AN: Ok, here's an update on the poll results for the next actual date. Beach and Hot air balloon are tied with 1, and then movie and under the cherry-blossom have none so far.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. If I did, a lot more people would be dead- wait what?

Chapter 8: A Very Vytal Speech

Weiss woke up the morning after Daniel and Ruby's outing. With a small yawn, she sat up and stretched her arms over her head, her knuckles brushing against the bottom of Ruby's bunk. Weiss looked around their room, noticing Blake's empty yet clean bunk. Above that, Yang's but was also empty, but covered in various forms of junk and papers, the covers undone. On the door was a folded piece of paper taped to the doorknob. Weiss walked over to it and plucked the paper from its place.

Weiss unfolded the note and found Blake's handwriting. "Dear Weiss or Ruby," Weiss read out loud. "Yang and I woke up early and went to breakfast early. Meet us down there (or at Professor Dooley's class if Ruby's late)." Weiss crumpled up the note and tossed it in the trash bin. She started to make her way over to their closet, but halfway through the small walk, she heard a small giggle come from Ruby's bunk.

Confused, Weiss went over to their bunks and stood on her bed's frame to peek over Ruby's mattress. Ruby was in her covers, cuddling with a pillow. Even in her sleep, she had a small but playful smile on her face. Ruby giggled again. "Daniel, stop," she muttered teasingly as she rolled over so her back faced Weiss.

Weiss could barely contain her laughter as she sat back down on her bed, covering her mouth with both of her hands. Once she composed herself, she finally got out of her nightgown and into her usual clothing. As soon as she slipped on her shoes, Ruby woke with an almighty yawn. She sat up, smacking her lips together. "Good morning, Ruby," Weiss greeted.

Ruby smiled drowsily at her. "Hi Weiss," she replied. Ruby jumped off her bed, making it sway dangerously from the ropes it hung from.

Weiss looked at the bed warily. "Ruby," she started. "Maybe you should get a new bed. Or at least redesign it soon."

Ruby looked at Weiss incredulously. "Why?"

Weiss stared at her blankly. "Look at it!" She exclaimed, gesturing to the still swaying bed.

Ruby waved it off. "Eh," she commented. "It's fine."

Weiss sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "Mark my words, that bed will fall eventually. And if I'm sleeping underneath it when it does, I will make sure Yang will tell us all of your embarrassing stories and take all of your cookie privileges."

Ruby sighed in defeat as she rifled through the closet. "Fine, I'll fix it," she said, head still stuck in the closet. "What class do we have first today?"

"Weapon Mechanics with Professor Dooley," Weiss answered.

After a few moments of digging, Ruby took a pair of pants and blouse out from the closet. "Yay," she exclaimed. "Best class in Beacon."

Weiss left their dorm as Ruby dressed, waiting outside the door for her. A few seconds passed, and their door barged open yet again to find Ruby in her Beacon uniform.

Weiss looked at her uniform questioningly. "You do realize I said Weapon Mechanics, right?"

Ruby blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "Hehe," she chuckled, "Whoops." Ruby then turned around and shut the door for about a minute. Ruby opened it once again, this time in her combat outfit.

Weiss nodded. "Let's head down," she suggested, walking towards the stairs, "Blake and Yang are already waiting."

Ruby jogged to catch up and walked by Weiss's side. "So," she drawled, "Whatcha guys do when I was out yesterday."

Weiss shrugged, "The usual," she easily lied, "Blake read, Yang goofed off, and I, for one, studied for our upcoming tests."

"Of course, you would," Ruby muttered under her breath, smiling.

Weiss overheard and frowned. "Oh yeah? Well, have any weird dreams lately?" She countered.

Ruby's face turned fire-truck red. "W-what do you mean?" She stuttered.

Weiss grinned slyly as she turned to face Ruby, not slowing down her stride in the slightest. "I saw you cuddle you pillow with a small grin, murmuring about a certain crow Faunus friend of ours."

