Chapter 9: Boiling Sunrise

Blake couldn't believe her luck. Just a mere month ago she was attending Beacon without a plan going forward nor any single person she could place faith into to be there for her. And now here she was, living an entirely normal life in peaceful ignorance of the conflict around her and it was all thanks to him. He was there on that fateful day in the train yard. He was there a mere few days later, papers in hand. And he was there a month ago, his embrace welcoming her as she fled from those she called teammates.

He had said goodbye to her following their final protest citing reasons of being unable to forgive, and unable to trust, her. Blake cherished that change of heart, cherished the fact that her childhood friend was still there to guide her. Most of all she cherished the fact that her past had finally been sold to the sands of time for them do as they may with it.

She was currently walking down the road to the house the duo shared. They weren't together; it was just the smartest way to go about living. Her senses were being pleasantly assaulted by the smell of barbecue, the sound of the early bird's chirping their odd songs, and the feeling of the cool breeze as it brushed over her bared arms, her combat gear replaced with a simple t-shirt and short combination. She reached the door and stepped inside, instantly being struck by refreshing air conditioning.

"Adam, are you up yet?" she shouted as she squeezed her way inside, bag full of ingredients in hand. No reply. Blake groaned with a partial tone of amusement, Adam hadn't changed one bit from the boy she came to adore. "Adam!?" she called again pushing open the door slightly to the kitchen and placing the bag inside, she was immediately assailed by a grey and white cat, begging for attention and food.

"Hey Storm, you seen Adam?" the cat just mewed happily, entirely ignorant of Blake's question. "Yeah you wouldn't care would you" she mused happily, her hand absently ruffling the feline's fur. Eventually Blake pulled herself away from her pet, pausing for but a few seconds to scratch under its chin and earn a small purr in reward. "I'll feed you in a bit, I gotta go wake up that buffoon before he misses his job interview… again."

Storm was right behind her as she pushed open the door to the living room; it was a spacious set up consisting of just a TV stand, sofa bed that wasn't pulled out and a glass coffee table. "Huh, seem he's awake; maybe he's already-" She trailed off, moving over to the coffee table, there was a small white note; a letter written in red, in Adam's handwriting.

"I'm sorry Blake; it had to be this way. I couldn't forget… All loose ends need to be tied, you know that… I'm sorry."

Blake's blood ran cold, a chill reverberating up and down her spine as she swallowed hard. He betrayed me. Her eyes narrowed, two thuds were heard and she dashed over to the TV stand. It was where she and Adam agreed to hide Gambol Shroud, Blush and Wilt. Out of sight, out of mind… but close enough to use had the necessity arisen.

She cursed as she swung the door open, the hinges cracking and the door ripping off. He took my weapon too…

The sound of footsteps were behind her now and she pivoted on the spot, a clenched fist at the ready; one that would be thrown regardless of who was behind her. She threw her fist forward and caught a brief glimpse of a man, he brought his head back slightly and Blake's punch missed, she stumbled forward having placed far too much force behind the attack. She cursed again, and seconds later she felt a blade against her neck and her body get launched against the wall.

"Nothing personal Ms. Belladonna, but we've worked too hard to allow someone like you to bring everything to ruin…"

The man lowered his blade and threw her into the glass coffee table, Blake crashing through it with a yelp of pain as the glass dug into her skin, drawing blood from her exposed arms and legs. She stood up and took a stance ready to fight her assassin bare-handed if need be. The front door swung open and four more men entered.

Fear gripping her like a vice, Blake did the only thing she could: she dashed towards the archway that led to the hall; her only hope for escape. Escape that was snatched from her grasp as she neared the frame; yet another man rounding the corner and bringing a blunt object down hard across Blake's face; blood began to gush from just above her right eye brow as she staggered back into the clutches of another one of her assassins.

He threw her back against the original assassin, his knife sheathed in favour of a night stick. He smashed the weapon in her stomach and she keeled over, blood pouring from her mouth. A swift kick to the head and she was sent reeling back into the centre, losing her balance and falling hard against the glass shards that littered her living room.

She struggled to her feet and glanced around, she was surrounded. Sentenced to death by decimation by cowards who were supposed to be pacifists… She had to admit she found a strange poetry in that given what she once fought for.

