Chapter 20: Dress Code

AN: So the Introduction still hasn't gotten rewritten yet. It's been a long week. Something I really need to get to, since a huge plot point that got brought up the previous chapter is currently completely without context.

Also, after more re-reading, I've come to realize just how badly I messed up/forced the issue on the "getting to know you" chapters that were Meet the Brawler and Breaking the Ice. Breaking the Ice was already replaced with How to Kill a Huntress, but Meet the Brawler will probably get a similar treatment. No promises on when, but I'll be sure to let you know when it happens.

More shenanigans! I've been reading on common author do's/don'ts, and focusing on clothing was apparently a big don't. Still, it's a risk I'm gonna take here since I think the hijinks are worth it. Don't hesitate to let me know if I went too far one way or the other. Nora gets to tell a story, followed by Bob trolling Weiss and everyone trolling Kassidy. Also, RWKY isn't color coordinated anymore.

(Perspective: K)

"So, where was I? Oh, right. Ren and I were tearing through the forest, trying to get to the beacon. We'd already slaughtered hundreds of Grimm on our way there. Hundreds!"

Ren interjected to correct his partner's tale. "Our combined kill count at that point was eighty nine."

Nora paid no attention as she continued. "Suddenly, we heard a cry for help. A fair young maiden was in terrible danger!"

"I cussed out a Beowolf that managed to get a slice in on my arm," Kassidy corrected. Nora certainly knows how to embellish a story.

"Lo and behold, our dear friend Kassidy was being chased by a giant Deathstalker! It seemed like the end! But no, Ren and I determined that those foul monsters would not have her! As she jumped off the cliff and swung to safety, Ren cleared out the nearby Grimm while I smashed it with a groundquake-inducing hit, sending it flying off the perilous height!"

The gunslinger felt the need to add some more detail. "It was a forty foot drop. And it turns out inertia is a pain."

"Iner-what now?" Ruby asked.

"Kass, stop making my story boring!"

"Oh, forgive me for taking a break from eating my seven pounds of eggs and sausage."

"Could you explain again why you need to eat that much food?" Jaune was as perplexed as everyone else.

Kassidy shook her head and sighed. "Alright, I'll keep it simple. Mostly because I don't fully understand it myself. Don't get me wrong, your auras are pretty neat for patching up the small stuff. The big stuff too, even. But when it comes to really severe injury, your soul magic stuff takes a back seat. My body's metabolism doesn't really have a limit as to how high it can get. Give it enough resources and something important enough to fix, and it'll generate a bunch of tissue in a couple hours. So, eat a big breakfast, take a nap, and my leg should be good as new by this afternoon."

Weiss wasn't satisfied with the explanation. "And how, exactly, does that make any sense in the slightest?"

"It doesn't."

"I'm still not convinced a ten pound breakfast is what you need, though," Ren remarked. "Perhaps it would be best to keep things to more manageable portions? With more vegetables, perhaps?"

The gunslinger shrugged. "Probably. But the less downtime I need to worry about, the more work I can get done. Also, it's all muscle that needs to be replaced. I need protein to fix that, not greenery." She spent the next several minutes polishing off the gigantic meal.

"Woah guys, I think we found her Semblance." Seven pairs of eyes turned to Yang. "C'mon, don't even try to tell me that stomach of hers is natural. She just ate… like a bunch of her body weight in one sitting. No chance in dust she can hold all that without a little help."

The eight teens started snickering, but then everyone was interrupted by a horrific cracking noise. Kass looked at the cast her leg was in with bewilderment. "Already? That's… odd. Never been that fast before. Oh god, and there's the pain." Hurriedly scrambling to get her crutches under her, she excused herself from the table. "Alright, time for me to go zone out for a while. Nice talking."

Finally drifting out of her self-induced mini-coma, Kassidy felt the world rush back to her. She could hear a conversation in the dorm room from her position on the lower bunk, but unfortunately couldn't see anything. Reaching up to her face, she quickly found the culprit to be Yang's half jacket.

