Author's Notes

*Materialize from the unconceivable depth of the web*

I LIIIIIIIIIIVEEEEEEEE

For a certain definition of life. This chapter has been a long time coming. Would like to say life happened (which to a degree it is true), but honestly, I'm just sucky at being diligent.

Doesn't help that I still feel like I'm in that period of life of starting a new job in a new place without friends close by. But that's a different matter.

I'm intent on finishing this fic and with only two more chapters left, the end is on sight and that does a lot for pushing you forward.

Let's go!

Chapter 10: "Art"

Something was floating in the air. Ruby could feel it. And there was only one proper explanation to this inscrutable feeling.

"Cardinal," the fox girl she was sparring with hissed venomously, having felt the same change in the currents of time and space.

Ruby nodded. "Want to call it a day and prepare for when Cardin drags us to whatever scheme he planned for today?"

"But it isn't even eight in the morning!" Paprika cried. It was a bit early to deal with whatever insanity awaited them.

"Come on," Luna cheered, skipping from where she has been idling with Poppy on the bleachers afforded to the training room. "It's not like there's ever a dull moment with Cardinal."

"They left me for dead on a burning building!" Ruby accused.

"They hit her on the face with a football after flashing her sexual fantasies to her face," Paprika added.

"That same day, Cardin also aired her underwear to the public, literally. Or at least he made her believe so," Poppy chipped in.

"There was also the funeral he held for you."

Luna nodded sagely. "And let's not forget the part where Cardin also almost got her eaten by a King Taijitu."

"Or got her stuck in a restaurant with his father."

"And got her married to himself on his mother's mind."

"And his half-sister's mind, too."

Ruby gaped. "Why do I even hang out with him!?" What has her life become?

"Aren't you listening?" Luna asked. "There's never a dull moment with Cardinal. Oh, speak of the Devil! Hi Cardin!"

The assembled skulk of girls turned to see one Cardin Winchester approach them as he entered the training room. His appearance only merited one correct response.

"Cardin… are those Coco's beret and sunglasses?"

Indeed. Rather than his usual attire, Cardin was stylishly dressed in rich shades of white, cream, and brown, with a light and tailored shirt, its collar with a few buttons left to their own device at the top and rolled-up sleeves to his elbows, loose pants rolled up to his calf, and sport sandals. Tying everything together were the infamous beret and sunglasses of Beacon's premier (and feared) fashionista, Coco Adel.

"You do know there are easier ways to commit suicide than 'via Coco Adel', right?" Paprika asked, already mentally practicing her eulogy for Cardin's funeral.

"You look good, Cardin," Luna complimented, briskly walking and looking around the boy, taking in every detail, like the bead bracelets on his left wrist and right ankle, and the probably fake tattoo on his forearm. It was definitely a look. Not the look of a Huntsman, but nonetheless a look meant to lead eyes towards him. "Do you want to be buried wearing that?" That won't stop Coco from murdering him once she finds out.

"At ease. Daichi already agreed to take the fall for me."

"You killed Yatsu!?" Ruby asked in disbelief. How could someone be so heartless as to throw such a gentle soul into the belly of the beast?

"Ok, first of all, if anything, I signed his death warrant. The man is pretty much alive, and you can find him writing his will in his dorm. And second, that first is null. This was out of his own volition. He said he was already a dead man after eating Adel's and Scarlatina's nuts. Might as well do something that actually deserves the capital punishment instead of being remembered as the guy who got kill after munching on his female partners' nuts."

With each mention of the word, Ruby and Poppy winced. Paprika weathered a headache while Luna gave unladylike chortles.

"Do you really need to phrase it like that?" Ruby asked.

"Get your head out of the gutter, Rose. Daichi literally reached out and fondled those two's nuts before popping them into his mouth."

Luna broke out laughing at that and even Poppy couldn't help but curl her lips upwards as she refrained from joining Luna.

"Now you're just doing it on purpose," Ruby pouted.

"He's been doing it on purpose from the very beginning. Real mature, Cardin." Paprika sighed. "But that's not the reason you're here. Spill it out. What is it?"

"Right. We are organizing a trip to the Vale's Museum of Modern Art. Get ready. We leave in thirty."

The museum? That was… an odd venture. "Is there an event there?" Ruby asked.

"Glad you ask, Rose. There is, in fact, an event." He whipped out his scroll and showed them a flyer with the promotion. "Open exhibition for all up-and-coming artists to showcase their mettle. And as an up-and-coming auteur myself, it is my duty, my call – nay – my raison d'être to go there and show those philistines what REAL art is meant to be."

"…That's not the meaning of the word 'auteur'," Paprika deadpanned. Then sighed. "This is about the handegg field, isn't it?"

"You are the reason this is necessary," Cardin accused her.

"Tsk, tsk," Luna clicked her tongue in disapproval. "Bad Paprika. You put us on the bad timeline. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Paprika rolled her eyes and drawled. "We truly are the architects of our own downfall…"

-o-

Vale's Museum of Modern Art was, paradoxically, a very traditional building with weathered stonework, arching thresholds, and tall pillars that belied its storied life. Originally meant to be a seat of power to the newly minted Council after the term 'Kingdom' became antiquated 81 years ago, the building was eventually phased from its original purpose as modern accommodations were constructed to better serve the needs of a growing 'kingdom', which wasn't a kingdom. Why has no one ever bothered to fix that terminology? Was there a royal family somewhere in Vale? Currently leeching off the taxes of the people as figureheads paraded every two years?

Ruby was not big on the aspects of the Vytal Festival that didn't have to do with gladiatorial matches between children, so it was entirely possible there was a royal family scuttling around, whose only purpose of being was to contribute to the ever-growing wealth inequality.

"Careful, Rubes. Think any harder down that line and you'll find yourself hunting down the aristocracy and relieving them of their burdensome heads," Paprika teased as they approached the anachronistic building.

"When has that ever happened?"

"Mistral, some couple of hundred years ago," Sky explained to Luna. "Something about a queen eating cake." He brought a hand to his chin in thought. "Or was that just another of those ancient textbooks? Maybe it was a queen reading said ancient textbooks and learning all the wrong morals."

"Remnant's history is a mess," Ruby concluded.

"Good thing we are going to a museum, then."

Ruby stared at Luna, then at the 'museum'. Then at the banner promoting open doors to every self-proclaimed fledgling artist who wants to exhibit to the world their work nobody asked for, promising an eventful day full of incomprehensible wonders and abstract non-Euclidean shapes to baffle the mind… whatever that means. Frankly, it sounded like a medley of buzzwords mashed together without rhyme or reason. Just the kind of thing an eccentric millionaire with the disposable income to buy an old building and turn it into a museum of modern art would plaster on the walls of said building.

Why was Cardin so enamored with the prospect of coming here today?

Ruby looked at Cardin, who was taking a deep breath. "Can you smell that? Smells like endless opportunities to educate the barbaric masses and bring some goddamn culture!"

Riiiiiight… sanity jumped off Beacon's cliff and never looked back. How could she have forgotten that? She missed the old sap. Always a trooper that one.

"Ruby," Paprika said, "your internal monologues are not making you any favor in establishing you as the only sane woman in the land of crazies."

"You think I still care about any of that?" Ruby asked as she began following Cardin into the building. "I've given up on making sense on a world hellbent on unraveling at its seams."

"Probably for the best, Miss Rose."

Ruby, and all the students surrounding her minus Cardin – who was too focused on the task at hand – jumped away at least two meters from the epicenter of the voice.

"Glyn!? What are you doing here?"

Glynda Goodwitch stood stoically, unfazed by the overreaction of her students. She did raise a brow at Ruby. "Miss Rose, I do hope that verbal tic of calling me 'Glyn' doesn't extend beyond the break."

"Where did you come from?"

"My mother's womb?"

"Way too far. Today."

"A taxi."

"Not far enough," Ruby sighed. "You're doing this on purpose."

"You don't say," Glynda drawled. "To paraphrase you, in a world of crazies, you either adapt or get swept by the current. And I was this close to tossing Ozpin into those tacky gears of his."

"Do it!" Ruby cheered on. "My family fortune depends on it!"

"Later, Miss Rose."

"Ozpin was about to rope you into some scheme, wasn't he?" Paprika guessed.

