A/N: Yay, longest chapter so far! Enjoy!
The next morning, Rock awoke to the sound of Ron purring, which - judging by the volume - meant he was right beside her face. She opened one eye and smiled at his adorable face barely a few inches away. He meowed softly and pawed at her nose.
"You love waking me up, don't you?" Rock commented, getting out of bed and reaching for her phone. But before she touched it, the alarm went off. "Well, at least it was set." She mumbled, thinking that she'd forgotten to set it last night...
Wait... last night...
Silver's strange comment echoed in her ears, making Rock sigh to herself. Why did he say it? Did he actually LIKE her?
Shaking her head, Rock decided to let things play out since there was still much more left to be revealed on the matter. She gathered her things, getting ready to catch the train to Nova.
At the station, Rock leaned her Cannon against a pillar, listening to music on her phone while she waited for the train to arrive. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Dead Master and Gold approaching, their weapons leaning on their shoulders. Ebony and Ivory were lazily circling Dead Master's head, as usual.
"Yo, Rock!" Gold called to her, waving her hand. "What's up, girl?"
Rock hauled her Cannon towards the sisters, then tugged her earbuds out of her ears. "I had a few surprises after school."
"What do you mean... 'surprises'? Did something happen when you got home? Dead Master got in trouble from our mom when she brought home her Skull Scythe. Our mom hates how she dresses so goth." Gold laughed, placing her hand on her hip while resting her Falchion on the ground, just like Rock's Cannon.
"Well..." Rock thought of how to word her explanation in a way that made sense. "Silver flew me home, met my mom, then came back in the middle of the night again to see me."
"Silver Blade Wing? From our History Class?" Gold started laughing. "I swear that you two were just MADE for each other!"
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Rock blurted out defensively, her cheeks turning pink.
"Well, he likes you... And judging by that blush, you like him too." Gold smirked, her eyes watching Rock's face deepen in colour.
Rock averted her gaze, trying to keep calm. Was it that obvious? Maybe she did like him after all...
Before they could say more on the matter, the train pulled into the station, coming to a halt a few moments later. They boarded the train and didn't return to their conversation for the entire ride to Nova.
During the ride though, Rock thought about Gold's comment, was it really that easy for people to tell there was something... something more going on between Silver and herself? Then what about Crimson? Was she jealous of Rock, knowing that Silver had a mutual liking to her that they'd apparently lacked when they'd been on... friendlier terms?
Before Rock could give it further consideration, the train entered the tunnel, which made her glance up. Damn, she'd been lost in thought for the entire ride.
When the train left the tunnel's blackness, Rock caught a glimpse of a scattered number of winged students in the air outside of the train's windows. She immediately scanned their numbers in search of Silver's distinctive white duster and silver wings. Moments later she spotted him gliding alongside what appeared to be Wing, his step-father.
Rock sighed and prepared to disembark, carefully wrapping her arms around her Cannon and holding it vertically against her torso due to the limited space.
When she stepped out onto the platform, she was instantly met with the sight of Strength and Chariot waiting for them.
"Hiya! You girls are so slow! We've been waiting for AGES!" Chariot exclaimed after catching sight of Rock, Dead Master and Gold.
"Wait... what? What do you mean, you've been waiting for us?" Dead Master raised an eyebrow, staring at Chariot in confusion.
"We live in the campus dorms." Strength explained simply. "We decided to wait for you here, since we don't have travel times like you do."
Rock gave a mildly impressed face, remembering that they'd not ever seen Strength or Chariot on the train, nor even leaving the Academy in any way. It made sense now.
"What are the dorms like?" Rock asked, following Chariot as she turned and lead the five of them into the courtyards. They still had about twenty or so minutes before classes, so they could chat a little before going their separate ways.
"They're okay, I guess." Strength shrugged her massive metallic shoulders. "Strange thing is that there's two bunk beds in every room. We're in the same room simply because we're sisters, but we don't have roommates."
Dead Master glanced at Gold for a brief moment, opening her mouth to speak, but she closed it almost immediately. Rock however, was looking the other way and didn't notice.
"Are there still open applications to live in the dorms?" Rock asked, checking the time so that she could get to Granite's class on time.