In the blink of an eye they descended down upon her, blow upon blow racking her body in pain earning another cry, shedding another load of blood, breaking another bone, tearing another muscle. She screamed one last time as one of her attackers delivered a swift uppercut to her jawline, fracturing it instantly and she fell back, one last swing and she felt her skull crack. Her vision went dark.


A shrill shriek resonated throughout the dorm room as Blake bolted upright in her bed. Weiss winced from across the room and Blake caught a glimpse of Ruby… sat on her bed, whistle by her lips. Startled by the scream, Ruby inadvertently bit down on the instrument. The shrill sound of the one tone metronome sliced through the air threatening to pop Blake's ear drums and the dual swordswoman fell from the bed with another shout.

"S-sorry Blake, I didn't mean to-I, well I mean I guess I did-but I-"

"GODDAMNIT RUBY!" yelled Blake cutting the redhead's apologetic rambling dead and earning a flinch from the younger girl. Blake immediately kicked herself in her mind and reined in her emotions. Come on Blake, don't take this out on Ruby; she's done nothing to deserve this… you turned a page yesterday, don't stain this one this soon...

She struggled to a seated position and quickly apologised before noticing that her entire team were up and ready in their school uniform. Ruby rather humorously kept her cloak. Yang, as expected, wore thigh high stockings to pointlessly maintain decency. And Weiss… looked slightly annoyed she had to wear such an ugly outfit.

Looking around she spotted Weiss and Yang's concerned looks. Understandable, I did just wake up screaming… She turned back to Yang's partner and groaned, still tired after a restless night's sleep. "Did you need to wake me up so soon?" she asked not even bothering to check the time; the sun wasn't too high in the sky, it couldn't be very far past dawn.

"Yes." The teen said entirely serious prompting Blake to question why, she instantly regretted it as the teen replied boisterously "So that Team RWBY can officially begin its first order of business!"

She almost asked what that order of business was, almost; luckily for her Weiss interrupted her with an excited shout of her own "DECORATING!" It sounded slightly feigned, for Ruby's sake most likely, though Blake was admittedly touched at the idea that some thought could've been spared to the brunette herself. Still she had no intention of decorating.

Blake let out another groan as Yang stepped up next to the white-haired girl. "We umm… still have to unpack." She held up her suitcase pointedly, at which point it comically fell open; all her contents spilling out. Blake spied a diary and a few curious books but said nothing. "A-And clean…" the blonde nervously added whilst pawing at the books. Weiss smiled in amusement.

"Aren't you the team leader Yang? Couldn't you have stopped this!?"

"W-well yes, yes… umm yeah… But…" as Yang stuttered Blake began pacing forwards, Yang's nerves only continued to further hamper her communication as a seemingly angry snake Faunus stalked towards her. "But… RUBY!" she said motioning to the redhead before breaking into a nervous chuckle. Blake couldn't suppress a smile, after just one day it had become a safe assumption that "Ruby" in this context meant puppy dog eyes and immense amounts of adorableness. Which also meant Yang was in the clear.

Blake would also have taken great pleasure from Yang's bumbling attempts to speak English but memories of Adam reminded her of her last few encounters with him, giving her a desperate desire to shower and a way out of the morning's madness that was sure to follow. "Well, whilst you three ruin the place, I'm gonna grab a shower; don't touch any of my stuff." she said, striding straight past Yang. "Morning." she said lowly to the blonde before disappearing into the bathroom.


Shrugging off her yukata, Blake stepped into the shower moaning happily as the torrent of hot water blasted her body, washing away all negativity and calming her mind. For a while she just stood there letting the focussed stream massage her back before shifting to allow it to massage her scalp. Moments like this were something to hold onto, moments where the huntress became just another person allowing Blake to bask in the normality of what she assumed was everyday life.