Glynda nodded. "And this is why you're my favorite second-year, Miss Spice. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Especially Miss Adel." She looked at the looming building. "Admittedly, I was interested in this. Heard there's an exhibition mocking the upper crust of the Huntsmen and Huntresses of our time."

"Wouldn't that include you, Miss Goodwitch?" Luna asked.

"If it means I get to laugh at Ozpin, James, and Ruby's it's-complicated parental figure ("HEY!"), then I can smile and laugh self-deprecatingly at myself." She smirked. "And who knows? Maybe I'll meet the artist and make a modern piece of art myself with a human marionette."

Everyone took a step away from Glynda 'Motherfucking' Goodwitch.

"Wouldn't that be illegal?"

Glynda uncharacteristically snorted at Miss Brite's remark. "Who's going to stop me? Now if you excuse me, I can actually make people stop their tomfoolery and I need to stop Mister Winchester from ripping that guard apart for being 'an uncultured, Neanderthalic swine'."

The student body watched owlishly as Glynda went to, contrary to their expectation, shred what little dignity remained in the guard with more efficiency that Cardin could ever hope so. The auburn-haired boy looked admiringly at Glynda.

"The end of the break cannot come fast enough," Ruby muttered. A round of agreement swept through the student body.

-o-

"I want my money back."

"You didn't pay any money, Rose. Entrance was free."

"What kind of business model is that?"

"Have you seen the prices of the hot dogs at the cafeteria?"

Ruby opened her scroll and browse the museum's app, searching for the food menu. Her eyes bulged. "TWENTY LIEN FOR A HOT DOG!?" She looked up at Cardin in astonishment. "THAT'S CRIMINAL!"

"Inner voice, Rose," Cardin groused as he set up his display.

"I rather Torchwick rob me naked than pay this scam!"

"Is that rob you until you're devoid of decency, or rob you while he's devoid of decency?"

"Yes!" She took another look at the prices. "This is extortion. Extortion!"

"This is art." Cardin put the final touches to his art display. "What do you think?"

Ruby looked carefully at the picture Cardin had meticulously put on display on a tripod. She bathed in the vibrant greens with her eyes. Drank the saturated blues with her pupils. Carefully traced the white of the photograph to a degree her irises darted frantically across her similarly white sclera. And in one singular moment of blinding enlightenment, she came to an undisputable epiphany.

"It's a handegg field."

"…Just get the hell away from me and badmouth someone else," Cardin dismissed her, waving her off without a second look. "I have no need for your brand of negativity, and I refuse to deal with your boorish, peasant ways any longer."

Ruby shrugged. If Cardin wanted to play the fool and pass a mediocre photography of an empty football field as a work of art, more power to him. Frankly, he could use the reality check.

"What a fascinating piece of light imprint."

Ruby… stared. She just stared at the older man complimenting Cardin's photograph. 'Light imprint'? That's one way to call a photograph, but…

"What a magnificent use of atmospheric illumination!" Another lady said, joining in the admiration.

Atmospheric illumination? It was the sun! Do these people go outside?

"I particularly like the contrast between the green and the blues," yet another woman appraised.

"I believe that's the heart of this work!" Cardin stated proudly.

Ruby walked away. She should have done that when everybody else did at the beginning. She had stayed behind to provide moral support to Cardin. That was a mistake. If his teammates didn't stick around, she should have cut her losses and make a run for the hills. Maybe she just lacked an eye for fine art. Or, more likely, people were praising Cardin's artistic acumen just to spite her, and she was going to end up insulting someone if she didn't leave.

It was an aimless walk around the museum. Most of the art pieces consisted of incomprehensible canvases or nonsensical sculptures. Ruby didn't get it and even without paying a single lien, she felt cheated. She was beginning to believe she really lacked an eye for the fine arts, and it wasn't just Cardin sucking at it. Where were the weapon schematics? The visual stories? The sense to it all?

Every now and then she stumbled upon a display that might potentially catch her attention. Humans acting like statues (Which bored her quickly). Performers reacting to prompts from the audience (which was fun at first, but quickly devolved into a game for kids. At least the little munchkins were happy). Or a banana nailed to the wall, eliciting the weirdest urge to nab it and eat it.

"Truly makes you long for the original use of the term 'art', doesn't it?"

"Gah! Paprika! Where you came from?" Ruby looked at the object on the fox faunus's hand. "Please tell me you didn't pay twenty lien for that thing."

The fox girl took a bite of her pretzel. "Of course not. I flirted with the cashier to get it for free."

"That works?"

"Aphrodite of the modern era, Ruby," Paprika reminded the red reaper. "I was thinking of later picking up ice cream. Wanna try it out?"

Ruby squirmed at the idea of using her feminine wiles to get free food. It didn't sit right with her. But… if it was to stop armed robbery, it was ok, right? She shook her head violently. 'Don't fall for that line of thought,' she thought, dispelling the tiniest shadow of temptation. Walk away. That's the best course of action against a demented world.

She sent one last glance at the banana. Then again… maybe one day. The thought of calling that art offended her on primal level she couldn't properly put into words.

She walked alongside Paprika, once more with aimless abandon. The faunus was currently browsing the museum's app on the phone. "Did you know Cardin called his exhibition 'Mockery to Faithless Gods'?"

Snorting, Ruby only had one appropriate response to that. "What a drama queen." She looked at yet another canvas, this time a myriad of multicolored dots over the white expanse of the canvas. She had to admit, this one had a hypnotic quality to it. "So, what's the original meaning of art?"

"Crafts." Paprika stood next to Ruby. If her face was anything to go by, it seems she actually liked this particular piece. "Or skills, to be more precise. It was originally used to refer the craftsmanship and all crafts required a base level of skill. Not everyone could just pick a brush and some paint; life wasn't that cozy to allow for such carefree hobbies. And you really don't want to mess around a smithy without knowing what you're doing."

The mental image of a complete newbie messing around a smithy unsupervised was enough to make Ruby cringe; both for the undoubtedly offensive final result of whatever was built and for the likely bodily harm incurred to even reach that stage. Ruby herself, being the weapon fanatic she is, never operated in a smithy alone and even commissioned the most complex parts of Crescent Rose rather than foolishly trying herself and wasting valuable material.

A jingle from Paprika's scroll broke Ruby's musing.

"Oh boy…" Paprika muttered.

With how the last few days have gone, Paprika's tone didn't inspire confidence in Ruby. "That doesn't sound good."

"No, no, is nothing too bad. It's just… Poppy is thirsty."

Huh?

-o-

Corded muscles flexed and stretched rhythmically, captivating the audience; entrapping them in the ebb and flow of the dancers as they glided across the improvised stage. It was a mixed troupe of male and female, each with the physique of ancient gods from a dead civilization whose architects really liked columns and arcs. Or as Paprika loved to constantly parrot: Adonis and Aphrodites of the modern age. Huntsmen and Huntresses.

And more specifically: Fox and other third-years in nothing but tight briefs and sport bras. Enough to maintain decency while highlighting the muscles in their bodies.

To Ruby's left, Poppy joined the masses of hypnotized viewers, unable to rip her eyes from Fox, whose moves left little to the imagination.

"Apparently this is meant to be a visual representation of the struggles faced by Hunters in the line of duty, conveyed through the power of interpretative dancing." Paprika looked up from her scroll, blinked, and added, "I don't see it."

And Ruby was inclined to agree. Part of her wanted to continue watching for all the wrong reasons, so she forced herself to look at the rest of the crowd. The children, bless their innocent heart, were either looking with curiosity or were bored out of their mind, pestering their parents to go somewhere else. The adults, however, were unanimously observing the performance with rapt attention, eyes shamelessly glued to the spectacle.

All except one. A short girl with ice-cream colored hair looked bored. Her confident stance and the parasol that was definitely a weapon suggested she was a Huntress. That or someone should really take a look into the security measures of the museum. Point is, she had the expression of someone that has seen better. The girl's eyes slid off the performance and landed on Ruby's.

Ruby's eyes widened. She has seen this girl before. And if the art in the museum hadn't rot her brain yet, she distinctly remembers something that sort of seemed like flirting thrown her way.

