The next morning Ruby is snoring like her usual self, and Blake is the first to wake. She sits up, and rubs the sleep from her eyes as she heads to the bathroom.
Making sure the door is locked she looks in the mirror, and pulls off her bow. She stares forlornly at the black cat ears erupting from her otherwise human head. She likes her ears, she always has... She wishes she didn't have to hide them.
She takes a quick shower, and afterwards she ties her bow back into place. She thinks to how Weiss thinks of the Faunus, and she hates how people with her opinions make her feel like it was a crime she was ever born.
She steps out of the bathroom in her school outfit, and blinks. With a smile she decides this one time she'll act like a certain OTHER cat she knows. She gets a camera, and takes a picture of Weiss's bunk.
...unfortunately she had forgotten to turn the flash off...
Startled, Weiss' eyes snap open and she glares at Blake "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Blake blushes, "Uh..."
A tiny arm draped over Weiss's neck tightens a bit as Lucy snuggles into her, muttering incoherently. Blake blushes deeper with a smile, and snaps another picture, making sure to click off the flash this time.
"Blake, put down the camera or so help me..." Weiss threatens, and abruptly lifts the arm from around her neck, "How the hell did she get here?"
Blake what's the camera down, "well if she can steal a mace like she did from Cardin, then I don't think sneaking into a bed is that much of a stretch…"
"Just wait while I see Cinder..." She growls "Oi, kid! Get up!"
Lucy blinks her eyes open, and looks up at Weiss with a gasp. "Big Sister!" She hugs Weiss around the neck, and kisses her cheek. On reflex Blake snatches up the camera, and takes a picture.
"Get away from me!" Weiss stubbornly pushes her away "This isnt a place for a mere child, go home!"
"But Weiss we have a test in the morning," Ruby mumbles in her sleep from the bunk above.
Lucy stretches languidly, and curls up against Weiss in the bed without a care in the world. "I wont tell you again...GET OFF!"
She just starts purring, and wagging her tail. "You sound like Lilith, only you don't curse at me as much... I love you Big Sister..."
"I'm not your sister, you little runt!" Weiss sighs "You're a handful, now get off and leave me alone."
Yang sits up, "What's all the ruckus about?"
Weiss turns her glare to Yang "Get this child off me now!"
Yang looks over, "Oh, okay." She slides off the bed, "C'mon sweetheart, let's get you a nice shower."
Lucy perks up, "Shower?! Like a real shower?! You're not just gonna dump water on me with a bucket?"
Yang smiles warmly, "Nope, a real shower with a sprayer, a tub, and everything!"
"Yay!" She hops into Yang's arms, and waves to Weiss, "Talk to you later big sis!" Yang giggles as she carries the Faunus child into the bathroom.
Blake is poking the snoozing Ruby in the cheek. Then she spots a whistle on the nightstand, and with a smirk she hands it to Weiss. "A little payback?"
"Payback for what?" Weiss raises her eyebrow "I should get payback on YOU for what you just did!"
Blake rolls her eyes, "Relax, all the pictures were just of her. Your face is out of them. And remember the morning we built the bunk beds...?" She dangles the whistle in front of Weiss.
Weiss stares at the whistle before taking it with a smirk "Thanks Blake...you're a genius..."
Blake smirks, and takes a few steps back, putting her hands over he ribbon. Weiss creeps over to Ruby's bunk quietly, smirk still present. She leans close to her before bringing the whistle to her lips and blowing hard.
PHWEEEEEEET!
"WAAAH!" Ruby bucks, her blindfold still over her eyes as she topples out of her bunk. She lands with a thud, "Owie..."
Blake smirks as she takes her hands away from her ribbon.
"Goood morning Ruby..." Weiss grins.
"Ugh... Good morning Weiss..." She takes off her blindfold, and sits up while rubbing the sore spot on her head.
"Have a nice sleep?" Her grin turns into a smirk.
"I was..."
"Good...good...just like I was that time." Weiss raises her eyebrow and drops the whistle on Ruby.
Yang comes out in her school uniform, and holding Lucy while nuzzling her quills. "Aw, she's so soft and fuzzy!"
"She shouldnt be here Yang!" Weiss snaps at her "This is no place for a child."
