Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. If I did, Scarlet and Sage would have appeared fully by now. (Also, if you could read the whole author's note it would be much appreciated. You'll know why when you reach it.)
Damn it all! Sorry, had to re-upload because it uploaded the source code rather than the actual chapter... forgive me.
The birds were singing. The early morning sun was shining. Both occupants were enjoying a day off after previous events. She was thrilled that he had actually done this for her. Everything seemed just right.
Then music started blaring from his scroll and the serenity was shattered instantly.
Pyrrha grunted as she forced herself awake and sat up with difficulty. After Jaune had brought her back to Beacon, both had feared the worst. Luckily for her, nothing vital had been damaged and a simple round of Aura healing fixed her up. Although it was still painful and she did have to wear a bandage until her own Aura closed the wound completely.
Without Jaune, she probably wouldn't have made it. After Blake had left, Ruby and Yang had visited Team JNPR's dorm room just to share camaraderie in a desperate time. Ruby told her about how she and Weiss fought off the White Fang pair before Weiss had been taken with an ultimatum issued. It wasn't until later in the night when she'd finally heard the two had returned but Blake had to be put into critical care.
Smiling at how everything had turned out, she glanced at Jaune who was still trying to make sense of his scroll's alarm feature. He was such a clown sometimes, but that's what she found strangely charming. All these pampered, masculine fighters back in Mistral grew old quickly, so she needed someone who was… different.
Struggling as she got out of bed, Pyrrha walked over to Jaune and watched him as he had resorted to trying to open and close his scroll numerous times in a desperate attempt to fix the problem. For the first time in a while, she giggled. Like she had when she was innocent girl. She wasn't exactly pressured by anyone throughout her life, like Weiss, she just had high expectations of herself. But Jaune had a habit of making her roll back the years.
"Need help, fearless leader?" she teased as she rested her hand on his shoulder.
"Um… no! Of course not," he argued as she accidentally turned the song up. Finally, he sat down and conceded, "Actually, just this once."
"Alright then." She took the scroll from him, sat down alongside him and two clicks later, the music was a distant, very loud memory.
"See! I keep on saying you should be the leader," Jaune said, clearly bothered. "But Ozpin had to put me there. I don't deserve it."
"Yes, you do," Pyrrha replied simply before adding, "Think of how Ruby is two years younger and was slightly awkward. She's still a great team leader. It's like that with you, only you just have to find it in yourself."
"Pyrrha, I can't even turn off an alarm… How am I meant to lead a team with one of the best in the school in it?"
"Who? Nora?" Pyrrha joked innocently.
"No, Pyrrha. You. I haven't even come close to beating to you – or anyone from RWBY for that matter – but you're the most competent!"
Pyrrha smiled at his words. "What about that time you nearly beat me in sudden death a few weeks ago?"
"You weren't even using your weapon or semblance!"
"True."
Jaune's shoulders slumped and he held his head in his hands. It wasn't uncommon for Pyrrha to be in this situation, it happened after nearly every training session.
Gradually, Pyrrha edged closer to Jaune before she reached out and enveloped him in a tight embrace. Jaune was stunned, as his previous contact with girls had been limited to his mother and seven sisters. But this was on a whole different planet significance-wise. Still, he breathed in and hugged back. Besides, she looked cute when her hair was down, and it made a great pillow. Always so soft…
Pyrrha felt her cheeks flushing at Jaune's contact and it just made this bubbling sensation grow. Now she felt it. She had argued with herself over the last month or so about it but now it just felt so right to say it.
"Jaune, I-I…"
CRASH!
The pair immediately separated at the sound of their new visitor: the one person you wouldn't to spot you hugging someone else.
Yang glanced around, still looking as provocative ever even in her sleepwear especially since she had just thrown her top on, causing Jaune to look away. "Where's Ren and Nora."
"They went for the early morning jog," Pyrrha replied.
"Ohhh. Anyway, who was playing their music before?"
Pyrrha looked at Jaune who glanced at Yang sheepishly. "Um…"
"Because I love that song! I Burn, right?"
"Yeah?"
"I've always felt that it fits me, I don't know why though. I still love all of her music though!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Yang?" Pyrrha asked.