Ruby's face flashed a multitude of shades, but they all stayed on the color red. "Bu-… I… Um...," she stammered.

Weiss smirked triumphantly as she walked through the cafeteria's doors. "So it is true?"

Ruby shook her head rapidly. "No, no, no," she quickly denied. "I was just… um… remembering the weapon designs he showed me. Yeah, that's it."

Weiss just smiled. "Whatever you say, Ruby. Whatever you say." She went over to the line forming for some breakfast.

Once the two girls got their breakfasts, they headed back over to the tables. In the far corner, Yang stood up and waved from her seat. "Ruby," she shouted. "Over here!"

Ruby and Weiss made their way over to the table to find Blake, Daniel, Yang, and Team JNPR already seated. Yang sat back down to return chowing down on her food. "Morning, sis," she said with her mouth full.

Ruby smiled. "Hi Yang," she greeted. She turned to the rest of her friends, "Hey, guys."

The majority of Team JNPR waved back at her. "Hello again," Pyrrha said with a smile.

Daniel lifted his head from his tray to look at Ruby. Crimson and blue eyes locked with startling silver. Daniel blushed and looked away quickly. "Hi Ruby," he blurted out.

Everyone that stalked the pair the day before snickered as Ruby's face started heating up as well. "Hi," she said meekly.

Pyrrha rested her elbows on the table, lacing her fingers together and propping up her chin with the joints of her fingers. "How was the date, you two?" She asked slyly.

Ruby's face turned an even deeper shade of red, but Daniel just shrugged as he ate his cereal, "Pretty good, actually," he responded.

Weiss smirked as she tossed a grape into her mouth. "So it was a date?"

Daniel sighed and leaned back in his seat. "I might as well humor you guys."

Jaune nodded in understanding and smiled. "Fair enough," he commented, "So, where did you guys go?"

Now Daniel was the one smirking here, "Are you sure you can't answer that yourselves?"

Jaune paled, "W-what do you mean?" He tried to nonchalantly eat another piece of bacon.

Daniel pointed his thumb at Yang. "I'm sure Yang can answer that for you."

Yang, Weiss, and Blake sighed, "Busted," muttered Yang.

Daniel looked at them, "Who was in the stalker group?"

Ruby looked at Daniel in surprise. "Wait, you knew?"

Daniel shook his head, "Nah, I saw them sneaking around while we were eating," he explained.

Ruby glared at her sister who put up her hands in surrender. "Who was in it?" She questioned.

Yang smiled weakly. "Blake, Weiss," she listed, "Jaune, Pyrrha, and me."

Daniel turned to Pyrrha who, again, waved at him. "What did you bet on?"

Weiss turned to Daniel questioningly, "How'd you know we bet on anything?"

Daniel twirled a fork between his fingers. "One: Pyrrha's from Mistral, and it's tradition." Pyrrha nodded at this, "Two: you just confirmed it for me. So, what did you bet on?"

Pyrrha smiled. "We bet on if you would kiss Ruby. I bet you would, and Weiss bet you wouldn't."

"Who won?" Daniel asked offhandedly, taking a sip of water.

Pyrrha smirked, holding up a twenty Lien note, "Who do you think?"

Daniel almost took a spit take, but instead, he choked on his water instead of spitting it out. Ruby thumped him hard on his back as he coughed. Once his airway was cleared, Daniel glared at Pyrrha questioningly. "How did you know," he demanded.

The entire table, even Ren and Nora, stared at Daniel. Then, they shifted their attention to Ruby. Then Daniel, then Ruby. "Wait," Nora interrupted. "You two kissed?"

At this point, Ruby might as well always have a red face from the constant blushing. "Maybe," she replied meekly.

Nora started cheering and whooping loudly. Ren had a small smile, mentally congratulating the two. Blake, Pyrrha, Weiss, and Jaune had the biggest, widest, smuggest grins in the world, but Yang… she was absolutely livid, glaring at Daniel with a scrutinizing stare. Daniel groaned and set his head the table. "Ruby," he grumbled through the wood, "did you tell them?"

