Chapter 8 - - - Restless

Ruby grinned, humming a tune familiar to the rest of her team from Weiss's countless singing in the shower as she walked toward a table, her partner walking closely while Blake and Yang trailed a little slower.

Yang, due to her unnatural focus and paranoia on her phone, and Blake due to languidness as she rubbed her eyes, causing the bags under to become more prevalent.

Weiss casted a concerned look toward the both of them, though only Blake managed to catch sight of it and merely waved her off, mouthing "later" toward her. It seemed enough for Weiss as she turned her attention back to their happy leader.

"I take that your test went well." Weiss commented.

"It went great!" Ruby exclaimed happily, plopping herself down in her seat. "I was about to do just about every problem!" She proclaimed, poking the straw through her carton of juice.

Weiss looked pleased as the rest of the team settled alongside the table, "Well, I'm glad to hear that. If you feel like you need any more help in regards to math, then I'll be more than happy to help."

"Another studying session sounds pleasant." Pyrrha voiced as her own team came up with food trays in hand. "Would you mind if we join you?"

Weiss gestured in front of her to the free seats, giving the other team permission to take the space. "And how do you four believe you did on the test?" she politely asked

Pyrrha smiled to show her positivity on her test, but didn't get a chance to properly express it as she was interrupted by Nora.

"It was horrible!" Nora wailed, "All the numbers didn't add up! On one of the problems I was certain that the answer was supposed to be positive, but I somehow got into the negatives. There were so many formulas that I just don't remember and the graphs were all looking a little wonky and I just wanted all the numbers to disappear!" Nora cried as her head fell to the table.

Ren halted her head with his hand before lowering it down as he continued. "Nora will be taking extra time to study with me."

Jaune snickered at them before he began, "I mean, it was alright."

Ruby stared at Pyrrha, who was still silent as she allowed her teammates to talk over her. It wasn't until the rest of Ruby's team noticed her gaze and stared at Pyrrha as well, awaiting for her to finish speaking.

"Oh, I… I believe I did very well on the test." Pyrrha exclaimed, casting a meaningful glance over to Ruby.

Ruby merely flashed a quick, nervous grin before ducking her head to eat - silently reprimanding herself for allowing her habit of listening to everyone take a hold of her.

"Blake!"

Ruby turned her head up in question at the unfamiliar voice, seeing two boys she didn't recognize with an arched brow.

"Sun." Blake said with a hint of surprise

"Hey!" Sun, the boy with a shirt that was left unbuttoned to display his chest and stomach, drawled out with a grin as he gave a nod over to Weiss and Yang. The latter of whom only gave a small wave toward him without taking her eyes off her scroll. "Yang, Weiss, I just wanted to come by and introduce my best friend, Neptune to you guys. He didn't believe me when I said I met some cool people here."

Neptune, the tan boy with neatly combed blue hair straightened his back as he swept his gaze across the table at everyone sitting there, and flashed his teeth while giving a small nod. "I'm Neptune"

Weiss smiled, leaning forward on the table with folded hands. "So Neptune, where are you from?"

"Haven" Neptune answered with a small smirk, he opened his mouth to continue to speak, but was interrupted from Ruby's snort.

"And obviously from Daddy's list of approved suitors." Ruby commented.

Weiss immediately recoiled away, her arms folded across her chest as she flushed in anger. "That's not true!"

Ruby gave Neptune a quick once over before casting a knowing look at Weiss, "Right." She drawled out before returning to her food.

"I-" Weiss tried, before glancing over at Neptune, visibly deflating as she realized that Ruby was right. Neptune does look like he came straight off of her father's approval list.

"Don't worry… Weiss was it?" Neptune asked, causing Weiss to nod. "Don't get so down, I'm everyone's type." He claimed, throwing a wink over toward the other side of the table.

Pyrrha was the only one to notice, causing her to flash a very tense smile to showcase her discomfort and causing Weiss to frown in disapproval at Neptune's apparent flirtatious nature.

"Don't pay attention to him," Sun said with an affectionate eye roll, throwing his hand up to semi cover Neptune from the view of everyone. "He's stupid."

Jaune didn't notice as he leaned across the table, "D-Don't worry Weiss. I'm sure I'm not your father's type!"

"You're not my type either." Weiss stated off handedly with an arched brow, causing Ruby and Nora to snicker while Jaune deflated.

"Don't worry Jaune, your time for romance will come soon enough." Ren comforted him with a pat on his back.

