Left.
Pyrrha slashed against Cardin Winchester's guard, knocking him off-balance.
Below.
She deflected Russell Thrush's daggers with her shield and pushed him into Cardin, knocking them both to the ground. Sky and Dove immediately tried to make up for their teammates by rushing Pyrrha from both sides.
She took a step back, allowing the pair to crash into one another before sending them both back in the directions they came with her shield.
This is taking too long.
Upon seeing Cardin rise to his feet Pyrrha quickly targeted him. Changing Milo from sword to javelin, she effortlessly kept the leader of Team CRDL on the defensive with her continuous spinning strikes.
Part of the redhead liked how helpless the team of bullies was against her – a sort of punishment for how they treated Jaune last semester – but she kept focus. There was something more important than revenge on her mind right now.
She zoomed past Cardin, her slash dropping him to a knee when he blocked. Cardin turned around, surprised that Pyrrha had suddenly disappeared from sight.
Just then Pyrrha descended from the air. Cardin rolled away just in time to avoid Pyrrha's stab, but she chased after him and stayed on the offensive. When she was close to overwhelming Cardin, Pyrrha was intercepted by Dove. She leapt into the air, using Milo's dust rounds to propel the javelin against Sky's guard and stagger him. When she landed in front of him she swept his leg to temporarily take him out of the fight.
When Pyrrha saw Sky approach she quickly changed Milo to its rifle form and fired. This managed to slow Sky down enough for her to block the bottom of his halberd. She forced him back by quickly switching from Milo's spear and rifle forms repeatedly.
With his line of defense gone, Pyrrha resumed her attack on Cardin. His mace and her spear clashed for supremacy, though Pyrrha clearly had the upper hand in the exchange. Seeing a rare opening, Cardin forced his mace down in a thunderous explosion, but Pyrrha managed to roll out of the blast radius just in time.
When Cardin slammed his mace into Pyrrha's shield she slid back a distance, allowing Sky to try an attack from behind. He swung the blade of his halberd but Pyrrha hopped in the air to dodge. While in mid-air she saw Cardin ready to strike.
Thinking quickly Pyrrha turned her body to block Cardin's attack in mid-air, using the momentum from the force of the blow to spin herself on the ground and trip Sky. When Cardin tried punching her while she was on the ground she flipped backwards to evade. Pyrrha then rolled over his back, launched into the air, and threw her shield; knocking both Cardin and Sky – who had risen behind her – to the ground.
When she landed on the ground she jumped back again, grabbing her shield in mid-air before landing on Sky's back. She looked ahead, sighing internally at the sight of Russell and Dove rising to attack her.
Please, just stay down.
Pyrrha dashed and slammed her shield into Russell's abdomen, knocking him into the wall. Her exchange with Dove was a bit longer, but she quickly succeeded in forcing him back with a kick.
Not to be outdone, Cardin leapt into the air and slammed down his mace once more. Again Pyrrha evaded the attack. She crouched a few feet back and changed Milo into rifle form, using one of the curves in her shield to steady her weapon and fire at Team CRDL.
Dove moved out of the way, but Russell appeared to deflect the shots aimed at his leader. For the third time he charged Pyrrha, this time spinning himself into a ball in mid-air before dropkicking her shield.
This managed to finally offset Pyrrha's stance long enough for Dove to get in to position. The pair slashed and pushed against the redhead's guard, forcing her to step back more than a few times. They stepped past her and Cardin resurfaced.
With a roar he swung his mace. Pyrrha rolled under it and fired her rifle again. Cardin deflected her shots by spinning his weapon but when he charged, Pyrrha countered with a jumping knee to his chin.
The advantage once again hers, Pyrrha easily dispatched Cardin and backed him away with well-placed strikes and blocks. Again Russell charged.
He is getting rather annoying.
The mohawked member of Team CRDL slashed at Pyrrha with his twin daggers, but his strikes were either blocked or outright evaded by the redhead. Pyrrha spun her javelin's pole around her neck and whirled around, discouraging Russell from getting too close.
When she gained enough distance she threw her shield at him, sending it into the air before knocking him down with her javelin. Holding her weapon behind her neck she fired a shot at a charging Dove, stopping him in his tracks. She forced the point of her javelin forward twice to keep him back. Her shield falling from the air into her hands she pressed the attack, but her opponent jumped backwards to avoid her slash and land back to a revived Cardin.
In his rage Cardin threw back his arm – knocking over Dove with his weapon – and bashed his mace into the ground. A trail of explosions headed towards Pyrrha, but she evaded them all.
It's past time I finish this!