"Imma ninja," Lucy says with an adorable pout while crossing her arms.
"You're still a CHILD. I'll go talk with Ospin later, you shouldn't be here and it's not safe!"
Lucy starts to tear up, "But what about my mommy? She has boo-boos..."
Yang gives Weiss puppy eyes as she hugs Lucy a little tighter, "Yeah Weiss, what about mommy's boo-boos?"
The camera almost materializes is Blake's hand as she snaps a picture of Yang with Lucy, "So cute..."
"Who cares, she can take care of herself, she has a team too!" Weiss rolls her eyes
Yang shakes her head, rubbing cheeks with Lucy, "Nope! She's all her lonesome."
Ruby brushes herself off as she stands, "Jeez Weiss, what do you have against kids?"
"Nothing. I just don't agree that this place is where a child should be, Ruby! It's dangerous."
"...she has a point," Ruby says.
"EXACTLY! Thank you, Ruby!" Weiss huffs "Yang...she needs to go and you know it."
Yang sighs, "But she's adorable..."
Lucy glances between them, "But... I can fight..."
"Maybe so, little girl, but not as good as any of us and CERTAINLY not good enough to fight creatures of Grimm." Weiss' tone is firm "Tough luck sweetie..."
Lucy sniffles, and jumps out of Yang's arms. Ruby reaches for her, "Aw-" Before she can say anything Lucy pulls a small white ball from her hair, and throws it on the ground. In a flash of smoke she's gone.
"Well...that's one problem solved!" Weiss smiles "Now, let's get going guys."
Blake clears her throat, "Weiss... You just ticked off a little girl with ninja training... Aren't you worried about a tantrum?"
"Why should I be?" Weiss scoffs "Her skills are nothing compared to mine."
Ruby sighs, "You're not really going to report her to Ospin are you?"
Weiss gives Ruby a disbelieving look "Of course I am, you dolt! It's the right thing to do, for EVERYONE'S safety."
Yang looks out the window as Ruby heads into the shower. "Wuh-oh..."
"What's the matter?" Weiss questions.
"Well... I think Blake was right about that tantrum." Yang points to where Lucy is running back for the woods.
"Foolish girl...I'm going to go tell Ospin right now!" Weiss storms out of the room.
"In your night dress?" Blake suppresses a smile.
Moment later a blushing Weiss storms back inside and grabs her clothes "...No..." Her friends have the good graces not to laugh as they get ready for school. Yang puts on her wrist blasters, and Blake gets her sword just in case.
Later Weiss finds Ospin with Goodwitch walking the halls, watching a tablet.
"Professors...may I speak with you regarding a matter of great importance?" Weiss confidently addresses them as she approaches.
Ospin glances at her, "Ah Ms Schnee! What can I do for you?"
"Are you aware there is a mere child on these premises?"
"Yes, and we have prefects already on it," Ospin says as he shows her the tablet. Lucy is hiding in a tree hole, and blurs out of sight moments before someone checks there.
Ospin smiles, "She's proving impressively elusive however. When we found her she was crying about her big sister."
"Big sister?" Weiss frowns. Goodwitch rewinds some footage, and turns the tablet towards Weiss.
Lucy is sitting on a branch huddled in on herself, crying with her ears folded back. "I'll show big sister... I'm not a kid... Imma ninja..." She wipes her eyes, and Goodwitch pauses the footage.
"Can you shed any light on this?" She raises an eyebrow.
Weiss lets out a groan "This morning I found her asleep next to me, and then she proceeded to say that I was her sister..."
Ospin raises his eyebrows, "Ah... So now it appears you are in a unique position to bring a young girl back from a forest teeming with monsters. If you would be so kind as to help us I'll excuse you from all assignments today. We all know you would have aced them all anyways."
"Of course I would have! But that selfish girl is nothing but trouble..."
"I can't deal with her if I can't get my hands on her," Ospin replies. "I'm just as worried for her well being as you are, but every minute she is in that forest her chances of coming out dwindle. If you went looking for her then she may reveal herself, and you could convince her to return."
Weiss stares at him for a moment with a blank look "Fine..."
