Cover Art by CHE3ZY
Wanted to release this one yesterday but wasn't able to. Anyway, let's get the show on the road. Hope you enjoy this one!
Beacon Academy:
Ruby stared up at the ceiling as she was resting on her bed. She had just finished her part in setting up for the dance tomorrow night and to say she was tired would not have been farfetched. The sound of the door opening made her look over as Yang walked in with a triumphant smile on her face.
"Guess who got Blake to take a break and come to the dance tomorrow?"
"Was it Weiss?" Ruby's question was drenched in sarcasm.
Yang's eyes narrowed at Ruby. They'd all noticed Blake becoming more and more obsessed with unraveling the mystery behind the White Fang, Roman Torchwick, and that mysterious masked being. It seemed as though she would not rest until she got to the bottom of it all. She'd been sleeping less, and her academic performance was suffering as well. She found Blake and after a heart-to-heart conversation, she managed to convince the girl to take a much-needed break. Ruby's sarcastic little remark earned the ire of the blonde firecracker of team RWBY.
"You're lucky you're my cute little sister."
"Cute? I'm adorable!" Ruby had her eyes closed with a mischievous smile on her face.
Yang threw her pillow at Ruby, causing the younger girl to shriek in surprise.
"Ow! Can't you take a joke?"
Yang smirked, happy with Ruby's reaction.
"Oh, I can. But leave the humor to me."
"Okay mom," Ruby replied.
"Good," Yang said with a smile, "if only Weiss could listen to me as you do."
"Speaking of Weiss, where is she?"
"Oh, after I went to talk to Blake, she went off to ask Neptune to the dance or something."
"Oh. Well, thanks for getting Blake to come. Now it will be complete with her there!"
"Not quite."
"What do you mean?"
"This will be your first dance and since you didn't get to go to Signal Academy's senior ball, you'll need a date."
Ruby stared incredulously at Yang for a moment before her reply came.
"What?!"
Yang smiled at her sister with her eyes closed.
"No little sister of mine is going to her first dance alone. I had a date when I went to my first dance and damn it so will you."
"Wait a minute. Why do I have to have a date while you go alone?"
Yang rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed at Ruby's protests.
"What part of 'this isn't my first rodeo' do you not understand?"
"I-" Ruby began.
"And besides," Yang cut her off before she could finish her sentence, "I need to try out going stag for once. I might find a date while I'm there. Who knows?"
"But where am I supposed to find a date by tomorrow night?"
Yang's response came in the form of an evil smirk. Ruby's face grew paler than normal. Yang had that look in her eyes; the kind of look that screamed trouble. There was no way her sister was that evil.
"Oh no…"
"Oh yes Ruby."
Yang bolted for the door only to find Ruby's petal form zoom in and cut her off. Yang's younger sister had her arms apart to block any access to the exit.
"Ruby, just step aside and let me pass."
"Not until you tell me exactly what you plan to do!"
"Oh Ruby, my dearest little sister, I simply want to pay a certain tall, silent, muscular, handsome boy a visit and ask him if he'd be so kind to escort my baby sister to the dance," Yang said in a sing-song voice.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
Yang laughed at her sister's reaction.
"Before I make you get out of my way, tell me something. Why not?"
"Why not what?"
"Why not go with Terre?"
"I…you see…I…it's complicated?"
"You do realize that everyone knows about your little schoolgirl crush on him, right?"
Ruby's face lit up red like a tomato, clearly embarrassed.
"I-"
"Well, I guess not everyone. For some reason, everyone on team PGRT seems a little dense when it comes to that. No idea why, though; you're pretty obvious about it."
"I am?!"
"Yup! Now, get out of the way before I make you."
Ruby didn't budge; she was adamant about not letting Yang out of there. Yang sighed.
"Looks like we'll be doing this the hard way."
Terre watched as Jai moved his rook horizontally across the board to take his pawn. Terre's next move was to move his knight further up the board and took one of Jai's pawns. The two had been playing for about twenty minutes. Jai had asked for the rematch after they stalemated last time.