Ruby jumped up and wrapped her arms around Daniel's neck from behind. Daniel winced as his wings were pressed painfully against his back. "They were asking me a lot of times. I couldn't hold out," Ruby shouted dramatically. Ruby buried her face into the back of Daniel's neck. "Please don't hate me or them."

Daniel sat up straight and laughed. He reached back and wrapped his arms around Ruby's waist. "It's fine, Rubes." Ruby's only reply was to nuzzle her face farther into the back of his neck.

"Awwww," went the rest of the table. Even Yang joined in with a small smile, taking pictures to get even more blackmail.

Ruby jumped back quickly as Daniel's arms went slack. "Um… well…" she stammered. "I… have class now. Bye!" And with that, she used her Semblance to speed off to Professor Dooley's class, leaving her half-full tray.

Recovering from Ruby's quick absence, the rest of Team RWBY and Team JNPR smirked at Daniel, a mischievous twinkle in their eyes. Daniel's brain soon caught up, and his face went cherry-red. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish on land, not able to form words at the moment. Daniel's friends just laughed at his speechlessness.

"Alright," Ren said while standing up. "I believe that's enough mental torture for Daniel right now. We should really head to class soon."

The others nodded their heads in agreement as they too got up, and Daniel looked at Ren and gave him a thankful look. Ren decided to give him a smirk that obviously meant, "Don't think this is the last of it." Daniel just sighed and walked away with his tray in his hands.

The group separated into their own ways, saying their goodbyes. Yang, Weiss, and Blake walked into their next class to find Ruby doodling mindlessly on a notebook. "Watcha got there, sis?" Asked Yang, resting her chin on the top of Ruby's head.

Ruby blinked a few times to see what she was drawing. Apparently, she drew a red and black cloaked figure holding a sword and sheath, facing away from them into a dense forest at night. On the edges of the cloak were blurs that suspiciously looked like the tips of crow wings. Around the edges of the drawing were a wreath of roses. Ruby blushed and covered the paper with her hands the best she could, but Yang spotted it too quickly. "What. Is. This?" Yang exclaimed, snatching up the drawing from Ruby's grasp and showing it to their teammates.

Ruby flailed her arms around to reach for the notebook, but Yang held her away with her other arm. "Yang, no! Stop!"

Weiss and Blake snickered. "Is this what you've been doing while we were eating?" Blake asked with a grin.

Ruby hid her slowly heating up face under her hood. "I didn't even think about it," she shouted defensively.

Yang pulled her sister in close for a tight hug. "Aw, it's ok Rubes. We know you always think about your boyfriend."

Ruby pushed Yang off of her. "He's not my boyfriend!" Ruby shouted quickly, snatching away her notebook from her so-called "friends".

"Settle down class," a voice sounded from the hallway. As the students took their seats, Professor Dooley stepped into the classroom. Professor Dooley was a brown haired man with a magnificent beard. He wore a formal, white dress shirt that was slightly wrinkled, had its sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and the top button was undone. Professor Dooley had on his signature plaid kilt on, the fabric (thankfully) going down just past his knees.

Once his students were in their seats, Professor Dooley slowly paced back and forth at the front of his classroom, not taking his eyes off of the students for a second. "Alright," he started. "Yesterday, I said we would learn the basic mechanics of how to replace and restore gun barrels, but there has been a… change to our plans."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that they weren't doing anything in a class. Everyone, except one person. "Awwww," Ruby pouted, sulking in the back of the classroom.

Professor Dooley chuckled. "Hang in there, Ruby. We'll get to that tomorrow." He then turned to face the rest of the students. "Ozpin has an announcement today, so all the teachers and staff are supposed to bring you kids down to the auditorium." Most of the class groaned, expecting another lecture of being a good huntsman or huntress. Professor Dooley smirked. "Didn't you guys want to skip having to work on weapons?"