"Indeed," Pyrrha joined in with a small sympathetic smile "It just so happens that it's not… today." she lamely finished.

Ruby decided to help comfort Jaune, not wanting him to suddenly turn toward improving his battle skills to help cope with his apparent rejection. "Yeah! Besides, Weiss is already taken. By me. Because she's my partner. So you can't have her. Mine." She affirmed, stepping up onto the table as she jabbed a thumb to her chest, raising her nose up into the air to emphasize her statement.

Weiss blanched at the remark, pulling Ruby down to take a seat with an eyeroll. "Please refrain from putting your foot on the table and stop being ridiculous." She stated with a small, amused smile.

Blake chuckled at the display, allowing the small moment of reprieve for herself. Though noticed that Yang was still sitting silently beside her. Blake nudged her at the arm to draw her attention, though only managed to cause her to snap her head up and look at Blake in bewilderment. "Hey… are you okay?" Blake asked quietly. "You've been stuck on your scroll this entire time."

Weiss glanced over, casting a concerned expression toward Yang briefly before her attention was brought back to some sort of shenanigan Ruby was trying to pull.

"I-" Yang threw a quick glance over to the rest of the table as she shook her head, pocketing her scroll as she brought her hand up to cover the portion below her left shoulder, where Blake knew she kept that tattered old picture. "I'll tell you guys later." Yang whispered, ducking her head as she began to eat her lunch.

Though she was still concerned, Blake understood that now was not the best time or place for Yang to share whatever seemed to be plaguing her mind, and decided to simply wait until she was ready.

"Alright, well Neptune and I are going to go get some food. We'll catch up with you all later" Sun stated as he and his friend left.

Ren shook his head as he lightly shook Nora's shoulder, "Nora needs to study." He stated, getting up and pulling Nora along as she wailed

Pyrrha declined as well, "Ruby and I have a sparring session to attend to. That is, if she is still up for it?" she asked, casting a quizzical glance over to Ruby.

Ruby choked on her food upon being reminded of her plans to spar with Pyrrha, and began coughing wildly as Weiss uncomfortably began rhythmically pounding on her back and handing over her leader's carton of juice.

She quickly snatched it, slurping the rest of the liquid down her throat as her body finally decided to calm down.

"Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked in concern as Weiss continued lightly patting Ruby's back

Ruby waved her off, "Yeah. I'm fine. Food went down the wrong tube." She hoarsely exclaimed, turning her head over to Weiss to show that she was fine and to indicate that Weiss could stop her awkward patting.

"If you're sure…" Pyrrha said.

"I'm sure." Ruby nodded, taking Weiss's carton to down as well to the other's protest

"So about that sparring session…" Pyrrha continue with a silent question.

Ruby gave a nervous smile, still uncertain about helping the other in something that would improve her fighting capabilities. Furthermore, she didn't feel comfortable being alone with the taller woman, especially after that awkward incident from their study session where Pyrrha had to help Ruby collect those snacks off the tall shelf, causing her to force a display of… gratitude for something she didn't ask help for.

Unfortunately, Ruby knew that rejecting something she had already accepted would look a bit suspicious, and it would not taken lightly in front of both teams.

She'll simply have to make the most of the sparring session. "Sure!" She said with forced enthusiasm, "It'll be fun!"

Pyrrha smiled in delight, nodding in appraisal.

"I-I can help!" Jaune chimed in.

While Ruby would have welcomed company to help alleviate whatever awkward atmosphere might be developed from her end with Pyrrha, she was not willing to welcome Jaune if it meant helping him learn how to get in her sister's way later down the line when he could already be easily picked off. Especially when Ruby was already helping someone who was a renowned fighter get better.

Before she could attempt to portray a polite refusal, Pyrrha turned to him with an apologetic smile, "My apologies Jaune, but the point of this spar that I wish to partake in with Ruby, is to help me overcome my weaknesses in regards to strategies and styles that Ruby seems to excel at."

Confused, Jaune tilted his head quizzically, "Like what? I think you're already a great fighter."

"Well," Pyrrha paused, hesitantly glancing around at everyone else as she gave a sheepish smile, as though embarrassed at what she has to say. "Hand-to-hand combat for one. I never realized it, but I rely much too heavily on being armed with my weapons."

Jaune frowned, "But, I saw that fight you had with Ruby before. I think you're great at hand to hand."

Weiss rolled her eyes while Pyrrha simply gave a nervous smile.

