7-8 months? That old hiatus from 2015 to 2016 was nothing! I really out did myself with 2.5 years!
Blake:
'Sleep…relaxation…food…tuna …nothingness…something…what…oh my god!'
Blake suddenly woke up, recoiling from the sudden sensation around her. After a horrifying moment of disorientation, she took notice of the familiar warmth and mess of blonde hair. She sighed, slightly annoyed, but ultimately relieved.
"You scared the crap out of me," Blake mumbled.
Yang grinned in the dark as she closely snuggled against her girlfriend on the high bunk bed, "Heh, sorry!"
"What are you doing?" Blake asked, her harsh tone contradictory as she leaned back into Yang's embrace, "The alarm isn't set for another fifteen minutes. You should be sleeping."
"Yeah I know," Yang whispered as she rubbed her hand across her partner's arm, "I just woke up and remembered that I'm going to be deprived of you all day…I'm just preparing for the drought I suppose."
The faunus laughed softly, replying, "I was only holding your hand in class, and besides, haven't you been deprived this whole past semester? I think you survived."
"Well yeah," Yang muttered, "That doesn't make it any easier, though."
Blake sighed, "Thanks again for keeping this a secret. I know it's a ton to ask…"
"Hey, don't mention it," Yang held her tighter, "Thanks for being brave enough to go out on Friday."
"Yeah … have you planned that out yet?"
"Well not entirely," Yang admitted, "I have several ideas. I just need to get all the details. I'll make it fun though – don't you worry!"
The pair fell into silence. The simple contact seemed to bring so much peace. Blake felt her eyes growing heavy. She started slipping away into the arms wrapped around her.
Suddenly though, a tingle of self-awareness popped into Blake's head and she instinctively recoiled – pushing Yang off her. Yang whined in protest as she stumbled to her feet aside the bed.
"That's enough!" Blake proclaimed, "Your drought begins now! I don't want Ruby and Weiss to find us like this. Ruby has already been teasing the hell out of me."
"Oh fine!" Yang pouted as she climbed back under her own covers, "You owe me extra snuggles on Friday then."
"We'll see," Blake mused.
Just as the silence fell again and Blake's eyelids began to flicker, the blaring alarm made itself heard with its piercing buzzer. The majority of team RWBY flinched at the sound as their ever-faithful leader cried as usual, "Good morning, team RWBY!"
…
Soon afterwards, the girls were marching their way to class through the courtyard. Ruby was extra perky as she was hyped for all the fights ahead of them. Most days of class were spent sitting around and studying, but Wednesdays were only spent in the Sparring Hall with Professor Goodwitch. Actually fighting had to be a part of their grades after all. Goodwitch would randomly pick students to fight, reward extra credit to those who actually won, and then lecture for a bit about everything they could improve on before picking the next fight.
"I can't wait for this!" Ruby gushed as they approached the sparring hall, "I heard some of the other first-year students built new weapons over the weekend. This is going to be epic!"
"Are they planning on volunteering?" Weiss groggily inquired, "otherwise, there's a very low chance they'll be randomly picked to fight. Quit freaking out over what isn't even likely to happen."
"Oh … well uh," Ruby scratched her head, "Darn it, Weiss! Don't crush my hopes! I don't want to anticipate watching boring fights all day!"
"Well, I'm not entirely enthused about listening to you freak out over weapons all day," Weiss replied with a sigh, "Perhaps, you being bored and quiet could be a nice change."
As the pair snapped back and forth, Yang leaned over to her partner saying, "Sounds like today's going to be just great. I'm glad that Weiss is such a positive contribution to our team."
"It seems so," Blake sarcastically agreed, "I wonder if Weiss realizes that by riling up Ruby, she's only making her louder."
Yang chuckled, "Maybe she only hates positive and joyful noise. I could imagine the ice queen actually loving these bursts of negativity."
"She probably has to feed off of the negative emotions to survive," Blake theorized.
"Weiss is a grimm – confirmed." Yang determined with a burst of laughter.
The two continued laughing until Weiss finally snapped, "I can hear you two, you know! And excuse me for wanting a bit of peace today. I barely got any sleep last night and am hardly in the mood for these shenanigans."
"Well it's not my fault you were out with Neptune so late!" Ruby grumbled.
"That is true," Weiss agreed, "However, you're not helping by-"
"Wait, hold up!" Yang interjected with a smirk. "What were you up to so late with Neptune?"