She turns round and races off to the forest. For a while she finds nothing. Oh what was that brat's name again... Lucy? With each passing moment, Weiss feels herself grow more and more frustrated. "LUCY! Where the hell are you, stupid girl!"
"...Big sister?" Lucy pokes her head out from around a tree.
Weiss snaps her head towards the voice "There you are! What are you doing?!"
Lucy shrinks back behind the tree a bit, and sniffles. "I just... I wanted to show you I can do this... I like it here... I wanna stay close to Sifu, Big Sister, and all my new friends..."
"Lucy..."Weiss sighs "You don't belong here. It isn't safe for you...I'm only saying this because I don't want you to get hurt."
Lucy steps out from around the tree, and slowly walks up to her. "That's why Sifu Cinder taught me to be a ninja... So I don't get hurt. I can hide, and I can run if I can't fight..."
"But the creatures that lurk here are extremely strong and even more dangerous...now come on. Let me take you back.." Weiss holds her hand out.
Lucy blinks, and holds up her arms like she wants a hug. "Are they gonna make me leave?"
"I don't know," Weiss replies and gently picks her up "Perhaps so..."
Lucy hugs her around the neck. "I love you Big Sister."
"Yeah yeah...that's...nice...but you don't even know me."
Suddenly Weiss hears A growling behind them, and turns to see an Ursa barrelling for them. It runs into her head first, sending her sprawling in one direction, and Lucy flying into the bushes.
Weiss quickly picks herself up "Lucy...are you okay!" She yells, eyes locked on the creature "NOW do you understand why I said this place is dangerous!"
The monstrous bear turns its eyes on Weiss, and charges at her again. It is only then that Weiss remembers that her weapon is still in shambles after her scuffle with Adam yesterday.
"Curse that damn Faunus!" She mumbles and jumps out of the way "Lucy! Get out of here!" She races for a tree and climbs up it "Hey, stupid creature, over here!" She attempts to distract is so Lucy can get away safely
It charges, and leaps. Suddenly a white pellet hits it in the eye, and it howls in pain as white dust covers half its face. It crashes to the ground, rolling onto its side as Lucy glowers at it.
"Stay away from my big sister!" Miraculously she produces a Chain Sickle from up her sleeve, and whirls it. In a toss that would have made Blake proud, she hooks it onto the back of the Ursa's ankle, and gives it a good tug, slicing it.
Weiss watches, quite surprised "Lucy! Be careful!
The brute gets to its feet, and charges her. Lucy pulls another smoke pellet from her hair, and throws it down just before it reaches her. When the smoke clears the Ursa has her hoodie in it's claws, but she is nowhere to be seen. The monster stares at the piece of clothing, and then looks around stupidly for her with this one good eye.
"Lucy!" Weiss cries out in a panic "Oh jeez...where are you now?!"
Then she spots the young girl standing on a high branch on the Bear's blindside. Under that hoodie she had been wearing a long sleeve black shirt, and a green vest covered with pockets. On her back is some sorts of blade consisting of four rings that appear to interlock, and the blades themselves which are about as big as her back. She draws Eight ninja stars, And throws them by crossing her arms over her chest been flinging them out.
The air between the stars glints, and Weiss can spot thread thin wires connecting them, the wires wrap around the Ursa, and then wrapped around trees before burying themselves in the wood. The Ursa is held in place, but judging from the way it is straining against its bonds it will not hold for long.
"Lucy...I..." She gapes, and jumps down from her perch on the tree
"Look out big sister!"
Lucy takes the blade off her back, and it Falls into a huge Shuriken that looks like some kind of windmill, or pinwheel. It spins rapidly in her hand as she holds it by the centre ring, and then she throws it off to the side. As the monster begins to break its bonds she pulls a small lead ball out of a pocket, and strikes a thumb against it, lighting a fuse. The huge blade then slices the monster across its back, making it howl in pain as Lucy throws the small grenade at the base of a nearby tree.
BOOM!
The Ursa turns just in time to see the treetop all on top of it. It grunts, and squirms, but in the end the tree has it depends. Beaten, but very much alive. Lucy hops down, and retrieves her hoodie. She pads at the call marks in it, and then shrugs as she pulls her Giants blade outs of a tree. After folding it up, and putting it on her back she slips her hoodie back on, and takes a hold of the him of Weiss is combat skirt.