"I suppose, but in the event I come across another fighter like Ruby, who seems to have boundless energy in regards to hand to hand combat, I would like to be more... confident in my abilities." Pyrrha stated.

"If you say so." Jaune offered.

Pyrrha nodded as she got up, looking over to Ruby with bright expectancy. "Shall we?"

Ruby looked up with wide eyes, and quickly back down to the rest of the food on her tray, including her dessert. "Can I-?"

"Oh! I'm sorry! Please, take your time." Pyrrha smiled as she sat back down and watched Ruby expectedly.

Ruby nervously glanced at Pyrrha with wariness, feeling the anticipation and excitement to spar together rolling off of Pyrrha in waves, and sighed in resignation. It was unlikely that she would be able to enjoy her food while under that gaze and briefly wondered if this was how Emerald felt with her on occasion.

… If it were, then Ruby was doubtlessly going to continue her actions.

She quickly shoveled the rest of her food down, swiping the juice carton that Ren had left and Weiss took (once again, eliciting her protest) and slurping it all up to wash down her food. Slamming it down on the table she heaved a sigh of relief, "Alright, I'm ready."

"Splendid!" Pyrrha enthused, standing up with Ruby.

"Is it… wise to eat before a starring session?" Blake asked

"Nonsense," Pyrrha said as Ruby waved Blake off

"It'll give us energy." The two commented at the same time, causing Pyrrha to beam and Ruby to give a nervous grin upon realization of what just happened.

Weiss sighed, "I wish I could join." She wistfully said, though knew after Pyrrha's proclamation that their sparring session would be a private affair.

Ruby grinned, "Aw, Weiss. Don't be jealous, you're still my partner." She teased, pinching Weiss's cheek and lightly shaking it.

Amused, Weiss slapped the hand away with a small smile. "I'm actually jealous of you. Pyrrha Nikos is a four time consecutive tournament champion, she would certainly provide more class than you in regards to technique. But alas, it seems as though she sees something worthwhile in you that I do not."

Ruby exaggeratedly clenched her heart at those words, "Oh how you wound me." She deadpanned, causing Pyrrha to chuckle.

Weiss harrumphed, "Whatever. I highly doubt I'd be much help anyway, all I would do is correct Ruby on her posture." She stated with a pointed glare. "How she manages to fight with such loose form is beyond me."

Ruby merely stuck her tongue out and walking off, waving to Blake and Yang.

"I'll see you later Jaune!" Pyrrha waved before briefly quickening her pace to catch up to Ruby. "So? How do you wish to proceed in our spar? Is there a specific area in which you wish to focus on?" she asked as the two walked out of the cafeteria.

Ruby knitted her brows together before shaking her head, "Why don't we just… spar for now?" She asked with a bit of hesitance, "After, we could just… tell each other what we saw went wrong. Or even during. Then next time, it's what we work on. That's how my family did it for me at least." She said with uncertainty, scratching the back of her head.

She'd never really had to help someone improve their fighting skills before, so she wasn't sure how to do so.

"That sounds excellent." Pyrrha nodded in approval

Ruby sighed in relief at having her "lesson plan" accepted, but she still felt as though she had to keep her guard up around Pyrrha. She mentally sighed, turning toward the hallway windows as she knew that it would be a long day for her if she was going to keep like this. Upon looking out, she noticed a small fleet standing by near the landing way and halted, narrowing her eyes in question at the sight.

"What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked, stopping a little too close to Ruby for her liking.

"Um… Just wondering what the commotion is all about." Ruby stated, taking a subtle step away from Pyrrha.

Pyrrha looked out the window and seemed to have recognized the ships, "Those are from Atlas. They must be here for the Vytal festival." She claimed, allowing her eyes to wander to each ship, though she stopped on one. "Although, I do believe that ship belongs to General Ironwood. I… must say, I'm not certain as to why he would come here himself. Headmasters typically don't travel with their students on their trip to the festival." Pyrrha noted with slight question.

Ruby hummed in thought before she continued on. She would have to tell her sister later once she managed to find her scroll.

"So? What has you so worried?" Weiss asked Yang after closing the door to their dorm room after the two and Blake were inside.

Yang sat on her bed uneasily, shifting in discomfort as she twiddled around with her scroll. "It's… my investigator."

"Your what?" Blake asked in confusion.

"Why in the world do you need an investigator for?" Weiss asked

Yang squirmed in her seat, not looking at her teammate in the eyes as she tried to swallow the sudden lump in her throat.

