Hey, guys, GaeaChronos here with chapter 5 of Kamen Rider Garnet!

Don't really have anything to say, so let's just get on with it!

Chapter 5

Something was up with Ruben. Weiss could tell.

She noticed during one of their team sparring sessions. He seemed to be struggling with wielding Crescent Rose. His swings appeared strained, and there was a delay in his movements. It was just slight, but she's watched him fight so much that she could notice the drop in his performance.

Whether Yang or Blake noticed, they didn't acknowledge it.

He is probably just exhausted, she thought. He has been going home much later the past couple days, so it must be finally catching up to him.

She decided to leave it be for now, thinking that he just needs some rest.

However, when she noticed him having trouble raising his arms in class, she knew she had to confront him about it.

She didn't want to get Yang or Blake involved, so she decided to ask him after class, when Ruben was alone in the dorm.

She walked into the dorm to find Ruben studying. Or, trying to, at least. He seemed to flinch or quietly hiss in pain every time his arms were to move, resulting in him very slowly move his arms to reach for something on the table. He was so focused on carefully moving his arms that he didn't notice his partner come in or walk up to him.

"Ruben? Is something wrong?" she asked, startling him.

"Oh, Weiss! I, uhh, didn't see you th- ARGH!!" He turned around to face the heiress, accidentally hitting his arm on the table.

"Ruben!" she cried out, approaching her partner, curling up in pain and nursing his arm.

"No, no! It's fi- OW!!!" he tried to reassure her, holding his arm out, causing him to flinch in pain again.

Weiss watched as her partner curled up again, face scrunched up in pain.

"What is it?" she asked.

"N... Nothing! J-Just a bit sore, is all!" he tried to reassure her.

Without warning, Weiss grabbed Ruben's arm, taking care to not hurt him, and rolled up his sleeve.

Her eyes widened at the state his arms were in.

There were large bruises on both his forearms, and judging by the color, they were pretty bad.

She was sure this is more than just simple bruises, as he could barely raise his arms without pain.

"Take it off." she commanded.

"Wh-What...?" he looked up, confused.

"Your uniform. I need to see the rest of your arms."

"Weiss, you really don't have to. It's just-"

"Ruben." she said with a tone of finality.

Sighing, Ruben began to take off his hoodie, but it was obviously difficult for him with the condition his arms were in. Stretching and reaching around was definitely out of the question with all his flinching.

Weiss sighed, and reached out to help him.

"Does Yang know about this?"

"Sh-She saw my arms when I was changing this morning. She asked about it, I told her it was nothing, and she just helped me get changed. She didn't prod any further."

"That's unusual of her."

"Yeah, I thought that too, but she didn't ask about it all day. I wonder what she thought..."

-LINE BREAK-

Cardin Winchester hit his locker with a pained "Oof!". He slowly stood up, looking in fear at the golden flame of anger and vengeance in front of him, glaring at him with its furious, red eyes.

"So, you think you could mess with my Bro and get away with it, huh, Winchester?" the golden beast asked, cracking its knuckles.

"Wh-What?! I don't know what you're talking-"

SMACK!!!

-LINE BREAK-

"We'll have to worry about her later." Weiss said. "Where did you even get these, anyway?"

"Well, remember when you found me twitching on the sidewalk?"

The heiress slightly snorted.

"How could I forget your squeaky voice that time?"

"Well, the Unique I fought that night tried to attack a civilian with a lamppost, so I jumped in to protect them with my arms. Apparently it must've been too much because I started having these bruises shortly after."

"Doesn't the Driver provide you with protection, though?"

"It does, but the form I took that night prioritizes speed and agility, so I had to lose a bit of armor."

"Why did you use that form?" she asked as she took off what remains of his top, and saw a couple more bruises at his upper arms. They weren't as bad as his forearms, but they could definitely cause some discomfort when moving. "Isn't your Semblance speed? Why didn't you just use it while using the other, more durable form?"

"Weiss... I can't use my Semblance when transformed."

Weiss froze.

"... What...?"

Ruben tried to shrug, but ended up flinching again.

"The Aura Driver sort of blocks access to my Semblance, so I have to switch to that form if I need to get somewhere fast."

"That doesn't seem like a fair trade." she commented, looking at his shoulders. She knew a sore and stiff shoulder if she ever saw one. She's pushed her limits back at home more than enough to know if someone over exerted themselves. Looks like the constant battles every night have really caught up with him.

She looked around, and remembered about the first aid kit in their bathroom. She walked off, took it out, and walked back to her partner.

"This isn't going to be much, but it should help with the pain." she said as she began to treat his arms and shoulders. "Can't have the 'Red Warrior' collapse in pain while protecting the innocents now, can we?"

"... Garnet."

"What?" she asked, confused.

"That's the name I chose for myself. From now on, I'm Kamen Rider Garnet!" he said, determination clear on his face.

Weiss looked at him for a few seconds, then giggled, then broke out into full-blown laughter.

"What? What's so funny?!" he asked, clearly embarassed.

"'Kamen Rider?!' That's an old Sunday morning children's show!!!"

"Eeeehh?!" skeptical, he grabbed his scroll, and looked at the website he saw, and sure enough, the website was an archive of the franchise, containing all the seasons.

He facepalmed. "Why... didn't I... see that...?"

"Wait." he looked at his partner. "How do you know about that?"

She looked away. "None of your business."

"Do you... watch that stuff?"

Before Weiss could retort, Blake opened the door.

"Guys!" she exclaimed. She looked at Ruben's body for a second, shook her head, then continued. "I'll ask about that later. Anyway, Yang's in trouble!"

"What?!" the whiterose duo screamed, standing up. Well, Ruben tried to, but ended up falling back to his seat in pain. The heiress helped him up.

"Legs too?" Weiss asked.

"L-Legs too."

"Anyway, what's this about Yang in trouble?"

"It happened so fast." Blake said. "One minute, we were walking down the hall, then the next minute she was beating CRDL faces in! It was so sudden, by the time I got I could process what was happening, Goodwitch asked them to come to Ozpin's office."

Ruben and Weiss looked at each other.

"Oh, God. That's what she thought." both said in unison.

"Come on. Ozpin's waiting." Blake said, carefully putting her leader's shirt back on, and helped him alongside Weiss.

"I-I can walk." he squeaked out, clearly not comfortable with his situation.

"You sure?" the black-haired teammate asked.

"Yeah, just a bit slower, but I'll manage." he reassured, and even walked a few steps to prove his point.

"Alright..."

And so, the team went on their way to Ozpin's office.

And that's about it! GaeaChronos is out. Peace!