A few seconds later, Goodwitch's voice sounded over the intercom. "Would all staff members please bring their students to the auditorium now," the speaker buzzed.

Professor Dooley snorted. "Well, there's the witch herself," he joked. "Come on, kids. You're not gonna want to disappoint the Goodwitch." He motioned for them to follow him out the door.

Dozens of chairs squeaked as they were pushed back from the students previously sitting in them. Once they were out of the classroom, hundreds of pairs of feet were heard, thundering through the hallways. "So," Yang turned to her team walking beside her. "What do you think Ozpin wants us to do now?"

Weiss shrugged as Blake tilted her head in thought. "Probably something important if he made us miss a class period for this."

Ruby groaned. "Why couldn't this happen tomorrow, when we don't have Weapons first," she complained.

Weiss let out a huff. "Oh, grow up, you," she chastised.

As they walked in, the room was already jam-packed with hundreds of bodies. On the stage was Ozpin, sipping his coffee in front of a microphone, and Goodwitch off to the side. There was an uproar of voices as the students speculated on what they were gathered for. Ozpin lowered his mug of coffee, "Settle down now, settle down."

As the noise became nonexistent, Ozpin swept his gaze over the room, "Are all the students here?" He asked the crowd. Along the walls, the line of professors and staff members nodded, "Good." He continued. "So, let's begin."

"I have gathered you all here for a very important announcement. As some of our oldest students remember, the Vytal Festival is supposed to be more than a competition in the arena to decide which kingdom is the strongest. On the contrary, it is used to unify the four kingdoms together in the face of danger and to help those that need to be helped." At this point, about half the audience had their eyes closed, either already asleep or planning on it.

Ozpin took another swig of his drink, "Which is why we, as the heads of the four schools, decided that this festival needed… a different approach." This got many students' attentions. Ozpin exhaled, ready to deliver the big news, "Last festival, the leaders of all the kingdoms, the head of the top schools, and a few key figures from each kingdom spoke out to explain their own kingdom and gave a speech. The leaders gathered last year, and they decided this was the wrong approach to teaching the Defenders of Tomorrow. So, we have decided on giving you not a lecture, but a dance."

Almost all the populations of females in the building looked up in excitement and anticipation. Ozpin's mouth twitched in amusement, "Hold on, now. There is a requirement to attend this prestigious event." A low buzz rung from the crowd, "I will let Miss Goodwitch explain the details of this event."

Ozpin stepped back as Goodwitch took the spotlight, "As you all know, this is an important event in the Vytal festival. Added to the fact that the leaders of each kingdom will be there, there will be zero tolerance of any misconduct. I repeat, there is absolutely no tolerance of any fights, pranks, and or misbehavior at this event. Failure to do so will result in, at a minimum, five months' worth of detention with the Headmaster and me." An audible shudder was heard from the crowd.

Goodwitch tapped a few things on the screen of her tablet. "Now, this event is not mandatory, but to join the Vytal Dance, you will need a formal attire similar to those you wore for our school dance. You must prove you are a student at one of our academies or pay to enter, which I highly do not recommend. And," Goodwitch peered over her glasses with a twinkle in her eyes, "Your partner must be from a different kingdom as yourself."

Many of the students let out loud yelps and "What!?"s in anger. Dozens of couples looked at their counterparts in sadness, and a select few were relieved that it was not mandatory (Cough, cough, Ruby).

Goodwitch ignored the crowd and went on, "This rule is enforced so students at every school interact with others outside of their comfort zone, or in this case, their kingdom. The leaders of Vale, Atlas, Vacuo, and Mistral all want students to understand their customs and tradition not just in their respective kingdoms, but throughout the land by spreading it through our kingdoms' warriors."

A bell chimed throughout the halls as Goodwitch ended. The professor looked up at the clock in the back of the room. "First period is over, now," she commented, "Please go to your next classes."