She had never spoken about this out loud to another outside her family before, but knew she had to get it all out lest she wanted a repeat of the incident from a few years back.

Slowly, with shaky hands, she took out the tattered old picture that Blake and Weiss saw slip out of her pocket near the beginning of the school year and held it out for them to look at.

The two gave each other questioning glances as they sat on Blake's bed close to Yang's, and leaned forward to get a better look at the picture.

It was old, wrinkly, and there were distinct areas next to the little toddler that the little girl, they presumed to be Yang, that were nearly faded out, and worn thin. As though those spots had been rubbed or held at continuously and demanded that the viewer pay attention to the toddler in between the spots. The toddler that was beaming happily at the camera, showing off her bright and wide silver eyes while hugging Yang's hands that were holding her from behind.

"C-Cute right?" Yang asked with a shaky, choked voice, as a wide, adoring smile expressed itself while her lilac eyes locked onto the picture. "That's my baby sister." She whispered as she allowed her trembling hands to pull the picture back for her to get a better look at it, her thumbs placing themselves over the two, worn out spots that they belonged on.

Weiss and Blake's shoulders fell, their hearts breaking at seeing their friend silently weep as they kept quiet.

What else could they do but wait?

Yang sat in mournful silence, staring at the picture as a clear wall of tears built in her eyes that were filled with nothing but love.

Everything in the room seemed to stay frozen in place, inanimate objects seemingly coming to life to give their silence for Yang.

Weiss and Blake sat still on Blake's bed, casting their eyes down to the floor to contribute to the sorrowful gesture as they only heard the sound of the three's breathing.

Even the wind, usually so playful in its' action to provide a nice breeze through their dorm's open window, refused to enter.

It took several minutes until Yang exhaled out a heavy breath filled with burdened weight from so many years, and Weiss suddenly thought that her friend looked as though she had aged a few years from how tired she suddenly looked, how hard her eyes suddenly shifted as she glared at empty space.

"She was kidnapped." Yang gritted out, her eyes flashing red. "My baby sister, Ruby, she was kidnapped when she was just a little girl and she was taken straight out of our house!"

Weiss and Blake both snapped their eyes up, widening them in shock as they subtly leaned away from Yang who continued, her hair slowly rising and her body giving off heat from her semblance.

"If dad could have just- If he weren't-" Yang tried to grit out with clenched fists, but as if working like clockwork, she suddenly deflated. Her semblance deactivating with her exhale that sounded as though she was trying to give up.

Blake got up, hesitantly moving over to sit next to Yang to provide her subtle support.

It seemed that Yang was thankful for the action, as she casted a quick, small smile toward Blake.

Once again, Yang stared down at the floor before she continued on, thinking that if she didn't look at either of her teammates, then maybe it would be easier to speak. "I… Ruby… She's my half sister." Yang began, before backtracking. "Not like… Not our team leader Ruby of course. They just… happen to share the same name." Yang hesitantly said with a forced, humorous chuckle.

"My sister and I, we don't share the same mom." Yang continued, "My mom, she went missing a little after I was born. That, really hurt my dad." She said, tightly rubbing her intertwined hands together.

She didn't have to say it, but it was evident to Weiss and Blake that the action hurt Yang as well.

"But then, Summer, my step mom, she came in and helped!" Yang said, visibly brightening as she talked about the new woman before she shook her head with a chuckle and looked up to make eye contact with her team members, gesturing wildly. "She was like super mom. She whooped my dad back into shape and helped raise me! She would drag my dad out of the house so he could take me out and spent time with me. My uncle, Qrow tried to help too! Apparently she wasn't household material and couldn't cook well, so my uncle had to help with that. But! She tried her best to attend all my school events and meetings, and even when she had an important mission to go on, she would still take time off to go somewhere private so she could make a video call, just to make sure she could cheer on for me the loudest. After a couple of years, Ruby came and dad seemed like he was back to his old self." She said with a wide smile.

She paused, her smile shrinking as her gaze went back to the floor, her hands falling back to rest in the space between her legs, "But then, one day, Summer never came back. She… passed away during a mission, rescuing a family from danger." She stopped for a moment to swallow audibly. "Qrow was with her at the time, and was the one who had to tell us. Dad… didn't take it too well. He kind of… broke down."

"Y-You have to understand though, it isn't his fault!" Yang proclaimed, looking up at Weiss and Blake with wide, unconvincing eyes. "He- He had lost two women that he loved in such a short amount of time, s-so… he didn't know… he couldn't handle it." She said with uncertainty, looking back down to the floor.