"Big sister, I think I broke it." She points at the Ursa.
"Good.."Weiss smirks "Now let:s get back before we have another to deal with."
Lucy hold her hands up, and bounces on her toes. "Big sister is so awesome, she could've taken that mean bear with her hands tied behind your back!"
"Damn right, kiddo!" Weiss smirks "I can do anything."
Lucy hops into her arms, and hugs her around the neck with a purr. "I love my awesome big sister..."
Weiss blinks...no-one has ever said that to her before... "Uhhh...thank you..." She lamely replies.
When Weiss walks out of the forest with Lucy, Ospin is there with a long case under his arm.
"Well done, the both of you," he says as Lucy nuzzles Weiss's cheek.
"Did you really expect anything less from me, Ospin?" Weiss raises her eyebrow "Now send her home. If she gets hurt it's her own fault."
Ospin smiles, "I would Weiss, and I agree with you whole-heartedly. However after a brief investigation we've discovered that her only family attends Beacon. She has no home for me to send her to."
He holds up a tablet, replaying their fight with the Ursa. "And I think she has the potential to be a good Huntress... Don't you?"
"But...BUT SHE'S JUST A CHILD! That thing could have eaten her alive! And there's NO way I'm being responsible for that!"
"No, you're not," Ospin confirms. "In fact, you're going to be commended for your actions today."
He opens the case he's holding, and inside is Weiss's sword, good as new... Better in fact.
"I...what..." Weiss stares at the weapon and gently runs her fingers along it "Did you do this?"
He nods with a smile, "I too am a hunter, I know how to forge weapons Weiss. And I am taking complete responsibility for Miss Lucy WaveRider here."
Weiss looks at the little girl in her arms. Truth be told, she always wanted a little sister...or a sibling of any kind to ease the loneliness when her father wasn't there for her...which was pretty much all the time.
"No...it's okay...she thinks of me as her older sister, after all..."
Deep down, Weiss curses herself for being so soft. Ospin nods with a smile.
"Thank you for rebuilding my weapon...I'll enjoy beating that Faunus with it.."
Lucy leans over to hug Ospin, "Thank you Granpa!"
Ospin blinks, and then covers his mouth as he laughs. "Ah... The innocence of youth!"
Deep inside her, Weiss feels a little jealous...from as far back as she can remember, she never had a proper childhood...there was no-one to play games with her, no-one to hug her when she was down. While her father was off raging war against the Faunus she was the one who had to comfort herself...
...She had to grow up far quicker than anyone else..
And now she has a six year old Faunus "sister" clinging to her like Weiss is the most important thing in the world.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you..." Weiss whispers "But you have to understand that this place isn't safe for you."
"It's ok, I can just break more monsters! I'll start with the ones under the beds..."
Weiss sighs and shakes her head with pity "You're still just a child..."
She looks at Ospin with a small smile "Thank you...again. May I be excused?"
He nods, and steps aside.
Weiss walks past him with a frown on her face and Lucy still in her arms. She never thought that she'd be doing this...ever...
"Big sister?"
"What?" Weiss glances at her and continues to walk towards the dorm. What the hell is she getting herself into?!
"Can I take a nap? I'm tired..." She yawns, and snuggles into her.
"Fine. You can have my bed." Weiss opens the door to her teams' room and gently places Lucy on the bed. "I'll be back to check on you soon. Do not move from this room." Given that she's already passed out that doesn't look like a problem. Rolling her eyes, Weiss pulls the covers over her before stalking back out of the room quietly.
Today is going to be a long day, she figures.
He sings, "Mirror mirror, what's behind you? Save me from these things I see. I can hide it from the world, why won't you let me hide from me?" With a nod he jots something down on his paper.
"What are you doing up there?" Weiss demands, hands on her hips
Smoke looks down, "Oh, just the person I wanted to see." The lack of sarcasm takes her back a step as he drops nimbly to the floor. "Well for the Nightclub I'm having built I was gonna write some music. Right now I'm inspired by your teammates so I figured I'd write you each a song. Yours is an orchestra piece I call 'Mirror Mirror.' What do you think?" He hands her the paper, a sheet of hand-drawn sheet music.