"Oh please, Yang!" Weiss fumed, "We were just hanging out and talking and simply lost track of the time. It's only been a few days after all. How could you even think we'd be up to those sorts of … things" Weiss' voice trailed off as her cheeks began to tint red and the team arrived at the doors to the sparring hall. Before Yang could press the heiress further, the four's path was suddenly blocked by Russel– one of the 'beloved' members of team CRDL.
"Hey!" Russel barked, "Listen here!"
The girls came to a startled stop, each glaring at the scrawny guy. "Yes, what do you want, Russel?" Ruby asked as politely as she could.
"In case you're not all aware," Russel stated with an obnoxious sneer, "We're having random matches today and the winners of each fight will get extra credit for their grades."
"We are aware," Ruby confirmed. "We've kind of been doing this for well over a semester."
"Well today," Russel continued, "you all have the chance to directly help promote the greatness of team CRDL." Team RWBY's expressions remained unaltered and wholly unimpressed, so Russel finally quit his tone.
"Alright, look," he grumbled, "Our team really needs to win our matches today, so if any of you are picked to fight against one of us, just let us win. Simple as that."
Yang scoffed, "Why on Remnant would we do that?"
"You're supposed to receive extra credit for being skilled among your peers – not by begging the most," Weiss scowled, shaking her head.
"Yeah!" Ruby chimed in.
Russel groaned, "Just let us freaking win or you'll regret it!"
"Why exactly would we regret your grades going to shit without the bonuses?" Yang pondered.
Russel gave a hateful glare at the blonde as he reiterated, "We'll make you regret it."
Yang's eyes began to tint red as she got in Russel's face, growling, "We're not going to regret shit. You on the fucking other hand-"
"Yang," Blake warned as she grabbed the blonde's shoulder, trying to prevent a very one-sided fight in very close proximity to one of Beacon's strictest instructors. Instead of her preferred option of caving in the scumbag's skull, Yang shoved past him, grumbling, "Come on, guys."
The girls passed through the busy clusters of students, all with vast varieties of weapons at their sides. Ruby marveled at each unique piece as the group found seating in the expansive bleachers.
After a moment of observing the scene, Weiss asked, "We're going to crush them if any of us get called, yes?"
"Obviously, princess," Yang replied as she fiddled with the mechanisms of her bracelets.
After a short wait, the class silenced itself, hearing the clatter of the Professor's heels upon the cold hall's floor.
"Alright, good morning everyone," Professor Goodwitch announced, as she read her notes from her scroll. "This week we'll be focusing on single matches with the appreciated help of our brave volunteers … or whoever the system chooses. Keep in mind how this scenario will be rare in fights against grimm since most will stay in packs and hopefully your team of huntsmen will do the same. Also remember that winners will be granted extra points for their grade. Keep that in mind before forfeiting out of laziness. With that being said, do I have any volunteers?"
"Hell yeah you do!"
The class looked over to team CRDL in the stands where Russel stood valiantly with his daggers drawn.
"Ah, Mr. Thrush," Goodwitch said with clear disapproval, "Very well. Do we have a challenger from another team?"
As Russel walked down to the fighting area, no one volunteered. Goodwitch glared at the class, likely disappointed no one wanted to fight the rude buffoon.
"Very well," the professor sighed, clicking more on her scroll. The massive display on the wall showed a randomizer flipping through all the students. After a moment, the display landed on the chosen student. It was a small girl with bright blue hair from one of the other first year teams.
The girl looked visibly annoyed as she walked down the stands to the central arena, casually swinging around a halberd at her side. She seemed to clearly communicate that fighting a member of team CRDL was a total waste of time.
The girl kept this same composure once the pair of combatants stood face to face in the arena. Russel grinned as he fiddled with the daggers in his hands. He seemed to be entirely confident in victory.
'He probably begged that girl's team to forfeit as well,' Blake thought.
Next to Blake, Yang suddenly began maniacally giggling.
"What is it?" Blake asked, assuming she'd missed something.
"That girl Russel's fighting," Yang explained, "I don't remember her name, but I just remembered I've seen her team spar." She began laughing again, unable to finish the explanation.
Before Blake could ask further, Professor Goodwitch yelled, "Begin!" and the match began.
Russel sprinted forward with his weapons to his sides, but his opponent stood motionless. As he got close, he began to spin his body like a top with his blades extended. The attack quickly closed in on the girl, to which, she elegantly slid under, positioning herself behind the now disoriented Russel.
