Chapter 10

A Peculiar Week

"Now class I shall share to you a grand tale of an adventurous young hunter, myself." Began Professor Port with what Ruby supposed was a smile but could not be sure because his mustache always covered his mouth. "You see back then my muscles were incredible and I had the strength of ten men. So I set out, alone, into a forest full to the brim with Grimm and then I blah blah blabbity blah blah blah." Ruby heard nothing but "blahs" spewing from Professor Port's mouth for the rest of the class. She did not mind the class itself. It's just the fact that instead of actually teaching things Professor Port did nothing but tell over-exaggerated stories from his adventures when he was in his youth. It was especially hard to pay attention because this was also her last class of the day and then she was going the rest of the Friday evening with Cobalt. "Even daydreaming has to be more productive than this" she thought. So she began reviewing the past week's events. A lot had happened in a week's time.

On Monday she met a new student named Cobalt. Due to curiosity she ended up making their first introduction be a sparring match where Cobalt emerged the victor. But what she found was the most interesting about him is how his eyes contrasted his character. He acted like an egotistical jerk to people but his blue tinted glasses hid his eyes which beckoned for someone to care for. They had reminded Ruby of her father who became distant and emotionally disconnected to the world after her mother died. But this time she felt like she could break him out of that state. Unlike her father who had been in that trance for so long that he could not be helped she could free him before it completely overtook him. Of course she had not meant to have their first civil conversation, if one could call it that, in the cafeteria at 4:30am. She also did not mean to bring up how he was hiding himself so quickly. She knew things like that would take time but how he just shrugged of the terrible misfortune of his team just struck her deep. But she had, at least for a single moment, gotten through to him which lit a spark of hope inside Ruby because it meant that he could still be helped. That morning she vowed to herself to free him from his self-imposed prison.

Tuesday had been even more eventful than Monday. Ruby literally ran into Cobalt on the way towards breakfast. Apparently he had a small change of heart from the words she told him earlier. He had come to apologize which the fact that he would do that had shocked her. She then created an attempt to bring him into a social area to which he could learn to open up some. But she could not have possibly imagined a worse way for the conversation to have gone when he joined her friends. It all led to her running off to her room with Yang and Cobalt close behind. For better or worse Yang arrived first and was able to talk to Ruby uninterrupted for some time.

Ruby ran into the room completely disregarding all the petals from earlier as she ran directly to her bed. She curled up there in a fetal position facing the wall just wishing that she could hide from this. After a few minutes she heard someone open the door. She could tell by the sound of the shoes hitting the floor that it was Yang. She heard Yang walk over and springs compress as she sat down on one of the beds. "Well that was fun." She said with as much sarcasm as she could muster. Ruby only responded with a sigh. "Look I'm concerned for your wellbeing with this. I know you said that he was hurting and that he had the eyes of dad but I'm the only one you've told that to right?" Ruby just nodded her head enough that Yang could tell. She was afraid that if she said anything then she would only get more upset. Yang continued on. "Well the others don't know that. They don't know that you see a loving, caring person in him. They only see the egotistical jerk that he's made himself out to be." After a long pause Yang said "I only defended him because of two reasons. The first of which was that Blake had acted more aggressive and mistrusting than normal. But the main reason was because I know that you have set for yourself this lofty goal of helping him. I know you want to help him and to prevent him from becoming like dad but be careful of what you do. Every action you take has repercussions and if you are able to help him then that's great. Just don't sacrifice what you have in order to do so."

"Yang I know I can help him. I know I can."

"Of that I have no doubt but just be careful of what you do to help him. Another case like what happened at breakfast just now and people will begin to view you differently because you still think highly of him. Are you sure he really is like how you view him?"

"Yes I am."

"It's just that only you have been able to see him in that way. I've known plenty of people who would make others fall for them only to dump them just when the relationship gets going for nothing but laughs. From the little time that I've spent with him I can tell that he has a silver tongue. I just want you to be cautious about that."

"He isn't making this up. Wait, what?"

"I'm just trying to say be cautious. Besides if he breaks your heart then I'll break him."

"Break my heart?" Ruby asked quizzically. She had no idea what her sister meant by that.

"Ruby I'm your older sister and it's my job to look out for you. I can tell what you're feeling fairly well and even sometimes before you're aware that you're feeling it. I can see that you're beginning to form an attachment to him. Just make sure that it's not misplaced."

"Alright I will?" Said Ruby confused as to what her sister meant by that statement.