Oh, and now she was making eye contact. The girl began sauntering towards her aaaaaaaaaaand…. Yep, that's one smug grin. Lovely.

"Hey," Ruby squeaked. She was nowhere near proud enough to deny that the short girl intimidated her. She wanted to not be there and made no attempt to hide it. Part of that 'intimidated' bit was in no small part due to the concealed blade in her innocuous parasol. With the existence of Hunters and the medley of strange and unusual weapons, you would think your average security guard would be trained to notice this sort of things. Apparently, that was wishful thinking.

The trichromatic girl eyed Ruby up and down. Was this how Yang felt when boys stole glances at her? It was a strange mix of flattery and trepidation. Ruby could totally understand why many girls disliked it.

"Who's your girlfriend, Ruby?"

And now there was some annoyance thrown into the mix. "Not helping, Paps," Ruby snapped. On the plus side, the trichromatic girl's attention shifted towards Paprika. With practiced ease, Ruby's newly minted stalker whipped out her scroll and typed like a pro.

'Neopolitan, at your service'

"She's not my girlfriend!"

Ruby's rebuff went unheard in favor of good ol' fashion gossiping between Paprika and… Neopolitan, apparently. Sighing, Ruby shifted her attention to the last seconds of Fox's and his troupe's performance. Applauses roused through the audience at the end, none as enthusiastic and thirsty as Poppy's. Ruby's opinion of her senior classmate was forever tarnished.

'Try not to think too much about it. It's what I do.'

A chill ran down Ruby's spine as the distinct voice of Fox Alistair echoed somewhere in her mind.

'Do not do that!' She responded in kind, receiving an amused, and unnecessarily telepathic, laugh that had her giving a flat look at the approaching Huntsman. Fox took the look in stride. Whether it was because he didn't care or didn't know he was on the receiving end of Ruby's unimpressed expression was anyone's guess.

"Hi Fox!" Poppy gleefully greeted, skipping a few steps to close the distance. True to his previous statement, Fox responded with grace, if a little apprehension, given he wasn't exactly dressed decently in the strictest of senses. Ruby, in turn, was just astonished someone that so far has proved to be so stoic and cool as a cucumber could devolve into a squeeing fangirl.

"Poppy," Fox greeted back politely, if a little tersely. "Ruby, glad to see you come by. Regretting not joining my troupe at the beginning of the break?"

"Not if I have dance in my underwear."

"We could have worked something out. Probably put you in charge of technical stuff."

"Then fifty-fifty. Beacon has been… an experience. For better and for worse."

Fox laughed. "I can imagine. During our first year, a kennel of puppy Beowolves escaped from Port's cages. They kept trying to nibble us to death throughout the whole week and we stumbled upon them in the weirdest of places."

Ahhhh. Ruby would have killed to be attacked by a kennel of puppy Beowolves. She held no hope she would find such a thing out in the wild. Sounds like the kind of stuff that only happens at Beacon during the breaks. Maybe she should break into Port's office. Then again, there was as much of a chance that she would end up unleashing an eldritch abomination that would invariably pick them off one by one throughout the weekend, culminating in a climactic three v. one encounter between her, Paprika, and Cardin against the beast. Either Paprika or Cardin would sacrifice themselves to deal the final blow. Cue to kiss scene.

She has seen enough action-horror movies to know how the trope goes.

She switched the topic. "So… what was that show about? Isn't there an easier way to showcase the struggles of our profession than convulsing on the dancefloor?"

"It's called interpretative dancing!" Fox fiercely corrected. "Don't be such a philistine, Rose."

Ruby blinked. "I have a confession to make. I've been hearing Cardin say that word all week, but I'm not quite sure what it means."

Paprika sighed. "You're such a philistine, Ruby." She looked at Fox and pointed at her scroll. "Says here you are scheduled to repeat the show every hour."

"I'll watch!" Poppy offered.

"Please don't," Fox responded. "And yeah. Turns out there aren't many people line up for live performances. But hey, we are getting bunch of exposure. Plan to cash in for a nifty paycheck."

"Ooooh," Ruby chimed in. "Ozpin paid us in exposure after we agitated the Grimm in the Emerald Forest. I earned enough for a new scope!"

Through the entire conversation, Neo looked back and forth between the Beacon students. And reached one irrefutable truth.

Beacon students are weird. They are weird about each other.

-o-

"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope-"

Ruby continued spouting her favorite word on repeat, shaking her head and making a valiant, but ultimately doomed, attempt of adverting her eyes from the suggestive promotional material on display.

Paprika was less than impressed. "Really, Ruby? After everything that has happened this last week – the library, the arson, picking fights with the Grimm in the forest, extorting the headmaster" – Neo raised a brow at that – ", and the arson – this is where you draw the line? At the adult exhibit in the museum?"

"You are strangely fixated on the arson," Ruby pointed out.

In turn, Paprika switched to the defensive. "Piss Doctor Oobleck enough with fire mismanagement and tell me you are the same after his crash course on fire hazards and burning buildings."

"And you stumble upon your parents' and uncles' debauchery and have your entire family, minus your too smart for himself dog and your bandit queen aunt, unveiled as a lie and tell me you are not hesitant to walk into… this den of filth!"

"…fair enough." Paprika pulled her scroll and quickly swiped through the museum's page. "Apparently the exhibit is mostly old paintings salvaged from the Color War that showcase… and I quote, 'Some of the most colorful facets of the human and faunus experience', end quote."

Neo facepalmed.

"…Classy," Ruby deadpanned. And then muttered. "Yang would be so insufferably proud."

"Description credited to Yang Xiao Long."

"God damn it, Yang!"

"There's also some more modern pieces using models, as well as a painting class with live models."

Admittedly, a part of Ruby was morbidly curious. And with her Beacon ID, getting into the exhibit was trivial. But the still sane part of her was screaming hysterically in her head, shouting at the top of its lungs that that way leads to madness and disappointment.

Unluckily for the sane part of Ruby's psyche, someone screamed louder.

"AAAAAHHH… AAAAAHHH… AAAAAHHH… AAAAAHHH-!"

"Weird," Paprika peered intently into her scroll as the feminine scream intermittently rang on the background. "There's an exhibit on graphically gruesome themes, but there's nothing here about a live demonstration. Maybe it's an avant-garde alarm?"

Ruby mentally ordered her sane part to shut up just long enough for her to decide what to do. It was a testament to her growth – and the desensitization of the last week – that her knee jerk reaction wasn't to rush in and save someone in trouble. Parsing through Paprika's statement, she responded. "Can the museum get away with a live graphic demonstration?"

"With enough money…" Paprika trailed off. "But it's unlikely the administration is willing to deal with the PR disaster involved. Think of the children and other similarly empty pleasantries."

A tap on Ruby's shoulder caught her attention. She turned to a string of text on a screen

Those are not the screams of someone in pain.

She blinked. "How… can you tell?"

In turn, Neo blinked. She opened her mouth as if to speak, or more likely utter some filler word to fill in the awkward silence. Alas, she didn't speak. And as if remembering she was mute, Neo quickly typed her defense.

Sketchy internet history?

Her very shaky defense.

"You're asking me," Ruby said. Not even a question. She was too engrossed on the typed question mark to provide proper and socially acceptable tones to her words. It was not helped by Neo frowning, looking at her scroll, and pointedly deleting aforementioned question mark.

" AAAAAHHH-"

"Let's just make sure it's not someone actually in trouble," Ruby ultimately decided, making her way to the entrance of the adult exhibits, casually showing her Beacon ID to the guard. The benefits of being at Death's beck and call.

Paprika followed, eyeing the general public that were just as dumbfounded as them. "Not much of a commotion, so it's probably nothing to worry about. Maybe someone got handsy with the models?"

Ruby scowled. Hopefully not. At least not on purpose. The public relationship and crowd management class Beacon forces upon the students wasn't until their fourth year, when they were merely a year shy from graduating and going into the real world where they can't play the 'I'm a student' card. She was not prepared to deal with the true monsters of the Remnant. People.

She shuddered. Maybe there was some merit to pushing the PR class to first year, the discourse prompted after one Yang Xiao Long destroyed a bar before even starting Beacon.

