"Would you care to join me?"
Sapphire Fall was not one to have luck with women. As such, he was not one to believe that a random pretty woman would just come and invite him to lunch. Now that the impossible had actually happened, he was not sure how to react.
"Let's see…" he said thoughtfully. "Either you think I'm stupid beyond cure, or you're underestimating me too much. Pick one."
"What on Remnant do you mean?" the student asked with a good natured smile.
She was, if anything, beautiful. She was probably about Sapphire's age, but the vibe she gave off was far more mature than just that. Everything about her, from her long, silky black hair to her radiant amber eyes, seemed somehow reassuring despite the clear danger she presented.
"I merely saw you at the concert," Cinder said, playing the role of a normal female student perfectly. "I figured that as new students, we should get along; we're both strangers to this place, after all. We could help each other out."
"I guess so," Sapphire replied. She clearly had no intention of letting up, so he might as well play along. "Shall we be on our way?"
"Yang Xiao Long! Stop right there!"
"I refuse!" Yang shouted back, running away from her partner.
"Ruby!" Blake snarled towards her leader. "Cut her off!"
"B-but-" Ruby stuttered, before she remembered just how 'persuasive' Blake could get. There was also the time she made fun of Blake's scream. "Roger that!"
"Ruby you trai-" Yang began, but her sister already had her arms around her waist, tackling her to the ground and holding her in place. "You would betray me, my sister?!"
"Now…" Blake panted, glaring at the blonde. "Are you going to… listen to me?"
"I don't wanna be a scratchpost!" Yang struggled, but Ruby was surprisingly strong. She was about to say something else, but the murderous aura from Blake was no joke. "O-okay, I'll listen! K-keep that weapon! Keep that weapon!"
"What're you talking about, Yang?" Blake asked, swinging Gambol Shroud around with a cheery smile on her face. "I won't do anything to you. Let's go somewhere more private, okay?"
Ruby had never heard Yang gulp in fear like that ever since Goodwitch punished her for damaging school property. That being said, after looking at Blake's expression, she could not blame her. At all.
"Now then, have we calmed down a little?" Blake asked, dropping Yang on her bed. There had been the lingering scent of a woman just outside their door, but she would worry about that later.
"I've always been calm, Blakey," Yang said, twirling a lock of hair with her finger. "Anyone would run if you threaten to use them as a scratching post."
"Yang…" Blake sighed. Ever since she had revealed her Faunus nature, Yang's cat-related jokes had increased in frequency. It did not bother her that much, but right now it made her want to cut Yang's hair. "We need to talk."
"You sound like a mom," Yang complained, pouting. "A mom that loooves to nag."
"What's on your mind, Yang?" Blake asked calmly. Before Yang could reply, she held up a hand to avoid hearing another lousy bluff; Yang was a terrible liar, and it may or may not have something to do with the fact that she was Ruby's sister. "Don't lie to me, Yang. You're clearly in a bad mood, and I want to know why."
"What makes you say that?" Yang raised an eyebrow.
"For crying out loud, Yang," Blake replied impatiently. "You've sent two students to the infirmary in the past few sparring classes, and even when you don't hurt them you fight like you're venting your frustration on them. What's going on?"
"I-I just forgot to hold back," Yang lied badly. Blake would have rolled her eyes, if not for her patience wearing thin. "Seriously, why must you and Sapphire insist that I'm on my per-"
"Yang," Blake cut across the fibbing blonde sharply. "It's fine if you don't want to tell me anything, but don't lie to me. We're partners; you can trust me, okay?"
"It's not that I don't…" Yang said guiltily, sounding like Ruby when she got caught with her hand in a cookie jar. "Alright, I'll tell you. Don't tell Ruby, okay?"
"Oh please," Blake scoffed. "You know I'm better than that."
"I guess so," Yang agreed, her mood lightening up a little. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, the blonde brawler continued. "You know how we're going with that impossible plan of Sapphire's?"
"Yes," Blake replied. "I agree it's reckless, but it's not something we can't handle. I'm sure Sapphire has plenty of safety measures in place as well. Ruby trusts him too, doesn't she?"
"It's not that I don't trust him," Yang said hastily. "It's just… I don't want Ruby to be hurt, and every time I think about it I just get the feeling she'll get herself hurt somehow. But you know that she won't just back down and stay behind even if we tried tying her to the bed."
If she's family, don't ever leave her side!
Sapphire's words, louder and far more painful to hear than before, rang in her ears. She had seen, all too clearly, the pain carved into those eyes back then. It was so deep that it hurt just to look at them, and she sometimes wondered if she would make that expression if Ruby ever got hurt.
"True," Blake said thoughtfully, oblivious to the unspoken worries that swarmed Yang's mind. "We've seen what she could do if she really wanted to escape… But Ruby's a competent fighter; wouldn't it be fine to let her fight? You can't protect her forever, so let her experience some danger now, when we're all here to save her when the going gets rough."
"I wanted to, you know," Yang said, more to herself than to Blake. "I wanted to protect her forever, so I trained myself to be strong enough to beat anyone. And now, when I'm selfishly chasing after adventure, she's striving to become a hero, probably because of my influence.