She blitzed Cardin, her fast strikes not giving him any room to counter. Pyrrha launched Cardin into the air and slashed at him some more. When he started falling, Pyrrha propelled herself from her shield and grabbed onto the Cardin. She floated over to his back, pressing Milo against his throat. They flipped around numerous times before hitting the ground, Cardin yelling in pain when Pyrrha slammed his upper back first onto the floor. She then finished him off with a flipping kick that sent him flying back onto his stomach.
She grabbed her shield when it came down, her javelin at the ready should her opponents want to continue. Thankfully the lights illuminating in the amphitheater signaled end of the fight.
Finally. Pyrrha relaxed and stood straight, watching as Professor Goodwitch walked towards her and Cardin.
"And that's the match." The professor announced.
Cardin groaned, his hand firmly on his certainly bruised ribs. "Lucky…shot." he uttered before passing out. His team - also sore form the fight - came to collect him.
"Well done, Ms. Nikos. You should have no problems qualifying for the tournament." Professor Goodwitch praised.
Pyrrha humbly accepted her instructor's words with a gracious smile. "Thank you, Professor."
Glynda looked over her scroll for the next combatants in class.
"I understand that may be a tough act to follow but we have time for one more sparring match. Would anyone like to volunteer?"
She looked to the stadiums seats. A majority of the students in them were from Beacon, but due to the upcoming festival students from the other kingdoms were present in the class as well – like Neptune and Sun for example.
As she surveyed the "volunteers", Professor Goodwitch's eyes fell on a noticeably distracted Blake Belladonna – whose head was currently in a book.
"Miss Belladonna."
Blake instantly shot up and closed her book, her reddened eyes wide in surprise. "Y-yes, ma'am?"
"You've been rather…docile the last few classes. Perhaps you should-"
"I'll do it."
Everyone looked and saw Mercury was the one who had raised his hand. Glynda – slightly surprised at his sudden acceptance – adjusted her glasses.
"Mr. Black. A surprise to see you participating today."
Mercury shrugged. "First time for everything."
"Quite." Glynda looked back at her scroll. "Let's find you an opponent and-"
"You don't have to worry about that." Mercury interrupted. "I've already found one."
"Oh? Who did you have in mind?"
"Her."
Mercury pointed to Pyrrha, who was still on the stadium floor.
"Me?" the redhead questioned.
"Miss Nikos has just finished a match." Professor Goodwitch stated. "Might I recommend choosing another partner?"
"Oh please, there's no need." Pyrrha interjected. "I'd be happy to oblige."
"Cool." Mercury started down the stairs. "Let's get this party started." When he reached the floor, he slowly circled around until he was standing in front of Pyrrha.
The redhead readied herself for battle. In all honesty she didn't want to fight Mercury, or anyone else really. She was hoping to be done with class and quickly head to the hospital in Vale. However, her pride as a warrior prevented her from turning down any challenge. So here she was.
I'll try to end this quickly, but can I do that? I don't know much about Mercury's fighting skills save that Natsu told me he uses kicks.
She glanced at the dust cartridges wrapped around his boots.
When Professor Goodwitch gave the signal the fight began.
Mercury started to run, taking four big strides before kicking Pyrrha's shield. She countered by tripping him onto his back with her javelin. Mercury quickly recovered and flipped back to gain some distance.
He's fast. Pyrrha noted.
She rushed Mercury, blocking his kicks with her Milo and pushing him back with her shield. Mercury slid back on his heel.
"Hm." He hummed in amusement upon stopping.
In the stands the other students – including three out of the four members of Team RWBY – eagerly watched the fight.
"Mercury's pretty good." Ruby complimented to Emerald – who sat behind her.
The dark-skinned girl falsely smiled, but as soon as Ruby turned back around she rolled her eyes.
Back on the floor, Mercury jumped into the air and came down with a crushing kick. Even though Pyrrha guarded with her shield, the force of the attack still managed to make her arm tingle. A few more blocked kicks and Pyrrha dove backwards, switching the grip on her sword so that it was pointing down.
Mercury assaulted her guard with a quick succession of flying flutter kicks that slid her back. When Mercury kicked her shield again, Pyrrha let go of her sword. Mercury attempted to attack the other side, but when Pyrrha blocked with only her forearm he noticed something odd.
Her sword was spinning next to her.
Pyrrha grabbed her sword from the air and guarded against Mercury's assault a little longer before his last kick knocked Milo from her hand and into the ground. Pyrrha seemed unaffected, but Mercury's cocky smirk gave away his mood all too clear.
He whipped his leg around for one final attack, but just as his kick approached the redhead's face she held up her hand. Using her semblance, Pyrrha pushed the metal of the rounds around Mercury's boot slightly off course. Making his kick harmlessly fly over her head. Mercury briefly lost control and knelt down, his back facing Pyrrha.
