Disclaimer: I don't own anyhting
Chapter 29
Knock
Knock
Knock
"I wonder who that could be." A rather sarcastic feminine voice sounded as she looked towards the door. "Would you be a dear and retrieve your student for me?" She asked in the same tone.
Kyle just rolled his eyes and walked towards the door. "Sarcasm is unbecoming of you sweetheart." He called before opening the door. 'She was right on the money.' He mused.
In front of the door stood his and Roman's protégés.
"Ruby, Neo, I'd almost say I'm surprised." He said looking at the two.
Ruby smiled and rubbed the back of her head. "We know Glynda is probably here, but we wanted to get this part over with quick."
Nodding he let the two in and closed the door behind them. Before they took more than three steps, the two girls were enveloped in a purple aura that held them suspended in the air.
"Hey Glynda." Ruby said with a sheepish grin.
"Ms. Rose… do you have any idea what you've just done in that stadium?" She asked walking towards the two. Everyone in the room knew that at least Ruby could get out of the good witch's semblance if she wanted to, so either she was currently too weak to do so, or more likely, she was trying to appease her. That minute detail made Glynda shake her head internally. 'This girl will be the death of my sanity. Just like her mentor.'
"If we're going with the interrogation can we do it sitting down? I came here knowing you'd be here; we won't be running away." Ruby asked.
Goodwitch glared at the two for a long minute before sighing and dropping them to the ground. After moving everyone to the center of the living room area, the headmistress sent another withering glare towards Ruby.
"Do you have any idea what your actions have caused?" She asked quietly.
"I know what I did looked bad, but I did ask Kyle last night about what I should do." She said looking over to said man. He didn't seem to respond to what she said, but then again, he'd probably already said something to the woman beforehand.
"I'm aware that you discussed this last night." Glynda started with a glare towards the reaper. "That will be a more in-depth conversation later, but I need to inform you of what you've just done. I take it Neo is filled in on everything you are regarding special topics?"
Ruby nodded and Neo gave the teacher a smile.
"Good that means I can speak freely. Ruby you may've had your reasons to do what you did out there, and in reality I don't have any personal feelings towards the girl you harmed, but as I huntress I'm disappointed and furious with what you've done."
"I've acted like that before!" Ruby protested before being silenced by a glare.
"I'm not referring to your actions against young Ms. Sustrai, a pawn of the queen. No, I'm talking about where you decided to pull off this ridiculous stunt! Millions of people across Remnant were tuned in to the Vytal tournament, and they all witnessed one student remove the arm of another. People all over the world had reactions and feelings towards what happened. Most of them were probably negative, as I'm sure you noticed after your departure from the ring. Now for a small review. What do strong negative emotions attract?"
Ruby nodded. "The Grimm." 'Have I furthered her plans more than I meant to?' She asked herself.
Glynda herself nodded. "I'm almost certain that the huntsmen and other personnel are having to deal with increased Grimm attacks on the borders of the kingdoms, and some maybe from within said kingdoms. I-" She was interrupted by a ring tone. With a sigh she took out her scroll. "Yes sir?"
"…"
"Very well I will make my way there now. Is there anything else?"
"I will let him know." She said before hanging up with a sigh. "The headmaster wants you to keep an eye on Ruby." She said directing a glare towards the reaper.
"And what did the illustrious headmaster have in mind for you?" He asked with a tinge of sarcasm.
"The situation at the coliseum has been quelled and the fights are scheduled to continue, though the army still seems to be on the lookout for our troublemaker here." She paused to look at Ruby whistling innocently. "You've been disqualified by the way. I'm needed there to help in case any other surprises occur. Anything you wish to inform me of that I should be aware of?"
"Sorry Glynda I got nothing for ya." Ruby responded with a smile. "But I'm sure you can handle any other nuisances that might spring up."
"Right… I'm not sure of his reasoning, but Ozpin didn't mention bringing you in, so I'll be expecting you all here when I return." She said getting a mock salute from Ruby and Neo.
