Doctor Oobleck's lecture was the same as always.
By this point, all of team RWBY had given up on taking notes in his class. They opted to try to listen instead. They wrote down some of the thing that he repeated. Other than that, the whole period was usually just them staring.
Even though Ruby's semblance is speed, she couldn't keep up with the man. Moving fast and listening to people talk like lightning are two completely different things. She found herself with her hand under her chin as she attempted to watch him move. This was to show him that she was listening, but she was actually daydreaming. She even accidentally let out a snore.
From the tiny noise, Blake grasped her hand in her own to snap her awake. That did the trick as the two blushed at each other. Fondly, Ruby squeezed the warm hand. Her girlfriend gave her one in return and went back to listening and didn't break the hand-holding contact.
Blake's cat ears flicked under her bow whenever Oobleck moved from each end of the classroom, which was every other second. It was official, his mug was filled with jet fuel. She still wasn't used to her teacher being more energetic than Ruby.
Yang had given up long ago and instead doodled in her notebook. Drawing things always ebbed her boredom, and she already knew this subject somewhat well, so she gave herself a break to feel less guilty about totally zoning out. At least she wasn't like Ruby and almost falling asleep.
Unable to help herself, Weiss glanced down at the papers on Yang's desk. Those were some interesting drawings alright. From the mere sight, her cheeks heated up and flushed. She shyly glanced away, an action Yang didn't miss.
"What's the matter, princess?" Yang whispered softly with the wiggle of her brow. "Don't like what I drew?"
Weiss was never one to speak in class, but she had to address that infuriating smirk. "Just when I thought you couldn't become more of a brute."
"What? Drawing them helps me relax."
Clearly, Weiss was taken aback as the blush never left. "Drawing… genitalia helps you relax?"
With a grin, Yang set her pencil down. "I sense judgment in your tone."
"Because that's what I'm doing," the priestess said calmly.
"Ah, I get it," as if that's what she wanted her to say, Yang sent her a smug grin. "Is it because you don't like how they're drawn? I can add some hair if ya want. Or maybe you like the silky smooth ones, the stubby ones, or the skinny-long ones-"
Without interrupting the class, Weiss placed a hand over Yang's mouth. "You are such a barbarian!" she whispered harshly. Before Yang could lick her palm, she pulled away.
Somehow, Oobleck didn't hear the conversation. They kept it quiet. It was a miracle they hadn't been called out. Before Yang could retort, Ruby leaned over her desk to gaze at her three friends. She subtlety pointed to where the professor was standing.
"Guys, look. What is that thing?"
Chilling right by the professor's foot looked like a tiny black elephant. The trunk was floppy and it adorned red eyes as the darkness emanated around its form. It lacked tusks and was about the size of a small dog.
Even the veterans Yang and Weiss were taken aback from the arrival. They'd never seen a grimm like this. Much less in the school. Still, the blonde knew all the types of grimm, so she decided to educate her team.
Yang leaned in to get a better look. Since they were in the middle row, the little grimm was a little harder to see. "That's what Glyn and I call a goliath. Looks like a baby elephant, huh?"
Silver eyes practically melted from the sight. "It might be cuter than the beowolf cub."
The tiny white plates of armor were still developing. Even from this distance, the supposedly steel-like plates looked mushy. If Ruby touched it, she was sure it'd be squishy.
"It's adorable," Blake breathed in agreement.
Just as she said that, the mini goliath stomped. If it was fully grown, it would've shaken the entire school. Instead, a tiny tap noise rang out. This caused Ruby to practically squeal in delight.
Yang narrowed her eyes in confusion as she leaned back in her chair. "This is very odd. Normally, goliaths are in herds like beowolves are in packs. If there's one, there's several more."
"Ah," Ruby mumbled. "Kinda like roaches."
"Exactly," Weiss replied, shuttering a bit. "Pests."
Ruby lightly gasped. "What if there's adult goliaths here?"
Yang shook her head. "Nah, we'd feel 'em by now. They'd shake the whole school. It'd be like an earthquake. I bet there's some more small ones around here somewhere."
Blake nodded in agreement. "Looks like we'll have to keep an eye out."
"Yeah," Yang replied.
Like it was a wild beast, the mini grimm let out a roar. The goliath looked cute, but its howl was menacing. This stunned the team in place. For such a small creature, it sounded like a vicious beast. This reminded them of that tiny beowolf cub. It looked cute, but on the inside, there was nothing but darkness.
After the goliath roared, they watched the black mass ram into Oobleck's leg with all its might. Despite the strong bellow, all it did was tap the tall man.