He took a few seconds to process what happened before humming again.
He turned around just as Pyrrha recovered her sword. Leading with her shield, she aimed to end the fight. The wily young man jumped up, using Pyrrha's shield as a springboard to blast himself back with his boots.
Just as Pyrrha charged again, Mercury turned to Professor Goodwitch.
"I forfeit."
The sudden surrender surprised Pyrrha. She slowed down her advance, stopping just a few steps ahead of her opponent.
"You don't want to try?" she asked him, thoroughly confused by his actions.
"There really isn't much of a point." Mercury shrugged. "You're a world-renown fighter. Clearly we're leagues apart."
Pyrrha didn't take too kindly to his flippant tone. Though she did notice something was off about him. He was holding back.
"In that case. Pyrrha Nikos is the victor of the match…again." Professor Goodwitch announced. She didn't sound too happy either. "Next time you may want to think a little harder before choosing an opponent." She warned Mercury.
He gave her wave and walked off. "I'll keep that in mind."
The bell rang – startling an exhausted Blake – and the students started filing out of the amphitheater.
"Remember the dance is this weekend, but you all have your first official mission on Monday." Professor Goodwitch reminded. "Excuses will not be tolerated."
Emerald stood outside of the class as Team RWBY passed by. When Mercury arrived he smiled.
"Learning is so much fun."
When Ruby, Yang, and Blake exited the amphitheater they were approached by Sun.
"Hey, Sun." Ruby greeted.
"What's up, guys. Where's Weiss? I haven't seen her all day."
"She's been at the hospital since this morning." Yang answered.
"Oh. Looking after Natsu, huh?"
"Yep. She can be an ice queen, but when it comes to Natsu she's the warmest person around. I can relate." Yang lovingly rubbed Ruby's head, but her younger sister pushed her away.
"Knock it off. You're embarrassing me." Ruby grumbled with a blush.
Sun saw Blake walking further ahead and ran to catch up to her.
"Hey, Blake!" He called. He touched her shoulder, prompting her to stop and turn around. "You doing ok?"
"I'm fine." She irritably answered.
Sun cleared his throat. Sensing Blake's less than happy mood he tried to make his words as brief and as suave as possible.
"So I hear there's this dance going on this weekend. I mean it sounds pretty lame but I was thinking. You and me. It won't be." He failed.
"What?"
Blake was much too tired to understand – or even really care – about what Sun was alluding to.
"The dance this weekend!" he clarified. "You wanna go or what?"
"I don't have time for a stupid dance." Blake bluntly stated. She turned and walked away. "I thought you of all people would understand that."
Ruby watched as Sun's shoulders sunk in shame. She empathized with him. Ever since Torchwick escaped Blake had been throwing herself into her research on the White Fang and their plans. Add on to the fact that Natsu had been hurt and the entirety of Team RWBY was more than a little down.
"We should really talk to her." Yang suggested.
Ruby sighed. "Yeah…I know." she took out her scroll and sent a message. "We'll do it when Weiss gets back."
"You really don't have to be here you know. You're missing class."
"What nonsense are you spouting? Of course I have to be here." Weiss placed her scroll back in her pocket. "Besides I've already spoken with Professor's Ozpin and Goodwitch and they've allowed me to take as much time as I need."
"This is so embarrassing."
"Embarrassing as it may be for you, I am not leaving your side until you are properly discharged. So you might as well learn to deal with it. Now quit complaining and eat. I didn't spend my time peeling and slicing these for nothing."
Natsu grabbed the plate of sliced apples from Weiss. A noticeable pout on his face, he ate the sliced fruit as he looked out of the window.
All things considered it was a miracle he was even alive. When he arrived at the hospital, his heart had stopped beating for over ten minutes. The doctors tried to resuscitate three times, but nothing changed. It wasn't until they were about to announce his time of death that Natsu suddenly revived.
As expected he was weak and confused; barely able to form a single word when the doctors to examined him. After running a few tests they concluded that he suffered a severe case of fatigue. However that was just a cover story to pacify him. Truth be told they had no idea what was wrong with Natsu. One minute he was dead on their table, and the next he was awake as if nothing had happened.
They gave him drips, dressed and healed his wounds and left him in a room for further monitoring. The doctors said they would keep him under close observation until they finished their tests. That was two days ago.
"At least I get to finally go home tomorrow." Natsu said. "I've missed two whole days of training. I'm not gonna be ready in time for the festival at this rate."
Truth be told Natsu didn't even know himself how he managed to wake up. Everything had gone dark after the battle with Torchwick. All he could remember was this intense burning in the pit of his stomach coupled with a voice that said to him:
"Wake up, Natsu. Your life is still a long way from over."