Weiss stares down at the paper with a frown, lips whispering the words to herself. After a few moments silence, she shoves the paper to his chest forcefully "Not bad I guess."
"Easy," he says, smoothing the paper out. "My problem is finding someone to vocalate... Hey, could you...?"
"Could I what?" She raises her eyebrows, but then scowls at him "No. I don't have time for things like that! Don't you know I have a company to take over once my father decides the time is right!"
"Never hurt to earn some credibility," he says with crosses arms. "Or contacts. I've only been here a short while, but my information network is spreading like a wildfire."
He leans against a wall, "You sing this one time at my club once it's built, and then you can use my connections to root out White Fang for your pops."
Weiss gasps "How dare you use that against me! What would your team think of this!"
"They expect it, back home I was the best Informant to be found." He pulls down his hood so she can see his smile, "And I'm not using anything against you. I'm just saying what I want, and what I'm willing to give for it. It's called a trade, Weiss."
She eyes him for a few seconds suspiciously, before walking off "I'll think about it..."
"Alright," he calls. "It should be finished in a few days!"
May 19"Whatever..." Is all she replies before disappearing around a corner.
...One Week Later...
Lucy is on Ruby's bunk, happily shining quietly to herself in Chinese as the others get ready for the day.
"Nyan nyan, nyan nyan, ni hao nyan..."
"Lucy...what the hell are you singing?" Weiss rolls her eyes
"I call it the Chinese Kitty Nyan Song," she giggles. She holds up a sword that greatly resembles a Katana, but is much straighter. It's a Ninjaken, and it's about her size. "In China kitties don't say 'meow' they say 'nyan!' Cool huh?"
"Indeed..." Weiss eyes the sword "Put that down before you hurt yourself!"
She's certainly acting like an older sister...
"Okay!" She puts in its sheath, and then hops to the floor as she hang the sword on Weiss's bedpost. "Are we going to the party tonight Big Sister?"
The club had finally been finished. It had taken a few extra days, and after that Smoke had to take Ospin on a tour to assure him that the expenses of the club were coming out of Smoke's pockets. Also since almost no one in the school was actually of drinking age there would be no alcohol. Plenty of juice, and dancing though.
"No...I don't have time for parties!" Weiss sighs, being her usual no-fun self. "If you want to go ask someone else to take you."
"Aw, but we all wanted to hear Big Sister sing," Yang teases from across the room.
Weiss grits her teeth "No, Yang. Stop being immature."
Lucy hugs Weiss around the leg, "Maybe another time?" She looks up at her with wide eyes.
"Maybe. But I'm not promising and you shouldn't hold your breath." Weiss pries the younger girl off and picks her up "I can't believe I'm even doing this...with a child..." She mumbles to herself. Out of all the things she knew she was going to have to do here at the academy.
This was NOT one of them.
"Okay," Lucy says sweetly, and closes her eyes with a smile. She's certainly mature for a six year old, at the very least she's not annoying.
Blake walks over, and offers Lucy a box of Pocky, "Here, I saw these in outlet last trip into Vale on Saturday, and I thought you might like them. They're basically cookie sticks covered in chocolate."
Lucy accepts one, and chews the end of it. Then she purrs, "Yummy! Thank you Auntie Blake!"
Weiss rolls her eyes. Auntie Blake? This girl is getting in in too deep..
"She shouldn't even be here.." Weiss mumbles.
Suddenly Lucy is out of Weiss's arms, and dashing around the room like a small whirlwind. Abruptly all the girls are holding their schoolbags, and Ruby clicks a stopwatch. "Two seconds, new record Lucy."
Lucy smiles as she nibbles a Pocky stick, and picks out a book from Blake's bookshelf. "Have a nice day at school Big Sister!"
"Whatever." The Heiress clutches her bag and storm out of the room, not even bothering to check who's following.
Yang rolls her eyes, "Just goes to show that there's Chilly, there's Bitter Freezing, there's Sub-Zero, and then there's Weiss-Cold."
Ruby trots up next to Weiss, "Well I think you make a great big sister Weiss."
"I don't care, Ruby, I'm not here to BE a big sister, I'm here to become a Huntress!" She exclaims, but Yang's words run through her head again, and she mumbles out a "But thank you..." Afterwards.