"Good. I'm going to head back to breakfast to make sure our teammates aren't at each other's throats anymore. I heard Cobalt running behind me. If I see him do you want me to tell him that he can come in?"

"Yes please."

"Alright, just make sure you still get to class on time." Said Yang as she walked out the door.

Shortly afterwards Cobalt knocked on the door and said "May I come in?"

"Go ahead." Replied Ruby hearing her own voice shake as she was still trying to calm down. Still facing the wall she could hear him come in. Based off of his slow movements she guessed that he was asking himself questions about the petals, the bunk beds or both. Hearing him stop by her side of the bed she assumed that he was wondering how the bed was holding and whether or not it would hold him. She glanced over at him to say "The bed will hold." She could feel the bed shake as he got up and sat on the edge of it. She heard him sigh and then say "Listen Ruby. I… I messed up. I took things too hard and I screwed up. I took your kindness and returned it with disrespectful statements laced with guile and hatred. I can't ask for your forgiveness but I can at least explain my side of the story to you. I… I…". That is when she acted on impulse. As with all people who she sees are upset, Ruby decided that maybe giving him a hug would help. So she sat up to scoot over and gave him a hug over his shoulders from his back. With a small squeeze Ruby said "You came to apologize and I can tell you meant it. That's what matters."

"But… But I-"

"Nope. I'm not hearing it. I know that Blake can be rough and mistrusting sometimes. But you shouldn't respond to things like you did. But the fact that you're here and that you want to right your wrong means a lot. It means you can be helped. Sometimes all you need to start is just a simple hug."

Even from the back of his head she could practically see the gears turning in his head. Based off of his stiffness she came to the conclusion that he did not receive hugs anywhere near as much as he should have. He seemed caught off guard and she could tell that his mind was racing as to why she did such a thing.

"Why? Why do you forgive me so easily? How can you after how I have treated you and your friends." Said Cobalt as he turned around to see her face. The first thing she noticed was how he no longer wore his glasses. Even if he held a hand trying to hide his expressions he was still exposing more of his face than ever before. It was different somehow. His face had always appeared cold, distant and emotionless. But now with his face inches away from hers, she could see a much different image. In the one she saw now she saw emotion. Pure emotion of practically every form. This must be what he had hidden and pushed down. By how much she saw he must have been the way he is now for a large portion of his life. She saw happiness, joy and love. But she also saw an abnormal amount of anger, fear, shame, anxiety, envy and sadness. He must have gone through many unknown horrors to achieve this much negative emotion.

Ruby then said "Because I see someone who has had to create a shield of rudeness and hate to live in the circumstances of their past. But I can see past that. I can see a nice, loving person who cares for others deeply but is afraid of the pain it may give. But nobody should hide themselves like that. I understand it will take time but for as long as it takes I'll help." Ruby then moved one of her hands towards Cobalt's face to take away his hand hiding it and wipe away a tear. He franticly and almost comically tried to wipe away any sign of him crying. Ruby chuckled softly and said "It's kind of cute how you try to cover your tears. But you don't have to anymore. I'm here for you and if you need to cry then cry. I won't judge you as weak. I'll view you as human." With the end of that sentence he broke down into tears. Ruby took his head and rested it in between her head and shoulder while he let it out. Throughout the quiet sob that he had Ruby would kiss his head and say "Just let it out" and "it'll be alright". After a few minutes of this Cobalt was able to pull himself together. He then lifted his head and looked a Ruby right in the eyes. She saw much pain but also thankfulness.

"Thank you Ruby. For everything."

They ended up having to break up the touching moment for class as much as Ruby just wanted to stay there. She could tell that she made an impact on him. He appeared in a daze for the rest of the day. For the remaining two meals he moved back to his original spot across the room as to not cause any more trouble. It disappointed her but she knew it was for the best right now.

Tuesday evening was also eventful. When the team was getting ready for bed Blake had asked if they could have a team meeting. She had seemed rather concerned about it so they complied. Ruby was laying down on her bed fortunate that her bed was at just the right angle. She wouldn't fall off but could easily see Blake on the bottom bed across from her. Weiss was sitting down on her bunk, sitting up straight with her hands on her lap as if this was a meeting of the four kingdoms' rulers. Yang was up on her bunk with her head hanging over the edge to listen in. Blake was rapidly tapping her foot and fumbling with her hands.

"If you wanted to say something then just go ahead and say it." Said Weiss.