They quickly made their way to the exhibit towards the intermittent scream. Ruby did give a glance to the art pieces on display. Paprika was right; most of them were ancient pieces old enough to have been around the Great War, but with subject matters that would make any parent cringe as soon as their children ask what was being depicted. There were even small paragraphs detailing how the pieces survived Atlas's – back then Mantle she supposed – relentless crusade against… everything. Ruby was genuinely impressed with how legit the entire exhibit was.

The closer they got, the clearer the scream became. Or to be more precise, screams. The high pitch scream carried over the distance, but deeper, male counterparts followed every time the female one stopped. Paprika's guess was looking likely as they approached the modeling classroom.

Reaching the curtained threshold into the classroom, Ruby hesitated. Did she really want to see what den of degeneracy lied behind those curtains?

"You're thinking something dramatic and misguided, aren't you?"

Ruby pouted at Paprika, annoyed at the girl's ill-defined Semblance. "You don't have many friends, do you?"

Neo hissed, the meaning of 'you got burn' clear. Paprika stared back flatly. Rolling her eyes, she pulled the curtain before Ruby could react. Instinctively, Ruby yelped and raised her arms to defend her face from the filthy assault.

"AAAAAHHH" "AAAAAHHH" "AAAAAHHH" "AAAAAHHH"

The screams continued unabated, uncaring of Ruby's histrionics. While Ruby wasn't looking at the scene, she was looking at Paprika and Neo. The fox faunus choke on a laugh she struggled to keep to herself. Their addon, Neo, had no such reservation and openly giggled a nearly silent laugh. Maybe it wasn't as bad as her mind construed it to be. She dared a glimpse.

Ruby had to take a few seconds to fully understand the context. On one side was Luna, the origin of the girly screams they've been hearing since the beginning. She was fruitlessly trying to cover her eyes with her hands. Fruitlessly because her own body betrayed her; her eyes peeking through her fingers.

Opposite to her where three handsome, young men, echoing Luna's screams with some of their own, scrambling to salvage some dignity for their well-built bodies.

And then it clicked.

Three men. Not two, not four; three. Young, late teen, likely in their eighteens or nineteens. Handsome. Well-built, clearly from rigorous training. Having no issues modeling to a mixed audience until one specific girl walked in. That girl? Luna Brite.

And that was how the members of Team Starlight found themselves in a screaming match.

Almost a full school year avoiding accidental walk-ins while literally living in the same room and they somehow managed to live up to the awkward potential of three men and one woman living together - not in their dorm as someone as sick as Ozpin probably anticipated - but in a dinky room in a seedy museum during a nude modeling painting course.

Ruby couldn't help but also laugh. Sure, Luna might not appreciate it if the glare sent her way meant anything, but could you blame her? The team probably had rules upon rules to avoid exactly this scenario and all came crumbling down because Luna couldn't squash her curiosity.

So she laughed at her friend's misfortune and the absurdity of all. And with her laughter, Paprika inhibition broke and joined her at pointing fingers. Neo wasn't as loud, but her giggling did seem to intensify a notch.

"This is not funny!" Luna screeched, face flushed in a bright red that was undermined by the continuous looks she sent her teammates, who had managed to get their hands on bathrobes during their panicking. Pity.

The night-themed Huntress turned around and walked out of the room, face flushed with red. In part due to the mixed feelings towards their current dilemma. But mostly because the world didn't stop for them and as interesting as they found their personal drama, the people around them lost interest and the next couple of models were already undressing to pose to the classroom. Ruby squeaked and followed Luna, with the rest of their group falling in line behind her. Although Neo took a few more seconds to look.

"And what do the three of you think you're doing!?" Luna turned her anger towards the three boys. Two of them turned to the third in the middle. If Ruby had to guess, the leader of STLT.

"Well, you see," the boy began explaining. "We needed some money, and they were looking for models. And when we told them we were Huntsmen-in-training, the offer became too good to refuse."

Ruby canted her head. "You know… I shouldn't be surprised Sky was right, but I am."

The boys grew even more flustered and self-conscious as Ruby reeled attention back to her with her offhand comment. It didn't escape the reaper's notice.

Nor did it escape Paprika's. "Oh god, the three of you are card-carrying members of the Ruby Fanclub!"

"The what?" Ruby and Luna asked in unison.

"You guys don't know?" Paprika quickly searched through her wallet, pulling a membership card. "Some students have official unofficial fanclubs. Think of them as baby's first step towards Hunters' stardom. I'm a member of Jaune's. And Fox's, but that one is not out of my own volition."

"I thought you hated Jaune," Luna said as he grabbed Jaune's card.

"I already told you I made peace with that. And Jaune just has this…" Paprika vaguely waved her hand, "…je ne sais quoi that makes him magnetic. It's why his harem is so extensive! People cannot help themselves and ship him with everyone."

Luna inspected the card carefully, since Ruby was still reeling from the news of her own fanclub and her part in peoples' ship wars. It was a simple, plastic card, with a white and gold color scheme. The Arc's emblem spanned on the background. It was surprisingly elegant design at odds with its context.

"You're kidding me," Luna breathe out, gliding her fingers over the engraved member's number. The fact there were fanclubs with literal memberships was already ludicrous enough. That her teammates belonged to Ruby's was, admittedly, a blow to her perception of them. She looked at the red reaper, who was still catatonic. "Can you believe this?"

As if a switch was flipped, Ruby said, "I have my own fanclub…"

"Disgusting, I know," Luna agreed.

"I have my own fanclub."

"Eh… Luna," Paprika said as she watched Ruby's lips curl up. "I don't think she's as against the idea as you are."

"I have my own fanclub!" Ruby squealed in delight. Her eyes zeroed on the boys. "I want to see my card. Give them to me."

"They are on our backpacks, with the rest of our clothes," one of the boys said.

"Then fetch them!"

"Seren! Terra! Thrymr! Gggggrrrraaaaah!" Luna lost her composure as her words went ignored. She turned to glare at Ruby. "Why are you so excited? This whole thing is incredibly creepy!"

Ruby and Paprika exchanged looks. Then Ruby spoke up. "Maybe? It's no different than celebrities having their own fans."

Paprika continued. "It's just that Hunters are trained to be extra about everything. I'm more surprised that Yang hasn't sheltered you on this."

Ruby huffed. "Not for lack of trying." She puffed up her chest. "But even Yang would have trouble shutting down the president of the Glynda Goodwitch fanclub."

"I heard that club suffered a coup d'etat at the hands of a newcomer. So that was you?"

Ruby's arrogant, self-satisfied chuckle was confirmation enough. She turned towards Neo. "What about you, Neo? Member of any club?"

Nodding, the mute pulled out her own membership cards. Two of them.

"Roman Torchwick?" Ruby said, confusion and disgust in her voice. "Why does he have a club?"

"He does go out of his way to keep a 'gentleman thief' reputation. It stands to reason some women like the bad boy angle," Paprika rationalized, with Neo's fervent nodding supporting her.

Ruby looked at the second card. A very familiar card. "Jaune's?" Then her eyes widened. She looked at Neo, then at the card, then at Neo again. "You're the Neopolitan from Jaune's harem betting pool!"

Neo nodded, big goofy smile on her face.

"…and his 'je ne sais quoi' strikes again," Paprika muttered, looking at her own proof of membership.

The three boys of Team STLT returned, each holding a red and black membership card. Upon laying her eyes on them, Ruby squealed once more and snatched them, twirling in place while holding them high. "These are amazing! Paps! Look! Look! They even have a cute chibi me! Oh, I got an idea! Wait a sec." Ruby dashed to a close by table with art supplies, rummaging through the paint brushes and oil paint at her disposal.

Paprika couldn't help but smile at Ruby's contagious antics. "Seems like she has a dedicated fandom. I wish I was this famous. Alas, Velvet took most of our simps. We had to listen to Coco rant about the inhumanity of it all for months."

"Is there a club for everyone?" Luna asked.

"Pretty much," Paprika said. "Though the bulk of them sputter into irrelevance by third year. Mine has like two members in it. And Poppy holds all the named offices in Fox's."

"Well, I don't care if you are my only three fans," Ruby announced, presenting the three males of STLT their cards. "Here you go. Signed by yours truly!" Written with red paint and in elegant cursive, the name 'Ruby Rose' shined beautifully on the plastic cards, with a simplified version of Ruby's scattered rose emblem drawn with the precision of someone who spent the bulk of Professor Port's class practicing her autograph.