"I wonder what Penny would say about the odds of you winning this time," said Jai.
"If she were here, she would say that you have a minuscule chance of winning," replied Terre without looking up from the board.
Jai studied his brother's countenance carefully.
"Doc was right. You have been developing a sense of humor."
"I could say the same for you," Terre replied with a raised eyebrow.
"True, but yours is far more noticeable than mine."
Jai moved his rook up, putting Terre's bishop at risk.
Jai spoke.
"I heard General Ironwood is sending us clothing for the ball. I take it we're going?"
Terre studied the move carefully, planning on the appropriate course of action to deal with Jai's rook.
"Yeah," replied Terre, "we'd have to go anyway. Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha will most likely be there."
Terre moved his queen in position to take Jai's rook if it were to take his bishop. Jai didn't take the bishop. He didn't move his rook. Instead, he moved his knight up the board.
"That's fair," said Jai, "and I guess it might also be a little suspicious if we did not attend."
"Indeed," Terre moved his knight and took another one of Jai's pawns.
CRASH!
On instinct, the two bolted from the table and made for the door, sending the chess board flying. Something was happening in the hallway; the sound of a struggle could be heard. Terre opened the door with Jai behind him, carrying his sword. They saw Ruby struggling to hold Yang back as they wrestled on the floor.
"Yang! Please! No!"
"Shut up and let me do this Rube!"
Yang crawled towards the door, her hand coming to rest on Terre's boot unintentionally. Yang looked up at Terre in surprise. Terre and Jai merely looked down in confusion. Ruby and Yang immediately ceased their scuffle as soon as they saw that they were being watched. Terre and Jai looked over and saw that the door to Ruby and Yang's room had been broken down and there were dents along the walls, evidence that they were really going at it.
"Is there a problem here?" Terre asked with genuine curiosity.
"Nothing's wrong here Terre. Just two sisters roughhousing a bit, right Rube?"
Ruby was blushing intensely at this point. The leader of team RWBY was currently looking at the ground to avoid eye contact. She merely nodded in agreement. Jai looked at the whole spectacle with a raised eyebrow. He glanced at his watch and noticed that dinner was going to start in a few minutes. Seeing that their game of chess was ruined, Jai decided there was nothing better to do.
"In that case, I think I will go to dinner," he said as he looked over at Terre. "Coming?"
"You go on. I'll stay back and figure out what's going on here."
Jai nodded.
"Yang, Ruby," Jai said with a respectful nod in their direction, "have a good evening."
Jai maneuvered around them and walked off to the dining hall. Terre watched as he left before he turned his attention back to the two sisters who were still on the floor. Yang picked herself up off the floor, dragging Ruby up with her. The blonde firecracker put on the friendliest smile she could muster.
"Actually, Terre," she said, "there is a problem."
Ruby glared hateful daggers at her sister, who ignored her. At this point, Ruby's face was starting to look like her red cloak.
"What's the problem?"
"Well," Yang began, "the ball is tomorrow, and this will be my little sister's first dance, but she needs someone to escort her there."
Ruby lunged at Yang, intent on strangling her. Yang stopped her with an outstretched arm, keeping her at bay. Ruby, instead, tried to claw at her sister's face, but her efforts were in vain.
"I was wondering if you would accompany her?"
Ruby immediately ceased trying to kill her sister, too shocked to continue. Terre blinked, not sure what to think of the situation. Ruby looked like she wanted to die. The embarrassment was too much for her to bear, and what was worse was that Terre looked absolutely confused.
"Y-You…don't have to if you-" Ruby began.
"I would be happy to accompany you, Ruby," he replied.
"Wh-What?"
"He said he would be happy to go with you, Ruby. Are you deaf?" Yang playfully smacked Ruby on the back of her head. "I see that my job here is done. Now, if you'll both excuse me, I have to go fix my door."