Once she left for the stadium the room fell into silence. Kyle sat back down on the couch and unmuted the TV to see the current state of the coliseum. True to her words the crowd seemed back to how they were before the maiming, and the matches were set to resume in an hour. Most of the contestants for the final's rounds were back on the platform area waving and entertaining the crowd. However, there was one notable individual missing from the lineup.
"Hmm I wonder where Pyrrha ran off to." Ruby thought aloud looking at the television.
Neo shrugged in response before wandering towards the kitchen area and raiding the freezer. A few moments later she returned with a bowl of ice cream.
"I wasn't aware I had ice cream in there." Kyle said from his seat. 'They probably put it there at some point. Teleportation is annoyingly difficult to track.'
Knock
Knock
Knock
"I wonder who it is." Ruby said walking towards the door.
"You sure you should be the one answering?" The reaper called out to her.
"I'll look through the peephole relax." She said doing just that. 'Huh… not who I was expecting.'
Opening the door, she was met with a nervous looking Pyrrha Nikos.
"Oh Ruby, thank goodness you're here." She said in a relieved tone. "May I come in?" She asked politely.
Ruby stood to the side and nodded. "How'd you know I'd be here?" 'I expected my teammates to check here, or perhaps the army people, but how'd Pyrrha know I'd come here?'
"When you didn't answer your own team's door, I decided to try here next. If I didn't find you, I would've just had to go back to the arena and talk to you later." She said quickly taking note of the others in the room. After another look around, she wheeled back on Ruby. "Ruby I need your advice." She whispered, throwing Ruby for a loop.
'She's looking around paranoid, she seems jumpy, and she tracked me down purely for advice… she's going insane.' Ruby summed up in her head. "What's wrong?" She asked trying to calm the girl.
Pyrrha took a deep breath before beginning quietly. "I'm… really confused right now… the other day you helped me when we talked about our positions as team leaders, so you're the first one who I thought of to talk to this about." She started getting a nod from Ruby. "I've been… presented with an amazing opportunity. I could theoretically do a lot of good for the world if I accept."
"Theoretically… what's the reality?" Ruby probed.
"Well nothing could come of it… but that's the better of the alternatives." She said with a small frown. "If it works, there's a chance I could lose who I really am." She said vaguely.
'Hmm what're they planning?' Kyle thought from where he was sitting.
"Pyrrha…" The rose said getting her attention. "I need you to explain what you're talking about. You came to me for this, so to help you I need to know what's going on." She said grabbing onto the taller girl's shoulders. "Just tell me what the problem is. I'm great at keeping secrets." She added with a grin.
The champion glanced at the others in the room. "Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly.
"Don't worry! Kyle doesn't care, Neo wouldn't speak a word of it to anyone, and I just told you I'd keep this a secret."
"Ruby… I'm going to trust you on this, but you must believe me. I know it sounds crazy, but have you heard the story of the four seasons?" She asked getting a mental facepalm from two of the four people in the room.
"Pyrrha wait a minute." She started before said girl cut her off.
"Let me explain it before you shrug the idea off!" She pleaded but was silenced when Ruby put her hand over her mouth. If she looked closely, she could've seen a look on her young friend's face, but it was gone as soon as it appeared.
"I know about the maidens already." She said clearly making Pyrrha's eyes widen. "As do they." She added nodding to the others in the room. "Did Ozpin come to you about this?"
"Yes… the headmaster and a few others." Pyrrha answered slowly.
"Must've been what that meeting they had was about." A voice added from the couch.
Ruby looked between her mentor and her fellow team leader. "What exactly are they trying to get you to do?"
"The… current fall maiden was attacked, and apparently part of her power was stolen. They didn't seem to know how it was done, but she's only still alive because of some machines she's hooked up to. What the headmaster wanted to do was… transfer her power into me, so it doesn't seek out its other half."
"How were they planning to do this?"
"Some kind of machines they have down there." She answered. "I don't know much about any of it, and they said it was experimental at best."
"They're tampering with souls that's a dangerous game to be playing." Kyle said finally standing and walking over to the girls. Neo was still standing off to the side not really having any contributions to this topic.
