bored of observing her companion, and was about to give it her own go. However, the second Blake took her eyes off the blonde, she heard a soft hitch in Yang's even breaths.

A quick glance at the pool revealed the prey Yang focused on had begun to swim in their direction. As it approached them with lightning speed – for a goldfish – it blindly bumped its head onto the rubbery rim of the pool. Out of her periphery, Blake saw her partner's muscles abruptly tense.

In one fluid motion, Yang swiftly swung her net-wielding arm down, scooping the fish out of the water and flinging it delicately into her vessel.

Blake gaped.

Yang started to celebrate noisily, before becoming aware of the fact that her partner hadn't attempted to catch anything yet. "Not gonna give it a go, Blake?" she asked.

Her roguish, toothy grin shook Blake out of her reverie. "I will. I was just... observing."

The blonde nodded. "Don't take too long, we still have other stuff to do!" she gleefully exclaimed as she stood up.

Blake frowned. "Don't rush me."

"Alright, alright," Yang appeased halfheartedly, walking towards the elderly lady. "I'll go put fishy here in a bag."

Left on her lonesome, Blake's attention returned to the pool and immediately spotted a sprightly goldfish leisurely swimming nearby, whose bright scales aptly lived up to its name.

Recalling Yang's success, Blake believed that the task at hand wouldn't be difficult. The children had struggled, but she chalked that up to clumsiness and inexperience that came with young age.

Readying herself as Yang did, Blake went through the actions she witnessed her friend do, albeit more clunkily. Once those procedures were complete, Blake zeroed in on her target.

As it glided past her, Blake's arm snapped out and skimmed the water with her net, barely grazing the fish as she miscalculated the force necessary. The faunus scowled and tried again, chasing after her prey with dogged ambition. Victory seemed within reach when Blake managed to rear it into the wall, and she swooped in for the catch.

Only for the goldfish to slipped through the net's hole and swim away, absolutely unfazed.

Behind her, the faunus heard the telltale boisterous chortle of her partner.

Hoisting her net out of the pool, Blake examined the device. Her eyebrows flew up when she spotted that the opaque material once covering its centre had torn open, leaving only an empty hole in its wake.

Blake glowered at the accursed object that had stricken her with failure, chucking it back into the basin.

"It's made out of paper," she heard Yang say with mirth into her ear as the blonde wrapped her arms around the sullen faunus's shoulder and leaned into her back, forcing Blake to shift her centre of gravity lest they both plummet into the water. As her goldfish dangled enticingly in front of Blake's eyes, the blonde continued, "There's actually a technique to it!"

"Since when were you so good at things that required restraint?" Blake retorted, studying the fish her partner nabbed as it swam in its temporary plastic abode.

"I'm not," Yang replied matter-of-factly. One of her arms slid down just enough for her to grip Blake's hand, turning it palm-side up as she entrusted her prize with Blake. "I just hate losing."

Feeling Yang's weight lift itself off her back, Blake was free to twist around and stare at the blonde as she rose to her full height.

Offering a hand to her companion, Yang enthused, "C'mon, let's get something to eat! I'm starving."

The faunus accepted her help and got to her feet with ease. "What about Weiss and Ruby?"

Waving goodbye to the elderly woman, the blonde proceeded to walk ahead, hauling Blake along by the hand. "Eh, they'll be fine on their own. We'll probably be able to find each other when the fireworks start; it's way too crowded to try and search for them now."

Blake made a noise, concurring with her partner. As they strolled along the busy streets of the festival, wordlessly basking in its exuberance, Blake peered down at her newly obtained pet. "What did you name it?" she shouted over the din.

Not stopping in her stride, Yang half-swivelled her body to glance at her friend. "Coalfish. Why?"

"Coal–" Blake sighed.

"Good one, isn't it?" she proudly replied, weaving them through the sea of bodies towards one of the food vendors.

"It's certainly... you," Blake responded unsurely.

Yang grinned guiltlessly, halting in front of a yakisoba stall. "I was thinking about getting a tank for it later, but..."

Blake exhaled, remembering that her partner had run out of money. Now out of the dense crowd, she took the opportunity to closely inspect her friend's new pet as it swam from one side to the other. Through the distorted water and plastic combination, she caught a glimpse of the hopeful look Yang shot her. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt if I lent you some money..." she muttered, gently prodding the bag while taking special care not to pierce it with her nails. "We should get it a companion, though," she said thoughtfully. "I hear they get lonely."

"Sounds good to me," Yang replied, looking as elated as ever. When the storekeeper prompted her for her order, the blonde held up two fingers.

"By the way, how were you planning to pay for our food?" Blake queried, charmed by the little fish.

Yang froze in place. "Uh..."

Blake spun on her heel and began to walk off.

"B-Blake!" Yang stuttered, desperately stretching a hand out to the faunus. "Please don't leave me!"