Terre watched as Yang walked off with a spring in her step. He wasn't sure why, but she seemed happy about what just happened. He couldn't say the same for the girl hiding under her hood, however. Ruby was struggling with her embarrassment, only squeaking out as she struggled to find her breath. Even to Terre, it was clear she did not want to be there. He cleared his throat, deciding to speak.
"Perhaps you wanted to go with someone else?"
At this, the girl stopped quivering underneath her hood, throwing it off her head.
"No! I mean! That isn't-!" Ruby started twiddling her fingers as she cast an aside glance. "I mean if it's you, it's okay... I just..."
Ruby was trying to find the right words to say.
"I know Yang's looking out for me, but like everything else, she kinda just... pushes for stuff."
Terre looked at her quizzically.
"... I suppose that's not too different from what a leader is expected to do, is it?"
"I... guess. But I figured that was more in line with fighting. I mean, what's a dance got to do with that?" Replied Ruby.
"Being a leader doesn't just mean always taking the initiative in combat, Ruby. Keep that in mind."
Ruby nodded. Terre arched an eyebrow at her.
"So, did you want me to come with you?"
Ruby leaned against the doorway at the question, still looking down. She ran a finger through her hair, twirling it as she tried to find the courage to speak. Finally, she turned up to him, sparkling with what she thought was confidence.
"Yeah. I do!"
Terre smiled at her. He wasn't sure if he said the right thing, but it seemed Ruby was a bit happier about it.
"And... and you better not be late! I spent a lot of time with Weiss making it all look good!" She was brimming with genuine bravado now, despite the shakiness in her voice.
"I'm never... I won't be late."
Ruby glanced down, her eyes making contact with Terre's watch.
"Speaking of late." Said Ruy, "I don't want to be late for dinner. Want to go together?"
Terre nodded, earning a smile from Ruby. The short leader of team RWBY led the tall Guardian away to the dining facility. Yang watched the whole thing secretly from behind the doorway to her room.
"Damn I'm good," the blonde said to herself with a proud smirk.
Weiss was angry.
No.
Angry was an understatement. What she felt right now was something worse. She was furious. Who the hell did that jerk Neptune think he was? She asked him to the ball, putting her dignity on the line, and the prick had the nerve to say no to her. She had stormed out of the ballroom and was marching off with no apparent destination in mind. What really hurt Weiss was that she thought this was her chance to experience a formal event with an actual date.
Being a member of the Schnee family as well as the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, she had attended far too many balls for her to properly count. All of those events, however, required her attendance.
Any boy who wanted to be her date did so out of a desire to marry into her family, into the money. It was a bit ironic, though. She had always rejected boys and now when she asked one to the dance, she found herself being rejected. Maybe this was karma catching up with her?
No.
It couldn't be. Every boy she ever rejected saw her as an object or a pathway to high society. Most of them at least. Out of all the boys she ever rejected, only Jaune seemed to be genuine. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to take a hint; the blonde dolt kept pestering her, hoping she would say yes. Neptune, however, was different.
He was so cool and confident when he introduced himself to her and she found herself being charmed by him. He had led her to believe he was interested in her, only for him to reject her.
She could feel her anger rise again. She continued walking until she came to the entrance to the dormitories. In her anger-fueled march, she wasn't paying attention to where she was going, and she found herself bumping into someone as she walked through the door.
"Hey! Watch where you're-"
She stopped herself mid-sentence. Her eyes went wide in embarrassment. She had bumped into Rahm, who looked at her with a concerned look.
"Sorry, that was my fault," she apologized.
"Is everything alright Weiss?"
"I've never felt better," she lied.
"If I'm not mistaken, the last time you failed to mind your surroundings you were deeply troubled by something, and you were nearly hit by a car. I'm willing to bet that this time is no different."
"What do you care?"
The super soldier looked at her questioningly. Weiss quickly covered her mouth with her hands, shocked as to what she just said.