"What?"
"Did you walk in just to tell us that?"
"Well, I was going to tell you to turn it down because you might wake Ruby and she's been really torn up over Weiss and Blake. Then you turned it off and then I remembered that Ruby sleeps through anything anyhow but I was awake anyway so I just decided to visit you two."
"Still," Jaune said, "You could have walked in on one of us changing or something. At least knock next time!"
Yang let out a hearty laugh. "Oh, something tells me I wouldn't have minded either way."
The other two blushed furiously.
"So, you two are excused from lessons?"
Both nodded and Pyrrha spoke up, "Ren and Nora aren't though."
"Poor Team Sloth," Yang chuckled. That was Yang's very imaginative name for the inseparable pair. However, it only seemed to have grown on the blonde only.
"What about you and Ruby?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah, we were going to check up on Weiss and Blake once we both got dressed. Want to come with?"
The pair exchanged glances before shrugging. "I suppose we could," Jaune said.
"Great! Sun will be there too, so will Velvet, I think." Yang smiled before smoothing out her hair. "Well, I'm going back to my dorm. I'll leave you two to whatever you were doing before I came in… Making love or something." With a giggle, Yang darted out and closed the door behind her.
Jaune and Pyrrha shrugged off the initial embarrassment and looked at each other again. Both wanted to resume the hug but neither had the heart to instigate it again.
"So… what was it you wanted to tell me?" Jaune asked hopefully.
But Pyrrha had completely lost the nerve and the moment had gone. "Oh. It was nothing,"
"Alright," Jaune replied disappointedly. "I suppose we better get ready."
"Yeah, we should."
God damn it, Yang! Both minds screamed.
Pyrrha could only help wonder, as she began gathering her clothes, if she would ever end up telling him.
Weiss knew what Blake's shuffling was as this was the third time it had happened. Each other time she had woke up immediately but now she was just struggling in her sleep.
Of course, Blake was having nightmares.
Weiss wasn't sure if she was being impolite but she had leant in closer to hear what she was saying. The phrases 'I'm sorry' and 'Don't go, please' were frequent. It didn't take a mastermind to figure out who she was saying them to.
No matter how tightly Weiss tried to hold her, it didn't help and Weiss only got worried when she started tossing in her sleep. Then she started sweating, her pleas growing in volume, when Weiss finally gave in. Although she was meant to be sleeping often to recuperate, she just couldn't in this state.
Weiss began frantically shaking her partner's shoulders in hope of waking her up. Now Blake was repeating the word 'No' and it was getting louder every time. Weiss, failing to see any other alternatives, thrust her lips against the Faunus's, praying that it would work. Her prayers were answered a moment later as Blake's eyes snapped open.
Blake's eyes immediately started darting around. Sweat was coating her forehead and Weiss was kissing her while on top of her. Automatically, she returned the gesture and found herself lost in the passion and heat of the moment. But she already knew why this was.
Gently pulling away, Blake asked, "Woke me up again?"
"Yeah. It must have been pretty rough."
"It was."
The conversation would have ended there anyway, but then they heard chuckling from a nearby bed. Slowly turning, they spotted the two other resident Faunus staring at them.
"Having fun over there?" Sun asked, earning a giggle from Velvet.
Weiss blushed heavily but Blake countered, "So are you two together now?" Pointing at their intertwined hands, she smirked.
The pair comically looked at their hands and then each other before pulling them away. But they knew they had been caught.
"Sort of, Coco encouraged me. She said it might make me a bit more… confident," Velvet whispered.
"And she just couldn't stay away," Sun added cockily, earning a shove from his girlfriend.
"How are you, Blake?" Velvet asked, changing the subject in fear of becoming embarrassed.
"The healing is coming along fine Vel, but you didn't have to visit," Blake said before turning to Sun. "Or invite everyone to my place of recuperation."
Rather than comment on it, Sun shrugged and said, "Meh, it was more Yang's idea than mine."
Weiss finally recovered from her discomfiture and turned to face the Faunus trio. "I haven't seen you in a while Sun, actually."