Her partner only continued to move further into the crowd.

"BLAKE!"


Elsewhere enjoying the festivities were Ruby and Weiss, who found themselves ambling about the brightly-lit area feeling rapture and nostalgia respectively. In Ruby's hand was a glass bottle half-filled with fizzy blue liquid that Weiss had unthinkingly recommended – her second one that night, though it had originally been the heiress's first.

Weiss warily watched Ruby effortlessly guzzle more of the sweet beverage out of the corner of her eye. 'She can't drink anymore of that,' Weiss cautiously mused, 'or else there'll be trouble.'

The heiress ruefully exhaled, the sound drowned out by the chatter around them as she looked up at the starless night sky. She thought back to the series of events that led to Ruby getting her hands on the sugary concoction; how after Yang and Blake's unexpected departure, Weiss was left to accompany the frightfully bubbly and excitable teenager as she bounded from one place to the next, as if fuelled by the energy saturating the air.

It was then, as they wandered about, that Weiss had been swept away by how jarringly reminiscent everything was of the festivals she had attended with her family several years ago as a child. Overwhelmed by sentimentality, the heiress started to reveal little tidbits of information about her past, intermingled with her vast festival experiences, as they passed by anything that sparked her memory – one of which being the overly sweet refreshments constantly sold. Weiss had remembered that despite becoming bewitched by the drink's attractive hue the first time she had seen it, her parents never acquiesced to her appeal, declaring it was too unhealthy and lowly for her.

The heiress only managed to sneak a taste through the help of an old compassionate maid – who had been her favourite before her retirement – and had been enthralled by less of the flavour, and more of the surreptitious circumstances; the drink had signified Weiss's defiance against her parents rigid, pretentious rules, and she as a young girl had revelled in that knowledge.

It was an oversight to completely forget about how ridiculously saccharine the beverage was. One she only realised after Ruby had successfully hounded her into purchasing two bottles, and she took her first, regrettable sip. 'I shouldn't have pointed out that stand.'

Finishing the last of her drink with one big gulp, Ruby pulled the bottle away from her lips and breathed a loud, content sigh. Raising it into the air, she cried, "I love this town!"

The locals meandering around them cheered thunderously and proceeded to heartily pat Ruby on the arm and back.

Pleased by the positive reaction, Ruby turned to stare at her partner with a broad smile. "This place is great!" she gushed, spreading her arms out and twirling on the balls of her feet until she faced the heiress again. "We should come back next time!"

Weiss's lips faintly curled. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

"Y'know, this stuff is awesome," Ruby raved, inspecting the glass container. "I don't know why you didn't want to drink yours."

The heiress frowned, its cloying taste even now lingering on her tongue. "It was too sweet for my liking."

"Well aren't you glad I'm here?" the young leader quipped merrily. "It would have been a waste if you just threw it away." Ruby smacked her lips together, staring wistfully at the empty bottle in her hand. "I should get another one."

"No," Weiss flatly rejected.

Ruby was crushed. "But..."

"Really, Ruby?" the heiress asked, stopping in her tracks to stand with arms akimbo, causing Ruby to pause in her steps as well lest she lose her partner in the crowd. "There so much more to this festival. Do you really want to just keep–"

"Ooh, what's that?!" the younger girl exclaimed, grey eyes sparkling with delight as she identified a stall behind Weiss which they had missed, packed with children. "Diecutting," she read off the stand, tone oozing with excitement. Grey eyes, with practically sparkling irises, flickered to stare at Weiss. "What's diecutting?"

"Honestly Ruby..." Weiss sighed with fatigue, already beginning to feel enervated simply from the raw enthusiasm Ruby held in spades. She glanced over her shoulder to inspect the stall. "It's a game where you carve out brittle candy–"

The instant Ruby heard Weiss utter the word 'candy', something clicked in her mind. Not letting the heiress finish her explanation, Ruby grabbed her by the hand and began dragging her to the nearby vendor, eliciting a startled cry from Weiss.

Ruby shamelessly shoved through the crowd with her body, mirroring her older sister's earlier actions with her own partner. The heiress yelled for her to stop, glaring at the younger girl's slim back, but gave up with a frustrated growl when she realised she had been tuned out. Feeling Ruby's warm and slightly clammy hands squeeze hers, reminding her that they were still there, the heiress glanced down.

Looking down at their firmly joined hands with furrowed brows, Weiss ruminated over how Ruby's callous palm rubbed against her softer fingers with each small jerk, the contrast filling the heiress with a strange, unknown sensation in the pit of her chest. However, before she could further investigate, Ruby released the hold.

Weiss glanced up just in time to catch Ruby flash two confident fingers at the burly middle-aged vendor. "Bring it on!" she boldly challenged.

The man guffawed and nodded. "Alright kid, that'll be two bucks."