"Oh no! I'm sorry Rahm. I didn't mean that. I just…"
"I need to go into town to grab something. Why don't you tell me what's wrong on the way there?"
Weiss didn't know what to say. She thought it over for a few moments before she finally managed to find a response.
"What do you need to get?"
"Just wanted to grab an early release issue of my favorite magazine rather than wait for it to come in the mail in a few weeks."
"Well then, I guess I could tag along," she said with a smile.
"Let's go then."
Penny found the gardens of Beacon Academy to be her favorite place on the campus. The intricate topiary of different shapes and sizes, the beautiful flowers of different colors, and the pond where the most beautiful fish swam. The garden was currently illuminated by a series of intricately spaced-out lamps. The sun had just set, and the evening was young. She was enjoying this lovely Saturday evening.
Most of the students on campus were headed toward the dining hall, which meant that the garden would be left to herself. Or so she thought. Penny rounded a corner of a tall shrub and spotted Pyrrha sitting alone on a bench at the far end of the pond. Pyrrha's face looked downcast. She had a slight frown on her face as she looked down at the fish in the water. Her elbows rested on her knees while her chin rested on her hands. Penny approached, wondering what was wrong with the normally happy redhead.
A hand on her shoulder caused Pyrrha to look up behind her. She saw Penny standing there with a reassuring smile on her face.
"Is everything fine Pyrrha?"
"Y-Yes," she lied, "everything is fine."
Penny frowned, knowing she wasn't telling the truth.
"Forgive me if I do not believe you Pyrrha. I can tell when a friend is not well. Please," she said, "tell me what is bothering you."
Pyrrha looked away, unable to look the sweet girl in the eye. Penny walked around the bench to sit next to the invincible girl. Penny kept her comforting hand on Pyrrha's shoulder. Pyrrha sighed and then spoke.
"I…I just…I just wanted someone to ask me to the dance."
Penny cocked her head to the side in slight confusion.
"More specifically, I wanted a certain someone to ask me, but recently I've been wondering if pursuing him is pointless. My feelings for him go unnoticed as he's smitten with another but it's ironic because she outwardly rejects him. Regardless, it would have been nice for someone, anyone to ask me to the dance."
"Why is that Pyrrha?"
Pyrrha paused for a moment, trying to sort her thoughts.
"I've been blessed with incredible talents and opportunities. I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise, but when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place. Everyone assumes I'm too good for them. That I'm on a level they simply can't attain. It's become impossible to form any sort of meaningful relationship with people."
Pyrrha successfully kept her tears at bay. She wouldn't cry. Not now. She was stronger than this. Pyrrha found herself enveloped in a warm, gentle hug. Surprisingly, Penny kept her strength under control. Pyrrha's frown morphed into a smile before she hugged the artificial girl back.
"I am sorry I could not form a meaningful relationship with you Pyrrha. I will try harder."
"No!" Pyrrha almost yelled. "I didn't finish. Penny, you and the others are the first real friends I've ever had. I never formed meaningful relationships until I met that someone. He was among the first to treat me like a normal person. He didn't even know my name when I met him. Everyone else at Beacon knew who I was and would try to get my autograph except for one other."
Penny smiled.
"Thank you, Pyrrha. I am glad to know we have a meaningful friendship. I am sorry, though, that Jaune does not feel the same way."
Pyrrha looked a bit shocked. She tried to be as discrete as she could about it and yet Penny knew exactly who she was talking about.
"How did you know?"
"You were quite obvious in showing your affection. I am surprised that Jaune has not noticed. Though, if he has not noticed or chooses not to notice then I believe that it is his loss and not yours."
Pyrrha blushed in embarrassment.
"Yeah, or maybe he knows but just doesn't feel the same way," she said. A sudden realization came over Pyrrha, her eyes widening. "Wait a minute. Penny, what did you just say?"
"You were quite obvious in showing your-"
"No," she interrupted, "the part about it being his loss."