"Yeah. It's almost as if someone forgot to include me in all of your adventures."
[Oops]
"I didn't even know you got discharged."
"My team insisted that I stay with them." Suddenly, Sun's eyes shot to the clock on the wall and he nudged Velvet, who cleared her throat.
"We need to get going now actually," Velvet said, walking over to the pair. She gave Blake a small hug and offered Weiss a smile.
"Any reason why?" Blake asked.
Velvet looked as if she was about to speak but Sun immediately spoke up. "No reason. Just got a few errands to run."
Sun took Velvet by the arm and the two went for the door. "Let's see if you can put your money where your mouth is."
"Bring it."
Weiss and Blake watched the pair leave the room and stood there. Blake had heard through her heightened hearing but she was pretty sure they weren't actually being that quiet.
"I knew Sun never actually ran any errands," Weiss chuckled.
"Mm."
The pair sat there in silence, unknowing of how to continue, when Blake started shuffling uncomfortably.
"Weiss?"
"Yeah, Blake?"
"Could you get off my stomach, please?"
Weiss, growing warm, slowly climbed off Blake and lay down alongside the Faunus. A deep breath filled her nostrils with the fresh aroma of lavender so she moved closer. "You know… there's no one around at the moment…"
Before Blake could argue, Weiss began peppering her neck with gentle kisses, forcing a deep purr from the ebony-haired girl. Weiss always seemed like a different person when the two were alone. More caring for sure, and definitely more confident. At least, more than she had been before.
No sooner than it began though, they heard the door swing open. Weiss leaped off the bed and straightened out her clothes, before groaning at the new arrival.
"Hey guys! What were you two doing?"
"Oh… I was just…" Weiss trailed off.
"She was telling me about her opponent in the qualifiers tomorrow," Blake finished. "But seriously, you should knock next time. I could have been changing."
Wow, Jaune was right. Maybe I should start knocking. Yang stared at her while she thought before shrugging. "Sharing strategies were you? Who've you got Weiss?"
"Kaede Itsuki. Luckily I got the easiest of the sisters. Supposedly her sister, Sakura, is really skilled."
"Oh, I've heard of her! But isn't she a bit…?" Yang asked twirling her finger around her ear.
"Apparently."
"I think Mark Nutt has her. Poor Mark, It'll feel like someone force-fed him headlight fluid afterwards," Yang muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Haven't they extended the Finals to thirty-two people because too many people have entered as well?" Weiss asked.
"Yep, more fights for us. I swear, the RTA are as unorganized as me sometimes."
Blake sighed before noticing that Yang was the only one of the four who were meant to be there. "Where are the others?"
"Ruby was still getting ready so I asked Pyrrha and Jaune to wait for her because I couldn't wait to see my favourite kitty and heiress," Yang said before showing off her trademark grin.
"I'm the only heiress you know," Weiss protested.
"Exactly."
Weiss frowned and was about to protest when she noticed the other three walk in, finally. The first voice heard was an obvious one.
"Blake!" Ruby cried. Disappearing into a cloud of red, she enveloped herself around Blake as if she was subliminally telling Blake never to go by herself again. But that was probably just her over-thinking it.
Pyrrha and Jaune also walked over. The redhead laid her hand on Blake's shoulder and Jaune settled on an awkward wave. Both received a nod of acknowledgement from Blake.
Blake had initially tried to hug Ruby back but, like her sister, Ruby gave very tight hugs. It could have been nice, had she not have been almost killed the day before. "Ruby… my ribs…"
"Oh, sorry Blake." Ruby laughed, climbing off her teammate before approaching Weiss. The heiress prepared herself to be squashed within an inch of her life but, surprisingly, Ruby held her much more tenderly than she had with Blake.
"Hi, Ruby," Weiss whispered, stroking the brunette's hair.
"I'm sorry, Weiss. I just couldn't get through them. I didn't mean to let you get captured."
"No, because I would be concerned if you did," Weiss joked. "Seriously though, I'm here now so don't fret over it."
"I mean, I would have done it but there was this girl and had this super strong umbrella thing. Her hair was brown and pink and I think her eyes kept changing colour. They were weird but cute…"
Yang groaned. "Not this again!"