"As far as I'm aware, the applications for dorms end at the end of the week. If there's availible bunks, then you can still apply." Gold gave a nod. "Anyway, I'm heading to class now. Catch you later!"
With that, Gold left them and heaved her Falchion onto her shoulder, disappearing a few moments later. Rock gave an understanding nod at her words, but said nothing as she also announced her departure for class.
"Later! I'll see you in Clay's class!" She called as she began to weave her way through the crowds in the direction of Granite's firing range.
When she arrived at the range, she blinked several times after realizing that Silver was waiting with his back against the wall, examining his injured hand from their sparring match. She mentally reviewed the previous day, trying to remember if Silver had a gun in addition to his swords.
"Hey Rock, what's up?" Silver glanced up to see her, his eyes sparkling with his mildly amused tone.
"Since when were you in this class? I thought you only had your swords." Rock asked, approaching him and leaning her Cannon against the wall. She imitated his pose, pressing her back against the wall.
"I have this, remember?" Silver moved his duster aside to reveal his submachine gun. "I was transfered into this class when they gave me it. It was supposed to have been inside my weapon crate yesterday, but it had been overlooked for some reason or another."
"Strange. But then again, I've got this." Rock unsheathed her katana from the bottom of her Cannon. "So, I guess we're in all of each other's classes."
"Seems that way. Who else is in the class that I might know?" Silver glanced sideways at her katana as she slid it back into the hidden sheath.
"Three guesses. She has a pistol." Rock smirked, glancing pointedly at her massive weapon. Inwardly she compared the sizes of her Cannon and Crimson's pistol to the size of their respective egos. Crimson was compensating her weapon for her huge ego.
"Crimson?" Silver sighed. "Well, speak of the Devil and she shall appear."
Rock followed his gaze and spotted Crimson approaching with the rest of the class, a cell phone at her ear. Crimson appeared to be arguing with someone as she leaned against the wall across the hallway. Rock began to listen to the one sided conversation, as was Silver.
"No, I told you that wouldn't work!" Crimson sighed. "No, he's not... no, I tried that..." She paused for several seconds. "Actually, that's a good idea. Do that, then call me back at noon... Yes. Yes, I'm at Nova... Good. I'm expecting your call during lunch. Get it done."
Crimson ended the call and slid her phone inside an inner pocket of her jacket. Rock caught a glimpse of her pistol and noticed that it had a magazine in the grip.
Silver also noticed the magazine, then turned to Rock. "If I remember correctly, her father is a police officer... So that means she must have access to her own supply of ammunition for that pistol of hers."
"Yeah, but I don't think she'd shoot you... Me, maybe, but not you." Rock replied just as the firing range's doors opened, revealing Granite's big belly and mustache.
"Enter students! Let's get started right away!" Granite boomed jovially, a smile on his face.
Rock hauled her Cannon onto her shoulder and followed the gathered students inside. Silver followed at her side, but received a hand on his shoulder from Granite.
"By chance, young man, would you be Silver Blade Wing? I was informed of a new student, but received no description."
"Yes, sir. I'm Professor Wing's... son." Silver hesitated for the smallest second before revealing that detail. "I'd prefer to just be called Silver, if that is acceptable, sir."
"Ah! Another name preference!" Granite laughed, then smiled at Rock, who had stopped a few paces ahead. "Isn't that correct, Miss Rock?"
Rock gave a nod. "Just Rock, sir. No need for the 'Miss'."
Granite laughed again good naturedly, then gestured for them to enter the firing range as he approached the controls for the targets and activated a few targets for the students that were ready to begin.
Silver followed Rock to the end of the stations, Rock taking her previous place at 25, and Silver standing at 26. She turned to him and explained. "I don't need to get ammo for this form, but you'll need to get ammo for your SMG from the lockers. Just ask Granite if you have any issues."
Silver gave a nod as he withdrew his gun from his holster, then removed the magazine with slight difficulty. He then turned to Rock with a raised eyebrow. "Wait a second... what do you mean 'this form'?"
Rock smiled widely. "Ask Granite for 100 rounds of .50 caliber ammo. They're in the second locker from the left. Bring that, and I'll show you what I meant."