A loud murmur spread through the sea of students as the tide forced them all to the exits. In Team RWBY, Yang was excited at the prospect of another dance. "Come on, guys!" She exclaimed, "It'll be fun!"

Weiss let out a small huff. "I suppose we could all go, but who would we go with?"

Blake nodded in agreement, "Weiss is right, only Weiss has a partner that's outside of her kingdom: Neptune."

Yang looked at Blake questioningly, "Really? What happened to you and Sun?"

Blake shrugged, "It didn't work. We're essentially polar opposites. The only half-decent reason you all pair us up together is because… well," Blake's bow wiggled slightly.

Yang shrugged. "Eh," she said, "It was worth a shot." Yang turned to Ruby, "So, Rubes. You've been quite. What do you think about the dance?"

Ruby faced her sister and smiled brightly. "We don't have to go, guys! Ah, just a day to myself with Crescent Rose and a whetstone."

Yang tilted her head and put on an expression that clearly meant "Really?" "Ruby," Yang reasoned as she put her hand on Ruby's shoulder, "come on! It'll be fun, and besides, you really need to break out of your shell once in a while."

"Ugh," Ruby groaned as they entered Professor Goodwitch's class, "you still sound like dad. And like Weiss said," she plopped down in a seat, "I don't have a partner."

Ruby's teammates apparently disagreed as they all donned devious smirks. "Are you sure?" Blake said suggestively.

Ruby's face flushed. "W-what do you mean?" She stammered.

Weiss sat down next to Ruby. "Oh for the love of…" She threw her hands into the air in frustration, "Ruby, you can't possibly be that clueless, can you?"

Ruby threw her hood over her face, because nothing says, "I don't want to talk" like covering your head with something. "Nope," Ruby denied, "Nope, nope, nope. Not talking about that."

"Talking about what?" a voice asked behind the four ladies.

Team RWBY turned around to see Daniel walking up to them. Yang waved at him, beckoning him to their small group. She turned to her teammates and gave them a small wink. Blake chuckled and Weiss smiled knowingly. "Hey, Daniel," Yang greeted.

Daniel gave her a small, two-finger wave, "Sup?"

Yang grabbed onto Daniel's arm and pulled him up the steps. "Hey!" He exclaimed, his feet barely keeping up with Yang's tugging.

Yang smirked at him, "Hey, you want to hang out with us or not?"

Daniel sighed, "I might as well get used to this."

Yang nodded as she sat next her sister. Daniel sat at the opposite end, Weiss and Blake being in between Ruby and himself. "So," Daniel said again, "what were you guys talking about?"

Blake, Weiss, and Yang looked at each other with small grins, having similar trains of thought. "The trap is set," thought the three of them.

"Well," Weiss began nonchalantly, "If you must know, we were talking about Yang wanting to ask you to the dance."

Daniel and Ruby looked up in shock, Daniel staring at Yang as Ruby stared at Weiss. "Huh?" Ruby blinked.

"Say what know?" Daniel choked out.

Yang smiled seductively. "Yeah," she insisted, "would you go to the dance with me?"

Daniel and Ruby sat there in shock as Weiss and Blake quietly snickered to themselves. Daniel leaned forward and turned to address Ruby, "Did you tell them about Echo's prank?"

Ruby shook her head, "Nope," she denied.

"Okay," Weiss interjected, "Ruby, you're telling us what prank Daniel's talking about later. Now, Daniel, will you go with Yang to the dance or not?"

Daniel abruptly looked between Yang, Ruby, and Weiss. "You're serious?" he queried.

Ruby shook her head as Yang and Weiss nodded, lying through their teeth. Daniel then turned to Ruby, "You're okay with this?"

"Aw," Weiss cooed, "he has to ask his girlfriend before answering."

Ruby and Daniel's faces heated up simultaneously. "Buh-ah-he's, um, not my boyfriend," Ruby violently shook her head.