"What?"
"Ruby, you've talked about her almost 24/7 since you came back from Vale. Just find her and ask her out or something! What was her name again? Nea?
"Her name was Neo, actually. And she was working with the White Fang!" Ruby protested.
"You still find her cute though!"
Jaune, sensing a full-scale argument beginning, decided to change the subject. "Hey, guys? Where's Sun and Velvet?"
Meanwhile…
"Yes! I'm getting there," Velvet cried.
"There's no way you could do it that quickly!" Sun argued but knew there was no point in it.
"No, don't do that it hurts!"
"Come on! Wait no!"
"Yes!" With one final push, Velvet cried out in delight. "I did it!"
"No, you're too good at this. I mean, how did you win that quickly against X-Ray? You must have cheated," Sun argued.
[Hehe]
"Because my character was simply better, now pay up," Velvet said.
"Mogar's too OP." Sun fished out five lien, unknowing that it was the same card that Blake had give him, and handed it to Velvet.
Sulking for show, he ejected the game, Achieve Men Unleashed, and put it back in its box. When he turned back around, he was greeted with Velvet standing a few centimetres away from him. Her cheeks were dusted a light pink refused to break eye contact. Suddenly, Velvet threw her arms around Sun and pressed her lips against his.
The monkey Faunus was taken aback but reciprocated as he fell backwards, pulling her onto him.
Weiss shrugged. "Who knows?"
After more conversing about the qualifiers, returning to classes, laughing at Yang for texting her lover and discussing the upcoming dance in celebration of the tournament, Pyrrha was starting to feel at home. Casual conversing within a group was something she'd sorely missed during her time at Mistral, especially with Phoenix. Pyrrha wondered if she was competing in the tournament, because she was itching for a rematch...
It was all so… normal. Well, about as normal as it can get when you're training to take on life-threatening missions against creatures of darkness. A new sense of togetherness had been brought on by the return of the monochrome pair. Pyrrha smiled simply because some people just didn't know what effect they had.
But, like every other time things were looking, there was always someone to bear bad news.
"So who's co-ordinating the dance?" Ruby asked.
"Supposedly they're considering Team CFVY. But I think they have a Grimm mission which could overlap with meetings," Weiss said matter-of-factly. "And Professor Peach told me that it might be two volunteers from Team RWBY."
"Which two of you would do it?" Pyrrha asked.
"Well I would obviously have to do it," Weiss said. "I'd make sure everything is pristine for such a big occasion."
"And I would make it fun," Yang added.
"You would make it fall apart. As soon as it got going, you'd manage to mess it up."
"At least it would get going with me commanding it," Yang countered, visibly pleased with her comeback.
"Yang, let's be realistic. You would just implement too many strobe lights and fog machines," Blake said.
"No! Course not…" Yang said, but wouldn't look her partner in the eye.
"I could help move the tables," Ruby added lazily.
"And I'm sure our team would chip in once in a while," Pyrrha happily stated, nudging her partner. "Right, Jaune?"
"Wha-? Oh! Yeah, sure."
"I'm sure we could all help in some way," Weiss admitted.
"I'm sure any of you could make it a memorable event."
Every head turned towards the door to see the headmaster standing at the door, sipping his coffee. When he had arrived, nobody knew.
Pyrrha and Weiss immediately rose out of politeness with Jaune, Ruby and Yang all slowly following suit. All but Blake though for obvious reasons.
"I hope you six ready to return to classes tomorrow," Ozpin announced in a loud voice. "Unless Blake should need more rest, but her and Weiss should be the only exceptions if need be."
"Yes, headmaster," all replied unanimously.
"Blake," Ozpin said, taking several steps forward, "First of all, I would like to congratulate for your service to the school and indeed the whole of Vale."
Everyone, bar the Faunus in question, broke into a polite round of applause.
"But sir, I couldn't have done it-"
As if knowing what she was going to say, Ozpin raised his hand to silence her. "Please let me finish. You and Ms Schnee must come to my office whenever possible so you can answer some questions."
"Of course, headmaster," Weiss agreed.