"Well… You see…" Began Blake. Taking a deep breath she was able to relax herself enough to speak clearly. "I suppose I should explain myself for this morning's outburst. I really am sorry for that."

"Blake are you alright?" Said Yang as she saw Blake get more on edge with each passing moment.

"Well I was angry about something else and I took that anger out on Cobalt. I'm sorry about that. I had just found out that Torchwick had escaped from prison." Blake said heavily. Ruby gasped and heard the others do so to at the shocking news. The room's temperature dropped as all of their fears of him came back. Ruby could feel goosebumps spread all over her. Roman Torchwick was free. The man that they had spent so long hunting down just slipped through their fingers. Ruby was most worried about Blake though. Blake had for a while decided that she wouldn't sleep until they caught him. Looking at the faces of her teammates, Ruby saw that each and every one of them was horrified by the news but they all had expressions of concern directed at Blake. Noticing those expressions she looked down at the ground and said "You all don't have to worry about me like that. I won't do that again."

Somewhat relieved Weiss asked the question that was on all of their minds. "So how did you find out?"

"I had received a message from Ozpin on my scroll yesterday that once I was done with all my classes to head to his office and to not tell anyone where I was going. So I did. When I got there he had a grim expression on his face. He told me to sit down and then explained the situation with Torchwick. He said that the news has not been released to the public to prevent panic so secrecy was of the essence. That's why he only told me. He thought that calling all of you up would bring too much attention. He remarked about the reason as to why he would tell me is that he knew that our drive to bring him to justice would be more effective than the police force of Vale. He told me to tell all of you and I was waiting for the right time but considering my outburst now is probably the best time. I'm sorry."

"For what-" Began Ruby.

"For all the trouble I caused!" Interrupted Blake. "I was too scared to tell you all last night and I vented my anger on someone who was just introducing himself! I heard what happened after I left too. I'm sorry I made you all fight."

"Come on Blake did you really think that something like that could create a rift between all of us? It's nothing. Periodic arguments are natural." Said Weiss.

"Yeah Blake. It's all water under the bridge now." Said Yang. "What do you all think of this idea? How about we twice a week we go patrolling the city for Torchwick. I know it's not much but we would at least be working towards taking him down. But Blake if we do this you need to promise all of us that you will take care of yourself. You scared us last time."

"Alright. I promise."

"You know I can go and get my father's shipping records. Then we can see when new shipments of dust are coming in and have a better chance of finding him." Said Weiss.

"I like it!" Said an excited Ruby as she jumped down from her bed. "Let's make a pact! We will take Torchwick down no matter what! Hands in everybody." Everyone complied with her request because they knew that telling her no would not stop her. "Go team RWBY!" On that high note they agreed to plan the details of their little operation the following morning.

Not too much occurred on Wednesday compared to the previous few days. At breakfast Cobalt came back to the table to apologize for his actions towards Blake which she then apologized to him for her outburst. The tension at the table was relieved but was still there. So he made do with sitting right next to Ruby and would only speak when spoken to so he could avoid unwanted confrontations. He kept the same outward attitude but it would disappear when he was near her. Ruby noticed that he would go out of his way to speak with her in between their classes and when doing so he would drop his tough guy act and open up some. He was willing to laugh and smile as they talked over so many things from Nora's odd reactions to certain things to what mess up did Jaune do today. Whenever she heard his laugh or saw him smile it made her feel special. Even though she had only known him for a few days she felt like she had made a real difference in him.

Thursday morning was a bit of a drag. Ruby was so tired from the stakeout that they went on last night that she could not do much that morning. They had agreed on Monday and Wednesday nights but never put into effect a time limit. Ruby left a mental reminder to discuss that the next time she could because she was not staying up that late again. But she spent most of the day thinking about and talking to Cobalt. He may be the same harsh person to everyone else but when he was with her he was beginning to show his true colors. Ruby had just wanted him to be who he really was and that was going to be reward enough for her. But she got much more than that. Although nobody else could see it he had a caring heart. He was beginning to become a really close friend and someone she could rely on to brighten up her day. Apparently people had begun to notice how much time she would spend with him though. That night her teammates decided to ask her about it.