Ruby paused. Dropping her arm, she patted down her yukata, feeling no noticeable lumps of spare change. That avenue exhausted, she twisted her torso around to meet ice-blue eyes with an unwavering stare.

Her gaze unnerved the heiress, who huffed and pulled out a few notes from the small handbag she toted along, handing it to the amused store tender. "You really don't think well when there's sugar in your system, do you."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed, her body vibrating faintly. Turning back to look at the man, she noticed he had slunk back behind his table and was rummaging around for their tools. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, Ruby peered around, watching the group of children – and one or two adults – hunched over short tables, obscuring the game's details from her anxiously awaiting mind.

"Here you go," she heard the male's deep voice rumble. "Be careful."

Her head snapped back around to see him pass Weiss something, the heiress handling it diligently.

Attuned to her partner's flaring aura – and thus, semblance – Weiss grounded out a, "Don't you dare, Ruby Rose," and briskly walked towards a vacant gap in the seats at the furthermost table.

Shoulders slumped, the young leader reluctantly but obediently trailed behind, muttering quietly to herself.

When Weiss reached the unoccupied spot, she neatly and gently placed what was in her hand onto the wooden surface and sidestepped away. "Sit," she commanded.

Ruby obeyed, finding herself sat at a table, flanked by children by both sides, but her forehead creased in bewilderment nonetheless. "What about you?" she asked curiously.

Weiss shook her head. "You're the one who wanted to do this."

"But we got two!" The young leader pouted, but saw the stern, unyielding look in Weiss's eyes. "Fine," she grumbled, twisting back around to hunch over her allocated space. Grabbing the sole toothpick Weiss laid down, Ruby looked at the two small, pink squares stacked on top of each other, sitting as the centrepiece of her table with knitted brows. Her eyes, no matter how much she narrowed them, could barely make out the tiny indents in the square that formed the outline of what seemed to be a rabbit. However, Ruby resolved to carve it out nevertheless. Picking it up delicately between her fingers, she placed it closer to herself and exhaled steadily, flicking her hand to warm the limb up.

Her hand began to drag the toothpick along the hard candy's faint lines. Her lips puckered and forehead creased in frustration upon realising just how thick the seemingly small piece of sweet actually was – her toothpick did almost nothing to chip away at the outline. Face set in perhaps the most serious expression Weiss had ever seen on Ruby, the younger girl pressed down harder, willing the task to go faster.

The hard candy snapped, splitting unevenly along the outline, leaving jagged chunks of candy and a footless rabbit in its wake.

Grey eyes widened in disbelief. Ruby's jaw unhinged in horror as she cried, "My rabbit!"

Weiss released a huff of air – born in equal parts of amusement and exasperation – through her nostrils. "You're supposed to be patient. It's brittle."

"You could have told me that sooner!" Ruby shouted, looking down at the jagged remains of her now footless rabbit.

"I thought it was evident from the way I had carried it earlier that it was fragile," Weiss replied, watching her ever curious – though still pained – leader shakily pop the broken off foot into her mouth and grimace immediately after. "By the way, you aren't actually supposed to consume it. It's 'candy', but it's far from palatable."

A strangled whine emanated from the back of Ruby's throat. "Then why would anyone do this?!"

Weiss pointed past the burly stall tender at the array of soft toys. "Prizes."

That one single word gave Ruby pause. Bunching up her bulky yukata sleeve up to her shoulder, Ruby firmly planted her now uncovered arm on the table. Any and all traces of apprehension vanished from her face, replaced with fiery determination.

She slouched, using her other arm to circle her work space, as if barricading the activity from the outside world. Head lowered, Ruby futilely blew at the stray strands of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes, all while attempting to painstakingly cut away excess pieces of the vaguely animal shape. As she looped around its arm, her hand twitched, an action great enough to hew off its limb.

Ruby growled.

"It's not easy to win, Ruby," Weiss said. "Perhaps we should move on. I'm sure there are other games you'll excel at; the prizes are typically the same at most vendors anyway."

Her partner refused to give up.

"Hey big guy!" Ruby yelled, attracting the attention of the store vendor while simultaneously managing to break the concentration of practically everybody at the tables. Not at all aware of their thinly veiled glares, Ruby held up a finger. "One more round!"

He glanced at Weiss, who exhaled quietly and nodded. Reluctantly whipping out her wallet from her purse, Weiss pulled out a few notes and handed it to him as he slid the candy in front of Ruby. Noting his quizzical look, she flashed him a bitter smile and said, "Just keep them coming until she's exhausted the amount."

The man nodded, striding back to his seat. However, before he could sit, he heard a strangled curse and someone cry, "One more!"

Dumping the wad of cash in his hand onto the counter, he chuckled and deftly grabbed a stack of candies.