"However, and this is a message for all of you, you cannot afford to get complacent after this."
"I thought we'd at least have a break," Jaune complained.
"Mr Arc, evil is a machine which is constantly at work. It's all about whether they get it right. And right now, Blake just removed crucial cogs, but from a separate machine."
Ruby, Yang and Jaune all gave blank stares.
"Alright. What you're doing right now is celebrating taking the other players pawns. The rooks, knights, bishops and certainly the queen are all laying it wait. If you don't pay attention, you will simply lose," Ozpin said grimly. "Big change is coming for all of you. If one can't stop it, then all they can do is prepare for what is to come."
"Sir? Do you know exactly what is happening?" Ruby asked.
"Unfortunately, no." Rising, his eyes almost clouded over, he sighed. "You may return to what you were doing." Then he walked out, no jokes or even an ounce of sugar-coating.
Almost everyone present had trouble picking their jaws off the ground at his bluntness. All except Ruby however, who had witnessed it before. When she had been gone for an hour shortly after she and Weiss had rescued Blake from Ylva, it wasn't because she took an overly long detour at the cafeteria.
It was because Ozpin had told her to stay and listen.
He had talked extensively about what he had just announced, but had asked questions about her mother. It was as ruthless as question-asking could get. He didn't even flinch when Ruby got visibly upset. She told him all she could, and he stopped after Ruby told him how Beowolves had killed her mother.
Turns out it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows beneath Ozpin's exterior.
"Well, that was dark," Pyrrha deadpanned.
"He reminded me of my mother, the way he talked. You know, only far grimmer."
"He was like a creature of Grimm!" Yang exclaimed, shrugging off what she had just heard extraordinarily well.
Everyone groaned.
"God damn it, Yang," Blake said, shaking her head.
"Yeah, that was really punbearable," Weiss said.
Everyone groaned louder.
Although the immediate tension was being relieved, everyone failed to push it completely out of their minds. Ozpin had told them that the enemy would get it right eventually.
But when would they?
Somewhere in Vale, a table was laid out with a two thieves and a murderer sitting there, waiting for a crucial meeting to start. If only their conversations ever sounded as threatening as their titles.
"I can't believe those useless Faunus couldn't even get the job done!" Roman exclaimed, slamming his hand down onto the table.
"It's what you get, if I'm honest. It's like telling a dog to go run an errand," Mercury muttered, hardly interested.
"But to think I was going to pay two of the White Fang's best to kill two teenagers who were pretty much dead anyway with the position we had them in and they still failed," Roman pulled out a cigar and lit it, trying to calm down.
"What are you going to do about the White Fang now?" Emerald asked.
"I want them disbanded. If they were the best, I'd hate to see the worst. Honestly, they get mowed down by any group larger than one. Isn't that right, Neo?" Roman called, glancing at his bodyguard.
Neo offered a blank stare. Certainly. Let me just announce my opinion, you imbecile. No one else knew, but Neo didn't like Roman, but what else could she do? Being a mute bodyguard which kicked whoever's ass happened to be presented to her that day was her best – well, only – choice. Oh yeah, she was also a mute. Roman like to infuriate her about that.
"What about the Lieutenant?" Mercury asked.
"We'll take care of him somehow."
"We can't just go around attracting unnecessary attention, she told us not to," Emerald argued.
"With that plans that she's been coming up with lately, I could just-"
"What was that, Roman?" The four present all turned to the door to see their leader enter holding a large bag. The only person that could strike fear into all four, whether they showed it or not, was her. So Roman shut up immediately.
"Cinder! You're early," Emerald called.
"I had to rush here, as I feel like I have the perfect plan." Cinder's voice was so smooth, almost anything she said sounded seductive and, consequently, believable.
"Please tell me that we're actually doing something now!" Mercury exclaimed.
"Mercury," she said slowly as she walked towards him, her hips purposely swaying with each step only slightly distracting him. "Do you remember what happened last time you were sent on a mission? It was to take care of Tukson, I believe."
"And I did it."
"You kicked him 67 times in the spine, Mercury," Emerald said. "Cinder said make it quick and clean."
