Weiss had watched more action movies the past few months than most people saw their whole lives, constantly fighting back and forth with Winter over the remote, trying to turn it to something more sensible like the Real Housewives. Anyway, the point is that Weiss had seen plenty of people getting punched in the face lately, but Yang's fight was like something out of a horror movie.
Yang's face looked like a bruised fruit, with most of her face painted in purple and yellow bruises. Her left eye was swollen nearly shut and she had welts covering her skin. She stumbled as she circled Neo, who was just as wobbly on her feet. The shorter girl still had both of her eyes, but her breathing was ragged and her chest was splotched with a rainbow of bruises.
The arena was magnetic, it was the tenth round and the crowds were all on their feet cheering like it was the world series. "Let's go Yang, put her down on her butt!"
"Show Haven who's the boss!" Pyrrha and Nora cried, their voices hoarse and cracking as they fought through the pain.
"One more punch!" Jaune cried, flinching as Penny clutched onto his arm so tight her nails nearly broke the skin. Ren and Yatsutashi were clapping and hollering, too busy tracking every punch to talk.
Blake was in the front row next to Port, standing like a statue with her arms wrapped around herself as she watched Yang. Her eyes were unmoving, but her lips were moving like a blur. Port was standing next to her crying something to Yang that only she was likely to hear, but he would pause and nod to Blake every few seconds before adding a few quick words of his own.
Even the nosebleeds and the second floor were crying out for more, hoping to be on the side of the school left standing. The upper seats were full now and people were even leaning over the rails to get a good view of the action.
The only one aside from her in the entire gym that seemed to be quiet was the one she expected to be the loudest, Miss Ruby Rose. The girl who had made her own Yang shirt to support her sister and who was talking so much smack before the match was sitting in her chair absolutely still, her eyes unblinking as she stared at the match.
The nervous energy that had been leaking out of her earlier had all dried up, leaving her bouncing feet glued to the ground and her smile dust in the wind. Her eyes were dull steel, and everything about the girl seemed off. Qrow's hand was still on her knee, and Weiss could see the girl clutching his sleeve.
"Ruby, do you think she can win?" Weiss asked hesitantly, turning as Yang fell out of the way of Neo's punch. The girl didn't move, blink, or even seem to breathe. "Ruby?" She said, reaching out and touching her shoulder.
"No!" Ruby cried, jumping a foot in the air and slapping Weiss's hand away like it was on fire. Weiss recoiled, pulling her hands away, holding them close to her chest. For a moment, the people near them quieted and stared at them, Jaune, Penny, Pyrrha, and all the others turned towards them for a moment, but all of them turned away when their eyes landed on Qrow's hand.
"Are you ok?" Weiss asked, her heart racing as her face turned crimson.
"Oh, no, what? No! I'm fine," Ruby panted with one hand on her chest and the other gripping Qrows wrist so hard it was a miracle his fingers didn't turn blue.
"You just screamed, kid. Fine isn't the right word," Qrow said, sitting up straighter and looking towards them, his cold eyes lingering on Weiss.
"I got spooked, that's all. I was watching the fight," Ruby said stubbornly with a pout.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Weiss said, turning away from the two of them and turning back to the fight, but she didn't feel like watching anymore.
"Hold on, that's not what I meant! You didn't scare me that bad, it was just sort of… Unexpected. It happens though, no reason to apologize," Ruby said, rubbing the back of her neck, her eyes low.
"Sorry. I mean, I'm not sorry. I am, but I don't wanna keep saying it," Weiss said, her tongue quickly tying itself in all sort of neat knots, "I also wish I could speak a sentence like a normal person,"
"Tell me about it," Ruby sighed, looking back towards the ring only to flinch when Yang took another hard hit to the chest.
"It must be pretty hard watching her get hit,"
"It's sort of like swallowing nails every time I see her take a punch. Not that I've ever done that, but it feels pretty close," She said, chuckling like she'd said a joke.
"That's awful, I don't know how you can deal with it," Weiss said, looking at her again and seeing that she was almost as pale as her and Winter were normally.
"Usually by breaking my hand," Qrow said again, holding up which was still being held in a vice by Ruby.
"Oh yeah, and that. I also do that," Ruby giggled, slowly releasing her grip, but she instantly looked stiffer when she stopped touching him.
"I was kidding, you don't have to let go," Qrow said awkwardly, leaving his hand where it was.
"I'll be fine, don't worry about it you old grump," Ruby said confidently, but Weiss saw how her eyes danced around the fight and how her hands were back at work twisting the nut and bolt again.
"I know it's distracting, I'll stop," Ruby said when she noticed Weiss's prying eyes.
"It's fine. Sometimes you just have to move. When I watch a scary movie I always end up pacing in the kitchen as I watch it, can't sit still," Weiss said, trying to sound comforting.
"You too? It's fun isn't it?"
"Oh, amazing, not annoying at all that I can't just sit there,"
"At least your brain isn't constantly jumping from one thing to the next. It's fun until I'm trying to work and I'm suddenly thinking about bunnies,"
"Bunnies?"
"They're soft and fluffy, and for some reason, my brain always jumps to them when I weld! It's so weird," Ruby laughed, scratching the back of her head.
"Sounds about as bad as thinking about horses in math class,"
"That's not weird though, that's just cool!"
"You think a lot of stuff's cool, don't you?"
"Yeah, but it doesn't hurt that you're really cool," Ruby said, leaving Weiss at a loss for words.