"Yang, what did I say about using me as a coat rack?"

"Oh crap, you're awake! Um, you might want to leave that there for a bit, I haven't finished changing yet." The gunslinger wisely decided to follow her partner's advice, though it didn't stop her from egging the other blonde on.

"What made you think changing in front of me was a good idea?"

"Because you were asleep! Or whatever you were doing. Also, I had my jacket over your face, not like you could see anything."

"That doesn't make it any better!" The brawler finally picked up the jacket from the darker blonde.

"Hey, no fighting on the weekends! You two promised!" Ruby broke up the argument from her perch on her upper bunk, resorting to using The Pout, as Kass had taken to calling it, on her older sister to quiet things down.

"I see you've woken up. By the way, thanks for letting me borrow your notes to study with. You're quite the note taker." Weiss had stepped out from the bathroom, apparently from changing. Oddly, she seemed like she was ready to go to downtown Vale. Ruby and Yang seemed that way too. Kassidy decided to ignore that for the time being, however, in favor of teasing Schnee.

"Holy crap, I just got a compliment from the ice queen. Mark it on the calendar, Bob."

The heiress was not amused. "Don't push your luck, Kassidy."

So obviously the AI decided this was the perfect opportunity to push her luck for her. "Event noted: March 18… whatever year we happen to be in. Received a compliment from Weiss Schnee. Pushing of luck is not advised, however." Yang fell back onto the bed in a fit of laughter as the heiress glared at the computer.

Ruby poked her index fingers together. "Uh, Bob? Maybe try to be funny a little less often? You're not really good at it…"

"Ruby Rose, are you implying that I am bad at joke telling? I take offense to that! Just because I haven't been programmed to understand the subtle nuances of humor, doesn't mean that all my jokes are bad."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure it does mean that." The gunslinger sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, thankful that Yang missed her cast even though she was pretty sure her leg was serviceable now.

"So, you have any plans for this afternoon, Kass?" Alright, Ruby has that mischievous glint in her eye again. This can't possibly end well.

"Well, first things first is to get my leg out of this cast so I can start walking like a competent human being again. After that… probably make more ammo, spend some time at the gym. Oh, my hair's also getting a bit on the long side, should probably go ahead and cut it." As if to prove her point, she reached to her bag at the foot of the bed and pulled out a knife.

Weiss' eyebrows raised. "Just what are you planning to do with that?"

"Uh, cutting my hair? Like I said I would?"

"What? No!" Yang instantly scrambled to pull the knife out of her partner's hands. "That is not how you cut hair!"

Yay, time for another argument. "Why not? It gets the job done. Does it look like I carry a barbershop around with me?"

The heiress crossed her arms as she glared. "Does it look like anyone carries a barbershop around with them? Such shops exist for a reason, you know."

"Just as you know I'm not exactly the most loaded teenage girl around."

Yang, for obvious reasons, continued to try and impress upon her partner the importance of well-kept hair. "That doesn't excuse you from taking care of your hair properly!"

"Hey, I said stop fighting! Besides, as team leader, I happen to have a solution!" Ruby leapt from her bed for her announcement, and had all eyes on her. "First things first, we're gonna head to the infirmary to make sure you're good for a bunch of walking. Then, since your plan for this afternoon is really boring, we have a new plan to have fun today as a team!"

"Alright, why do I get a feeling this was Yang's idea of trying to get me to 'relax'?"

"Hey, it was only partly mine!"

"Anyways… I have decided, after much input from Weiss and Yang, that the four of us are going to spend the afternoon downtown! We can do some shopping, head to the salon, have a good meal, and get recharged for the next week!"

"Hold on. First off, you're going to try to convince me that Weiss agreed we should be doing something besides study or train? Not to mention, shopping for what? I don't exactly have that much cash, pretty much the entirety of the school's allowance goes to materials for making more ammo. And finally, I like my idea better." After getting a look from all three teammates, the gunslinger admitted, "Mostly to argue with you guys."