"They said it could be dangerous." Pyrrha nodded before looking to Ruby and then the combat professor. "What should I do? I've been thinking about it for a bit, but they said I would have to make a decision by the end of the tournament."
Ruby was silent for a minute thinking about everything she'd heard. She looked to Kyle, but his face was passively blank. "What do you really think about the whole thing?" She asked turning back towards the Amazonian.
"I… I want to do what I can to help however I can, and if that means going through with this then… I think I'd be willing to do it." She said staring to the ground.
'This is so boring…'
"Pyrrha… I won't lie. Messing with souls is something that even I wouldn't do, but if you think that you can do it, and the end result will help others then I think it fits right along with what a huntress should be. Taking risks to their own person in exchange for the protection of others. It's a part of the job after all." She said with a beaming smile.
Pyrrha gave her a small smile in return. "Thank you Ruby." She said quietly. "I really needed this, but I should probably head back to the stadium." She said before turning back to the door. "By the way I don't condone what you did to that other girl!" She admonished as she left.
As soon as the door shut, Ruby's smile fell into a blank expression.
"I'm running out of patience for today." She muttered massaging her forehead.
"What? You did a great job there. Being an encouraging friend and everything." The reaper said ruffling her hair with an amused grin.
"Neo you're doing the next encouraging speech." Ruby said as she fell next to her girlfriend who had relocated to the couch.
"You're the one going to school for this stuff." Neo waved dismissively.
"She's got a point half-pint." Kyle said sitting down with them.
"Ugh…" She paused and went quiet getting the attention of the others. "Would I have ended up like that if I had a normal childhood?" She asked looking to the window. 'Would I be anything like the girl I am now?'
"Judging by your family and respective parents then it wouldn't be too far of a stretch." Kyle offered.
"She's so innocent." Ruby said absentmindedly before hearing another knock on the door. "Neo please." She asked with the dreaded puppy eyes.
Neo while relatively unaffected, shrugged before getting up and walking towards the door.
"Thanks! Love you!" Ruby called happily from her seat.
'Send the mute girl to answer the door, that's a wonderful idea.' Neo mentally muttered before checking the peephole. 'So, it's those three.' She thought opening the door.
"Neo… so Ruby must be here too, right?" She asked getting a nod.
"Come on in." She signed eyeing the twins following Ruby's partner.
"Oh joy, more guests." Ruby muttered half-heartedly making Weiss raise an eyebrow.
"I originally came here to chew you out for that stunt at the stadium, but… you look exhausted." The Schnee heiress said.
"Weiss… if you're going to chew me out then go ahead, or don't Glynda already did that." She said standing in front of her partner.
"If Professor Goodwitch has already done so, then I won't bother repeating anything." Weiss said getting a sigh of relief from the red reaper. "Now… I need to say something she probably didn't." She added looking to the ground nervously.
Despite her initial grievances, Ruby was curious. "Alright… what is it?"
Weiss looked at everyone else in the room before grabbing her partner's wrist and dragging her to a more secluded space. With the layout of the room there weren't many options, so she dragged the cloaked girl into the bathroom.
The four remaining people just looked on confused. Kyle eyed Neo in slight wariness. She could take the heiress's actions a lot of ways. When she felt his gaze, she made eye contact, but she was just as confused as the others.
"You think she's trying to make a harem?" Melanie asked her sister getting an odd look from the others in the room. "What?"
"Before you say something to get us all killed let's like not talk about this." Miltia said covering her sister's mouth with her hand.
Neo was less than amused at that specific idea. Weiss could like and date whoever she wanted, but Ruby was hers. Only hers.
The reaper just shook his head. 'Why're they doing all of this in my room?'
In the bathroom
"Umm Weiss…? I like you and all, but only as a friend." Ruby said raising a hand.
"What? No, you dunce be serious!" Weiss yelled thumping her partner on the head.
"Ow." She muttered holding her head. "That was rude… what is it then?"
"Like I said earlier, Glynda probably did her job or will do her job and chew you out for what you did to that girl. What I want from you is a promise." She said sternly.
"What kind of promise?" Ruby asked back just as serious. Ruby loved Weiss and all, but she wouldn't do anything outlandish just per request.