"He couldn't… function anymore." She said in a near whisper, her fists clenching once again though in sadness or anger, Weiss and Blake couldn't tell. "He seemed dead to the world and he would only move for basic necessities. He wouldn't even eat unless my uncle prompted him to. Ruby, my baby sister… She was still just… She didn't know what was happening."

Tears began pooling in front of Yang's eyes, wanting to fall, but like so many times before, she refused to allow them. "I can still remember, she would ask what was wrong with daddy. Why won't he talk to her? Why won't he play with her? Daddy, why won't you read her a story? Daddy, where's mommy? When is mommy coming home?"

She gave another humorless laugh, "That was the only time dad would react to her. When she asked where her mom was, he would answer that she went to heaven." Yang shook her head.

During that time, Weiss had lifted a hand up to her mouth, as though trying to block whatever sound may come out while gave a sorrowful frown, reaching a hand out to place on top of Yang's already intertwined hands in a comforting squeeze.

"Because dad was… unresponsive, my uncle and I were left to take care of Ruby since, she wasn't old enough to go to school yet." Yang continued on, "When my uncle had to leave on a mission though, he had to hire a babysitter to watch over Ruby."

She gritted her teeth, clenching her hands tighter and causing Blake to take her hand back. "That doesn't matter though if the babysitter doesn't come!" Yang growled, "If they just- DID their job. Or just, called to tell uncle Qrow that they couldn't make it, Ruby wouldn't have been kidnapped. I wouldn't have had to-" She shook her head, deflating once more.

"When I came home that day from school, the door was wide open… A few of our belongings were stolen, but that didn't matter because all I knew was that Ruby wasn't home." Yang said. "I called my uncle, who rushed back home. I had never seen him so angry before. He… He was so angry, he hit my dad, telling him to snap out of it."

"Dad broke down when he realized he let Ruby get kidnapped while he was home." Yang stated in a calm voice, the most calm Weiss and Blake heard since she began telling the story.

"Uncle Qrow found the burglar, but they said they didn't know about Ruby and saying that there wasn't a kid when they got there. Uncle Qrow had to send out an alert to the border guards to keep an eye out for Ruby, and sent her picture out." She continued, gritting her teeth once again. "It wasn't enough. That alert had been posted for 6 years with no sign of Ruby leaving the kingdom. They… The guards, they had to put the alert down. I… If police and guards can't find her, then I will." She vowed, looking back up at Weiss and Blake with determination.

"But, I also promised Uncle Qrow and my dad that I would focus on school. That's why I hired an investigator." She confessed, grabbing her scroll again as she twiddled it between her fingers. "I lost touch with him though, and I'm worried something might have happened to him. Especially because the last time he gave me a report, it seemed like we were so close in finding out where my sister is. I- I don't know what happened. And that's why I've been so… preoccupied."

"Do you have any idea to his last whereabouts?" Weiss asked

Yang shook her head, "No. That's the thing. He just… disappeared."

"What about your sister? How much information do you have about her?" Blake asked.

"All I know is that she had to have grown up here in Vale, otherwise there would have been an alert for seeing her." Yang said, "That's… how I knew Ruby, our Ruby, wasn't who I'm looking for because of how she grew up most of her life outside the kingdoms. Even if they share a lot of similarities." She finished, wilting at the proclamation.

"And she, my sister, was here. Close to Beacon!" Yang said, picking up her excitement once more. "That's what my investigator said in his last report. He was certain that she was last seen around in the city. But now he's gone, and I don't have any more information on her."

Leaning forward, Weiss placed her hand on top of Yang's with a small smile. "I'll help you."

"Yeah." Blake agreed as she did the same gesture, "We'll help you find out what happened."

Tearing up, Yang couldn't help but allow a few tears to fall as she unfolded her hands, and clasped the other two in between them, giving a quick squeeze. "Thank you." She whispered with a grateful smile.

Blake and Weiss could only smile in silence as Yang quickly let go of their hands to sniffle.

"It goes the same for you guys," She said, calming herself down as she wiped her eyes to free them of their tears. "If you need help, either with the White Fang or something else, I'm willing to give it." She grinned, casting glances for each problem to its' respective owner.

Weiss gave a knowing look toward Blake, whom sheepishly ducked her head.

"You're still thinking about them." Weiss stated.