Ruby smiles, "You're welcome. I'll let Smoke know you're not coming tonight, he'll be using my number instead." Ruby looks forward, "Please don't be upset, it's just you work so hard... You deserve to relax every now and then."
"If I wish to proceed my father as owner of our company then I don't have time to relax, Ruby!"
But deep down...she really really wants to...
"And besides, SOMEONE has to work hard seeing as the "team leader" is so juvenile!"
"There is such a thing as overworking Weiss," Ruby mutters. "I can't believe you plan to run a company THAT large while fighting the creatures of Grimm..."
"It's what I must do, Ruby. I don't expect any of you to understand what is expected of an Heiress...the burden is great, but so are the rewards."
Ruby smiles, "Well, so long as you remember who your friends are."
"Friends?" Weiss raises her eyebrows "Teammates, Ruby...not friends."
Ruby shrugs, "No one ever said you can't be both. Look at Jaune's team, they're all friends. So are Angel's, heck, even Cardin's little band of goons are friends."
"They're friends because they're BULLIES, Angel's team are Faunus so they have no choice and Jaune is about as skilled as a newborn baby, so his team have to look out for him all the time." Weiss rolls her eyes
May 19"And look at us," Yang says. "A pair of misfit sisters, a holier-than-thou Heiress, and a studious goth who puts up with it all."
Blake raises an eyebrow at that last bit, but only glances up from her book to make sure she doesn't run into anything.
"Well it's not like I CHOSE to be put with you, but it's better than being with any of the other teams..."
Blake says, "Yet you never stop complaining."
"Oh quiet you!" Weiss huffs "Wouldn't YOU rather be on this team than the others? You gotta admit that the leaders are pathetic...Ruby is clearly the better one, even IF she still sucks at it."
Ruby puts her hands on her hips, "Oh come one Weiss, we've only been a team for a few weeks now. The whole reason we're in school is because all of us are still learning."
"Very well put," Blake notes offhandedly as he goes back to scanning the pages in her book.
"That is true, but Pyrrha clearly makes the better leader for Juniper. As does Adam for Eden, and frankly none of Cardin's team are fit to be leaders, let alone at this school!"
Someone's on her high horse today...
Blake looks up as she considers this, "Well I can see how you would think that. Adam, and Pyrrha are very skilled fighters, and very intelligent. But then where on their teams would that leave Jaune, and Angel?"
Weiss considers this "They'd be the ones who attempt to fight but just get in the way, who are only good for moral support, if that. They'd be the ones left behind while the rest of us succeed in becoming Hunters and Huntresses, Blake. There's no room for people like them..."
"Except in a position to grow," Blake counters in her low, quiet voice. "They don't know how to fight that well, but if all they know is how to lead... Well, sounds like a good idea to me."
Ruby turns, walking backwards with a frown, "Hey, I can fight!"
Blake smirks, "But you suck at following directions. If someone else on this team had been leader then you probably would have jeopardized the team on a mission."
They stop dead hearing this from Blake who puts a mark in her book, and puts a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Still Ruby, I think you make a good leader. Out in the forest you kept a clear head when we needed it, and while the rest of us were stumped you came up with the plan to get that Killraven."
Weiss sighs "I agree with Blake...for once. Out of all the leaders you're the best by far, you have skill, while they have nothing."
Ruby smiles, and looks around. "Thanks guys... But honestly, if I didn't have you guys supporting me I'd be just another kid in this school. I guess that's what all the leaders here need to have. The support of their teammates." She looks at Weiss, "Their friends."
"Oh please," She scoffs "They only support them because they HAVE to. They don't have a choice, and I'm willing to bet all of them are concerned about putting their welfare in the hands of such inexperienced idiots! Frankly, I don't have a death wish, if I were to be on another team I'd die within the month!"
Yang starts marching Weiss down the hall, "Yeah yeah, let's get to class. You know I'm really looking forward to tonight."
Ruby smirks, "Why? So you can destroy ANOTHER club?"
"Hey, that greasy old pervert was asking for it!"
"Stop pushing me, Yang, I can walk by myself!" Weiss complains "You're just as childish as your sister!"