"Aw," Ruby cooed. "It's trying to take him down."
Like something was bothering him, Oobleck simply stepped to the side as he continued the lecture. This caused the grimm to tip over on the floor.
"Not gonna work, buddy," the blonde whispered as she shook her head.
As the goliath readied for another charge, Blake frowned. "We have to do something about it."
Yang crossed her arms. "Agreed, Blakey. We can't let it roam around or it might cause trouble."
Weiss nodded in agreement. "We'll purify it later."
Ruby beamed a smile.
"Sounds like a plan."
After class, it was easy to distract Oobleck. All Ruby had to do was offer assistance for whatever the caffeine-fueled teacher needed. The green-haired man was ecstatic and gave her a mountain of papers. This was a good enough distraction for her three teammates to whisk the annoyed grimm away.
Even though the goliath was basically an elephant, it didn't weigh much due to the smaller size.
When they were isolated in the halls, Blake held up the irritated goliath as it squirmed. Thanks to their help, the priestess was able to purify it without a hitch.
Since Oobleck's class was their last class of the day, Ruby and Yang headed home after the purification went well. Meanwhile, Weiss slipped into the piano room to do her homework.
However, her focus was broken when the door opened. Instantly, Weiss whirled around to see it was-
"Blake," Weiss greeted, confused. "How'd you get in? I locked the door."
The faunus shrugged. "I can pick any lock."
"Noted. What brings you here?"
From the question, Blake gazed around the room curiously. The piano was on a stage in the theater, which meant there was vast space. It was just Weiss and her papers beneath the closed keyboard. The lights for the stage were off. The lights for the room itself were on, so it wasn't blinding.
"I've never been in here before," Blake observed. "You come in here everyday?"
Since her focus dwindled, Weiss rested her pencil on top of the piano to give Blake her attention. "Just about."
Leisurely, Blake took a seat next to her friend at the piano. "Interesting."
This was idle talk. Blake would only interrupt her studies for a reason. Weiss was no fool.
When Blake took her seat, Weiss gave her a curious look. "Let's not make small talk. Why are you here, Blake?"
In her defensive, Blake waved her hands. "Can't a friend just drop by?"
"Normally you go home with your girlfriend and sister," Weiss pointed out. "I'll ask again. What brings you here?"
The atmosphere suddenly turned dark. As if the lights had turned off. To prepare herself, Blake curled her fingers into the hem of her skirt. She wasn't sure if she should start the conversation off this way, but she had to be direct.
"I saw what happened yesterday," the faunus swallowed the stammer. It was now or never.
"Pardon?"
Clearly, Weiss had no idea what she was referring to. Blake didn't give her enough pieces to complete the puzzle.
Reluctantly, Blake kept her gaze on her lap. She couldn't bear to lock eyes with her friend. She recalled the scene of her father slapping her dear friend in her mind. She had to approach this topic sensitively.
"Yesterday… I may have snuck into your house."
"Don't be absurd," came the immediate reply. "That's impossible. We have security."
"I have shadows."
A white eyebrow rose in disbelief. That was definitely true. Blake could use her shadows in a variety of ways, but breaking into someone's home?
"Let's say I believe you," Weiss began, not at all believing her friend's claim. "How'd you get in?"
"I scaled a wall," Blake revealed evenly. "I had my shadows help with that, too."
"There's no way," Weiss said, still skeptical. "You wouldn't- you're too smart to do something as reckless as that."
Blake's expression told her everything. That's exactly what Blake did.
"You- you didn't…" Weiss mumbled to herself, mostly to help her believe that was impossible.
"I did, I'm sorry," Blake apologized softly. "I-I leaped on your balcony and snuck in your room," from that, Weiss' mouth dropped. "I hid in your shoe closet. You have way too many."
From the revelation, Weiss gulped. That was definitely true. But tons of people had lots of shoes!
"Who doesn't have a backlog of shoes?" the priestess questioned, trying to convince herself that Blake actually didn't sneak in her home.
To shoot down that theory, Blake shook her head. "You have a perfectly good piano at home, yet you chose to use this one."
"That proves nothing," Weiss retorted. "Plenty of homes have pianos."
Such a stubborn person. Blake sighed again as her fingers curled into her skirt. Firmly, she met Weiss' disbelieving gaze. It was time to reveal her trump card.
"I talked to Klein."
That got her attention.
"Y-you wha- you what?!"
There was no denying it now. From what Weiss remembered, she never told anyone about her precious butler. The man who practically raised her. There was only one way Blake could have gotten into contact with him.