"Yeah, it's just-" She shook her head, "I'm worried about what they're up to, they've never worked with a human before. They've never needed that much Dust before." She stopped as she stared at her hands in her lap. "Something big is happening, and it seems like no one is doing anything about it."

"It's not our job to worry about it." Weiss said with slight confusion, "We're just students. We're not supposed to get involved with matters such as that just yet."

"But that's just it," Blake exclaimed. "I was part of the White Fang, I can't help but to worry about it. I just… I just want to know what they're up to, and maybe if I find out, then my mind will be at ease."

Yang placed her hand on Blake's shoulder, garnering her attention as she flashed a grin. "Don't worry Blake, we'll find out more about them. Right Weiss?" Yang asked, turning toward their other teammate, whom seemed tense.

"Weiss?" Blake asked softly, causing Weiss to blink in quick succession, as though to blink away her tension.

"I'm… sorry." Weiss apologized, "I'm just, still not over the impact that the Fau- the White Fang brought upon my family." She confessed, causing Blake to wince as she brought a hand up to her bow reflexively.

"But, I refuse to allow that to get in the way of helping you." Weiss proclaimed as she scooted forward and leaned across the space to gently pull at Blake's arm down, "I just… I ask you to please, be patient with me. I'm still trying to… I am making an effort to open my mind up and realize that just because you were a part of the White Fang, just because you're a faunus, does not mean you share the same beliefs as them. That you're not just some… criminal for no reason."

Blake nodded, a sigh of relief escaping her breath. "Thank you."

Weiss merely smiled before she suddenly yelped as she was pulled, crashing in between Blake and Yang as her shoulders began feeling crushed together.

"Alright! Group hug!" Yang cheered.

"Yang… You're… crushing… me." Weiss tried to breath out.

Yang merely laughed, "Shut up and accept it. We need it."

"You're… making… it… difficult…. To…. breath!" Weiss attempted

"Yang. Please." Blake joined in, her voice getting smaller.

Yang quickly released them, causing the two to take deep, heavy breaths as they threw themselves away from their teammate who seemed to take joy out of their demise from the sound of her laughing.

And although they nearly died from lack of oxygen, the two couldn't help but smile as well upon seeing their friend loosening up, now happy.

Ruby took heavy, deep breaths as she landed on the cool floor of the sparring room, sweat dripping across her bow as the ceiling lights seemingly spun in circles. "I think… we need to call it a day." She dizzyingly confessed as she felt her aura level completely deplete, again.

She mentally groaned in embarrassment as she realized just how bad she was at "playing fair" and how bad she was in fighting someone with nowhere to run or hide. If she were more willing to expose her fighting style, if she was certain that she wouldn't be put in a disadvantage in the future, she was pretty sure that she would be able to beat Pyrrha no problem.

Or at the very least… tie.

Maybe if they were fighting in a different area where Ruby would have more room to run and hide, as well as more mobility, such as in the city or forest where she could easily climb around, she was absolutely positive that she would be able to win.

… Possibly

Unfortunately, like Cinder instructed her to, Ruby had no choice but to "play it safe" which, by default, meant "playing fair".

… Ruby hated "playing fair".

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha yelled, running up to her and bending over to help her up with sweat rolling down her forehead as well. "Are you alright?"

Ruby forced a grin, "Y-Yeah. I'm alright." she confirmed, taking the offered hand that was overly warm like her own from the excursion to help her get back on her feet. "I just didn't expect that."

That being Pyrrha suddenly disarming Ruby's weapons by flicking them away with her semblance, and then pulling her own disarmed shield back toward herself, and behind Ruby's legs to trip her while kicking at her upper body. It caused Ruby to suddenly spin backward and thus land how she did.

Pyrrha gave an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Ruby asked questioningly with a laugh as she picked up her weapons.

"You're… not angry that I used an underhanded tactic?" Pyrrha asked

"No?" Ruby asked questioningly. "You won?"

"But I… I used my semblance unfairly." Pyrrha stated.

Ruby looked even more puzzled.

"I… never told you what my semblance was, so I caught you completely off guard by activating my polarity to pull my shield from behind you and procuring my victory." Pyrrha clarified

Ruby rubbed her neck, picking up her bag so the two could leave for their dormitories. She already knew about Pyrrha's semblance of course, but hadn't thought that Pyrrha would blatantly use it in a mere sparring match so was caught by surprise.