This went on for a few rounds, with Ruby only growing more disgruntled – and thus getting worse if it were even possible – with each miserable failure. She tried everything her frazzled mind could conjured in hopes of succeeding, to the point that her mounting frustration sparked the subconscious use of her aura. It was miniscule at first, but with every heartbreaking crack of the brittle material, with every other little child around her succeeding with a cheery hurrah, her impatience escalated to the point where Ruby was blindly jabbing her toothpick into the smouldering remains of her little pink mountain, pearly whites gritted in pure irritation after having exhausted her stacks of hard candy squares.

As if to taunt her, the burly store vendor laid a single square candy – the same design as her first – in front of her with an empathetic smile. "Your last one, kiddo."

The intense glare Ruby shot him went wholly ignored as he turned away far too quickly; she let it burn maliciously into his broad back, however.

Weiss, who had been watching from the sidelines the entire time, breathed a sigh and leaned in, snatching the toothpick out of Ruby's clenched fist. The heiress was itching to leave the stand so they could explore the rest of the festival, and she knew that if she allowed this to continue, one of only two things would happen: either Ruby would spend the entire night trying – and burning through Weiss's money in the process – or the stand would be torn down by the young leader's festering rage.

Nudging Ruby's stiff shoulder aside with her own, Weiss bent slightly at the knees so she was just low enough for her svelte figure to hover comfortably over the table. Using her free hand to lift her sleeve, Weiss quickly and nimbly began carving out the pink rabbit with the tip of the toothpick.

Ruby watched, at first in mild confusion and upset, and then in awe, as her partner's slender hand almost effortlessly manoeuvred the toothpick so that it glided through the tiny indented outline. With ease, the heiress chipped away at the hard candy with precision, her brows furrowed as she stared down with zen-like concentration.

Ruby held her breath for what seemed like ages, but could have only been a minute at most, as Weiss steadily whittled away at the square until the last piece of the surrounding candy broke off, leaving a smooth finish to the tiny pink rabbit-esque shape.

"How?" Ruby breathed in delight.

Weiss stood straight, shifting uncomfortably under Ruby's enraptured gaze as she mustered a small, wistful smile. "My parents used to bring me to these festivals."

Ruby's eyes lit with understanding. "Ah. Well… thanks, Weiss."

The heiress's head bobbed once in acknowledgement. Gesturing flippantly to the candy piece, she said, "Hurry and turn it in so we can explore the rest of the festival."

Ruby grinned, nodding excitedly. "Aye aye!"


With her new stuffed white tiger companion kept snugly and safely under one arm, Ruby hooked the other around the crook of Weiss's elbow, tugging her resisting, backwards-facing form towards the candy floss stall.

"Candy floss, Weiss! Candy floss!"

"Ruby, stop!" Weiss yelled, struggling in protest.

Her companion paid no heed to her demand. "But I haven't had any since I was a kid!"

"And it should stay that way!" the heiress gritted from between her teeth as she dug her heels into the earth, trying to maintain her ground.

Ruby grunted, feeling the resistance mount against her arm as Weiss gathered more traction. With bulging eyes and muscles working overtime to haul her friend closer towards the vendor, the young leader proclaimed, "No... it shouldn't!"

"What're you guys doing?" a familiar voice, brimming with bewilderment, called out to them.

Their heads whipped in unison to see Yang casually stroll up to them with knitted eyebrows, goldfish in a bag in one hand and a stick of pink, fluffy, half-eaten candy floss in the other. Her partner trailed a few steps behind her, gracefully snacking on a brightly coloured mound of ice sitting prettily in a small plastic cup.

"Weiss won't get me any candy floss!" Ruby cried, stomping her foot on the ground.

Yang snickered, a mischievous yet knowing glint in her lilac eyes. Blake on the other hand remained wholly oblivious as she quirked a brow, directing her questioning gaze towards the heiress. "Oh? What's wrong with candy floss?"

"Yeah Weiss, what's wrong with a little sugar?" Yang prodded, taking an exaggerated bite out of her candy floss for emphasis.

Ruby whined as she watched her sister voraciously consume the sugary treat. She made to move towards the blonde, but the arm she had hooked on her elbow suddenly squeezed down on her appendage, holding her in place.

"No," Weiss hissed, shooting a scathing glare at Yang that was both glacial yet burned like a fiery inferno. "No sugar for Ruby, and that's final."

Yang's tongue poked out from between lush lips to heckle the heiress on. Meanwhile, a confused Blake walked around them to stand in front of a pouting, watery-eyed Ruby. Wordlessly, she offered a spoonful of her icy concoction as consolidation – the faunus didn't see why Weiss wanted to restrict Ruby so, but understood that there must have been a reason behind it, especially if Yang was involved.

The pout on Ruby's face deepened, but she opened her mouth anyway when Blake's spoon drew closer to her mouth; she wasn't one to turn down free food. The moment her warm mouth clamped down around the chilled plastic, the ice melted, flooding her orifice with cool, sweet liquid. Ruby hummed happily around the spoon, her eyes fluttering shut in bliss.