Before Russel could turn around to properly react, the girl raised her halberd over her head, and in an instant, slammed the blade directly onto the top of Russel's head.
His aura shattered immediately - entirely deteriorated. He crumbled to the ground, unconscious.
As Goodwitch called the match and hastily began calling the medics, the girl walked away with the same composure she'd had before.
With wide eyes, Blake looked back over to her partner who'd finally ceased her laughter.
"That piece of crap never had a chance," Yang grinned, "Now there's some good karma."
Sky and Dove of team CRDL volunteered in the following matches. They both carried the same foolish idea that their opponent would cower by their projected greatness. Both met the same fate – pathetic defeat.
"Well, I'm sure there is plenty to be learned from these past few fights," Glynda said half-heartedly, "Remember students, strike when an opening is presented – never earlier. Now then, for the next match-"
"I volunteer!" a student yelled out.
Glynda covered her face with her hand and rubbed her temples. "Alright," she announced as the student made his way down from the stands, "Who would like to fight against Mr. Cardin Winchester?"
Expectedly, no one wanted to fight against team CRDL's final hope.
"Very well," Glynda sighed as she once again ran the randomizer on the screen.
After cycling for a few solid seconds, the screen finally landed on its selection. Team RWBY let out a collective groan at this horrendous injustice.
"Alright, Blake Belladonna, it is your turn to fight."
Yang turned to Blake, patting her on the back, "Try not to beat him too badly."
With a forced smile, Blake slowly stood with Gambol Shroud in her hand and reluctantly walked down the stands.
Cardin and Blake stood across from one another as Glynda finished setting up their aura meters on the big display. Cardin's expression clearly read, 'Don't you dare.'
Blake rolled her eyes while carelessly swinging her sword around in preparation.
"Okay then," Glynda announced as she stepped off to the side, "Begin!"
Ignoring the recent advice of the professor in favor of consistency, Cardin immediately bolted forward with his mace held high. Yelling ferociously, Cardin crashed directly into Blake – or so he thought. He stumbled and tumbled to the ground as his target dissolved on impact. Blake stood idle to the side, smirking as her illusion faded away. A couple chuckles were heard from the audience.
Cardin hastily picked himself up and aggressively spun his mace around. Charging slightly slower than before, Cardin came forth with a horizontal swipe of his weapon. Blake easily leapt over the strike and caught his head with her boot. Stumbling backward, Cardin attempted to block the follow-up attacks. He met the first strike of Blake's blade with his mace, but then missed the next strike from her sheath. Cardin's armor only slightly reduced the brute impact.
With a roar, Cardin lead his mace downward in a vertical arc. Blake easily sidestepped the attack, but then immediately realized she wasn't the target. As the mace struck the ground right next to her feet, an explosion of dust ignited and launched Blake into the air. She defensively raised her sheath as she spun, only barely blocking Cardin's strike as he jumped into the air after her.
As the students landed back on the ground, Blake quickly shifted her weapon to it's ranged, pistol form. Baiting Cardin to charge again, she fired round after round at the armored fighter. Each bullet was effortlessly deflected as Cardin trudged forward once more. Blake took hold of the ribbons of her weapon as she dodged another swipe of the mace. Instead of directly striking his flank, the faunus threw gambol shroud. The weapon skillfully wrapped around Cardin's mace. In Cardin's disorientation, Blake forcefully yanked the ribbons. Cardin held a strong grip on his weapon which lead the mace directly into his head. With an eruption of dust to the face, Cardin was forced to the ground with his aura utterly depleted.
"And that's the match!" Glynda announced, "We'll take a short break now. Please get into groups and discuss the flow of these battles. What could be improved? What would you do differently? Why did certain things happen? We'll reconvene in ten minutes."
One of the medics attempted to help Cardin up, but he shoved their arm away. After shakily standing up, he glared at Blake and threateningly shook his head. Unshaken, Blake collapsed her weapon and casually returned to her teammates.
As she approached, she saw Russel once again was harassing them, "Just mark my words, you all will sorely-"
"Do you want me to mark your face with my fist?" Yang hissed. "Were you not already knocked out long enough from your pathetic match just now?"
Blake placed her hand on Yang's shoulder, slightly startling, but then calming the blonde.
"Please just leave us alone, Russel," Blake requested, "The matches are already over, and you should probably start working on some extra assignments to pull your grade up."
The boy scowled, "You haven't seen the last of team CRDL." With that he finally stormed off.