A few thuds and a "RUBY THAT'S NOT HOW YOU PUT UP A PAIR OF CURTAINS!" followed by Ruby's pleas for forgiveness and Weiss's angry attitude fading into sisterly affection awakened Blake to the real world and she let a wry smirk take over her features. If things had been normal then perhaps we would be closer than sisters… perhaps…

She flinched and groaned in pain, her hand instinctively reaching to clutch at a scar running across the length of her right rib just beneath her breast. It's just phantom pain Blake, pull yourself together. The pain persisted and she ran her finger smoothly along the discoloured streak marring her otherwise flawless torso; kneading the old wound tenderly. Dammit, why did it have to be THAT dream? She let out a seething sigh as she tried battling back the anxiety provoking thoughts. I need a distraction… Shaking her head she quickly finished showering; sacrificing enjoyment for efficiency and stepped out of the bathroom in a black and white bathrobe.

On her knees in amidst a pile of wood was Ruby, seemingly hard in concentration as she messed about with some rope. Beside her was Weiss who groaned in frustration. "Maybe try this." She asked before reaching over and taking the rope. She spent the next five minutes explaining some kind of knot to her little sister, and Blake immediately lost interest. She scanned the room again and found an exhausted Yang slumped against one of the haphazardly strewn about mattresses.

"I'm gonna regret this I think but: What are you guys doing?"

"Making bunk beds, we've always had them ever since we took Ruby in at the age of five…" commented Weiss nonchalantly.

Bunk beds, phew; and there's me thinking- "Wait, then why have you got rope?"

"Umm, hellooo: bunk beds!" Weiss repeated as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Ooookay… Well I'll leave you to it, could you just pass me over my school uniform; I'll get changed in the bathroom since well-" Blake simply motioned towards the absolute mess made by the Schnee sisters and Weiss obliged her partner.

Blake accepted them gratefully before retreating back to the bathroom to get changed.


With her original plan for distracting herself now out of the window, Blake focussed on slowly getting ready, ensuring her hair was perfect and her eye shadow immaculate before even beginning to dress. She didn't want to go back out there until Ruby and Weiss were done being… well… them.

When the clock struck 8:45 Blake started to steel herself, hoping that the duo had finished, least of all because they had Grimm Studies at 9am. Opening the door hesitantly she was greeted by absolute normality. Everything was back to as it should be… except the four beds.

One was piled atop another supported entirely by thick school tomes that would undoubtedly be needed at some point. The other was somehow even more frightening; it was suspended in the air by ropes, attached to what, Blake didn't even try and guess. "What on Remnant is this monstrosity?"

"Bunk beds!" announced Weiss and Ruby in joyful synchronicity.

That rendered Blake speechless for a few moments, moments she disguised with a short laugh and an unbelieving smile. "Well how creative of you to disguise bunk beds as safety hazards…" she quipped with a half-drone, clearly less than pleased at the Schnees' work but taking great amusement from the results. She cocked her head to the side regarding the second bed curiously. "You didn't say you were transforming both…"

"Umm guys?" All eyes shifted to the nervous source, Yang shrinking slightly in her presence upon having three pairs of eyes on her. "We've gotta get a move on; classes start in ten minutes, don't wanna be late do you?"


Ruby had been inside of a Beacon classroom for merely three minutes and she had already discovered something new: She couldn't stand her Grimm Studies professor. Here he was Professor Peter Port; boring propaganda extraordinaire, painting the creatures of Grimm as mindless husks whose only reason to exist is to kill. That's funny I've never seen a Grimm kill someone before… she mused disgustedly as he continued droning.

"Some of you are training to become hunters and huntresses, the duty will fall upon you to go out and defeat these bloodthirsty murderers before they take any more lives." Ruby groaned and the professor shot her a dirty look. Weiss's eyes narrowed upon seeing it only for her attention to be gained by Blake, namely the fact that the raven-haired girl seemed entirely distracted.

That irked her beyond reason, after everything Blake put her through in the forest, after all the yelling, personal attacks, and vitriolic assessments of her skill level; Blake of all people was slacking off. Blake was the one completely ignoring Professor Port… And here Weiss was trying to prove to her that she was an equal fighter.

"Regardless of where you go from here, ALL of you are individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world!"

Blake was brought back from her clouded mind by a young boy at the back of the class getting to his feet and punching his fist into the air. "Ayyyy-yep!" he yelled. Apparently she was not the only one whose attention was glued to the strange boy.