Yang and Weiss looked over when they heard the delighted trill, and the former made a sound crossed between a gasp and choke.

Blake stared quizzically at her partner.

"How could you?!" Yang yelled, pointing her stick of candy floss at the faunus.

"What?" the accused mouthed at Weiss, who shrugged.

"You wouldn't feed me any! Why Ruby!" Yang cried, shoulders sagging as her eyes filled with despair. "I thought we were partners!"

"You never asked."

"You never offered!" Yang countered, waving the tightly wounded papercone in hand. "I…" the blonde sighed, sounding absolutely enervated as she continued, "I feel so betrayed. I just…"

As she trailed off, everybody else waited – with varying degrees of patience – for her to finish her sentence.

Sucking in a deep breath, Yang threw her arms into the air and flung her head back, shouting, "SHOT THROUGH THE HEART–"

"We're not doing this again Yang; no impromptu karaoke sessions," Blake immediately rejected. "And be careful: you're whipping Coalfish around."

The blonde hastily began inspecting her newest companion, apologetically cooing at the blank-faced fish.

Weiss squeezed her eyes shut in exasperation. "Coal–"

"Yes," Blake answered, her tone lacklustre.

Ruby giggled. "That's a pretty good one."

Both heiress and faunus shot her equally dead stares. However, Ruby could not get a word in before the public address system fizzled to life.

"Attention all festival-goers," blared a voice from the speakers. "Attention all festival-goers: the fireworks display will be starting in ten minutes. I repeat–"

Grey eyes sparkled with excitement. "It's time!" she cried, tapping into her semblance to zip towards the nearby hilltop, leaving a shower of rose petals in her wake.

Weiss yelped in a rather un-heiress-like manner as she found herself abruptly jerked along by her high-spirited partner, both having completely forgotten they still had their elbows hooked together.

"Ruby!" was the last thing Yang and Blake heard Weiss shriek before she vanished into the distance.


When Yang and Blake finally caught up, they were met with the sight of Ruby sat on the ground, propped up against a thick tree with her stuffed toy functioning as a cushion, and her knees up to her chest as she tugged on the bottom of Weiss's yukata. "Sit!"

Weiss's nose wrinkled in disgust and her arms – which had been folded across her chest – tensed, though her head remained unmoving while she intentionally kept her gaze centred on the night sky to avoid looking at Ruby's patented puppy dog pout. "It's dirty, Ruby. I'll stand."

First to notice the rest of their team had finally arrived from the edge of her periphery, Weiss acknowledged them with a nod, which drew Ruby's attention towards the duo.

"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed, beckoning to her sister with a wave of the hand. "What took you so long?"

The blonde sauntered over to them before plopping down onto the grass next to Ruby, cradling Coalfish's plastic bag on her lap. "You're just too quick on your feet, Rubes," she said with a sigh, reaching over to ruffle her little sister's hair.

Ruby made a noise in the back of her throat as she tried to squirm and inch away from Yang's heavy hand.

That was when Blake's bow began to twitch. The faunus, who had moved to stand next to Weiss, glanced up. "It's starting."

As soon as the words left her mouth, the first firework shot into the sky, rendering the entire crowd gathered on the hill hush as they waited for the imminent burst of colour with bated breaths.

The moment the first explosion lit up the sky, staining the inky-black abyss with vibrant, multi-hued streaks of glimmering, ethereal sparks, all four girls shared an awed gasp with the rest of the people in attendance.

The faint scent of gunpowder lingered in the air as more of fireworks took to the air, specks of black until they detonated and illuminated the sky with varying shapes and colours, painting their dark canvas with transient artistry; they had spotted a strawberry, adorable caricatures of the Grimms that they battled on a regular basis with, and even a vague outline of a face that looked similar to Cardin Winchester's – something they had no doubt the haughty man had paid for.

All of Team RWBY were silent throughout, barring the occasional word released as a breathy whisper from wonderment.

When it finally came to an end – and what a spectacular end it was, as their ears were assaulted with the noise of countless blasts, and as the sky was showered with a barrage of breathtaking colours – no one said a word, simply basking in the aftermath of the experience.

"So what did you guys wish for?" Yang said after a few ticks passed, turning to face her friends with a twinkle in her eye.

Blake leaned forward to peek over Weiss's shoulder with knitted brows. "That's for shooting stars, Yang."

Yang flapped her lips together, dismissing the faunus's logic. "Same difference – it could still totally work!"

Weiss rolled her eyes, something that the blonde noticed. Yang narrowed her eyes at the heiress, expression set in something along the lines of a glower. "Got something to say, Weiss?"

Said girl sniffed. "I was just thinking that it's like you, to overlook the beauty of a firework display in favour of… whatever it was you were wishing for."