Weiss decided to answer first. "I admit, this wasn't my first idea of a productive Sunday evening either. But it is kind of necessary. I mean, you only had that one scraggly outfit, and it's been thoroughly ruined. At least I don't have to smell it anymore." Kassidy glowered, but she was cut off. "And as for the payment, I'll take care of it. Consider it my investment into not having to replace a teammate prematurely."

"I'm not sure if I should thank you or be insulted. Still, I can't ask you to do that."

"We know." Ruby poked her fingers together again. "That's, uh, kind of why we didn't ask you. Alright team, let's go have some fun! That's an order!"

"Y'know you can't just order people to have fun, sis."

The team leader, however, squeezed her eyes shut and pumped her fist into the air. "Sure I can! Bonsai!"

The four teens entered the store, evidently named Cornelius' Conspicuous Clothing, and were immediately assaulted by an overeager air conditioner. Kass was really not happy that she was wearing something as flimsy as her school uniform, but they weren't wrong in that her jeans and tank top… I'll just be nice and say they'll make great landfill décor. At least the vest survived. Somehow.

"Alright, so this is one of Vale's premier stores and my personal favorite place to shop." Yang was being even more cheerful and energetic than usual. "Don't let the whole 'premier' title fool you though, they've got some great deals if you know where to look. Which, I do. Ooh, we'll also be able to catch Alex tonight! She's one of the fashion consultants here and a good friend of mine. Don't you worry about a thing partner, we'll fit you with a new getup in no time!"

"That does absolutely nothing to alleviate my worry." Oddly enough, the brawler had let her bun remain intact, which was the only thing that Kassidy was comfortable with in here. Even though she normally liked cold, the AC was relentless in its singular drive to give everyone in the store chills. The garishly advertised wares, the flashing lights, and hordes of staff did nothing to make the gunslinger feel at ease.

Rounding a corner, Yang dragged the group over to a particular staff member who had just finished helping a guy pick out a shirt. "Hey Alex! How's it hanging?"

The girl's head perked up as she saw the blonde coming her way. "Yang? Heya girl, things are going well! And how about you, Ms. Huntress in Training? Ugh, you have no idea how jealous my friends are."

Xiao Long draped an arm over Kass' shoulders and hauled her over. "Look, I have a bit of a crisis on my hands here. This here is Kassidy. We got partnered together at Beacon, and she has the WORST fashion sense I've ever seen. Didn't help that apart from this school uniform she has on now, she had a grand total of one outfit, completely dull green and boring as dust. That one outfit got completely trashed, so we finally have an opportunity to get her into something that looks nice for a change."

Kassidy rolled her eyes. "Yang just doesn't know the joys of being a utilitarian. Really, all I need is a modest tank top and jeans. I'm sure I can work on getting it a camo job later."

Alex leaned over to the brawler and fake-whispered into her ear, "Wow, you weren't kidding. Good thing you got her over here when you did." The fashion expert took a look at her lanky potential customer, gears already spinning. "So, you need a new outfit? You've come to the right place, love. I'll get you set up in no time. You'll be able to kill the guys as easily as you can Grimm when I'm finished with you."

"Implying that I couldn't kill guys with my rifle easily enough." Par for the course, the reference went completely unrecognized by the gunslinger. "Though I don't really know who it'd be if it weren't in self-defense. Cardin maybe?"

"That's not what she's talking about, Kassidy. Ask me later." Bob interrupted the spoken thought process before it could continue.

"You've been saying that a lot recently, Bob. You definitely owe me an explanation."

"Alright, hmm. Why don't we try something a bit shorter than jeans?" Pulling out a pair of knee length leggings and half a tank top that left the midriff exposed, Alex sized up the outfit. "Okay, pink doesn't really go well with you. Honestly? The green might not be too bad a starting off point. Why don't we come over here?"