Ruby had been under the impression that Pyrrha didn't talk about her semblance because it was her ace. Strategically speaking, if Pyrrha hid that fact from her opponents, the more likely she is to catch them off guard and win. In other words, Ruby had thought it was Pyrrha's way of "cheating". She would lie about her semblance by omission, and then strike when it was least expected.

Evidently, it seemed to run much deeper than that and Ruby could tell, because unlike herself, Pyrrha seemed to love playing fair.

When it came to semblances, polarity was definitely not a power to sneeze at. If Pyrrha wanted, she could take away her opponent's weapons, and use them against her opponent. If Pyrrha wanted, she could make her opponent halt in place if they were wearing any metal armor or had any metal outfitted on their clothing. Pyrrha could doubtlessly, do so much with her semblance.

It was obvious though, that Pyrrha found it dishonorable.

"Anything goes in a fight." Ruby said with a small shrug, picking up Pyrrha's bag with her hook sword and flinging it over. "There aren't any rules that say you can't use your semblance."

Pyrrha caught her bag with a small frown, "But I-"

"There aren't any rules that say you have to tell someone about your semblance either." Ruby said, walking toward the exit, causing Pyrrha to quicken her pace to catch up. "It's... a good tactic."

Pyrrha was still frowning as she pulled her bag over her shoulder, contemplating over the matter.

Ruby stayed silent, knowing fully well that she wouldn't be able to say anything else that would convince Pyrrha that what she did was okay. Regardless, Ruby was certainly not going to deal with this awkward unease that Pyrrha was emitting for the rest of their walk back to their dorm, and forced a naturally sounding chuckle out. "Besides, I had it coming. I've been tripping you up all day." She shrugged.

That seemed to get Pyrrha to laugh as she nodded, "I suppose you had what was due." she drawled out in amusement.

Ruby forced another smile, until she heard something vibrate in Pyrrha's bag, causing her to arch a brow in question. "Um. I think your scroll is going off."

"What?" Pyrrha asked in confusion, peering down at her bag. "But I don't- Oh!" She dug through her pockets and pulled a scroll out before offering it to Ruby.

"I'm sorry! I forgot I had your scroll. You left it back in our dorm room yesterday during our study session."

"Oh! So that's where it was." Ruby said, taking her scroll with a smile. She wasn't worried about anyone going through it as she had placed a passcode on it.

"Don't worry, I didn't go through it." Pyrrha reassured, before pausing briefly. "Although, I couldn't help but notice that you had a couple of messages from a Sparkle Butt…?"

Ruby laughed, "Yeah that's my… uh…" What did she say Mercury was again? "My…. Uncle!" She finished. Mercury was pretty much like an uncle to her. He doted on her and wished to do nothing short of spoiling her. That was what uncles did right?

… How do uncles act anyway?

Pyrrha seemed to nod in understanding, giggling to herself at the title while Ruby opened her scroll. She saw that she had a few messages, two from Mercury as Pyrrha mentioned, and one from Cinder.

Opening the scroll (while ensuring that Pyrrha wasn't looking), she quickly read the messages and smiled widely.

Mercury and Roman had disposed of that annoying investigator that had been trailing after her.

She couldn't help but let out a giddy skip as she continued reading on, only to find out that Mercury, Emerald, Cinder, and Neo will be seeing her soon.

Opening the message from Cinder only confirmed it, stating that they'll see her within the next coming days.

At that, Ruby allowed a small little jig to take over her body as she quickly typed out a message back.

"I take that you received some good news?" Pyrrha asked with an amused smile.

"The best!" Ruby grinned as she pocketed her scroll, happily walking closer to their dorm rooms with a bounce in her step.

Pyrrha merely smiled, seemingly content to know that Ruby was cheerful and continued to make their way to the dorm room in comforting silence.

Upon arrival, Pyrrha turned to Ruby with a sheepish look, "So… would you terribly mind if we spar again?"

"Again?" Ruby asked half quizzically and half shocked, "But... you won. Both times. " Ruby hesitantly said.

"While that may be true, you… managed to drive me into a corner, both times." Pyrrha exclaimed with amazement, "I… you push me to stay on my toes. This is the third time that I've come close to losing."

Ruby arched a brow, slowly leaning away from Pyrrha as she gave the other a weird look, "You… like that?" Ruby asked causing a laugh to erupt from Pyrrha.

"I-" Pyrrha hesitated with a small smile, "-suppose you could say that." she confessed.

"Um... " Ruby had no idea what to say. She didn't know what to make of a person who enjoyed the possibility of losing.