Ruby had just gotten in her pajamas and was about to go to bed when she noticed an atmosphere of unease emanating from her fellow teammates. None of them spoke but yet they all looked like they wanted too. Having just laid down in her bed, Ruby could not take the steadily building tension in the atmosphere and said "Alright can anyone tell me what's going on? You all look like you want to say something but don't want to at the same time. It's confusing." Nobody spoke but all of them avoided their gazes from Ruby. "Is everything alright?" Began Ruby with a tone of worry having crept in that increased with every word. "Did I do something wrong?"

Yang was the first to look towards Ruby and said "No Ruby, you didn't do anything wrong. We're just worried and concerned for you."

"What for?"

The ice queen with her heart of stone decided that they should just flat out tell Ruby instead of constantly giving hints that Ruby would not understand. She was never one to beat around the bush. "It's because of that lousy Cobalt that you keep hanging around with."

"Hey! He's not lousy."

"Oh please. He never turns in any of his work, he never arrives to class on time, he never has any drive to work and his grades are showing. He's like the opposite of Jaune. He has fighting ability but no motivation to be a hunter. It would be better for you to just exclude him from your life before he brings anyone else down with him."

"How can you say that? He's our friend."

"He's your friend. Not ours. I don't know what you see in him but whatever it is you're the only one who can see it. I mean you treat him like you've known him for years when this is the fourth day you've known of his existence."

"So what if it is?"

Blake finally spoke up and said "It just seems improbable that you would be able to befriend him so quickly. It's concerning us. We've all seen from the few times he's spoken to us that he has a silver tongue. We just want to make sure you haven't fallen for the lies of someone and get hurt."

"He's not lying."

"We just don't want to see you get hurt." Said Yang. "We know that when someone falls in love with another person they can sometimes be blinded to the other's faults no matter how many or major they are."

"Wait. What?"

Yang's face blushed as she realized what she just said. With Ruby's confused glare and Blake and Weiss's death stares aimed at her, Yang jumped up into her bed and yelled out "Night!" in order to avoid the awkward situation she put herself in. Having the awkward situation been pushed off towards Blake and Weiss they both ended the conversation with quick "Night!"s. As much as Ruby wanted to question them further they were clearly too busy trying to fake being asleep and Ruby knew she would not be able to get any more out of them. "When someone falls in love with another? They think I'm in love!? If only they hadn't backed out so quickly and then I would've been able to explain that I'm not. Cobalt is just a friend, isn't he?"

Friday morning that is all she could think about. There was an uncomfortable silence as they could all tell what was on each other's minds but yet nobody wanted to bring up such a topic once more. "Do I have feelings for him? I've never felt attraction towards another in that way though. What is it supposed to be and how am I supposed to know if I do or don't?" These sort of thoughts ran rampant through her head as the day began to progress. While heading towards weapon management, which was her only class that Ruby attended and the rest of her team did not, she decided that when she met up with Cobalt she would create an opportunity to answer her questions. Seeing him wait for her at the corner she called out to him having trouble getting to him because of the crowd. Finally there she said "So Cobalt I was wondering…"

"Yes."

Messing with the end of her skirt and unable to make eye contact Ruby said "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind to…" She began to blush as she began thinking about it. "This is only supposed to be a fun get together. So why am I so worried? What if he says no?"

"I was wondering whether or not you would like me to show you around Vale tonight? I know you came from Atlas so I thought that maybe taking a tour of Vale could be fun."

"That sounds like it'll be fun. I'll join you. How about tonight at eight in front of the school?"

"That will do. I'll see you then."

With that the plan was put into effect, Ruby spent the rest of the day planning just what places she could take him. She wasn't going to tell him her plans in order to have each place be a surprise. She was just working on a final location to end the night when the bell rang. Snapping out of her memory, Ruby heard Professor Port once again being forced to stop by the bell.

"And then I grabbed the Beowolf with my bare hands and… Oh um it appears we have ran out of time today students. This weekend's reading is chapter fourteen of 'The Grimm'. Class dismissed."

Ruby practically ran out the door in excitement. She was going to be able to show him all the shops, restaurants and entertainment available in Vale. Just the thought of it made her almost shout with glee. Ruby ran back into the room to change out of the school uniform and drop off her books. Ruby had gotten her dress with her red hood and combat skirt and was about to leave until she remembered Yang, Blake and Weiss. Ruby hastily wrote out a note explaining where she was going, who with, how long they were going to be out and the fact that she is bringing Crescent Rose with her to release any possible worries that they might have. She left it on her bed in a very visible spot where she knew they would find it. Then off Ruby ran to meet Cobalt, ready for a night of fun and delight to perfectly end the week.