"And what if I were wishing for world peace, huh?" Yang challenged as she slowly rose to her feet to meet the heiress eye-to-eye. "You saying you don't want that to happen?"

Weiss frowned. "I never said anything of the sort." Lifting an eyebrow, the heiress looked away, though she watched Yang from the corner of her eye. "I simply never pinned you as the sort who would let other people do the dirty work for you."

"Uh guys?" Ruby interjected – or at least attempted to, as it quickly became evident her words fell on deaf ears.

Yang crossed her arms over her ample bosoms. "What's wrong with hoping for some divine intervention?"

The heiress performed what could only be described as a half-shrug; she hadn't quite mustered the effort to move her shoulders, but her yukata rustled, indicating a shift in posture. "Nothing, if you're the type to sit and wait for something that may not happen."

The blonde bristled. Pressing her lips together, Yang used her free hand to reach into her yukata. Whipping out a small squirt bottle from the folds, the aimed it at Weiss's head and sprayed.

Weiss sputtered, caught off-guard by the sudden shower of water. Reeling back, the heiress squawked, "What is your problem, Yang Xiao Long?! And where–"

"Begone, foul demon!" Yang yelled, waving Coalfish in front of her as if to ward off the heiress. "Return the tranquil Weiss I seek from the hot springs!"

"Wh–" Weiss flinched and stumbled back as Yang assaulted her with another sprinkling of the tepid water. "Yang!" she roared, holding out one of her arms to try and shield herself as best she could.

"Holy hot spring water, save me!" Yang exclaimed, relentlessly shooting the heiress with a toothy grin on her face.

Blake interceded any action Ruby was about to do and promptly whisked her away from the spat by the hand. "I see something out in the distance. Shall we?"

Despite being pulled further away from her sister and partner, Ruby continued to peek back at the duo. "But–"

Blake shot her a meaningful glance, adjusting the oversized tiger she held in her arm to better accommodate their lazy stroll. "They'll be fine," she asserted. "It's their way of showing each other they care."

Ruby's forehead creased in bewilderment. "I… guess," she unsurely agreed as they leisurely descended from the hilltop. With each step they took, the sound of Yang and Weiss's escalating tiff was slowly drowned out by the ruckus below.

It was midway down the hill when they heard the rustling of grass behind them, followed swiftly by the appearance of one unperturbed and relatively dry Weiss Schnee. "Heading for the shrine?" she asked, easily keeping pace with them. "The one in this town is popular. It's rumoured that the local deity is more lenient with 'granting wishes' than any other." Blake and Ruby noticed that the heiress now had Coalfish in hand.

They glanced at each other quickly before turning to Weiss. "Where's–"

Both girls grunted as a weight threw itself around their shoulders. "Well since someone is too much of a spoilsport, maybe we should make our wishes for the year there," a familiar voice chimed.

When they moved to face Yang, they instantly noticed that the blonde's face was dotted with droplets of water, and had her drenched hair slicked back. Blake managed to keep a straight face – though humour evidently shone in her eyes – but Ruby couldn't suppress the giggle that bubbled in her chest.

The blonde scowled. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up," she grumbled, squeezing their shoulders roughly in retaliation. Yang also shot a glare at Weiss for good measure, though the heiress paid no heed as she strode forward, chin held high in victory.

Before long, the quartet were in the midst of an immense crowd, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a multitude of nameless, faceless strangers as they tried to squeeze their way through the monumental sanctuary they found themselves in.

It immediately became evident to the girls that there was no fighting the throng without potentially hurting someone, and they – lost and confused as they were in the midst of the packed horde – decided to go with the flow, eventually making their way to the back of the temple. There, they were greeted with the sight of a short flight of wooden steps leading up to a platform. Making the conscious decision that there was no reason not to climb it, the quartet ascended the stairs and, after the small crowd ahead of them departed, found themselves in front of a sturdy looking rectangular box affixed to the floor. Peering down at it, for it only reached their hips, they observed that it had slanted shutters covering what would have been a gaping hole otherwise.

"... So what are we supposed to do?" Ruby asked, looking at her partner.

Weiss's face creased along faint frown lines as pondered over the question. Conveniently enough, it was at that moment a young shrine maiden – dressed in the standard traditional red and white robes – approached them with a small smile on her face. "Would you like some help?"

"Whoa, she's hot," Yang breathed, before grunting as she was swiftly elbowed in the stomach.

Blake smiled sheepishly, retracting her arm. "Could you?"

The maiden chortled good-naturedly, having overheard Yang, and nodded. "Of course." Gesturing to the stand with a wave of the arm, she said, "Just throw in some money – any amount is fine – and take a step back. Clap thrice, close your eyes, and pray." She flashed them a wink. "Simple."

Ruby's eyes lit up. "Can we pray for anything?"

