RWBY: Grey Chapter
Ruby had her eyes plastered to the door to Professor Port's room, waiting eagerly for Yuri to come in. If Ozpin had called him, she knew it had to be for something great. "Ms. Rose?" Professor Port asked, giving her a start. She turned to him, slightly embarrassed. "Yes, sir?" She said. "I'd appreciate it if you paid more attention to my lecture than your absent teammate." He pleaded sarcastically. The classroom door opened, but before Ruby could celebrate, Ms. Goodwitch stormed into the room with a huff.
She centered herself at the front of the classroom before speaking, then sighed. "Team... RWBY... you are to accompany Mr. Kallen on his contracted mission." She said. "Wait... WHAT!?" Weiss shouted in shock. Yuri poked his head through the door. "No complaining, we're leaving." He said. Ruby jumped out of her seat, dashing to the door. Yang stood and stretched her arms above her. "No point in wondering what's going on, let's go." She said.
Blake yawned, rubbing her face in her hands as she stood. Weiss still incredulous towards whatever was happening, sighed, frustrated. She stood up and made her way towards the door. "I guess there isn't an option in this case, is there?" She moaned. Blake hopped over her desk, following the way. Well... if we're going somewhere, shouldn't we have our things? She shrugged at her own confusion, then continued through the door.
The group returned to the dorm, where they gathered their arms. Ruby was the first to vocally question exactly what was happening. "So, why are we going with you? I mean, I know that students from academies like ours can be sent on missions, but I thought that was only for the Third Year's." She said. "Well... I don't really understand the specifics myself... but apparently, there are some parties who are rather interested in me." He said. "Yeah, okay. But why are we going with you?" Blake asked.
He grinned. "To be honest, I was given a bunch of contracts to choose from, and they all seemed incredibly simple. But... I figured I'd probably get bored, and I told Ozpin that if he didn't let you all have the option to come, that I wouldn't do it." He explained. "You didn't exactly give us an option... did you though?" Weiss asked. He thought back for a moment, then shrugged. "I told you not to complain, I didn't say that you couldn't say no... and you can still say no now if you want to." He told her.
She gave a huff. He was right, and although it seemed like it would be a bother, she wanted to spend more time with Yuri, even if it was when he was a bit preoccupied. Although she lamented the fact that Blake would have an equal amount of time to swoon him, she had been planning something to win him over, she just needed an opportunity to enact said plan. She remained silent for the remainder of his explanation, packing Dust crystals into her rapier, ensuring that she would be ready for whatever lie ahead.
Yuri pulled Hope slightly from its sheath, then pushed it back into place. He repeated this a few times, and the clank of the hilt on the steel sheath rang in Blake's ears. "Hey, could you stop that, please?" She begged. His eyes widened in surprise. "I apologize, sometimes... I guess I forget that things like this may bother people, and honestly, I just can't get enough of this blade." He said. "It's fine, just... enough with the noise." She said. He wrapped his hand around the sheath, propping the hilt on his shoulder.
"You really like that sword, don't you?" Yang asked. "But... isn't it just that, a sword?" She finished her thought with a nod, sure that she was correct. "Yes... you brute... it is... just a sword. But think about this: My sister, who was thirteen years old at the time, slaved over a forge that burned at twelve hundred degrees every day for about sixteen months, constantly hammering, then folding, a piece of burning metal, until she finally felt that she had done enough, for this "just a sword" to be complete. Regardless of how plain the blade may be, it took consistency and unwavering determination for this "just a sword" to be made, that... is why I love this sword." He finished.
Yang waved her hand in front of her face, apparently realizing she had tread on unwelcome ground. "Sorry, sorry. I think it's a beautiful blade, but... I guess I just don't see it being anything other than a blade." She corrected herself. He shrugged. "It's fine, I was just giving you shit, to be honest. A few words aren't going to break my spirit that easily." He laughed. She sighed. "Fuck you, don't scare me like that!" She laughed, punching his shoulder. "Hey, what exactly is the mission you were given, Yuri?" Ruby asked, cutting into the playful banter between her sister and her lover.
"Well, we're supposed to be looking for something in a desolate ruin, Ozpin said that have been there before, so I'm hoping you four remember where exactly this place is." He said. "Ummm... yeah... that was when we first became a team, not officially, but it was the deciding event." Yang said. "Well... then it should be a memorable location for you all." He said. Yang nodded. "I think I remember where it is, it may take me a while to find though, we were flung into the forest, after all." She told him.