The voice was loud and frightening, but for some reason Natsu was not afraid. In fact the voice sounded almost, familiar. He had heard it somewhere before.
"You need to take it easy." Weiss suggested to her brother. "You literally died. Most people would use that as a sign to take a step back and reconsider things…" she sighed. "But you're not most people. Just try not to burden yourself too much."
"Right." Natsu nodded automatically. He was half listening.
"Also…I want you to promise me something."
"What?"
"Promise me you won't eat dust anymore."
"Weiss-"
"Don't." his sister asserted. "The doctors said that you were lucky to put it in your body without exploding in the first place. Your entire body was burning from the inside out. For all we know that's why you collapsed in the first place. Dust is barely stable enough to put in weapons, let alone one's body. So I want you to promise me that you won't do it anymore. You won't put that into your body again." She placed her hand on his. "Please."
Natsu wanted to argue, but the pleading look in his sister's eyes melted that feeling away. When he revived, the first thing he saw was Weiss crying over his body. The tears coming from her silver eyes, they burned. He had seen her cry plenty of times when they were growing up, but never like that. The tears she shed were of agony, sorrow, and rage. Tears that only formed when something – someone – you cared about was ripped from you without warning. Realizing this, he complied.
"Ok. I promise I won't eat dust anymore."
Weiss smiled graciously. "Thank you. Are you done with your food?"
"Yeah. Thanks." Natsu handed the empty plate to his sister, and she promptly threw it in the trash next to the couch.
"Do you need anything else before I go?" Weiss asked.
"No, but where are you going?"
"I'm going back to the school for a bit. Ruby and Yang need me to help them speak with Blake."
"What's wrong with her?"
"The usual. Researching the White Fang and refusing to listen to reason. I swear the two of you are the most stubborn people I've ever met. Are you sure you don't need anything? I can stay if you-"
"Go." Natsu said with grin. "I'll be fine on my own. I need to think about some stuff anyway."
Weiss nodded. She knew the grin her brother wore was a hollow one. He felt bad about making her and the others worry about him.
"I'll be back once I've finished at the school. Please try not to jump out the window and escape again while I'm gone."
"No promises."
Weiss slid open the room door and to her surprise Pyrrha was on the other side.
"Pyrrha? What are you doing here?"
"I came to check on Natsu. Is he here?"
"Yes. He is. Did you bring your team with you?"
The redhead blushed. "N-no. I-it's just me."
"Oh?" A playful grin slowly tugged at the corner of the heiress' mouth. "I see. Well I have a few errands to run, so please, take as much time as you'd like." Weiss stepped past Pyrrha and into the hallway, chuckling to herself along the way.
Pyrrha was more than a little confused. How odd.
"Hey, Pyrrha. I didn't know you were coming."
The redhead turned towards the smiling pinkette in the hospital bed.
"Y-yes. Sorry if I'm intruding." She bowed in the doorway.
"No worries. You going to come in?"
"Oh! Yes! I'm sorry!" The redhead quickly stepped in the room and slid the door closed. "I brought something." She held up a basket filled with various candies and fruit. There were also balloons tied to the handle of the basket. "It's a gift basket from all of us in Team JNPR."
"Cool. You can put it over there with the other stuff. Sorry I haven't been around to help with Jaune's training."
Natsu pointed to a table across from his bed. On it were a few bouquets of flowers and a stuffed pink dragon. Pyrrha placed her gift basket on the table.
"It's quite alright. We just want you to get better as quickly as you can." Pyrrha looked over the other gifts on the table. "Looks like I'm not your first visitor."
"The flowers are from Ruby, Cinder, and Velvet." Natsu explained.
"Velvet? Do you mean Velvet Scarlatina of Team CFVY? I thought her team was on an away mission."
"They are. Weiss told me she ordered those while on her mission. They were delivered and everything. Even came with a note about how sorry she was that she couldn't visit. Honestly I think Coco put her up to it."
"I see." Pyrrha kept up a good poker face, but inside she found herself a little jealous of her upperclassman. "Where did the stuff dragon come from? I hadn't figured you for the type of person who was into that sort of thing."
"Yang gave me that." Natsu grumbled. "She was trying to be funny."
Pyrrha giggled. "Well it looks like she succeeded."
"Whatever." Natsu pouted.
Pyrrha pulled up a chair and sat next to Natsu's bed. When she looked at the IV drip in his arm she frowned.
"Does it hurt?"
"This?" Natsu lifted the arm with the drip in it. "No. Not really. It's more annoying than anything."
"Ruby told us what happened to you. She said you...died." For some reason Pyrrha had rough time forming the word.
"For a few minutes. No big deal." Natsu waved off.
"It's a very big deal." Pyrrha said with a surprising firmness. "You shouldn't take these types of things lightly."