"I'd like to think I'm getting to know you better and better the more time we spend together, am I wrong?" Ruby shook her head no. "I didn't think so, I know that despite what you might want everyone to believe, you usually have a reason for your actions. A method to your madness as it were. Even if they aren't always the best." She muttered thinking briefly of the leader of CRDL.
"I'd like to think I have a reason for my actions… are you trying to figure out what they are?" She asked neutrally.
"No." She said surprising her leader. "Loathe as I am to admit it, I don't really care one way or another about that girl, but what I want you to think about the next time you do something like that is who's watching? You're my team leader, you're my partner, but more than that you're my… best friend" She said sheepishly. "So at least keep in mind how your actions impact those around you. How am I supposed to talk to my sister about you if the first thing she thinks of is you maiming people?" She asked with a small smile at the end.
Ruby just stared at her partner for a few seconds in silence before smiling herself. "I'll… try to keep that in mind Weiss." She said before hugging the heiress. To both their surprises, Weiss returned her hug.
"I don't have many friends Ruby, and you're really my first. I don't want to lose that over something trivial like this." She said softly. "That may make me selfish, but I don't care. Just be a bit more observant alright?"
"I'll do my best… bestie." She said breaking the hug with a grin.
"Quiet you dolt." Weiss said smoothing out her dress. "We should get out of here before the others start gossiping. I have a strong feeling one of the twins will start that train of thought."
"That's probably a good idea." Ruby said before putting a hand on Weiss's shoulder. "I know I've said it before, but again thank you. It means a lot that you're this… accepting of me." She said awkwardly looking to the ground.
"I've told you before, I trust you, and that hasn't come back to bite me yet, so I'll continue trusting you. Besides… you're one of the few who knows a bit about my past, and you helped me come to terms with that as well. It's only fair that I try and do the same for you." She said opening the door. "Come on you dolt. I don't know if I want to be here when Blake and Yang show up if they haven't already."
"They're coming too?" Ruby asked deflating slightly. This day was going to drag on forever.
"Probably." The ice queen shrugged. "I don't know where they stand with you currently, or where they stand with me now that I think about it, but I don't think they'll be here for the same reason I am."
"You're probably right." The mini reaper said with a sigh before the two walked out into a silent room. "So… what's the awkward silence for?" She asked the group.
"Making sure Melanie doesn't get us killed." Miltia offered receiving an elbow courtesy of her sister.
"Right…" Weiss said looking between everyone. "Well now that I've done what I need to, I'm going to go get some coffee. Melanie and Miltia you're both free to join me, but you can stay here if you want." She offered with a small smirk at the horrified looks on their faces.
"Let's go!" They said before darting out of the room.
Weiss just shook her head. "These two I swear." She muttered as she followed them.
Once they were all gone Neo walked up to Ruby with a frown on her face.
"What'd they say?" She asked with a sigh.
"Whitey asked if one of you was making a harem. I'll tell you right now, I'm not sharing what's mine." Neo signed never breaking eye contact.
Ruby nodded, whipped her arms around Neo's neck, and brought her in for a harsh kiss. After a few moments they broke the kiss and Neo felt cold metal at the back of her neck. Ruby had mercy resting against her skin.
"I'm yours and you're mine. I'm expecting the same thing you are. What's mine is mine, no matter what." She added a little pressure with her blades. "If you break that trust then I will kill you, whether we're connected at that point or not." She said before feeling a sharp point at her own neck. Looking down she saw the point of Neo's parasol.
"So, we're in agreement then?" Neo signed with her free hand. "Just us."
"Just us." Ruby said with a nod before sheathing her blades back into her cloak. The point of Neo's parasol sheathed itself as well.
"I'm not sure that's what most people mean when they refer to 'young love'." Kyle said making the two of them jump.
'Oh my Oum! I forgot he was here!' Ruby thought trying to regain control of her beating heart.
"If you two are done showing your affection through… death threats… then maybe you'd want to see who's at the door." He said.
"Your turn!" Ruby said as she and Neo hid on the couch.
Kyle raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. 'It is my room; I suppose I should open the door.'