She herself, didn't like the feeling. Though, Ruby reasoned it was due to how she always had something to lose if she did.

Pyrrha didn't.

"Is… That a no?" Pyrrha asked with slight dejection.

Ruby quickly thought back to how Pyrrha had beaten her, already marking the score to three wins while Ruby had none. She thought about the idea of coming across Pyrrha, or someone like her, who was stronger than Ruby in certain circumstance.

With subtlety, Ruby's grip tightened as she remembered the time where she was nearly caught by the police during a mission with other members of the White Fang. She clenched her teeth as she remembered how close the investigator got to her, how close she was to be taken away. And she remembered the plan.

She couldn't afford to lose.

"Sure!" Ruby said with a false smile, "I'd love to spar again!"

Pyrrha visibly brightened at the confirmation. "Okay then. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." She asked more than said as she turned her body toward the door, holding onto the knob.

"Right." Ruby nodded, wiggling her fingers.

Pyrrha gave a small smile while opening the door. "Goodnight then." She said before entering her dorm, the door closing quietly behind her.

Ruby finally exhaled a sigh of relief, suddenly feeling incredibly tired from more than just physical exhaustion as she turned around. She warily eyed her dorm room door, remembering that she had to play somewhat nice with her teammates as well and allowed another wary sigh to be released.

She couldn't wait until her sister, Mercury, Emerald, and Neo came.

At least then she would finally get a nice, regular break to just… relax.

With a deep breath, she straightened her back and thought of another prank to pull over Weiss that would allow her to see the heiress's frustration, and smiled as she opened the door.

"Hey guys!" She sang, entering the dorm with a wave.

"Hey Ruby! How was your sparring session with Pyrrha?" Yang asked from her spot on the floor while holding cards in her hands and a board with pieces in front of her.

Weiss and Blake were in similar positions on different sides of the board, with Blake leaning over toward Weiss and pointing out different cards before they both looked up and waved or nodded in recognition to Ruby.

"She whooped butt." Ruby said, throwing her bag onto her bed and plopping down on the floor to join her teammates. "What's this?"

"We're playing Remnant, want to join?" Yang asked. "Blake and I are trying to teach Weiss to play."

Ruby looked down at the board with a small smile. It was one of the games she loved bring over to the base when she was younger. "Alright then! Don't think I'll show your people mercy!" Ruby exclaimed, scooting forward to get in position.

"Ha! It is your kingdom which will fall!" Yang proclaimed with a pointed finger.

"Bring it on!" Ruby yelled.

Cinder smiled down at her scroll at the brief message Ruby had sent her explaining why she wasn't able to message her all day or the night before and apologizing. Cinder didn't mind though, as all that mattered was how excited Ruby obviously was upon receiving both news.

It allowed Cinder to breath a small sigh of relief at the validation of Ruby not wanting to leave her.

Though she did arch a curious brow upon reading the message pertaining to the arrival of an Atlesian fleet, and Ironwood himself.

"Now remember Torchwick, there are four fire extinguishers in the house." Emerald warned, "So don't be so stupid to get the house burned down."

Roman waved her off with a lazy hand, slouching against the couch as he placed his feet on the coffee table. "Yeah yeah.

"And just because we're leaving, don't think it means you have it easy. You still have a job to do." Mercury said with a pointed fingers.

"Don't worry about it," Roman drawled out. "I'll have plenty of fun between the new recruits and toys we're getting. So go on. Shoo. And be sure to say Hi to Red for me."

Neo looked at him in concern.

"Go on Neo, I'll be fine. Have fun with Red." Roman said, repeating as he waved her away in a shooing motion.

Still concerned, Neo brought her hands in front of her, allowing her index finger and middle finger to close together as she placed her left middle finger on top of her right index finger, rubbing along the length. Then she pointed to herself, bringing it up to her chin with her fingerpad to the side and sliding her index finger toward him stiffly and raised her other hand as she closed both her thumb, ring, and pinky fingers together to allow her index and middle fingers to open up, her palm facing herself as she cycled both her hands toward Roman in semi circles.

'I'll be sure to visit you soon'

Roman couldn't help but allow a small smile, "Thanks Neo."

"Let's go." Cinder said, "We need to go get… settled." She finished with a small smirk, turning toward the door with her new uniform on.

AN: Hello again! I was pleasantly surprised to find myself completing this chapter relatively quickly, but here it is! Unfortunately, the next chapter will take a bit longer. I hope you enjoyed this one!