"Shouldn't you be concentrating?" scolded Blake and the man flopped into his seat, his head hanging in shame with a light blush on his cheek after having embarrassed himself a little. Weiss growled angrily, her fist balling up, nails beginning to dig into her palms. Her building rage was further fuelled by the professor's next words.

"Indeed Ms. Belladonna, it is pleasing to know that at least one of you has the mindset of a true huntress in training."

What!? Weiss screamed in her mind, her partner had done nothing but ignore the entire lecture, and now she was being praised for hypocritically shouting at a poor boy that was probably fully attentive in the first place. Blake practically demanded Weiss prove herself to Blake, and here that same girl was attacking students who were doing MORE than she had been. She bit her tongue and focussed her attentions elsewhere.

"But first a story, a story about a young, proud and brave hunter: no it is not me, I was never one for the adventurous life style. No I am speaking of my brother: Bryan Port!" Weiss sighed, she couldn't blame the infuriating snake Faunus next to her for zoning out… which she had again done, after all Port made it very hard to care about his lectures. Despite the name of the subject they had yet to do any actual studying of Grimm. Maybe she has other things on her mind… she thought before hearing Jaune groan from behind her.

I've heard enough about this guy's family to last a lifetime; I've already heard this self-aggrandising exaggeration from the man himself. Ugh! Jaune was quickly coming to hate his time at Beacon, education wise everything had been spiralling downwards.

Port was a Grimm Researcher, one that seemed to be living vicariously through his brother's eyes since he pursued a far more excited passion, one Jaune would likely be subject to after the events of Initiation.

"In just a few short days my son, my prodigy, will begin attending Beacon Academy, there he will hone his skills and become an even greater swordsman than he already is. I sincerely hope that one day he even surpasses me."

The words of his father echoed in his mind, the expectations that he would one day go on to better his father's legacy, with hopes that they would finally have a voice with the powers that controlled Vale. Yeah, how's that going for ya dad?

He felt Pyrrha's burning gaze upon the side of his face and set about swiftly recovering, now pretending to listen to the professor rather than outright ignoring him. Speaking of which Ren could REALLY do with listening, maybe he'll learn not to hop a Nevermore and almost get his partner killed… Jaune deliberated venomously before immediately punishing himself No, no. Don't you DARE take your failures out on him Jaune Arc! That would be much easier advice to take if he didn't care about Pyrrha's well-being, and Ren hadn't gotten them all late to class.

"The moral of this story?" questioned Port rhetorically, Jaune would've been happy he was finally going to learn something had he not been so accustomed to the Port family. Knowing what was coming he decided to check them all off. "A true Huntsman must be honourable!" Check. "A true Huntsman must be dependable!" Check. "A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!" Check, check and check. He groaned angrily, he needed something to kill, and a chance to prove himself. "So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Before he could say anything Weiss stood proudly from her seat. "I DO SIR!" she shouted with a fiery passion. He relaxed back against his seat with a sigh and caught Pyrrha's gaze, emerald green meeting azure blue. She really isn't forgetting this is she?

For the first time since the lecture started, Blake was all ears. This should be good she mused in anticipation of the blood sport that was sure to follow. "Well, then, let's find out!" Port announced turning to face a cage. A few grasps were heard and a pained whimper came from Ruby. Yang whom was sat beside her tried her best to be consoling but, being Yang, did an awkward job of it.

Seriously did NO ONE else notice that cage just sitting right there? Blake's hopes that anyone in the classroom would be worthy of calling themselves hunters when the four years at the academy came to close were already wavering after just twenty minutes.

Weiss's heart sank as she saw the struggling creature in the cage; she could almost sense the fear and rage. "Step forward, and face your opponent!" the professor announced indifferently, paying no mind to trying to be discrete or sensitive in the presence of a visibly affected Ruby.

Nevertheless Weiss got to her feet and made her way to the locker room. As she reached the doorway she shot a glance back at Ruby, her face apologetic before she turned away. Myrtenaster awaited her, and she had something to prove to herself, something to prove to Blake. She would not allow this hypocrisy to stand. Weiss was a true huntress; it was time to prove to Blake what she had to Ozpin and her father before. It was time show Blake that she, and every other student in the room, could do this.