Opening the door, he was met by a familiar brawler, and a slightly less familiar cat.
"More people knocking on my door…" He muttered about to shut the door in their faces.
"Wait!" Yang yelled catching the door. "Do you know where Ruby is?"
"What for?" He asked feigning ignorance.
"Have you not been watching the Vytal Festival? Did you not see what she did to that innocent girl?!" The blonde asked growing more and more intense.
"Calm down blondie." He said with a small yawn. "What do you need her for? If she did something stupid, she probably ran off somewhere to wait for everything to cool off. It's what I would do."
"Where would she go if not here?" Blake asked suspiciously.
"There's a few places in the city that she goes to with Neo." He offered.
"The city is a big place, where exactly would she go?" Blake asked again.
"Don't know. Have you tried calling her like a normal person?"
"She left her scroll in the dorm, we found it there earlier." Yang jumped back in.
"Then go find her yourself. I'm not her babysitter, she'll be fine on her own."
"She's your student! She could be picked up by the Atlesian Army if she isn't careful. Don't you want to prevent that from happening?" Yang asked her eyes flickering from lilac to red momentarily.
"Getting caught is a valuable learning experience to help ensure it doesn't happen again." He said sagely getting looks of disbelief from the two in front of him. "If you want to make sure she isn't picked up by Ironwood's forces, then find her first. I'd hurry if I were you, they have a head start and outnumber the two of you. The only thing you can do is think about where she'd most likely be. Your biggest advantage is knowing her after all." He finished.
"He's right I might have an idea! Come on Blake!" Yang said running off. Blake eyed the reaper for another second before following her partner.
'Well that was easy.' He thought to himself. When he walked back in Ruby and Neo gave him confused looks. "They're off to the city to try and find you before the military does." He shrugged before getting hit with a red blur.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She repeated quickly. "I don't know if I could handle them going after me too right now." She finished with a sigh.
"Just remember to know your opponent Ruby." He said tapping her head. "Yang wants to think she knows you the best, so play on that and make it a weakness. You have a habit of coming to me whenever shit hits the fan, so three different groups of people have successfully tracked you here. Well Glynda was waiting for you to show up, but that's beside the point. We both know Ozpin knows you're probably here as well. The only reason the general isn't busting down my door is because Ozpin won't let him."
Ruby looked down to the ground. "I knew Glynda would be here. That's precisely why we came. But you're right about the others." She admitted.
"I'm not saying you made the wrong move, but you were too narrow-minded. You wanted to get this over with, and then one distraction after another occurred."
"Hey Weiss and the twins don't count. I was actually happy about that one." She defended getting a questioning look from the reaper.
'Hmm finally making your own little family huh?' He thought before shaking his head. "Whatever you say." He said dismissively. "The festival will restart soon, let's see what fun Cinder has for the next matches."
Break
Amity Coliseum
"We appreciate your patience everyone, the next match of the finals is about to be decided!" Professor Port's voice boomed across the arena. The fans roared their approval as the screen rolled through the contestants.
"For the next match we have Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!" He called out as the first face was revealed. "And her opponent is… Penny Polendina of Atlas!"
A/N: Well there you have it folks. It is a rather short chapter, but after thinking about it I decided this would be a good place to stop. How was it? More importantly did anything in particular stick out to you?
Oh well odd questions aside. I don't have anything specific I want to add so I guess it's review time.
Hmm I saw a lot of Harem related mentions. I won't shoot anything down, but at the moment I don't know if our two little killers are willing to share.
This one wasn't aimed towards this chapter, but Vilnious if you've reached this point I'll admit that he could've said those things to Yang and made her feel horrible and everything, but at the same time, it wouldn't have really meshed with his character. He has no reason to care about her feelings, so it isn't his business to build or break her. But you're right, had things not gone wrong then everything could've gone full circle and she would be out to get the reaper.
Not a lot to comment on. I'll admit this probably isn't the most exciting chapter, but it's setting things up, and following this one there will probably be two or three more. Leaning closer to two.
Until next time Follow, Favorite, Review, and whatever else you all do.
~Laz out.