Daniel waved his arms in front of him. "No, no, no. She's not my girlfriend. Yang's just her sister, that's all."

Blake looked at Daniel from the corner of her eyes, wearing a small smile. "You still haven't answered the question," she pointed out.

Daniel sighed, "Well… I-" he drawled.

Ruby was by Daniel's side in an instant, putting on a serious expression. "No, he will not go with Yang," she answered for him. "You know why?"

Blake, Yang, and Weiss exchanged small, amused glances. "Here we go…" they thought.

Weiss asked, "Why, Ruby? Is it because it's your sister?"

Ruby shook her head, "Nope, it's because he's mine," she ended by wrapping her arms around Daniel's neck, her chest pressed against his wings and her chin on top of his head. "You hear me?" she snapped, "Mine!"

Daniel chuckled nervously as he patted Ruby's arms. "Ruby," he called, "you might want to play back what you just said."

Ruby looked down at Daniel in confusion. For a few seconds, she continued to stare at Daniel's mop of hair, and then she looked up in realization. Her gaze quickly flicked between her teammates doing a horrible job trying to conceal their laughter. For a few moments, all she could do was blink. Then, suddenly, "Eep!" she squealed, hopping back into her original seat. Ruby covered her head with her cape's hood, curling her legs up to her chest.

Ruby's teammates lost it. For the next minute, an uproar of laughter sounded through the stands, all emitted by the three girls. Blake hunched over, her sides aching from all the giggling, Weiss pressed her mouth into her palms to try and muffle her laughs to no avail, and Yang sat by Ruby, holding her in a tight hug while laughing at her sister's antics. Daniel, not knowing if he should be amused or embarrassed, just laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"So, Daniel," Yang started after her team recovered from their fit of laughter, "Do you know what to ask now?"

Daniel raised his eyebrows questioningly, "Ask what?"

Yang groaned, "Oh for the love of…" She threw her hands into the air, "Ask Ruby out to the dance!"

Ruby and Daniel looked up at Yang in surprise, "What?!" they exclaimed at the same time.

Weiss and Blake also looked at the blonde in confusion, "Wait, what?" they echoed.

Yang smiled and nodded. "Yeah," she chirped, "it gives Ruby a partner to the dance, so why not?"

Weiss looked at Yang skeptically, "But aren't you supposed to be protective of her?"

Yang waved her off, "I am; we're all going to be there to watch over Ruby and Daniel."

Daniel leaned over and popped his head out from where he sat, "You know I'm still here, right?"

All it took was a glare from Yang to make him rethink his next words. "I'll just… sit here quietly then…" He shrank back into his seat.

Yang smiled brightly. "Why, thank you, Daniel!" She complimented mockingly.

Blake joined in, "So, how do you propose that all of us can get in? It's not exactly like we can all find partners we want to go with, right?"

Yang held up a finger. "Now hold on, Kitty Cat," she chided, "I'm getting to it." Yang pointed at Weiss, "Weiss, you're from Atlas."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Thank you for pointing out the obvious," she jeered.

Yang blatantly ignored her comment, "And Blake, you're from…"

"Outside of Vale." Blake finished vaguely.

Yang smiled. "Perfect!" she beamed, "Weiss can go with Neptune and ditch him later."

"Hey!" Weiss exasperated.

Yang ignored the girl, "Blake can go with me; Goodwitch never specified that our partners had to be dates, so all of us can watch over Daniel and Ruby!"

Ruby blinked at her sister. "You've put too much thought into this, haven't you?" she commented.

"Alright," Yang exclaimed, rubbing her hands together, "now that we've got that under control-."

"Ruby Rose!" Goodwitch called from the arena.

The team and Daniel turned to their professor who was impatiently tapping her foot. "Yes?" Ruby responded.

Goodwitch drummed her fingers on the tablet in her hands, clearly annoyed. Goodwitch spoke, "Now, since you've answered to my fourth call," Ruby blushed, "we can now get on with the match. Sky Lark and Ruby Rose, to the field."