"You're our goddess," Seren said, admiring the penmanship.

"We are so going to be envy of everyone," Thrymr added.

"You don't mind testifying for the validity of this, do you?" Terra asked.

"Nope!" Ruby winked. "I'll go even further and give you exclusivity on signing membership cards."

All three boys knelt. "Our Goddess. We are not worthy."

Luna groaned. She knew her team could be the biggest bootlickers when they want, but this was on another level. "Are you really this desperate?"

"Yes," Seren responded, with his teammates nodding. Absolutely no shame was on display. But given the compromising state in which Luna had stumbled upon her team – as well as Luna's criminal take on weaponsmith – Ruby figured shame was not high in STLT's list of priorities. Good for them.

"You said 'everyo`ne'. How big is Ruby's fanclub?" Paprika asked.

"We figured hers and Jaune's are neck-to-neck for biggest clubs among the second-years," Seren answered.

"Really!?" Ruby was beyond ecstatic at the news.

"…Kinda," Seren corrected. "Weiss's and Pyrrha's are bigger, but they carried over all their fans from their singing and gladiatorial days, respectively. Yours is the biggest new one."

"Bigger than Yang's and Blake's!?"

"Yes?"

Ruby whooped. "Finally! I'm bigger than Yang and Blake at something!"

"Wording," Paprika offhandedly commented, earning a blush from the boys, a groan from the already exasperated Luna, and a giggle from Neo.

"You have a bigger gardening tool," Luna pointed out.

"I'm bigger at something other than weapons!" Ruby was too psyched to care about Luna's choice of words. Or her own for that matter.

"Still, that's a pretty big upset all things considered. How did that happen?" Paprika asked.

It was Terra who answered. "Don't get us wrong. Yang and the Bellabooty have their fans. But as it turns out, threatening people's manhood and being antisocial to the point of caring more about books than people are big turnoffs for a good portion of the population."

"And their recent relationship status doesn't help," Thrymr added. "People do like the illusion of availability even if there's no real chance."

Unprompted, one of the aides for the art class poke her head into the frame. "You boys are up in ten."

"You aren't actually going back there, right?"

Seren sent Luna an even look. "Are you paying us over three thousand lien each? By the hour? Rounded up?"

"Er…" Luna hesitated at the ridiculous amount paid for essentially stripping and posing.

"That's what we thought. Come on, boys. The unforgiving grip of capitalism calls for us." Seren walked with firm and decisive strides, moving pass the curtain blocking the modeling art room and disrobing himself before he was completely hidden from prying eyes, mooning the girls and his two teammates.

"Gah! My eyes!"

Terra and Thrymr ignored Luna's antics and gave their quick goodbyes, following their team leader's step, minus the gratuitous view.

"Not gonna lie. I envy that kind of confidence," Paprika said.

Neo gave a low, appreciative whistle.

"I bet you can bounce coins from those butt cheeks," Ruby contributed.

Dragging her hands down her face, Luna glared at them. "Can you please… not? That's my partner you're ogling."

"Sky would have been more crass. In fact, I'm pretty sure he already has expressed as much."

Paprika's words did nothing to assuage Luna.

"I don't see what's the big deal," Ruby said. "You've been lusting after my dad… or uncle-in-law, I suppose… that's going to take time getting used to… Point is, why are you so bothered about seeing your teammate in the buff?"

While Luna was already flustered, her face reddened even more. Her eyes lingered on the scrap of fabric that stood between her and the indecency of her teammates.

"…It's complicated…"

Narrowing her eyes, Ruby tried to divine the hues of red in Luna's face like one would tea leaves. Aside from the whole 'lusting after her not-dad' and Luna's tragically misguided opinions on weapons, Ruby liked to think whatever weird friendship last week forged between the first-year and her was genuine.

And Luna's discomfort seemed genuine. And misplaced given how brazen she has shown to be.

But Ruby couldn't quite place her finger on why…

"Oh! Some guy is gonna set himself on fire! Let's go!"

Paprika grabbed the closest of them, Neo, and dragged the mute with her, much to the ice cream girl's bewilderment. Paprika looked back. "Aren't you two coming?"

"You go." Luna sighed. "I'll wait for my idiots to finish…" Her eyes went back to distractedly watching the closed-off art classroom.

A thought came to Ruby. One that if she was right… well, she pitied the girl.

One-hundred-and-one ways things can go wrong if any one of the boys in Team STLT has a crush on Luna. Reduced to thirty-four when Ruby figured out all three boys were interested.

Five if Ruby was correct and Luna, for all her big talk about liking older men, didn't oppose the idea of figuring things out with any of her teammates. And there lied the problem; three boys, one girl. Unless none of them were against going all-in on that cursed love trident. Recalling that faithful day she and Cardin cheered for their mono-gendered teams, Ruby felt a pang of survivor's guilt towards the unfortunate soul in front of her; trapped in a cage of testosterone and temptation.

"Oh, you poor firstie!"

It was too much. Ruby hugged the red-faced firstie without warning. Luna was so disoriented that she forgot to be embarrassed or mad. A pat on her head snapped her out of her funk. She followed the hand to its owner. The short woman with Paprika and Ruby was petting her with an understanding expression.

"Oh, what the hell…"

Another set of arms embraced the now catatonic first-year and teary second-year, as the third-year joined them. Luna snapped out of her shock.

"Get off me, you creeps!"

"Stay strong, Luna. Stay strong for your libido."

"Let go!"

"Shhh, Shhh. We got you. Let it all out. I'm sure your heart will sort things."

"THERE'S NOTHING TO SORT!"

By the side, Neo spectated the squirming pile of Beacon students. For the second time today, she had the same thought.

Beacon students are weird. They're weird about each other.

-o-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"

If Ruby had a takeaway from the museum, it was that there was a lot of screaming involved.

She munched happily at her pilfered hot dog – because it wasn't stealing if you stole from thieves, and those prices were criminal – as she watched the man that set himself on fire roll on the floor in unbearable pain. Unlike the rest of the audience, who watched with horrified disbelief at the art exhibit, Ruby stamped her baser instincts and ideologies and forced herself to watch with morbid fascination. All in all, it was a simple shift in mentality that allowed her to easily justify and enjoy the show.

First, the man has his Aura unlocked. That means that while he was in excruciating pain, the damage wasn't really sticking to the body.

Second, said Aura was being monitored by a group of students – apparently the man on fire was an art teacher – with fire extinguishers, ready to jump in and save the man once his Aura dropped to the tournament-sanctioned red.

Third, and most importantly…

"Open mouth, tongue first, and in deep, right?"

An ice cream colored girl gave a thumbs up to a fox faunus holding a hot dog.

"Well, here goes nothing."

Several boys suddenly became distracted, completely forgetting the very loud man that was literally burning to almost death.

…Third, and most importantly, Ruby wanted nothing to do with whatever depraved hot dog eating technique Neo was teaching Paprika. Sure, it netted them free hot dogs after all blood, and common sense, rushed out of the cashier's brain. And Ruby was a direct beneficiary of the debauchery. But she could easily carry on with life without knowing the finer details of… whatever Neo was teaching Paprika.

The man on fire's Aura finally hit red and his students rushed to put him out. Several people clapped politely and uncertainly at the performance. Ruby surprised herself by being one of them. The entire exhibit had been raw and impactful, and she could appreciate that in art.

"By the Brothers, that was hot."

Ruby held no hope that was a clever play on words to describe the exhibit.

She searched for whoever said that. For better or for worse, it could have been any male on a thirty feet radius. She did see Paprika, sans hot dog, blushing in embarrassment while Neo silently snickered.

"Are you two done contaminating the minds of the impressionable youth?" Ruby asked.

Gathering her composure, Paprika gave her a flat look. "You do realize you're younger than most people here, right?"

"True… but I also live with Blake. I've seen the filth supporting the bunk bed."

"…Touché." Paprika pulled her scroll, already searching and walking towards the next exhibit. Ruby and Neo followed

"Did this exhibit have a point, or was it all just an elaborate justification to do a public display of masochism?"