She was telling the truth.
"I did," Blake said firmly, lending a smile. "He was nice. I like him. He helped me out."
The priestess was flustered as beads of sweat formed. "With what?" she asked, afraid of the answer.
"He helped me get into your father's study."
From the revelation, Weiss' heart dropped as she sank into the bench. Azure eyes widened as her heartbeat increased.
Blake saw what happened yesterday?
"I saw what happened yesterday."
"I saw what happened yesterday."
"I saw what happened yesterday."
The words replayed over and over in her mind like a resounding gong.
Blake noticed that her friend was out of it and gently grasped her hand. "Hey, I'm here."
Snapping out of her trance, Weiss' worry and frustration warped to anger. "Let me get this straight. You climbed a steep wall, stalked me, trespassed, judged my shoes, conspired with Klein, and snuck into Father's study?"
Ashamed, Blake nodded. "Please don't word it like that. I had no ill intentions."
Those words meant nothing to Weiss as her earlier statement replayed in her head. Blake saw what happened. And she was somehow in her father's study. That meant only one thing.
After a gulp, Blake spoke. "I saw him slap you," she revealed as her throat tightened.
There was no avoiding this now. Blake watched carefully for a reaction. From what she could tell, Weiss was still upset and angry with her for doing that. "Blake, you have no right to-"
"We were worried!"
The sudden shout caused Weiss to shut her mouth. Rarely did Blake have an outburst. She must've truly meant that. Weiss was taken aback. We? This was a team effort? They were worried about what? How? How'd they even find out?
"You've been acting strangely lately," Blake informed with a frown, her cat ears flattened on her head. "It broke our hearts that you couldn't come to your teammates about your home life. Either because you were afraid, or trying to protect us. I don't know the reason, but knowing you, it had to be a good one. We couldn't take it anymore and stand by idly. We tried to wait, but you didn't say anything."
Golden pools almost overflowed as she spoke. The revelation caused any anger Weiss held to wash away. Blake was concerned for her well-being. They all were. Getting upset would only make things worse.
"Blake," Weiss addressed calmly after a deep breath. "I've lived with him my whole life. I'm used to it."
Just hearing her say that caused Blake's heart to shatter. On reaction, Blake curled her fingers around Weiss' hand. To comfort her, Weiss squeezed back.
"It's nothing."
Weiss didn't even notice the tiny rivulets that'd escaped until Blake gingerly wiped them away with a finger.
"If it's nothing, then why're you crying?" Blake asked softly, her own tears escaping as well.
Unable to help herself, Weiss smiled. It wasn't forced. No, it was the most genuine smile Blake had ever seen. Even sincerer than Yang's own. In awe, cat ears leaned back on her head as she awaited the answer.
"Because I have such wonderful friends."
Her voice wavered, but was overwhelmed with love.
The rays from the windows beamed on the two. For a moment, Blake thought she was imagining the warm glow of a halo above her friend's head. A pure angel.
Awestruck, Blake pulled her in for a hug. Since Weiss wasn't expecting it, she stiffened as the faunus whispered in her ear.
"We love you. It's because of that we want to help. We can't do that if you don't come to us."
After the two separated, Weiss looked away. "I didn't want to worry all of you. You can't fix a problem that can't be solved, Blake."
From her reply, Blake knew right then and there that Weiss had put a lot of thought into this. It was heartbreaking as she spoke with conviction. Like she knew she wasn't wrong.
Although there might be no way out of the situation, Weiss was touched that she cared so much. Enough to confront her. Something no one else had been capable of doing until now.
"If it may console you," Weiss began softly. "The slap was weak compared to the other ones."
"Weiss…" was all Blake could mutter.
"Please don't tell Ruby and Yang," Weiss knew asking this would be for naught, but it was worth a try. "It's just when he's angry is all."
From that, Blake grit her teeth. It was hard to listen to Weiss try to justify her father's abuse.
"Please just- don't tell them," the priestess pleaded. "They won't be able to do anything about it. They'd feel helpless. That's the worst feeling..."
Sensing she spoke from experience, Blake reluctantly stood. This caused Weiss to grab her arm firmly, yet forcefully.
"Blake…"
Now the priestess was almost begging. Begging her to not worry their other friends. From the start, Weiss knew this was a losing battle. Blake came in here with a purpose. There was a promise the faunus had to keep.
Blake couldn't bear to meet her gaze, so she looked down at the floor.
"I'm sorry."
Stay dandy,
~Toto