Natsu grinned. "You sound like Weiss, but yeah. I know. I guess I'm just not too worried about it because I'm ok now."
Pyrrha smiled a bit. "When will you be released?"
"Doc said I should be good to go in the morning."
"So that means you'll be out in time for the dance." Pyrrha's voice had a hopeful tone to it, but Natsu didn't seem to notice.
"Yeah. I guess." he replied plainly.
Pyrrha began to fidget as silence fell between them. "So…do you…have any plans for the dance?"
"I'm not going."
Pyrrha found herself shock at this. "Y-you're not?"
"Nah. I was planning on catching up on the training I missed."
"O-oh. I see." Pyrrha's spirits instantly deflated and she dropped her head. Once again not being able to read the mood, Natsu elaborated on his refusal.
"I've never been huge on stuff like dances. I think they're kind of dumb. I also hate wearing suits. Way too stuffy. Are you going?"
Pyrrha quickly looked up to Natsu to answer him. "M-me? I had planned on it, but now I don't know."
"Why not?"
Pyrrha briefly looked into Natsu's eyes before cutting away. "There was someone I wanted to go with…but I don't think he'll say yes now."
"Really? Well that guy's an idiot. You can do much better than a jerk who can't even give you a straight answer."
Pyrrha couldn't help but chuckle at Natsu's words. He truly was clueless. "Perhaps, but I think I'll wait a little longer. Let's change the subject. Combat class was fairly interesting today."
"Ah crap I forgot we had that class today!" Natsu facepalmed in frustration. Combat class was the only class he actually enjoyed going to – even though he would be regularly scolded by Professor Goodwitch for always breaking something. "What happened?"
"Well first I was unexpectedly challenged by all of Team CRDL…"
"You what?!"
Despite her bloodshot eyes, Blake was fully awake – and not happy.
When Weiss returned to school she immediately met up with the rest of her team. She, Ruby, and Yang found Blake in their room, once again looking through her notes on the White Fang. It was clearly time for an intervention.
"We want you to go to the dance." Ruby said.
"That's ridiculous." Blake refused.
"We're worried about you." Said Yang. "This investigation is messing with your head."
"You don't sleep, you hardly eat, and if that weren't enough your grades have suffering as well." Weiss listed.
"Who cares about grades?!" Blake retorted. "People's lives are at stake! Did you forget that Natsu is in the hospital right now because of the White Fang?!"
"No I didn't, but clearly you have since you still have yet to visit him."
Blake fell silent. Weiss was right. Blake hadn't seen Natsu since his admittance into the hospital. She was too busy with the investigation. Ironically one of the reasons she was so deep into the investigation was because he was in the hospital.
"We're all trying to figure out what Torchwick is up to." Yang said to her partner.
"Because of the info we got from you and Sun, we know that they're operating somewhere out of southeast Vale." Ruby reported.
"And the Schnee Company records singled out Vale as the primary target of Dust robberies for the last few months." Weiss added.
"Don't forget about the missing military tech." Yang said.
"But there are still so many unanswered questions." Blake argued. "We still have no idea just what this is all adding up to."
"And you won't be able to see it if you can barely keep your eyes open." Ruby retorted.
"We just want you to take things easy for one day." Yang pleaded. "It's not too much to ask is it?"
"Besides it will be fun." Weiss reassured with a smile. "Yang and I will make sure of it."
"Yeah! We're planning the whole thing!"
"What?" Blake questioned.
"Team CFVY's away mission is going longer than previously expected." Weiss explained.
"So Weiss and I volunteered to pick up where they left off." Yang said. "We'll make sure you have the perfect night."
"Then as soon as that's done we'll return to our search. Rested and ready."
"So?" Ruby prompted the Faunus.
"I think this is colossal waste of time." Blake stood up from her bed and walked to the door. "I'll be in the library." With that she left.
"Great." Yang sighed in exasperation.
"She can't keep up this pace." Weiss said. "She'll break down."
"We have to find some way to reach her." Ruby said worriedly.
"We'll figure something out, Ruby." Yang reassured.
"I should head back to the hospital." Weiss stood up from bed. "I'm sure Natsu is already complaining about how bad the hospital dinners are."
"They're letting him out tomorrow right?" Ruby asked.
Weiss nodded. "The doctors are finished running they're tests for now. So they're letting him go in the morning."
"They find out what was wrong with him?" Yang asked.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. They said it was just an extreme case of fatigue."
"Fatigue? He died!"
"I know. Please don't remind me."
"Sorry."
"Well tell him we said hi." Ruby smiled.
"I will." Just as Weiss gathered her things to stay overnight there was a knock at the door. "Who could that be at this hour?"