"Oh, I said that if he has not noticed or simply chooses not to notice your romantic feelings then it is his loss and not yours."
Only one other person had said the same thing to her.
"…Jai," she whispered to herself, not knowing that Penny could hear her.
She didn't know what to do. She had fallen for Jaune and she had fallen hard. How could she simply shove her feelings for the lovable blonde idiot aside? The champion of Mistral looked absolutely defeated; Penny felt sad for the scarlet-haired girl. There had to be something she could do to cheer her up. An idea popped into her head, eliciting a smile from the artificial girl.
Penny grabbed Pyrrha's hand, dragging her along as she stood up. Pyrrha looked down at Penny from her tall height
"Penny?"
"Come with me Pyrrha. I think I know how to cheer you up."
Penny didn't give the invincible girl time to protest as she dragged her along toward an unknown destination.
Vale:
"Care to tell me what's bothering you?" Rahm asked as they walked on the sidewalk that followed the road into Vale.
Weiss felt her anger begin to rise again as she was reminded of the source of her anger.
"Neptune," she said with venom in her voice.
Rahm stopped in his tracks. Weiss stopped as well, but she looked confused as Rahm examined her.
"Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?" Rahm's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"No," she replied, "well not physically if that's what you mean."
Rahm seemed to relax a bit at that and the two continued to walk. Weiss was almost certain she saw his fist clench.
"What happened?"
Weiss sighed.
"I asked him to be my date to the ball tomorrow night and he said no."
"Oh…I see…"
"So…" Weiss began, "any words of wisdom? You were pretty helpful last time when we talked about my trust issues with Blake."
Rahm wasn't exactly sure what to say. The last time he discussed an issue she was facing it was on a subject he had experience in. This time, however, he was at a complete loss for words.
"I'm afraid this isn't a topic I have experience in. Sorry."
Weiss looked a bit perplexed at what he said.
"Did you mean rejection or asking someone to a dance?"
"Both," he replied.
"I guess that makes sense. You probably had girls asking you out rather than the other way around."
"Actually no. I don't have any experience with any of that."
"Really? I would have figured that would have been the case for a guy like you."
"A guy like me?" Rahm raised an eyebrow at that, curious as to what she meant.
"You know. Tall, strong, brave, intelligent, loyal, respectful, handsome…"
Weiss immediately blushed upon realizing what she just said. Luckily, Rahm didn't seem to dwell on it too much; he seemed more concerned about her issue.
"Thank you. I do, however, find it difficult to understand why Neptune would say no to your proposal. You're among the most popular and sought-after students at Beacon."
"I don't understand either. Especially since he was flirting with me nonstop."
"I noticed…"
"Yeah, well it doesn't matter anymore. He's a complete ass and I'm glad to have found out sooner rather than later."
Rahm said nothing. He merely nodded.
The two had entered Vale proper. The early evening sky was barely illuminated by the residual rays of the sun that had just set. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the store. It didn't take more than a couple of minutes for Rahm to find his magazine. As he went to go to the cashier to pay for the magazine, Rahm caught sight of something that piqued his interest.
He saw a soldier on the cover of another magazine. This soldier, however, didn't look like the typical rank-and-file soldiers he'd seen. This one wore personalized gear and didn't appear to wear an actual uniform. The name of the magazine was "Soldier of Fortune Monthly." Guardian Zero-One-One hummed to himself for a moment before he grabbed a copy of the magazine and went to pay.
Weiss was waiting for him, flipping through a fashion magazine. She looked up as she heard him approach with his bagged purchases in hand.
"You weren't lying when you said it wouldn't take long," she said, putting down the magazine.
Rahm nodded with a small smile.
"Let's head back then."
They exited the shop and proceeded to walk along the sidewalk, back toward Beacon Academy. Rahm glanced at his watch and noticed the time. By the time they got back, dinner would be over. The super soldier turned his attention to the white-haired heiress.
"We won't make it back in time for dinner at this rate. Would you like to go somewhere near here for something to eat?"