The gunslinger sighed and turned to the team leader, who was quite obviously enjoying herself more than she should have. "And you're sure there's no way I can get out of this?"

Ruby's grin somehow got even bigger as she popped the P. "Nope!"

The next hour found the tallest member of the team ducking in and out of changing rooms and trying on numerous outfits, most suggested by Alex, but some courtesy of her teammates. Granted, Weiss was actually trying and even shared her sense of practicality. But the sisters… it was pretty obvious their suggestions were merely to see how outrageous she'd look in some getup or another. Those two are having way too much fun at my expense. You will pay for this treachery, Ruby and Yang! After ducking back from her partner's most recent disastrous suggestion of red stockings combined with a black miniskirt and low-cut shirt, the fashion expert took control one again.

Fortunately, there did seem to be actual progress made. Unfortunately, she seemed dead set on blue. At least she's agreeing with me that the darker the hue, the better. Stealth is kind of hard when you're popping with color.

"Alright… wow. I think we have a winner." Midnight blue leggings that dove down to under her boots and a tight sleeveless shirt of the same color, topped off with a black half skirt and leather half jacket, both not unlike Yang's. Ruby and Yang were ogling over how good it looked. Kassidy wouldn't be Kassidy, however, if she gave up that easy.

"So, you have this in green, right?"

"Eh, I'm happy at this point." Yang gave a noncommitting shrug. "I have all the pictures I need."

The gunslinger glared at her, eye twitching. "I swear, if you have a picture of me in that… that…"

Her partner's face instantly lit up. "Maybe. C'mon, don't tell me you didn't like that costume! Can't be afraid to show off every now and then!"

"Bob, be a dear and delete those pictures please."

"I don't know. If nothing else, it'd be fun to hold over your head."

"Ugh, not you too! Fine, you made me do this." Sighing, she resigned herself to her fate. "Bob, I hereby order you to delete all the pictures Yang took this afternoon from her Scroll."

"Now that's not fair. Sorry, Yang. Orders are orders."

"Wha-? Hey!"

"Unfortunately, we don't have it in green. Don't worry, that still looks grand on you." Returning and doing another lap, Alex did a bit more thinking. "Y'know, not many can pull off making simple look good. Also helps you make small look good too," she added with a wink. Yang snickered, Weiss blushed, and Kass was thoroughly confused.

"Uh, let me guess. You'll tell me later, right Bob?"

"Yup."

Weiss decided to step into the middle of things at this point and steer the conversation back on track. "Alright, you've finally got some decent looking clothes, and you even have enough to do laundry at a reasonable pace."

"Hey, don't forget these!" Ruby came running up from somewhere else in the store, carrying a shirt that was obviously a size too large, and fuzzy, baggy pants.

"C'mon Ruby, I'm not even going to try to put those on before telling you I'm not fighting in those."

"Sleepwear isn't to fight in! Sleeping in your combat gear all the time can't possibly be comfortable. Come on Kass, please?" The team's leader decided to unleash her ultimate weapon: The Pout.

"No, don't you dare – Ruby, do not even try to use The Pout on me! It won't work!" The gunslinger faced away instantly. She snuck a peek back, and regretted it instantly as The Pout had somehow intensified. "Goddamnit, something that adorable needs to be illegal. Alright, you win. This one time."

"Yes! Told you I could do it, Yang!" The two sisters high fived as Kassidy facepalmed.

"Thanks for the help, Alex. Been great catching up!"

"Hey, not a problem for an old friend! You be sure and stop by again now, you hear? My gang's dying to hear all your amazing adventures!"

The four teens made it out of the store with a surprisingly small price tag at the end. Strolling out of the store, Yang stretched and sighed contentedly. "Not a bad day so far, girls. Part one of Operation: Get Kassidy to Relax is complete." Kass raised an eyebrow, which the brawler smirked at before she continued. "On to step two: getting you a proper haircut. And yes, I'll make sure they leave it so you can still get it in that bun," she added with a roll of her eyes.