The shrine maiden grinned, taken in by Ruby's innocence. "Sure can. But if you want to put them in words," she pointed at the courtyard off to the side, where countless of wooden boards hung upon a large noticeboard-like stand. "You could always get an ema." Her finger moved to aim at the stand manned by an elderly man a few feet away. "Just a few dollars for each. Helps maintain the temple."

Before anyone else could get a word in, another elderly shrine caretaker called for the maiden they were speaking to. Giving them one final smile, she hastily bowed, and then scampered away, leaving as quickly as she had appeared.

They all watched her go, though none as intently as Yang. "Those robes are something," the blonde muttered appreciatively. "Ten out of ten." Swivelling around, Yang cupped her chin as she let her eyes run up and down the other three's forms. "I can see it working…" she murmured with a tiny smirk, "even on you, Weiss."

Said girl shot her a nasty glare, crossing her arms defensively to shield herself from Yang's gaze. "Have you no decency? This is a sacred place."

Blake sighed, throwing a coin she procured from her purse into the slot. Clapping her hands together, she casually remarked, "Yang? Decency?"

As the faunus fell into her silent prayers, Weiss paused to mull over her words. "... You're right. What was I expecting."

Sensing the argument's impending escalation, Ruby swiftly interposed by tugging on the heiress's sleeve to draw both their attentions. "Do you have any coins, Weiss?"

Weiss knitted her eyebrows, breaking eye contact with the blonde combatant. "Perhaps," she replied, moving to rummage through her purse. "Just a moment…"

Yang scrutinised the scene playing in front of her with disbelieving eyes. 'Huh,' she thought, scratching her jawline. 'Did she always give in so easily, or...'

"Here," Yang heard Blake say before the faunus snatched her hand to place a glittering coin in her palm, and then forcibly twisted her to face the stand by her shoulders. "You're the one who wanted to make wishes," Blake dryly said, answering the question in lilac eyes. "Once we're done, we can try out the emas as well."

The blonde grinned, pulling her friend into a firm hug. Squeezing down tight on the faunus's struggling form, Yang cried, "You're the awesomest partner!" and then released the bone-crushing grip to toss her coin into the box, just as Ruby and Weiss had finish their prayers.

Yang hastily finished her own, and with a bright grin, hauled Blake by the arm towards the elderly man's stand, bulldozing her way through the swarm of temple-goers. "Onwards!"

Weiss sighed, wearily watching them go. "Must we?"

Ruby giggled, hooking her elbow around the heiress's to lead them through the mass of bodies. "Yep," she replied, popping the 'p'. "Come on, best teammate."

Weiss side-eyed her companion as they gently pushed through the throng, taking care not to squash the goldfish-containing plastic bag in the horde. "I hope your sister doesn't expect me to pay," the heiress grumbled. She was far from short on change – such was the life of the sole heiress of a multi-billion dollar company – but Weiss did not condone Yang's frivolous use of her money nonetheless.

Her partner forced out a short, mortified laugh. "Uh, I hope that wasn't part of your prayer then," Ruby quipped as they got within reach of the stand, "because I don't think it's coming true."

Weiss looked ahead and there in plain view was a beaming Yang, holding four blank wooden boards in one hand while holding the other out. Shaking the emas by their ties, she whistled. "Yoohoo! Weiss!"

The heiress sighed again. She was beginning to have second thoughts about spending even more time with the rambunctious blonde over their summer holidays.


After Weiss begrudgingly paid for their plaques, the quartet were directed towards an area out the back where they could design and hang their boards, since the ones on display were filled. Unlike the rest of the shrine, there were substantially fewer people in the vicinity, a fact that relieved all of them. It was there that they were able to examine the different emas on display up close – and were stunned by some of the more elaborate pieces, drawing inspiration from the handful of beautifully decorated, if not sometimes questionable, designs.

That is until the ever restless Yang, bored with their sidetracking, strode to an empty table and took a seat. Promptly swiping a few of the proffered markers from the surface, the blonde immediately set to work.

Once everybody else noticed that the blonde had went missing, it didn't take long until the rest of team RWBY joined her at the table and started to decorate their own plaques.

Funnily enough, Weiss and Yang dropped their markers and got to their feet at almost the same time minutes later. Their eyes met as they did so, both filled with unspoken challenge as the duo concealed their emas in manners befitting of them; Yang clutched hers to her chest, while Weiss gracefully angled hers in such a way that the blonde couldn't peek over to see its contents.

The two made for the stand in synchrony, and – as if coming to a wordless agreement – hung their boards next to one another, neither concerned with peering at the other's ema just yet. Weiss, with her nimble fingers, was the first to finish tying her plaque to the massive stand, and took a few steps back to appraise their work.

Over Yang's shoulder, she caught a glimpse of the blonde's sloppy handwriting.

'I wish Weiss Schnee would be less of a stick in the mud.' Behind that was a hastily drawn miniature caricature of her, complete with throbbing forehead.