"When I heard she got moved up two years, I was really glad," Yang went on. "Even if it was going to be difficult for her, at least I was there. I could protect her through her time at Beacon. Now we're making enemies of Roman Torchwick and the White Fang… it's out of my hands, Blake."
"Well, isn't that just right for you?" Blake said. Yang turned to her quickly, staring at the Faunus who merely shrugged. "You said it yourself: you just sought adventure, right? Now it's found you, so you can have your fill. You should be jumping for joy."
Yang kept silent. Blake walked over and sat down right next to her, looking at her straight in the eyes.
"You never looked for cheap thrills," Blake said firmly. "I know you're not like that. You looked for stronger enemies to strengthen yourself, so that you could protect Ruby, didn't you? But you know that's not going to solve anything. If you want Ruby to remain herself, believing what she believes, and still survive in this world, you have to let her flap her own wings. You should know that better than I do, Yang."
Yang said nothing, choosing instead to stare back at Blake. She had thought about all those things as well, but stubbornly believed that another method existed. Now that her own partner was telling her this, did she have no choice but to accept it?
"I guess so," she said at last. "Just this once, I'll let her have free rein."
"She'll manage," Blake offered. "She's the fearless leader of Team RWBY, after all."
"You know, if you weren't taken by Sun, I'd totally hit on you," Yang said with a serious expression. "Aw, heck; I'm gonna steal you away from him anyway."
"I'd like to see you try," Blake challeneged. After Sapphire tricking him a few days back, Sun had been extremely protective of his girlfriend. She had little doubt that even Yang would have a hard time dealing with him now.
"Hey, you're a kitty cat who uses bird analogies," Yang pointed out. "I think anything's possible at this point."
"Yang…" Blake groaned, massaging her temples. Yang chuckled.
"Thanks, kitty cat," the blonde said, managing a genuine, wide grin.
Sapphire lifted the mug to his lips, tilting it but keeping his lips tightly clamped. As he set it back down, he made sure to let out a breath of air to suggest that he had taken a sip.
"So, to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked. "Or whatever the phrase is."
"You're as amusing as the rumors say you are," Cinder giggled. As they were – wearing uniforms and having lunch in the cafeteria – no one paid them any attention beyond a passing glance.
"Thanks for that," Sapphire replied. He had Daybreak, Duskfall and Lifesaver on standby, ready to be activated at a moment's notice. However, he was starting to think that this woman was really just here to talk; she had chosen such a crowded place to hold their conversation after all. "And what else are these… 'rumors' saying about me?"
"That you're strong," Cinder answered lightly. "You're good at judging your opponent's strengths, and you're not overconfident, but you're also very careless. Oh, and…"
Sapphire opened his mouth to reply, but stopped dead in his tracks. His entire body was bound in place by an invisible force, as though the very air itself was trying to crush him. All he could do right now was sit there, unable to move a single muscle.
"You're an open book," she finished, smiling at the look of shock on Sapphire's face.
"Dust…" Sapphire cursed under his breath. He had even experienced her skillful manipulation of Dust in their previous battle. How had he not managed to see this coming?
"Your Aura is weak," Cinder stated, using her free hand to gesture towards the other, with its fingers on Sapphire's sleeve. "Wearing special Dust-infused clothing is just going to backfire if you can't control it."
"Interesting," Sapphire muttered, forcing out a fearless smirk. If she wanted to, this unknown woman could kill him in an instant, with the special uniform he had requested from Ozpin for protection. "Alright, you got my attention. What do you want?"
"Well, you've put me in quite a spot," Cinder said, smiling confidently. It was a small gesture, but it radiated with unyielding spirit, striking a stark contrast with her words. "You took out one of my men, and now you've provoked the White Fang so much that they're not even willing to listen to what I have to say. Did you think that there'd be no consequences?"
"Sorry, but I'm not the kind to plan ahead," Sapphire replied. "And for that matter, Mercury picked a fight with me."
"That piqued my interest," Cinder said. "You're skilled enough to defeat Mercury in combat. That's impressive talent."
"What can I say?" Sapphire asked. "I just gave him a good kick to the balls. Works on any man."
"Tell me, why do you fight?" Cinder fired back. Her real goal lay elsewhere, but it was also true that this boy interested her somewhat. Why that was, even she did not know. "Are you fighting to protect this pathetic world and its outrageous rules?"
"No, I despise it," Sapphire answered seriously. "I hate this world, and I couldn't care less if it went to hell. What're you trying to get at?"
Cinder smiled lasciviously, leaning in towards Sapphire, who just sat that unable to move or defend himself. As long as Cinder's fingers touched his uniform, he was powerless to resist.
Her expression was one of overflowing confidence and triumph, but Sapphire was sure he had seen disgust in those eyes – a fleeting sense of disgust aimed at him, fueled by an anger that was cleverly hidden.
"If that's how you feel," she whispered into his ear. "How about joining me?"
Yeah, kinda beating a dead horse with Yang here. Don't worry, that'll stop this chapter! Gonna be moving into the fighting in about 2 or so chapters, after this setting up is done.
And yes, the first face-to-face meeting between Cinder and Sapphire. Took them 36 chapters to even talk. Sheesh.