"Thanks. Uh, you are too," She said in broken English, trying her best to take the compliment. The two of them slid into awkward silence after that, the sounds of the cheering suddenly felt quiet next to Ruby, whose silence was deafening.
Weiss tried thinking about something else to say, something about the fight maybe, but nothing was coming to mind. Every option she thought about bringing up suddenly felt stupid, and not worth the girl's time.
"So, what-" But as Weiss was about to ask about what time of shampoo the girl used, she was saved when Yang took a hard hit. The gym went quiet for a single drawn-out moment like it was waiting for something, then a hard thud echoed through the room as Yang fell on her back.
"Get up, Yang!" Qrow called out, watching as Yang gasped on the ground, quickly followed by the entire gym exploding into a chanting chorus. Weiss's ears hurt as everyone around her tried their hardest to coax Yang up.
As much as Weiss cared about the fight, that wasn't where her attention was at now. She was watching as Ruby bit her lip, looking like she was about to cry. Qrow put his hand on her knee again, but she pushed it away as she stood up.
"I gotta go to the bathroom," She said to nobody in particular before rushing past her and up the stairs to the second floor. Weiss wanted to say something, but she was gone before she knew what had happened. Everyone around them cast her a glance as she walked by, but none of them even made a move to stop her.
"Is she going to be ok?" Weiss asked, leaning in close to Qrow.
"She'll be fine, she usually leaves before the end. That warning at the start wasn't just for you ya know,"
"Oh, I… I had no idea. Should we just leave her alone? Should we do something? I-I'm not really sure,"
"She'll come back when she's ready, which is usually after the match. Just give her some time and she'll be fine," Qrow said in a lazy voice, while his hands were clenched fists at his side.
"But- She's all alone. Shouldn't someone go and do something?"
"Ruby's never alone, she'll make friends anywhere she goes,"
"But that doesn't mean she likes it that way," Weiss said, imagining all the time she spent alone under the stairs. Sure she liked not having to stress out over anyone, but it would've been so much nicer if she'd had someone with her.
"Trust me, the rest of us have tried," Qrow said, nodding back to the row of high schoolers behind him, all of whom spared a glance at Ruby as she disappeared into the second floor. "She doesn't even like coming to these things if I'm not here, and I don't try and stop her when she leaves anymore. "
"Oh… Alright then," Weiss said begrudgingly, sitting down and watching as Yang forced herself to stand on legs that would probably get blown over in the wind. Seconds ticked past, but they felt like hours.
Weiss looked up at the second floor, trying to see any red hair coloring in the crowd but only finding cheap knockoffs. The crowd was roaring, but that only distracted her from her search.
"If you're worried then do something about it," Qrow sad cooly, eying her down with a steely gaze that left her wondering how this guy got a job as a teacher.
"Maybe I will," Weiss said defiantly as she stood up.
"We'll see," he said darkly, like it was a challenge, before turning back to the ring and ignoring her. Weiss huffed and turned away from him, walking up the stairs and past all of the incoherent fans. Weiss halfway expected someone else to come with her, but all of her friends stayed put, probably because they hadn't noticed her leaving or because they didn't think it would do anything.
Still, Weiss carried on until she was at the top of the stairs and was being pushed around by the fans. Weiss looked out across the gym from her new vantage point, but it was like trying to find a red-tipped needle in a screaming hay stack. Whatever that was.
"Where are you?" She whispered as she started walking around the edge of the track, looking over people's shoulders from time to time hoping to see some sign of her. Weiss forced herself through the thick sea of people going towards where they entered, thinking the bathrooms over there was a good place to start.
"You ok, kid? You look like you're looking for something," said a voice from somewhere in the mess of people, but Weiss wasn't sure it was even talking to her until she felt a hand on her shoulder.
The woman had turned away from her spot at the rail and was looking at Weiss with concerned eyes. She was tall, lean, and had a surprisingly hard grip on her. Her hair was black and wild, rolling down her back in thick waves that probably hadn't been cut for years.
"Yeah, have you seen a girl with red tips in her hair come by here? Probably looked upset?" Weiss asked, surprised when the woman nodded.
"She went through the main entrance, is she ok?" She wondered, her face a mix of worry and something Weiss couldn't place, but it made her feel uneasy.
"I think so. Probably. God I hope so,"
"It's good you're worried about her, everyone needs someone like that," She said, letting Weiss go, but not turning back to the fight. "Do you know Yang?" She asked, her voice all but a whisper.
"We're… friends. Do you know her?" Weiss said, the word sticking to the roof of her mouth like peanut butter as she spoke. The woman had a sad smile on her face and nodded.
"Not really, she's just a good boxer is all. Someone special," She said softly, leaving Weiss feeling like there was more to be said, "Good luck with them, you'll need it," She said, turning back to the fight, their conversation over.
Weiss felt like something was wrong, but ignored it and started rushing through the crowd. Once she'd gotten far enough away Weiss looked back towards the woman but found that she was already gone.
The table which had been guarded so thoroughly earlier was now abandoned, with the woman who had been sitting there screaming over the railing at Yang as she landed a hard hit on Neo. The cash box was clutched in her arms though, so at least there was no chance of the team getting robbed. This just also meant that there was no chance she'd seen Ruby if she was cheering.
Then, Weiss felt stupid. She walked out of the gym and walked past the bathrooms, walking towards the once place that Ruby was sure to go, the Robotics room.