Paprika snorted at Ruby's description. "There is a written piece explaining the symbolism, but who's to say that's not a bold-faced lie to justify a public display of masochism?"

"Humor me," Ruby said, eyes lazily watching modern piece of art with blatant disinterest.

"Supposedly the idea of setting himself on fire was to visually illustrate the pain inherent in life and the struggle and endurance necessary to reach the end."

Both Ruby and Neo looked at Paprika with wide eyes.

"Let me get this straight," Ruby said slowly, carefully mulling over her words. "You're saying this guy literally set himself on fire to metaphorically convey the figurative pain of living… Wow, that's… actually kind of cool, even if it might be a load of BS."

Neo nodded in agreement.

"Sometimes art be like that… oh, this one seems interesting. It's called 'A Huntress, a Surrealist, and a Hater walk into a café…'.

"What is it about," Ruby asked with a raised brow. It did sound interesting. At least on a personal level.

"Let's see… Hohoho, listen to this. Join Beacon's Deputy Headmistress Glynda 'Motherfucking' Goodwitch – yes, it says exactly that - surrealism-inspired interior designer Edward Penrose, and famous Hunter critic and pop art artist Clement Rouge as they delve into the philosophies regarding individualism and freedom of expression that guides the culture behind Huntsmen and Huntresses, as well as the positive and negative impact their influence has on society.

"With Penrose's latest work – the Polyhedric Café – serving as a backdrop to the discussion and Rouge latest art series – The Bloody Circus – adorning the walls of the exhibit, this is a debate that promises to open one's mind to one of the most acclaimed professions of the modern era."

With her summary finished, Paprika turned to her companions. "Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"

Neo blinked. Ruby blinked harder.

The red reaper finally managed to speak. "You know what? I'm not going to question it. Lead the way."

Paprika laughed. "That's the spirit! Don't think too hard. Just live the moment."

-o-

"Wow… this is trippy."

Ruby agreed with Paprika's first impression. The so called Polyhedric Café was… well, a café. Except that there wasn't a single surface area that wasn't being used to serve its clientele. And it was a legitimate clientele; the exhibit was a fully functioning café with servers and all. How the tables stuck to the walls and the roof, the liquids defied gravity, and the people walked upside down like it was the most normal thing in the world was a dizzying thought experiment.

"Yo! Ruby! Paps!" On the far wall – and Ruby truly meant ON the far wall – were the non-leader members of Team CRDL, sitting sideways over the sideway bar top where the sideway barista was preparing caffeinated drinks… sideways.

"Welp," Paprika shrugged, having decided long ago not to question the day, "when in Rome, do as Romans do."

"What is Rome?"

The fox faunus frowned. "I don't know. Ask Sky, but if I have to guess, probably some long forgotten place or another."

It was with hesitant steps that Ruby reached the wall and attempted to walk on it. To her surprise, she could feel the gravity shifting as she stuck to it and walked up to a stool next to Dove.

"This is so weird," she commented. While she could still feel the pull from normal gravity, the bulk of her was kept in place by the wall's gravity. A cup of coffee was pushed to her and when she went to throw sugar cubes in it, they fell… horizontally towards the wall, plopping into the coffee which splashed like if the wall was the real floor.

"How does this work?"

"There's gravity Dust inside the walls," Sky explained, because of course he did. "But that's not where all the magic lies. Look at the center of the roof."

Following Sky's line of sight, Ruby's own eyes landed on a table with three individuals pleasantly conversing over coffee and pastries.

Or more accurately, two individuals conversed while a third trashed wildly against chains holding him and adhesive tape sealing his mouth. The man, with orange-graying hair and a flushed and agitated person, glared at the other two, who remained nonplussed in his presence.

The other man in the group was much easier on the eyes – younger, relatively well groomed, and with a meticulously disheveled look that, coupled with his eloquent way of speaking, makes him come across as intelligent but with the fatal flaw of being able to rock bed-hair after a night of little sleep but intense philosophizing.

The final individual in the table was well known to Ruby. Now that she was paying attention, the young reaper could feel the waves of Aura emanating from Glynda Goodwitch, her Semblance reinforcing the stability of an otherwise impossible art exhibit. Ruby wasn't sure where the pools of Aura to maintain this came from, but – like with everything else these days – she heavily suspected drugs.

She listened to the suspiciously loud conversation they were having.

"So you're saying that the apparent arrogance Hunters are accused of are actually a mechanism to instill confidence on the general populace and reduce levels of negativity across the board?"

"Naturally, Mister Penrose. I won't dismiss the unfortunate reality that… some less than scrupulous individuals in our profession might allow their power to go to their head, but ultimately the confidence we display is a necessary front, lest we and those we protect fall into despair."

"Must be hard to live up to those expectations. How do you manage?"

"At least at Beacon, we push our students to not only train and become better Hunters, but also to expand their horizons and take on a variety of extracurricular activities to stimulate the mind and body and allow them to create a strong network of interpersonal connections to support them. Why, just last week the students currently staying in the institution over the break participated in a roleplaying exercise of their own volition and ingenuity, meant to provide an outlet to their very human need for creativity."

In unison, every single student at the bar top listening in said the exact same thought they all had.

"Bullshit."

It went unheard by anyone but Neo, who stifled a giggle.

"And that's the crux of the matter, isn't it?" The man asked. "We civilians see the beautiful people – not unlike you – flamboyantly strutting the streets like unreachable paragons of virtue and self-sacrifice. Naturally we feel… intimidated, insecure of ourselves… and…"

"Perhaps even aroused, Mister Penrose?" Glynda suggested with a coquettish smile that had Ruby, and a few others, choke on their drinks.

The man chuckled. "Not in public, Miss Goodwitch." The implication that 'in private' was fair game didn't sail unnoticed. "But there is not denying Huntsmen and Huntresses, more often than not, are a treat to the eyes. But ultimately being a Hunter is a profession and you have very humans needs like everyone else."

"I definitely have some needs." The thirst was real.

"Quite. What do you think, Mister Rouge?"

"HMPHHHH!"

"Fascinating," the designer Penrose said stroking his chin.

"Truly insightful," the Huntress Glynda agreed while nodding sagely and sipping of her upside-down coffee.

Ruby watched owlishly. She leaned towards Paprika. "They're flirting, right?"

Paprika squinted. "I'm… not sure. Maybe? I mean… I never thought about it, but this would be how I imagine Miss Goodwitch flirting would be like."

"Oh, they're totally flirting. Me and Yang do this same kind of highbrow flirting all the time."

Ruby sent a deadpan look at Russel. "She explicitly insults you."

"I wouldn't expect someone as young and naïve as you to understand, Ruby."

Ruby breath in deeply. She was not going to kill Russel. It will be more satisfying if Blake does it.

"By the way, Ruby, I wanted to ask. Do you think Yang would like any of those paintings?"

Ruby looked at the paintings in question.

"What the…" She looked at Sky, hoping for an answer.

Unlike Russel, Sky did not disappoint. "The man tied up? Up there? That's infamous critic of Hunter culture and pop artist Clement Rouge. Those are his paintings."

Nodding, Ruby went back to… actually, 'appreciating' was, in fact, the word. Despite the subject matter.

It was a lineup of famous Hunters. She recognized a couple of them: Ozpin, Glynda, Ironwood, Port. Even Uncle… errr, Dad Qrow? Even Qrow was there. But they weren't simple paintings. They were drawn in aggressive sketchy black strokes against a backdrop of harsh colors, their facial features drawn to evocate the imagery of skulls and death; gaunt, narrow faces; sealed, stitched lips; and eyes either closed or an empty void. Unflattering words popped around the Hunters, in aggressive, angry font.

It was an undeniably negative and unforgiving take on the Hunters presented.

It was also really, really cool.

"Honestly… I think Yang would love it." Hell, she wanted to buy some for herself.

"Then she's in luck," Sky said. "Apparently this Rouge guy is a gigantic douche. One of his apprentices is so fed up with him that they opened commissions to sell portraits mimicking Rouge's style."

"Is that legal?" Ruby asked.

"You cannot copyright something as nebulous as a 'style'," Sky explained. "And you definitely cannot copyright the likeness of Ozpin, Ironwood, or any other person, so even if somebody were to draw their version of the same portraits, Rouge's legal standing to claim copyright infringement is shaky at best due to its nature as a parody."