"I just wanted to make sure," Mercury said innocently. "I did that by dissolving half of his torso."
"That's why the shop was covered in blood and the police have been watching everywhere near that store since," Cinder finished.
"Point taken," Mercury said, defeated.
Sitting down, Cinder said, "Roman, you haven't spoken yet. Would you like to share your thoughts?"
Roman chuckled nervously. "Oh… I'm happy with whatever you think is best."
"Naturally," Cinder nearly whispered before clearing her throat. "May we start the meeting now?"
Mercury and Emerald both nodded.
"Alright. Neo, pass me my notepad!" Roman called.
Several seconds after he asked, when he was starting to get impatient, his notepad thudded against the back of his head, knocking his bowler hat off. Roman spun around in fury but Neo had vanished, of course.
"Looks like that Neapolitan freak's rebelling against her master," Mercury taunted.
"Watch what you say, Mercury. She could kick your ass to Vacuo and back if she wanted to," Emerald said.
"That's probably true," Roman said, putting his hat back on. "But that does mean she gets a bit… rebellious sometimes."
"Nevertheless, she is strong. Which is exactly why we have her," Cinder said before reaching for the bag. "Now, let's start."
She pulled out a newspaper, not what everyone was expecting.
"Isn't that tomorrow's paper?" Emerald asked.
"Yes. I had one of my friends at the publishers gift it to me," she said with a wink. Everyone knew that this was Cinder's way of saying she seduced him. She held the paper up so everyone could read the headline.
So Blanc Schnee is visiting Vale? Why does this matter?" Mercury asked.
"Blanc Schnee: father of Weiss Schnee, who is our prime target. He is visiting Beacon and that may very well be to take his daughter back with him and separate her from life at Beacon," Cinder stated.
"How can you be sure of this, exactly?" Roman questioned.
Cinder made a point to pull out her second newspaper, one from a few days ago, and motioned towards the headline.
"Oh, that's why."
"He can't be too happy about that," Mercury understated.
"She's dug her own grave with that one," Emerald said.
"So, when the dust clears, we can be there to pick at the carcass. Not literally of course, we'll do that part after we've got what we want."
"Let's say we get unlucky, again. What happens then?" Roman asked.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Cinder said, smiling. "But let's just say that you three might have something to do other than just wait around."
"What about you?" Emerald asked.
"I'll stay back, like the queen. And move in when they're distracted. We'll discuss the next move depending on what happens. Until then, you are dismissed.
Not bothering to acknowledge them further. Cinder rose and exited to the streets of Vale. The wind gently brushed through her hair and she embraced it. It was so tiring being evil just for the sake of it sometimes. This whole Weiss plan was mostly to please Roman for Dust and lien reasons. She had another person in mind, one she would try to take care of herself.
"One way or another, Ruby Rose, I'll get you eventually."
A/N: Quick update! Or... well, quicker than usual. For some reason I've gotten right back into the swing of writing. Probably because it's the Christmas break and I have no work or friends to distract me. Nevertheless, this break chapter, as promised, was setup and fluff. So I hope you enjoyed it and it at least intrigues you for the next chapter. Want to know what happens next? Reread Chapter 8 and you'll get it. By the way, I can't seem to write short chapters. In the last night of writing this one, I told myself to make it about 3,500 or thereabouts. It is closer to 5,000 at this time.
Also, this is the part which the disclaimer is referring to, I need your help. I have decided to extend the Vytal Tournament Finals from 16 to 32 people. I have 28 confirmed so far but the other four I need your help with. If you'd like, feel free to send in your OCs and I will choose the best four (ones which aren't too similar to ones I've already added in) who will make cameos in later chapters. Thanks in advance.
Also, Cinder finally appears! JaunexPyrrha and SunxVelvet also appeared, which I'm sure some hoped for./strong/p
One more thing too: after Chapter 16, Ruby and Yang will be added to the main characters. Simply because they will play a bigger role in the second half of this story alongside Blake and Weiss. Also, it gives the story more diversity and gives me more to write about so I hope you don't mind.
Leave your thoughts if you so please. Don't forget to review, favourite and follow if you enjoyed and, as always, thanks for reading!