Silver raised both eyebrows this time, but gave a nod and approached Granite.
"Ah, Silver. What can I do for you? Ammunition, I take it?" Granite smiled, clasping his hands together.
"Yeah, I don't really know very much about different ammunition types. I need ammo for my SMG, and Rock is requesting a hundred rounds of .50 caliber ammo." Silver held up his empty magazine.
Granite took the magazine and gestured for Silver to come slightly closer. Silver stepped forward and watched as Granite turned the magazine over and pointed at some small numbers on the underside of the magazine's surface.
"See here? This indicates what caliber fits inside this magazine. In this case, it is 5.7mm rounds. But from my many years with firearms, I can tell you the weapon this magazine goes with without refering to these numbers. You were issued a P90 submachine gun."
"Yes, that is correct sir. I was told very little about my gun, except for the name and how to carry it." Silver nodded as he accepted the magazine from Granite. "But what does it mean for the ammo? Five point Seven milimeter? Is that how large the ammo is?"
Granite gave a chuckle before turning to a locker in the middle and retrieved a metal box. He placed it on the nearest table and opened the lid. Silver approached as Granite held out his hand. He extended his open palm and Granite placed a single bullet in his hand.
"Any ammunition that is refered by size, such as 5.7mm, 9mm, 5.56mm, 7.62mm, and the like, they are called that because they are in fact that size." Granite held up another bullet. "But it is not the overall size. Rather, it refers to the diameter of the rounds. So, in this case, your ammunition is 5.7 milimeters wide."
"I see. Now, what about the .50 caliber ammo that Rock wanted? May I take it to her, sir?" Silver gave an understanding nod as he placed the single bullet back into the metal box.
"Certainly, she requested a hundred rounds?" Granite asked as he opened the second last locker, just like Rock had told him. But instead of producing another box like the 5.7mm rounds, he produced a massive chain of VERY large bullets.
With a metallic rattling, Granite folded the chain of bullets back and forth before holding them out to Silver. "Here you are, a hundred rounds of .50 caliber rounds. As well as your 5.7mm rounds."
Silver took the ammo with a nod of thanks, then carried the 5.7mm box under his arm back to Rock, who had been watching him the entire time.
"Got what you need?" Rock teased as she accepted the chain of bullets from Silver and placed them on the firing station's surface. "If you need help, I can load the ammo for you."
"I just need a quick demonstration." Silver admitted, and Rock caught sight of a small blush edging up from beneath his cowl. "Then I can probably go from there."
"Okay, how many magazines do you have in total?" Rock took the single magazine from his hand and placed the box on his station. She then turned to see him place four more empty magazines beside it. "Okay, let's just start with three for now."
Taking a round in one hand, and the first magazine in her other, Rock showed him how to load the rounds, then added. "A trick I learned to load rounds faster is to do this."
Taking a fistful of bullets, Rock began to rapidly load round after round into the magazine by dextrously cycling individual bullets between her fingers, starting from her pinkie, then between her pinkie and ring finger, then ring/middle, middle/index, then in her grasped thumb and index where the bullet was then shoved into the awaiting magazine, her movements flowing with liquid ease. Silver was highly impressed, but wondered how she knew so much about weapons, especially firearms. She did admit 'a trick she learned' in regards to loading ammo.
"If you don't mind me asking, how do you know so much about weaponry?" Silver asked, loading the third magazine much more slowly than Rock.
"I've worked at a weapon repair shop for a few summers. I'm also a bit of a dork when it comes to weapons." Rock gently trailed her free hand's fingertips along the smooth black surface of her Cannon, the edges of her mouth rising into a tiny smile. "It's a passion of mine, I guess. It's always exciting for me to see a new weapon, whether it's a gun, or a sword, even a person's augmentations, like Strength's arms and tail, or Chariot's legs. To me, it's almost like meeting a new person."
"That's a weird way to see the world."
Rock and Silver turned to see a maroon haired girl in a black skirt and a hooded red cape holding what appeared to be a red and black scythe. Upon closer inspection, they realized that it was actually part sniper rifle. They stared at the girl, who smiled.