A lightbulb when on Ruby's head. "How much? The price?"

Sky told her the price. She winced. That was a few thousands outside her budget. Thinking quickly, Ruby turned around and faced the so-called roof.

"Glynda, can you lend me a few thousand lien!?"

"Can't you see I'm busy, Miss Rose?" Glynda reproached her student, annoyed at her engaging conversation with Mister Penrose being interrupted.

"I plan to buy some counterfeit paintings from Rouge's student."

The tied man sharing a table with Glynda exploded into muffled expletives. The reasoning behind Ruby's request gave Glynda a pause.

"That's a lot of money for just paintings, Miss Rose."

"Qrow and Tai will be spooked!"

Ruby hopped, horizontally, to catch the credit card that curved across the roof and wall to reach her.

"~Thanks Glyn~!" She singsong, holding the card close to her heart. She noticed the look everyone was giving her. "What?"

"Remind me to never get on your bad side." Paprika spoke for everyone.

-o-

A surprisingly good coffee and a suspiciously seedy business transaction with an art dealer later, Ruby managed to shake off both Paprika and Neo, who considered the promise of further teasing Luna and her team to kingdom come a too good an opportunity to waste.

Ruby would have joined them, but she figured Cardin has been allowed enough independence and leeway already. She half-expected his zealotry to devolve into a cult revolving around the idolatry of football. That'd be in-character for him, and it was something that, against her best judgment, she was looking forward to and half-hoped it happened.

Today was a day of many halves.

"Little lady, little lady…"

Ruby was brought out of her musing by an old woman vying for her attention.

"Can I help you?"

"Oh, not much, dear. I just noticed you were commissioning art from that fellow over there."

Ruby turned back to look at the trenchcoated man claiming to be Rouge's student. Except he wasn't there anymore. At least Sky vouched for him, so that guys-guy pedigree to him.

"It felt more like buying drugs in a film noir…" Ruby muttered.

"I was hoping I could interest you in my piece," the lady continued.

"Oh! Sorry, I don't AHHH!" The woman didn't wait before dragging the young Huntress-in-training, pushing her in front of a painting.

Ruby stared at the piece of art. At the rugged texture of the canvas. The flaming color of the paint. The imposing juxtaposition of the lights and shadows. And came to one enlightening conclusion.

"It's… a canvas… painted red." She deadpanned.

"Isn't it glorious?" The old woman missed the tone in Ruby's voice.

"It's… a canvas… painted red," Ruby repeated. Sure, red was her favorite color. Anybody could tell that at a glance. But…

"I paid particular attention to the imperfections in each brushstroke, creating the messy nature of it. This two-dimensional pigment sculpture would make an excellent centerpiece to your living room!"

She didn't own a living room. Ruby squinted her eyes. There was a medley of brushstrokes if one paid close attention. However…

"That's… nice?" Ruby struggled to not make that sound like an insult. Art is subjective. She mentally told herself that over and over. She attempted to be diplomatic. "But it's not my taste."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sure someone-"

"Well I never," the old lady scoffed. "And here I was hoping for a woman with a decerning eye for art, rather than a little, naïve, philistine of a child."

"I'm just saying I don't-"

"And such a rude girl! Talking back to their elders!"

"But I'm not-"

"Didn't your mother teach you manners?"

"SHUT UP!"

That stroke a chord. After last week, Ruby fancied herself the only sane girl. And that sane part of her was reeling at the abrupt one-eighty the woman had just given. This left the part that was missing as many screws as anyone in control, making her eye twitch and her mouth to speak.

"My sister…cousin… thing, painted the shed behind our house with more interesting brushstrokes." Left unsaid was that spoke more about Yang's laziness than any inherent artistic skill.

"Excuse-"

"NO! I will not excuse you. This!?" Ruby pointed at the painting. "This is as much art as the football field photograph, or the nailed banana, or any of the other dozens of canvases painted in a solid color. It might have been generously called art the first time, but by the Brothers, it is not art now!"

A crowd gathered to hear the rantings of one Ruby Rose.

"And what's so great about the brushstrokes? They are so fine you can barely see them! Are they supposed to create a picture? If I stare and blink rapidly, will I see something? And that red? That's the ugliest shade of red I've ever seen. And I'm a red cloak wearing weirdo called Ruby Rose. Trust me, I know about reds!"

People muttered among themselves. Some offended second-hand, others nodding in agreement.

"And what did you call this? Two-dimensional pigment sculpture? That's as bad as calling a photograph a light imprint! I mean, is not wrong. But why stop there? Why don't we call a desk a tree corpse bent into a macabre stationery pedestal? Or maybe we should call glass something like rapidly quenched sand. You are all so… pretentious!"

Ruby stalked to the painting and looked closely. "And is this watercolor? Couldn't you use acrylic or oil paint?" She rasped her nail across the painting, ignoring the screech from the woman and the wince of many of the spectators, instead focusing on the flakes of painting that fell off. "And is not even expensive watercolor! This is the cheap stuff they give you in kindergarten to shut you up while the teacher has lunch! If you are going to have the galls to be a poser, at least have the decency to spend money on it."

"AAAAAAGH-"

Ruby's mind caught up with the deranged screech of the woman as the old lady picked up a bucket of pain from another exhibit and hurled it.

-o-

"It has been a pleasure doing business with you, Mister Winchester. These light imprints will look splendid on my gallery."

"I'm sure it will... sucker" Cardin muttered once he saw the man who bought his entire exhibit leave. He was more worried counting in gains – cash of course – than whatever rich people did with simple, if well developed, photographs. If he was going to sell photographs of a football field for thousands of lien, the least he could do was spend good money in a camera and the development process.

He was no poser, thank you very much.

"Caaaaaaaaaardiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnn…"

Cardin blinked at the haunted voice wailing his name. What were the chances his ancestors were disgusted with him and had come to punish him for his transgression against sanctity of merchantry?"

"Over heeeeerrreeeeee."

Following the voice, he let out a sigh of relief.

It was only Rose, crying and sniffing as she left a trail of light-blue paint on her wake.

"What happened to you?"

"I criticized some crazy lady's red canvas, and she threw paint at me!" Ruby cried. She looked miserable, drenched from head to toe on still dripping paint. "This might have ruined my cloak!"

Cardin went back to counting his money. "Just ask Miss Goodwitch to use her Semblance on it. It'll be good as new."

Ruby didn't listen. "I'm blue. I'm sticky. I'm cold. And I think this paint has ice Dust in it." She gave a twirl. To her horror, her Semblance's petals came out blue instead of red. She cried more. "There is Dust in this paint! Cardin, why is there Dust in this paint!?"

Cardin looked at Ruby, focused on the remaining petals. He answered offhandedly. "Probably because it's paint meant for construction. Ice and fire Dust are used in small quantities to give cooling or heating properties to the paint and the room it's used on."

When the last rose petal dissipated into nothingness, Cardin knitted his brows in thought.

"Rose…"

"Me…" Ruby said despondently.

"How do you feel about being an art exhibit?"

Looking up from where she was lamenting her fate, Ruby raised a brow in askance.

-o-

Glynda walked confidently down the halls of the museum with the confidence and decorum of a mother duck followed by her ducklings. If said ducklings were young men and women seventeen to twenty-one years old with bodies streamlined to be weapons against the ever-encroaching darkness of the world.

"I believe this has been a fruitful and enriching day."

"That's because you got a date out of it," Luna said petulantly, not sharing the same high spirit as Glynda.

"And you got eye candy."

Luna squawked.

"Don't give me that look," Glynda said. "I'm aware that Raven Branwen snitched about our Beacon days. Whatever you hellions get up to pales in comparison to the glory of the Gambit Revolution." She raised her fist triumphantly to emphasize her fighting words.

Luna, as well as the rest of the Beacon contingent, were at a lost for their own words, their image of Glynda Goodwitch forever tarnished. Or maybe improved. They weren't sure.

"How do you know about Miss Branwen's stories?" Dove asked.

"Remember I am everyone's boss, Mister Bronzewing. There isn't any Hunter business in Vale that I am not aware of."