"My god, finally. That was just horrendously obnoxious," Weiss sighed.
"Blake!" Ruby exclaimed, "You did it! Not that there was ever necessarily any doubt, but still! That was an awesome fight. You tethered his weapon and used it against him and that was awesome!"
"It was more like fighting an angry bull, than another huntsman," Weiss mused.
Yang gave Blake another quick pat on the back -seemingly holding back a hug, "It really was amazing though. Those idiots will think twice before threatening team RWBY!"
"Thanks, you guys," Blake grinned bashfully.
…
Yang:
After hours of combat demonstrations and critiques, the students were finally freed to seize the remaining day. The group wandered through the central courtyard as they very methodically planned their time.
"I am going to the library to study," Weiss asserted, "You all can do as you please."
"Oh, perfect!" Ruby beamed. "I already brought my books and really need to finish up some stuff for Oobleck's class. I could also bring-"
"No! I will be studying alone!" Weiss snapped. "The last thing I need is distractions from-"
"So, you're meeting Neptune there, yeah?" Yang maniacally grinned.
With wide eyes, Weiss immediately, entirely insisted, "NO! That is not at all the case. Were you even listening to what I just plainly told you? I do not need any distractions, what-so-ever at all!" With bright red cheeks, the heiress stormed away, robbing any continuation of the subject.
"She's totally meeting up with Neptune," Yang concluded to the remaining group. "Well what's going to be our back up plan, ladies?"
"I guess we can work at the dorm," Ruby suggested.
"I'm ahead on my work and just fought a bull apparently, so I'm going to take a nap," Blake added.
"Well," Yang replied, "I guess I can procrastinate in the dorm, then. Off we go!"
…
With Blake asleep and Ruby working at her desk, Yang sat on her bed, scrolling her scroll.
'Now's about a good a time as any to plan for Friday,' Yang thought. 'I have totally oversold my level of preparedness. The only idea of what to do is what not to do...'
With a sigh, Yang continued to ponder, 'Blake and I need to do something fun together that we couldn't simply do in the dorm – also preferably something that won't freak the kitten out too much. That whole obvious, generic movie and dinner thing is no good. We can already talk and eat together whenever and I'd really rather not seemingly copy Sun.'
Yang ran her hand through her long locks of hair, fidgeting for the right idea to come to her.
'Should we do something targeted for her? We could go to a book store or a fish market. That feels weird though, like that wouldn't be an organic experience. We need to go somewhere plainly fun for the both of us.'
Feeling defeated, Yang began searching on her scroll for events going on in Vale.
'I remember hearing somewhere that energetic, thrilling activities are the best for bonding,' Yang continued thinking, 'I don't think fighting grimm would be the best, but we need something crazy like skydiving, or parasailing, or riding rollercoasters…'
Yang's face slowly lit up as the perfect event presented itself on her scroll.
Last updated May 7 of 2016... yikes. Well uh, hello there anyone who's still here. So this chapter sat unfinished since January of 2017. Today (December of 2018) I finally completed it. I remember why I originally quit writing it - I was bored of writing so much combat after writing chapter 13 and then I got crazy busy with graduation from high school and ultimately starting college. Additionally, RWBY took a whole new direction, making the simple school setting of this story somewhat tone-def to the canon. I think mainly I've just focused on other projects far more important to me - notably developing a video game.
So have I returned to finally finish one big project for once? -Very unlikely, and promises are dangerous to make.
For now, I've at least finished this chapter. At least a bit more of this creation exists now.
Why bother returning to this though? Well, believe it or not, there is a key moment- planned since 2015- of this story that really motivated me to write towards it - to challenge myself to write a really good, satisfying story. I'd love to see that moment reached.
Additionally, I kind of out of the blue checked on this story - curious about its metrics and holy crap it's up to 194 of you now - and read through all the old reviews of people really enjoying the early chapters.
'Fuck it' I thought. 'Let's work on this again.'
Will there be another chapter within the next 2 years? Maybe. I guess we'll see. I hope you enjoy this at least for now.
...Also for the sake of disclosure as of middle of volume 6, I'm pretty sure I ship Whiterose way harder than Bumblebee now. I'm sorry.
Oh right - I'm looking back on previous chapters to see what I did for outros back in the day. What happened this chapter? I set up things. Yang and Blake are going on a date soon. Also Weiss is by far the funniest character to write for.
Hey also, please leave a review if you want to see more/ have feedback.
See you next chapter maybe.