"I mean, I understand the part about your job, and how it's your passion... But the weird part is what you said about finding a new weapon was like meeting a new person." The girl explained, cradling her scythe with both arms as it rested on her shoulder. "What did you mean by that?"
"When I see a cool weapon, I can't help but think of the person that created it. One example would be your scythe. I can tell that it is also a high caliber sniper rifle. I'm always interested in the design process that creates something new or unusual." Rock explained, indicating the girl's weapon with a jut of her chin.
"You really like Crescent Rose? People are always telling me it's scary and dangerous." The girl averted her gaze, her cheeks turning red. "What's the name of your weapon?" The girl asked while still looking anywhere except at Rock's face.
"I've only ever refered to it as my Cannon." Rock explained, giving her massive weapon a curious glance. "Wait, are we supposed to name them?"
"No, not that I know of..." The girl shrugged. "I just gave it that name myself. I got the idea from a story; the main character gets a magic sword that can talk, so he gives it the name Bane, so that they can have conversations and stuff. And in an anime that I watch, the main character gets this super cool outfit that can talk and transform into a set of armour, so she named it Senketsu, which means 'fresh blood' in japanese..."
"Wait, hold on a second!" Rock held up her hands to stop the girl's rising excitement. "I understand you really like these shows and stories... But I don't even know your name." Rock held out her right hand. "I'm Black Rock Shooter, and this here is Silver Blade Wing. I prefer to be called Rock, and he likes Silver. What's your name?"
"Oh, sorry about that! I'm Ruby Rose. I just transfered into this class today." The girl took Rock's offered hand, gave a firm shake, then shook Silver's hand as well. "If you don't mind me asking... May I take ten of those .50 caliber rounds? Professor Granite told me to check with you about the ammo. Apparently he has a limited supply of the higher caliber rounds each week."
"Sure, no problem. In fact, take as many as you want. My Cannon is multi-format, only one of the forms actually needs to be loaded at all." Rock held out the entire belt of bullets, handing it to Ruby with a nod.
"Multi-format? What do you mean?" Ruby was stunned at the comment, but took the ammo anyway.
"Watch this." Rock turned to her Cannon, then held down the trigger, altering it to the minigun form with the usual badass mechanical sounds.
"That's awesome! Hey, sis! Come check this out!" Ruby suddenly turned over her shoulder and called over to someone. A moment later, a girl with her long brilliant blonde hair approached, wearing heavy golden gauntlets on her arms.
"What's up?" The girl asked, staring curiously at them.
"Switch it back so my sister can see it, please~?" Ruby pleaded for Rock to revert her Cannon back to normal.
"Fine with me." Rock shrugged, turning back to her Cannon once again. She'd planned on practicing with this form anyway, so it wasn't a problem.
As it reverted back to normal, Ruby's sister gave an impressed expression to Ruby.
"That's actually pretty amazing. Cool weapon." She gave a nod to Rock, then turned to walk back to her firing station. "C'mon Ruby, we gotta keep practicing until the end of class."
"Yeah, just gimme a quick second, Yang." Ruby gave a small nod, then smiled at Rock. "Thanks for the ammo, if you still need any, I can save some for you to use."
"No problem, in fact, use as much as you want. My Rock Cannon burns through ammo pretty quickly." Rock smiled at her Cannon's new name. "See you later, Ruby... Yang."
"Bye Rock, bye Silver!" Ruby waved her free hand as she followed Yang back across the firing range.
"So you named it after yourself? What about your katana?" Silver broke his silence as the sisters left them. He'd been loading ammo into his magazines during the entire conversation, and only now was finishing up with his final magazine.
"I'll call it... Black Blade." Rock unsheathed it partially, letting the two names sink in... Black Blade, and Rock Cannon... "Both of them share my name... And there's one other thing about them that I think fits perfectly as well."
"What would that be?" Silver asked, loading his P90 for the first time with a loaded magazine. He clicked the safety off his gun as he glanced at Rock to ask his question.
"It's also a gun." Rock replied with a wide smile.
A/N: Kill La Kill reference? Check. Team RWBY? Present. Direct RWBY quote? Yup.
My work here is done. ;D