Luna reeled back to the original topic. "My team showed their shamelessness!"

"As Huntsmen and Huntresses tight for money are known to do, Miss Brite. I believe you went over this back when you discovered the dark side of the academy's library."

"I cannot look at them in the face!"

"And is expected for Beacon students to resolve these minor quibbles by their own. Though if you really want to a professional and experienced opinion on the matter, this sounds like a 'you' problem more than anything."

The back and forth between a traumatized Luna and an unperturbed Glynda continued. The monotony gave Paprika a chance to let her eyes wander and notice the crowd funneling down a specific hallway, with purpose.

"What's happening over there?" She asked out loud, catching everyone's attention.

"Perhaps a belated exhibit?" Sky proposed, pulling his scroll to see if there's been any updates to the exhibits. "Huh… seems like a new exhibit just called 'The Huntress' opened up. Wanna check it out?"

The students unanimously nodded; the name picked their curiosity. There was always a bit of wonder in regard to how their profession was portrayed outside their own circle.

Soon the found themselves among the crowd, slowly pushing their way to the epicenter of the commotion as spots opened on the front.

Whatever they expected to find at the front, it couldn't prepare them completely for the actual exhibit.

Posing in a strong, surefooted stance was Ruby Rose. Except instead of the black and red synonymous with the girl, she was covered in a rainbow of colors. She stood in a three-quarter pose, right hand on her hips while her left arm supported a fully deployed Crescent Rose, the war scythe resting on her shoulder with the blade pointing downwards. Her gaze was on the horizon, staring to the side with steely, silver eyes. Determination was the predominant gesture on her face.

Her iconic cloak billowed heroically, aided by a fan discreetly tucked in the direction she was facing. A soft shower of petals fluttered from her – belying the passive use of her Semblance – tinted in every color of the rainbow she was currently painted as.

To the side, Cardin stood stoically, safeguarding the exhibit and making sure nobody, accidentally or otherwise, ruined the living statue that was Ruby Rose.

A quick glance told Paprika the public's general reaction. "People are awestruck…"

Truth be told, she herself was a bit enraptured with the display, as well as the rest of the Beacon contingent. Even Neo was watching intently.

Glynda read the plate explaining the exhibit.

"For it is through kindness that we become the good that we are meant to be. Refusing to turn a blind eye to injustice, and fighting it in our wake, we become heroes to those in need, and banish the thought that peace is but a dream. By taking my hand, I empower your soul. And by following me, I inspire thee to inspire others. – The Huntress"

Luna furrowed her brows. "Isn't that… an Aura chant?"

Paprika chuckled. "Ruby's chant. Fits her, doesn't it?"

Ruby overheard and for a second her lips twitched, and her eyes flickered at the group, but managed to retain her pose.

Paprika turned to Cardin, who remained as impassive as Ruby. Perhaps even more.

"Was this your idea?" She asked the auburn-haired boy, who didn't answer. For all the little good that did when facing her. She smirked upon reading Cardin's intent. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

She looked at Ruby. Then closed the distance to Cardin, whispering to his ears.

"Makes me wonder… how much of this exhibit is your current opinion on Ruby?"

Cardin didn't answer or react. But to Paprika, that was answer enough.

Author's Notes

Finally. After many months, this chapter is done. Hurrah!

Two more to go. Maybe they'll be ready by 2025!

Let's do the rundown, shall we?

Art: I'm not a huge fan of most modern art. To be fair, going to museums, especially famous ones, is one of the most boring tourism experiences for me. "Oh, wow, that painting looks exactly like it looks in TV"
Hell, maybe more underwhelming than on TV since I'm told paintings like the Mona Lisa are diminutive compared to how they are often portrayed.

But yeah, not the biggest fan of modern art and that bleeds into this chapter.

Purpose of this chapter: Implying this fic has a purpose, lol. To be fair, I began this fic by writing outlines of the chapters and stating the purpose of each chapter clearly in the outline. Maybe I should do the same in a future endeavor.
Anyhow, this chapter had one key image guiding it: That last exhibition with Ruby Rose. In case you didn't know (which would surprise me if you also follow KVKC) I find the concept of Semblances interesting and I enjoy theorizing on their usage, interactions, evolution, and reaction to Dust. And in the case of Ruby, the idea that Dust would change the color of her rose petals stroke a chord with me when it came to the imagery. Hence, here we are.

Team STLT: As far as OCs go, I love these goofballs. Pushing the limits of what's allowed in a PG-13 fic. Honestly, I think what I enjoy the most of this fic, besides the humor, is how it allows me to expand on the world beyond RWBY and JNPR without feeling tacked on, due to the fics' comedic nature.

Like Luna's, their names all come from celestial bodies. 'Terra' is obviously named after Earth. 'Thrymr' is named after a moon of Saturn. And 'Seren' is Welsh for 'star'.

Je ne sais quoi: Such a rhythmical phrase. I kind of wish I had learned French when I was younger.

Being weird about each other: Reference to the Fate/Stay Night: UBW Abridged, where Shiro and Archer are weird. They are weird about each other.

Banana on the wall: Wasn't there an actual "banana stuck to a wall" that was eaten? *Checks* There was! Modern art is wild.

Polyhedric Café: Originally everything was stuck in place by Glynda's Semblance. This is a comedy, so making sure that idea made sense was low priority. But then I remember Gravity dust and decide that my explanation was going to be "Gravity Dust makes the café feasible, but Telekinesis makes it functional."

On another note, I figured that Huntsmen and Huntresses must face some criticism, which was what brought up the scenario surrounding the café.

Ruby's Aura Chant: I enjoy composing these. In fact, I made a page in my notes dedicated to compiling the ones I write for my fics. Makes it easier to reference them than continuously looking them up.

Reviews

Vostok2142: Heck yeah! I actually had problems with other writers that think "underage drinking" (which varies by country) is a taboo subject. Doesn't matter if it's a joke or a serious exploration of the topic, it is morally reprehensible to write about it. Sheesh.
Thanks for your review (posted in February…) and I'm looking forward to your own fics.

-o-

ccl1995: I dunno if I would call the tired "Qrow is Ruby's dad" a truth bomb, but I'll take the compliment XD
Thanks for reading!

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Knightwalker405: Yes? Kinda? I kind of already went over this in my other fic (KVKC), in a rant found in the A/N of Interlude 27.73. So I'll just quote myself:

"[…]I know he is Ruby's father. […] I just ignore it because I think it makes things less interesting and canon fails to address it properly. […] I admit, I'm in the Dad!Qrow camp. […] Taiyang is, at best, a negligent father and, at worst, a horrible father to Ruby (he's slightly better to Yang). His interactions with Ruby in the main show are basically 1) Mailing Zwei to her and Yang and 2) A short conversation, one minute and fifty seconds long, before Qrow kicks him out of the room. Why is the man staying put in his home when BOTH his daughters are gallivanting across Remnant fighting the almost literal mother of all evil? […]"

The rest of it is me saying how Qrow acts more as a father to Ruby than Tai. So yeah...
Of course, that's up to interpretation. Thanks for reading! Make no mistake, I did enjoy the review and I like having these discussions.

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ReDestrobo: So we meet again… nah, just joking
I agree. That bit with Weiss and Whitley in Vol 8 just rubbed me the wrong way so much, for many reasons, some which I'm not comfortable elaborating on. Not a dealbreaker by any means, but still…
Being a family in Remnant is suffering.

-o-

AxDevilman: I agree Tai's characterization in canon is probably caused by RT lackluster writing. Doesn't stop me from preferring Qrow as the father XD
Though I cannot say I've seen many fics demonizing Taiyang. I have seen a couple, but most of them either ignore him since he's not important to the story, or portrait him in a neutral/positive light. Guess I have to search more for these Taiyang-bashing fics.
Summer's hero complex is a fascinating topic. Many fics explore it by looking at Ruby and drawing parallels: Ruby herself has a hero complex and the people close to her fret, knowing where that character quirk landed Summer.

-o-

Judgement-Bird: I wonder…

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ranjira1988: I'm just hard enough on myself :v
Can one really call themselves an artist if they are not hard on themselves? Seems like a prerequisite to be honest.
Thanks for reading!

-o-

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed. Hopefully next chapter won't take half a year…