Too much happened in the last twenty-four hours.
Last night, Weiss was choked-out. Only for a red-hooded sniper to save her.
Only an hour ago, Yang almost committed a crime that would get her years in prison. For her sake. They shared a hungry kiss and then Yang was back to her usual sunny self.
Despite everything, Weiss had a goofy grin and felt her lips like some lovestruck schoolgirl.
She kissed me in the middle of the hall.
She could still taste the lingering sweet vanilla. She was beyond flattered that Yang was so protective of her. So protective that she would gladly receive the minimum punishment of expulsion if it meant getting even with that lowly scum.
Only an hour ago, Yang almost erupted like a volcano. Weiss was almost positive there was no calming the beast. Until she raised her voice and snapped her out of her reverie. It was then they shared their needy kiss. As if Yang told her she would always help her in her own way.
No one's ever had this effect on me.
To the left, Weiss watched out the open door. It appeared that Ilia and Pyrrha were struggling to keep up with Yang's spikes today when they dove for the ball. Yang was more aggressive than usual. She was probably imagining the ball was Cardin.
Watching her raw fury reminded Weiss of the cold ice pack settled on her swollen arm.
"... Weiss? Did you hear a word I just said?"
The question yanked Weiss back to reality as she blinked a few times. To her right, Ruby gave her a concerned expression.
"Sorry, what were you saying?" Weiss asked.
"Is your arm bothering you?"
Weiss adjusted the cold pack and felt her throbs absorb into the ice. "It's merely an exaggerated bruise, Ruby. Don't worry so much. I'm only icing it because your sister insisted."
Ruby frowned from how dark it appeared. "It looks terrible."
"It'll go away. Eventually."
"Are you sure you don't mind putting some parts together?" Ruby asked to make sure. "I don't want your arm to hurt if you move it too much or anything."
On the table in front of them, various robotic parts were scattered in neat piles. Since they were in tech club, Weiss was motivated to complete the drone. The end was near. Only a few pieces remained.
"I'm fine," Weiss reassured her friend. "I promise. Now tell me what the next step is."
The fact that Ruby didn't ask how she received the injury told Weiss all she needed to know. Ruby was definitely there last night.
Her reply caused Ruby to widely grin. "Can you attach the props? But don't over tighten the top bolt."
While her partner twisted the tiny bolt, Ruby pondered. She had an inkling as to why her friend was spaced-out during tech club. Weiss knows that Ruby was there last night. That's the only explanation she could think of.
Silver eyes landed on her throat. Somehow, there were no fingerprints.
"Ruby," Weiss suddenly said and met her concerned gaze. "I wanted to say thank you. For saving me last night."
That was unexpected. Ruby really didn't think her friend would bring that up on her own. Especially since Weiss appeared to be closed off when it came to personal matters.
From her genuine praise, Ruby smiled. "Ah, I knew you knew it was me. Could it have been my wicked aim or perfect timing? Nothing to do with the darts, I'm sure."
"Definitely not the darts," Weiss replied and chuckled. "One more second and I would've been in trouble."
Briefly, Ruby was puzzled that she could talk so casually about it. Did things like that happen often in her life?
"You gave Cardin a nasty black eye," Ruby remarked, thinking back to his pained grunt last night. "Those guys were terrible… they deserved worse than measly needles."
"It was more than enough, Ruby," Weiss said solemnly and kept her voice low. "You simply helped me take out the trash. Be proud that you helped a friend in need."
The praise almost elicited a blush from Ruby. Genuine compliments from her friend were rare. She mostly received some kind of quick-witted remark.
"So," Ruby began in a bargaining tone and leaned in. "When were you gonna tell us that you're a total badass?"
Perplexed by the question, Weiss almost scoffed. "Are you making fun? Did you not see me lose?"
Frantically, Ruby waved her hands and whispered harshly. "No, no, no! You were awesome! You flipped at one point to dodge that crowbar. And you were on your tippy toes the entire time like some angry ballerina! You were doing great until Cardin grabbed you from behind, I mean it-!"
To silence her, Weiss put a hand over her mouth. "Quiet, dolt."
This is not helping me blend in, Weiss thought. Damage control might be more challenging than I thought.
Ruby nodded in understanding, which caused Weiss to pull her hand away.
"I got a little excited there. Anyway, can you tell me what you guys were doing? What was with that talk about gang leaders?"
The question settled into the room as Weiss pondered her options.
She has no clue she's treading in dangerous territory, Weiss thought. It's bad enough that she saw what happened, but she heard, too? If she tries to pry too deeply, she could end up getting hurt.
Since Weiss arrived at Vale, things had been going relatively well. She set up a nice life here with some really good friends. Away from her father and former violent life. She couldn't lose what she built here. Now, her deepest fears could come true if she didn't steer Ruby away.
Troubled, Weiss bit her lip and met her curious gaze.
"Ruby, I need you to listen carefully. Don't think too much about it. What's done is done. The things we discussed are completely irrelevant to you. They won't do something like that again. Try not to worry about it, okay?"
While Ruby processed her words, she nodded.
"I understand. Are you sure you're okay? You're safe?"
For now, I am.
"Yes."
"What's she doing?"
The question was a low whisper as Ruby peeked behind a tall shelf. She adjusted her oversized hat to keep it from falling to the floor.
Cautiously, golden eyes squinted, cat ears perked up and alert under her baseball cap. Across the store, the light blonde walked into the computer aisle. It appeared she was browsing the various laptops displayed for selection.
"She's looking at laptops," Blake informed and frowned at their behavior. "Why're we doing this again?"
"I need to know what she's hiding," Ruby said. "You've wondered, too. Admit it."
From that, Blake thinly sighed. Her girlfriend was right. There was a lot they didn't know about Weiss. She kept her personal life under lock and key. If Ruby didn't witness what happened last night, they might still be clueless.
"I told you what happened last night," Ruby reminded. "There's something major about Weiss we don't know. I'm dying to find out."
"I want to know, too," the faunus said quietly. "But there has to be another way that doesn't involve stalking!"
"I asked her about it, and she didn't say much," Ruby justified and held onto her arm. "We don't have many options. Aaaaand, I know you enjoy this."
From their close contact, Blake blushed. "W-why isn't Yang here?"
"She'd try to talk to her!"
After another sigh, Blake held onto Ruby's arm as the couple peered out from the aisle. Weiss was testing out some laptops like she was a promising customer. A nearby employee approached the pair, who were clearly out of place. Who wears sunglasses inside?
"Can I help you ladies with anything?"
Ruby hastily replied. "We're good."
The employee only glanced at the pair's ridiculous hats before walking away.
Blake frowned from how she must look. "I told you these were dumb."
"You look adorable as always," Ruby reassured her.
"I look like Captain Crunch's grinder date," Blake deadpanned.
When Ruby snickered, Blake hastily dipped them both behind a shelf after Weiss turned around. As Weiss made her exit, Blake spotted a critical piece of information.
"She's holding a USB port."
That could mean a lot of things. Ruby's tech-savvy mind scrambled for answers. One probable reason could be…
"She's putting information from it onto the store computers?" Ruby asked, thinking that was highly unlikely.
"No," Blake said in realization. "You can use it to be anonymous online, right?"
"Oh my god, you're right," Ruby agreed. "She didn't buy a computer, she just used it."
Blake narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "She wants to stay hidden. Keep her location hidden, at the very least."
"Why?"
Blake only shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."
At last, they are on a mission to crack the case!
Stay dandy,
~Toto