Ruby turned back to her team. "Well," she mumbled, "wish me luck!" And she walked off to the arena.

Sky walked down the aisle with swagger, but almost anyone could see the trembling in his hands. The three from Team RWBY and Daniel smirked. "On a scale of one to ten," Daniel asked, "how screwed is Sky?"

Yang tilted her head. "Knowing my sis…" She looked up, thinking for a few moments. "I'd give it about an eight-point-nine."

Weiss looked at Yang incredulously. "You do realize; this is Ruby we're talking about. You know, the one that apparently can decimate an entire pack of Beowolves like you told us?"

Yang stared back with a half-smile. "This is also the same Ruby that hates hurting regular people unless she has a reason to."

Weiss narrowed her eyes in thought. "Fair point." she considered.

Daniel looked at the two in shock. "She did what now?" he marveled.

Yang nodded. "That's right, Danny." she confirmed with a proud smile, "Ruby was able to kill a pack of Beowolves by herself a year back."

Daniel let out a whistle as Weiss smugly turned to him. "Oh Daniel," she teased, "are you jealous that your girlfriend is a better fighter than you?"

Yang stared blankly at Weiss as Daniel groaned and flopped back in his seat. "I don't know whether to give you a high-five for making that diss," Yang commented, "or to punch you for calling Ruby his girlfriend."

Weiss was about to retort before Goodwitch shouted, "Begin!" And with that, the match started.

As the match started, Ruby rushed in as Sky raised his halberd tensely to block the incoming attack. The match was insanely one-sided; Ruby's speed and skill outmatched anything Sky could ever throw back at her.

As the match drawled out, the rest of Team RWBY's faces turned from grins and smirks into looks of confusion and suspicion. Daniel, on the other hand, was contently looking at the way Ruby fought, smiling every so often as she got a hit off on Sky (scratch that; he got hit a lot. Daniel smiled quite often). Eventually, Ruby put Sky out of his misery by letting off a vicious kick to his sternum, putting his aura bar into the red. "The match goes to Ruby Rose," Goodwitch announced.

The audience clapped, Daniel being the loudest. Oddly enough, Ruby's team only reluctantly clapped which went unnoticed by the others. "You're right, Yang," Daniel commented as Goodwitch was talking with the combatants, "that was an eight-point-nine."

Yang narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "No," she argued, "that was at most a four."

Daniel skeptically glanced at Yang, but Weiss nodded her head in agreement. "I wouldn't even give that a four," Weiss commented. "Her form was all over the place."

"She didn't have the same grace as she usually does." Blake put in.

Yang rested her chin on the backs of her hands. "I don't know what happened." she admitted, "Maybe she was distracted?"

Weiss stared at Yang. "What would he be distracted… by…" she trailed off.

Noticing the meaning in her words, Weiss and her teammates all stared at Daniel with blank expressions. Daniel's gaze flickered between them in confusion. "What?" He cried.

Slowly, Yang's expression turned into fury as Blake and Weiss donned giant smirks. "What did you do to Ruby?" Yang questioned ferociously.

Daniel looked at Yang, shocked and just slightly scared. "You think I did this?!" He proclaimed.

"I don't know," Yang shot back, "you tell me!"

Daniel threw his hands up. "If she was distracted because of me," he snapped, "it's because you three and Team JNPR are always making such a big deal out of us!"

Yang reeled back at his sudden outburst. Taking a few deep breaths, Daniel closed his eyes. "Sorry," he growled, "but you guys can at least give us some space to actually think about it."

Weiss and Blake nodded, shocked at his view of their teasing. "Alright," Weiss relented, "I'll stop the teasing. At least, I'll slow it down."

Yang rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm sorry I was quick to accuse you." Yang stretched out her hand to Daniel. "No hard feelings?"

Daniel's eyes still had a fire in them, but it was slowly dialing down. "None at all," he agreed reluctantly, taking Yang's hand in a handshake.