"Maybe it's Blake." Ruby hoped.
Weiss opened the door to the shocking sight of Jaune Arc holding an acoustic guitar. He strummed a few notes before singing out her name.
"Wei~ss!"
The heiress slammed the door in his face.
"You do realize that you have to go out the door to get to the hospital right?" Yang reminded her teammate. "Unless you jump out of the window."
Weiss looked to the open window with a contemplative expression.
"No." Ruby blocked the window. She knew exactly what Weiss was thinking.
Jaune knocked again. "Come on. Open the door. I promise I won't sing."
Against her better judgment, Weiss reopened the door.
"I li~ed!" Jaune sang, strumming more strings.
I should have jumped out of the window when I had the chance.
Jaune sang in rhythm with his playing. "Weiss Schnee…would you accompany me…to the da~nce o~n-" Jaune briefly stopped playing when he realized that he forgot what day the dance was on. "Sunda~y!"
"Are you done?" Weiss asked curtly.
"Yes?" Jaune answered sheepishly.
"No." Weiss brushed past him and walked down the hall with her overnight bag in tow.
Jaune's shoulders dropped. Another strike.
"And that is why they call her the Ice Queen." Yang grinned.
Pyrrha and Jaune's blades clashed in their rooftop training area sometime later that night. Though they were minus one boisterous pinkette, the two managed well enough on their own. Even if neither of their hearts were really into the session.
In a surprising turn of events, Jaune actually managed to push Pyrrha back a few steps. After getting over her initial surprise, the redhead swept her team leader's leg. Dropping him to the ground.
"Well done. Your swordplay has improved immensely."
She giggled as she put her sword away and held out her hand. Jaune accepted her help and was pulled to his feet.
"Couldn't have done it without ya." He complimented as he dusted himself off. "How's Natsu doing? You went to see him right?"
"He's doing much better all things considered. You would have never guessed he was in serious condition just a few days ago."
"Yeah that guy always bounces back." Jaune smiled ruefully. "Kinda makes me jealous."
"Shall we move on to Aura?" Pyrrha suggested.
Jaune slowly rubbed the back of his neck and started to turn around. "I think…I'm gonna pass tonight. I'll just go on a jog or something."
"I know it can be frustrating, but you just have to keep trying. We'll find your Semblance soon."
Jaune was still reluctant. "That's not it. I just…never mind. It's dumb."
"What's bothering you?" Pyrrha inquired. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You know you can tell me."
"It's…Weiss." Jaune sulked.
"What happened?"
"I asked her to the dance and she turned me down. I know. Such a surprise, right?"
"Don't worry so much about it. As the saying goes 'there are other fish in the sea'."
Jaune scoffed. "That's easy for you to say. I bet you and Natsu have already started planning what you're going to wear to the dance."
Pyrrha's face burned red. "N-N-Natsu?!" she stammered. "What makes you think he and I are going together?"
Jaune laughed at her embarrassment. "Come on, Pyrrha, I'm not that dumb. Everybody in the school knows you two have the hots for each other. No pun intended."
"Oh." Pyrrha started pushing her index fingers together and looked down. "I didn't know that I was that obvious."
"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." Jaune joked. "You two are going to the dance right?"
Pyrrha thought back to Natsu's answer in the hospital. Even though she didn't come right out and ask him, she felt his refusal of the dance overall was all the answer she needed.
"I'm…not so sure."
"Well looks like we both got some problems with the Schnee siblings." Jaune chuckled.
"It would seem so." Pyrrha smiled ruefully.
"Forget about me though. I bet there are tons of other guys waiting to ask you to the dance."
"You'd be surprised." Pyrrha chuckled lightly.
"Please. If you don't get a date to the dance, I'll wear a dress."
With that Jaune walked back into the dorm, leaving a conflicted Pyrrha alone with her thoughts.
"Pyrrha Nikos."
Emerald opened up the picture of the redhead on her scroll. There was also statistical data on her as well under the picture; compiled over the time she had spent at Beacon.
"The invincible girl." Cinder noted. She had been interested in Pyrrha ever since their encounter during the trip to the mountains. She already knew of her exploits before coming to Beacon, but any new data wouldn't hurt.
Cinder sat on her bed across from Emerald and Mercury who sat on the floor – the latter of the two reading a comic book.
"She's smart, but I wouldn't say 'invincible'." Mercury argued.
This interested Cinder. "Go on." She prompted.
"Her semblance is polarity, but you would never know by simply watching." Emerald reported.
Mercury rose from his back. "After she touched my boots she was able to move them around as she pleased, but here's the kicker-"
Emerald rolled her eyes at the pun.
"She only made slight adjustments."