They walked for a while, with Ruby recounting the tale of their trials in the forest. Eventually, they came to the crumbling bridge, a sprawl of Grimm collected in the canyon that the bridged spanned across. A large cave mouth was present opposite the side of the bridge they were on. "Hey... look at that... that's where we need to be, right?" Yang asked. Yuri nodded. "Okay then, I'll stay back and take care of them." He said. His hands rifled through his pocket for a moment, and he handed Ruby a picture of a small silver pocket watch. "What, are you a dog playing fetch?" Ruby asked. Almost immediately she threw her hands over her mouth. "Not the best choice of words, eh sis?" Yang laughed.
Yuri smiled, obviously unperturbed by Ruby's accidental insult. "Alright, you girls find a way down there, and I'll take care of the rabble." He said. The girls looked on as he lunged into the abyss below, his hand fixed on the hilt of his blade. "Well... shall we start looking?" Weiss asked. The four agreed and began scanning the sheer cliff for a safe path down. Eventually, Yang gave a frustrated grunt and slammed her fist into the ground. The earth in front of her feet gave way, and slowly crumbled off the edge of the cliff.
"Hey! I think I can smash our way down!" She laughed. Weiss groaned, although she saw no other option, she wasn't readily fond of the prospect of dropping hundreds of feet on a broken rock. Regardless, the four gathered around the edge, and Yang struck the ground once more. The small chunk of rock that they had been standing atop slowly broke away, and began careening to the ground. "When we get near the ground, jump off so you hit it a little softer." Ruby shouted. They could hear Yuri's happy shouts as they plummeted, before silently landing a few meters from the cave in question.
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As the girls left the cave nearly thirty minutes later, they were greeted with an enormous number of Grimm corpses. Yuri was sat atop a Deathstalker which was still very alive. "Hey girls! You find it?" He asked. Yang tossed him the silver watch. "Awesome... alright buddy lets hop to it." He said, patting the creature on its side. Its claws snapped, and it lurched towards the cliff-side. "You... actually tamed an adult Grimm?!" Weiss said worriedly. He gave her a shocked look, then nodded/ "Yeah, I can control the mind of basically anything if I use enough Aura." He said. "You can? What about people?" She asked.
He tilted his head. "Let me say this... if I did control you... you'd never know it, buuuuut... just making this guy calm is making me sweat, so I think if I really was controlling people, it'd be pretty obvious. Now... hop on, he's a big boy, he can carry us all." He said. Yang jumped onto the beast's back, wrapping her arms around Yuri's midriff. "Only if I get to sit here!" She laughed. The rest of the group climbed on cautiously, but eventually found that the creature was much more docile than expected. Its claws dug furiously into the cliff-side, and a few minutes later, the group was standing near the bridge once more.
The beast turned its back on them as soon as they were safely on the ground, lunging over the edge, back into the chasm. "Well... that settles it." He said happily. "I'll get this to Ozpin, you girls can go, unless you'd like to come along." He told them. "HOLD IT!" Weiss growled. She pointed to the ground, where a pool of blood had begun forming beneath the trim of his cloak. "Did you think someone wouldn't notice that?" She asked angrily. He grinned, then let his cloak shift, to show the wound. Three rather shallow scratches were present on his forearm. "Look, see? It's just a scratch, it'll have healed by the time I set foot back in Beacon." He said.
Weiss huffed, crossing her arms angrily. "When you get hurt, regardless of how slight it is, you're supposed to tell someone." She said. "That would be true, if I were normal, but we all know that normalcy is the last impression I give, but I promise if a wound is serious, I'll let you girls know." He said. Weiss wanted to argue further, but decided that any potential interest that he may have in her would be diminished upon doing so. "We're a team, Yuri, don't leave us in the dark." Blake said. He nodded, then stepped towards Beacon. "I'm off, I assume you four will be going back to class." He said.
As he disappeared into the forest, Blake sighed. "Sure... he says he'll be more open, but will he?" She asked no one in particular. "Do you not trust him, Blake?" Ruby asked. "It's not that... I just think... getting him to open up... is going to be harder than we may think." She said. "I mean... the last friends that he ever had were slaughtered... even if we mean well... it may be hard for him to get attached to any of us." She finished.
Weiss pondered that for a moment. Indeed, someone like that would be distrusting on two fronts, one, as they would be afraid of their new friends being killed as well... and they would also be afraid of being betrayed. Yuri seemed like he knew what both were like, even if he never said it. She grimaced, seeing this as a new barrier between he and her. I guess I'll have to prove to him that he can trust me. She shuddered, her mind flashing back to when he collapsed in front of her.
I don't ever want to see that again, but... I need him to trust that we're here for him.
So... what do I do?