"I'm back, guys!" Ruby exclaimed happily. The four sitting down turned to the small girl. "What did I miss?"

"Ruby," Blake spoke, "sorry for being blunt, but what was that?"

Ruby stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"What she means," Weiss started, "is that your fight with Sky was horrible, to say the least?"

Now Ruby looked at her partner in shock. "What?!" She drawled.

Yang nodded. "Ruby," she said, "you looked like you were still in Year One at Signal. What happened?"

Ruby turned to Daniel questioningly. "Don't look at me!" he defended with his hands in a surrendering fashion, "this is my first time paying attention to your fighting."

Ruby sighed as she flopped down beside her sister. "I don't know." she admitted, "I don't know exactly, but it feels like I've got butterflies or even birds in my stomach."

Weiss smirked at Ruby. "Is it loooooove?" She cooed.

Daniel glared at Weiss. "I thought we established this." he exasperated.

Weiss turned to him cheekily. "Who says it was to you?" she jested.

"No, it's not that." Ruby denied without even a hint of red in her cheeks. She stared at the ground intently. "It's like-." Without warning, her cheeks didn't turn a shade of red, but green as the puffed up. Ruby rushed over to a trash can and violently retched, throwing up an acidic and sickly-green mess.

Ruby's team blinked in shock. "Well," Yang mused, "I guess we know why she did badly in the fight."

"Yep," Blake and Weiss went.

Daniel rushed over to Ruby's side, rubbing small circular patterns into her back. "Ruby," he asked gently, "are you alright?"

Ruby lifted her head from the trash can to glare at Daniel. "Does it look like I'm alright?" she snapped.

As Daniel stared back in shock, Yang went over and tapped him on the shoulder. "Yeah," she began, "Ruby gets cranky when she gets sick." Yang turned to her sister. "Ruby?"

Ruby turned to give Yang an annoyed look. "Yes?" she asked, her voice sharp but nasally.

Yang patted her on the back softly. "Let's get you to the nurse's office." She turned to the Professor. "Professor Goodwitch, can I take my sister to the infirmary?"

Goodwitch looked up from the match at hand to see 3 students, one hunched over a trash bin, looking a sickly pale even for her. She motioned for the sisters to leave. "Go," she insisted.

Yang nodded and started to softly drag Ruby away. "Wait!" Daniel called out. Yang and Ruby turned around. Daniel rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Would you… like to accompany me… to the…" Daniel threw back his head, "Let's just get it over with. Would you like to go to the dance with me, Ruby?" He rushed out.

Even during the sickness, Ruby's faces turned a brilliant shade of red. Before she could answer, Yang turned her back around. "Not now," Yang chastised, "we're busy."

Ruby shook off her sister to turn her head to face Daniel. "Sure!" she shouted as Yang dragged her away.

As Ruby was herded away, Daniel couldn't help but put on a stupid smile. He sat back down in his seat with a sigh of relief. After a minute or two, he started hearing giggling. Turning to his right, he saw Blake and Weiss giggling like a pair of schoolgirls. Oh wait, they technically are. "Really guys," Daniel exasperated, "can you give it a rest?"

Weiss just looked Daniel in the eye with a twinkle in her own. "Dust, do we have a story to Team JNPR."

AN: Hey guys, Fireflame here! So, if any of you guess there would be a Ball, congratulations! If not, it's understandable. I just thought that it was weird that a festival about unity only has a fighting competition. Anyway, I've been sorta busy with schoolwork, volunteer work, and random music stuff, so the chapters might not come as soon as you guys want them to. Don't worry, I'll try to stick to the twice a month schedule.

You know what? I'll give you guys something to ponder on and vote for. I've decided to kill off at least one of the main characters. Each poll from here on out will help me decide which one to kill. For example, the movie has a 20% chance of killing Ruby or Daniel, based off of your guys' next poll answers. Happy polling! Signing out, Flames of Fire.