"Just enough to appear like she's untouchable." Emerald clarified. "She doesn't make a big show of her powers. So it's easy to throw her opponents off-guard and gain the advantage over them."
"People assume she's fated for victory, when in reality she's taking it into her own hands." Cinder mused. "Interesting. We'll keep a closer eye on her."
"Speaking of people to keep an eye on, what about our 'fearless leader'?" Mercury asked.
"Careful." Emerald joked. "You almost sound you care about him."
"Don't read too much into it. It's just been boring without him to make fun of."
"He was rather energetic when I visited him in the hospital." Cinder said. "He even apologized to me for not being able to train. It was quite cute." She told Emerald and Mercury that she was only going to see Natsu to keep up appearances, but this was a lie. In truth Cinder was...worried about Natsu. It was an odd feeling for her. Part of her hoped she would never feel it again.
"Well destroying one of our mechs wasn't 'cute'." Emerald retorted. "How long are we going to let him run wild like this? Torchwick is starting to get on my nerves with all of his complaining."
"Never mind Roman." Cinder waved off. "He'll bark until we tell him to bite. Natsu and his little friends are still no real threat to us right now. Our plans are proceeding right on schedule."
"Well whatever happens, he isn't a match for you anyway." Mercury said.
"It's not about overpowering the enemy, but about taking away what power they have. As for Natsu, he is simply a tool to strengthen our cause. Which we will reveal…in time."
Mercury groaned as he fell to his back on the floor. "I hate waiting."
"Don't worry, Mercury." Cinder cooed. "We have a very fun weekend ahead of us." She held up her hand, focusing on the needle held between her index finger and thumb.
The chilly night air flowed in slowly through Natsu's room window. Pyrrha had left a while ago, and Weiss had yet to return. This left Natsu alone with his thoughts for the first time in days. The time in the hospital proved a sobering one for the impulsive pinkette. As he looked over the bandages covering his body, he realized he still had a long way to go in his training.
He thought of Weiss' crying face again - it replayed so many times in his mind that he had lost count. He hated the memory so much, but he knew he had to keep that image burned into his mind if he wanted to get stronger. He clenched his fist, his forearm veins starting to show as his appendage tightened.
"I have to get stronger."
There was a knock at the door.
"Weiss?" Natsu called.
The door slid open, and to Natsu's surprise it was not his sister who had knocked, but Blake.
"H-hello." She meekly greeted.
"Hey." Natsu smiled at his friend. "I was wondering when you'd show up."
Blake hesitantly stepped in the room and closed the door. She then pulled up a chair and sat next to Natsu's bed. He was happy to see her. The two hadn't talked since he came to the hospital.
Blake was silent for a while, refusing to look Natsu in the eye. Two minutes into her visit she started to fidget, after five she started impatiently tapping her foot on the tile floor, seven minutes in Natsu couldn't stop himself from smiling. It was painfully obvious to him that Blake was trying to find the right words to say to start a conversation. After ten minutes of silence had passed, Natsu spoke.
"Find anything about the White Fang?"
Blake looked up and saw Natsu's grin. She didn't really know why he asked her that question, but she decided to answer it. If only to get rid of the awkward silence.
"No. Every lead ends up a dead end. I still have no idea why they keep stopped stealing dust and started going after military equipment. It makes no sense. We were never the type of organization to do these kinds of things."
"Yeah, but you left, right? There's probably a whole bunch of stuff that they do now that you don't know about."
"I know, and that's what worries me." Blake looked down again. "I'm sorry, Natsu. It's the White Fang's fault, my fault, that you're in here."
Natsu's eyes softened and he reached out to her. "Kitty-"
"Don't!" Blake snapped, slapping his hand away. "How can you just sit there and not be angry about what happened?! How can you be so…so calm! Don't you hate the White Fang for what they did to you?! Don't you hate me?!"
Natsu was taken aback. "Why would I hate you?"
"Because...because I used to be one of them. All of the things they've done, I used to be a part of it. I stole things! I hurt people! I did things that I can never make up for!" She bit her lip in frustration as tears stung the corners of her eyes. "This is the second time you've been hurt because of me, and this time you died! How…how can you still smile? How can you still be my friend?"
Natsu empathized with Blake's dilemma. All of these conflicting emotions welling up inside of her were clearly causing her a lot of pain. Part of her could sympathize with the White Fang's tactics, but she also knew that that the ends didn't justify the means. She knew that in the end their methods would only achieve the opposite of what was intended. It would only make things worse for both human and Faunus. Natsu couldn't really relate to her pain, but he could try to lessen it.
Not knowing what else to do, Natsu reached out and placed his hand on Blake's head. When she looked up, he softly pressed his forehead against hers.
Blake's eyes widened. "Natsu…what are you-"
"I made a promise." He said. "I'll always be your friend. No matter what you did in the past."