The heiress didn't bother hiding her scowl as Yang – smug smile and all – strutted over to stand next to her. Folding her arms together, the blonde made a show of scrutinising Weiss's more elegantly, if not sparsely, designed board by jutting out her chin in concentration. Reading the short cursive sentence made Yang smirk.

'Please make Yang Xiao Long more mature – Weiss Schnee.'

"What happened to not taking the backseat?"

"This is an exception," Weiss responded. "Because God knows no human's going to help you here."

"Got that right," the blonde taunted. She thrusted her hip outwards and bumped Weiss's, causing the unprepared heiress to stumble away before regaining her bearings.

Blake chuckled, watching the proceeding events after having just put down her pen at that precise moment. With finished piece in hand, she glanced over at Ruby, whose wide eyes hurriedly dropped back down to her own art. Following the younger girl's former line of sight, Blake found herself staring at her own plaque.

With an almost imperceptible smile, the faunus shook her head and decided to leave Ruby to continue touching up on her work. Marching past the quibbling duo, Blake hung hers up next to Yang's.

When the faunus felt two pairs of eyes study her board, and heard their owners make sounds of approval, Blake allowed herself a small smile.

"'With luck, shall we continue to learn and grow together,'" Weiss quoted, her tone pleased.

"I think we look pretty good in that sketch too," Yang stated, marvelling at the superb, if not rough, drawing of the group Blake had managed to squeeze in one of the bottom corners, couple with fireworks overhead the tiny 2D copies. Weiss nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing with the sentiment.

The blonde stretched, loudly cracking her bones as she released a content sigh. "So that makes three. Where's Rubes?" At that, she twisted around to find said girl bounding up towards them, waving her ema in the air.

Without any hesitation, Ruby fastened her wooden board to the stand next to Weiss's. Her hands fumbled with the task for a bit, unused to fiddling with such minor details, but she eventually secured her plaque in place. Taking a step back, the young leader puffed with pride at seeing their boards together in one line. Simultaneously, the rest took the time to inspect the last addition's message.

The moment Yang scanned over the plaque, she promptly burst into a fit of laughter, drawing the attention of those around them; not that anyone in the quartet minded or even noticed, for they were all far too interested in Ruby's work.

A twinkle appeared in amber eyes. "I think that's a pretty good wish, don't you?" Blake asked, looking suitably impressed. She was especially enthralled by the adorable little, if not childish, doodles Ruby had drawn of them. It was evident it had started only with tiny Ruby and the giant cookie she held in hand – as the rest of them had been messily scribbled around the cloaked figure – but Blake found it endearing all the same.

Weiss snorted, unsuccessful at quashing the twitch in her lips. "It's a little cliché," she said, affectionately nudging Ruby's side with an elbow, "but I suppose it will do."

Ruby glowed at the rare roundabout praise, glad she had scratched out her initial prayer for more cookies – which was undoubtedly the reason for Yang's sniggering. On hindsight, Ruby strongly believed her new wish would do infinitely better.

Clapping her hands together one last time, the young leader squeezed her eyes shut and offered one last prayer to the deity protecting the shrine – echoing the sentiment she had scribbled onto her ema.

'May team RWBY stay friends forever!'


AN: And with that, the girls' first year as Beacon Academy students come to a close. (And maybe the ridiculously lengthy chapters as well, but I make absolutely no promises.)

Fun fact: The beginning scene with Blake and Weiss had been a lot more dramatic in the initial plans. However, with what took place in the final two episodes of RWBY Season 1, the confrontation I had written no longer worked. Instead, I geared this sequence to add more dimension to their former feud and current standing, since I thought Episodes 15 and 16 were too brief.

Apologies for the late update. Life has funny ways of messing with you, and honestly speaking, my interest in RWBY has dwindled since rediscovering my love for J-idols. (For the few who follow my tumblr, I apologise for undoubtedly flooding your feed with cute Japanese girls.) If there are any discrepancies, it's likely because most of this chapter had been written months ago.

Both WFLT and FFTB have tons of chapters planned in advance, yet I cannot find heart to continue writing just yet. I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for being so patient, and ask that you wait a little more. Hopefully my muse returns to me.

Until then, I might try to write other, shorter, things for RWBY in the meantime.

For those who have been following me since the beginning, you have my sincerest gratitude. Had it not been for initial favourable responses, I likely wouldn't have continued up to this point, or planned to continue any further. Thank you for helping me find my love for writing. For storytelling. Here's hoping that the journey will not end here, and I'll return with renewed vigour.

Thanks to Glant and Tiky for the help, as always. (you pricks)

(Edit: Also, for anyone whose review hasn't been replied by me, either on WFLT or FFTB: I'm sorry! I'd say I'll get back to them, but I think they're a little outdated by this point... so if you have any messages or comments or whatever, leave another review or just PM me. I'll answer this time, really.)