Blake sniffed and wiped her eyes free of tears. "What if...what if I did something in the future that makes you question that promise?"
"We'll worry about that later. I don't like thinking that far ahead, but I'd probably still be your friend." He smiled wide.
Blake smiled for the first time in days. "You're an idiot."
Natsu let go of Blake. "I am mad about what happened though. Really mad." he said. He smiled ruefully as he looked down at his fist. "Mostly at myself."
Blake was confused. "What do you mean?"
"I thought I was stronger than this, but I ended up in the hospital because I was a little tired. It's embarrassing. How can I be of any use to you guys if I get taken out so easily?"
"Natsu…"
"Before I even opened my eyes, the first thing I heard was Weiss crying, but she wasn't the only one. You were crying too."
"W-what? I wasn't-"
"I couldn't see it because you were looking away, but I heard you."
Blake gave up. Natsu was right, she was crying that day. She wasn't as loud as Weiss, but the tears flowed nonetheless. They wouldn't stop. It was understandable. Natsu was her first human friend. If it weren't for him she might have still been with the White Fang. Losing him - or any of her friends - because of them would have hurt more than she could bear.
"I don't want anyone to feel that way ever again." Natsu declared. "I promise I'll get stronger. I won't make you guys worry about me again."
The determination in Natsu's eyes calmed Blake down. On her way to the hospital she worried that he had lost some his fire. She was worried that his brush with death had changed him. While she wouldn't blame him if it had, but she was glad she was wrong.
"I'm glad you're ok." Blake said. She looked at the clock on the wall across from Natsu's bed. It was almost midnight. "I should be heading back. I still have lots of research to do." Blake got up to leave, but before she got too far Natsu grabbed hold of her wrist. When she turned to look at him she saw that his eyes were narrowed.
"What is it?" she asked.
Natsu looked upon her lethargic state in the moonlight. Her normally straight hair was disheveled. Normally this would be kind of cute, though in the current situation it was anything but. Her eyes were also blood-shot. She looked like she would fall over if she took another step. "You need to get some rest."
Blake sighed. "Natsu, I'm fine. Besides you should be the last person telling me to rest."
"Please." Natsu said.
Blake's looked into Natsu's now pleading eyes. He was serious about this. Realizing he wasn't going to let this go until she agreed, Blake heaved a heavy sigh.
"Fine. I'll rest…but only for a little while. Then I'm leaving."
Natsu smiled in victory. "Fine by me."
Blake walked over to the couch, laid down, and rested her head on one of the throw pillows. The way she was spread out resembled a cat. Natsu stifled a chuckle.
"Wake me up in ten minutes." Blake said.
"Yes, ma'am." Natsu saluted. "Good night."
Blake grinned. "Good night."
Weiss slid open Natsu's room door.
"I'm back." She called. "I also brought some food from the convenience store. I know how much you hate the hospital's food so…what's she doing here?"
Weiss finally took notice of a sleeping Blake when she closed the door. She walked to the night stand and put the bags down.
"She came to visit a little while ago." Natsu answered. "She was tired so I told her to rest."
Weiss removed both a salad and a chicken sandwich from the store bag. "I'm surprised she actually listened to you." She walked over to the bed and handed her brother the sandwich.
"Thanks."
Weiss pulled up a chair to his bedside. "How long has she been there?"
"About an hour. She wanted me to wake her up after ten minutes, but I think she needs more time than that."
Weiss grinned. "She'll be quite upset when she wakes up."
"Yeah. Probably, but I can handle it."
Weiss started her meal, but Natsu had yet to unwrap his sandwich.
"Weiss..."
"What is it? Did I get the wrong sandwich? I could have sword I picked the chicken."
"I'm going to get stronger." Natsu declared. "Next time we fight the White Fang, I'll beat all of them. I'll protect all of you guys. You won't have to worry about me again."
Weiss smiled softly. "I am always going to worry about you, big brother. No amount of training is going to change that. I know you'll get stronger, but you're not the only one. Me, Ruby, Blake, and Yang are training as well. As proud members of Team RWBY we can't have someone else doing our work for us. Even if he's family." Weiss said with a playful grin. "Now hurry and eat your food before it gets cold."
Natsu grinned. "Right."
The Schnee siblings ate their meals with smiles on their faces, unaware that Blake was sleeping peacefully - a small smile on her face as well.
New chapter up! A bit long, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Tried to add some scenes with Pyrrha, Blake, and Weiss to set things up with the three different conversations they had. Even added a bit of Velvet and a dash of Cinder for good measure. Hopefully they all flowed well enough.
As usual leave a comment/review letting me know what you think. Thanks for reading! :)