Weiss looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a playful smile.
"Are you asking me out on a date?"
Rahm looked confused, something that Weiss couldn't help but find funny.
"I'm sorry, I'm a little confused."
Weiss couldn't contain her laughter. It was fun seeing the big guy all confused.
"Yes Rahm. I would like to get dinner with you."
Rahm nodded.
"Okay then."
Beacon Academy:
"Jai!"
The Guardian in question glanced over his shoulder and spotted Penny running towards him. The super soldier was on his way back to the dormitories from dinner when Penny called out to him. The adorable robot girl stopped a few feet in front of him.
"What's wrong Penny?"
"I require your assistance in helping to make Pyrrha happy. Will you come with us?"
Jai shot a concerned look at her.
"What's wrong with Pyrrha? Where is she?"
"Over there," she pointed.
Jai looked at where she pointed and spotted Pyrrha standing by herself across the courtyard. The scarlet-haired girl looked a bit nervous as she fidgeted about. Jai turned his attention back to Penny.
"She is sad. I believe it would be beneficial if you and I were to spend time with her outside of the school grounds. Like what Ruby and I do. I believe she called it, hanging out."
"Why is she sad?"
Penny considered her words carefully.
"She wanted a certain boy to ask her to the dance tomorrow. Unfortunately, said the boy is pursuing another girl's attention instead of Pyrrha's."
"I believe she mentioned something about this individual not too long ago. I voiced my opinion that the loss is his and not hers."
"I said the same thing!"
Jai nodded.
"If you think that spending time with her outside of Beacon will help her then I'll do it."
Penny smiled, jumping up and hugging Jai tightly.
"Thank you for agreeing Jai. This means so much to me."
Jai awkwardly hugged her back.
"If this is important to you and Pyrrha then it is important to me as well."
Pyrrha watched the whole thing from a distance. She didn't know what they were talking about but seeing Jai's and Penny's sibling relationship warmed her heart. Pyrrha watched as Penny took Jai by the hand and led him over to where she was standing. The invincible girl gave a shy wave.
"Hello Jai," she smiled.
"Hello Pyrrha," he spoke in a welcoming, but firm tone.
"Jai and I agree that you need to spend time with friends outside of Beacon. Therefore, we will take you into Vale to have fun."
Pyrrha blushed slightly from embarrassment.
"This isn't necessary Penny. I-"
"Your well-being is what matters most at the moment," Jai interrupted her, "and if this is the best way to help you then we'll proceed."
Pyrrha rubbed her arm, looking down at the ground with a growing smile. She looked back up, making eye contact.
"Thank you."
"You are welcome Pyrrha!" Yelled Penny. "We are happy to assist you."
Jai merely nodded respectfully.
Pyrrha couldn't help but find Penny's cheerful disposition infectious. Jai, however, remained his usual self. Despite him being his usual self, Pyrrha couldn't help but notice that he was being more attentive than usual.
Penny was still holding onto Jai's hand as she led the way. Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the short girl leading her tall teammate by the hand. As they walked towards Beacon's exit, Pyrrha glanced over at Jai and smiled. Jai made eye contact with her, but the Mistral-born champion looked away as she felt her face heat up. If there was one thing in the invincible girl's mind that was certain it was that this was going to be an interesting night.
"I don't get why dinner is always so bland on Saturday nights," Ruby frowned with her arms crossed as she walked back to the dorms alongside Terre.
While Ruby felt the food was bland, Terre wasn't in a position to comment on it. All his life he'd eaten a combination of MREs, chow hall food, and whatever he managed to hunt in the wilderness during survival training. The food at Beacon wasn't too different from the food served at the chow hall back in Atlas, however. To Terre, food was food. He could care less if it was bland. As long as it was nourishment, he'd eat it.
"I'm not sure…," he lied.
The two continued walking for another minute in silence until a beeping noise caught their attention. Ruby retrieved her scroll, the source of the noise, and read the notification she received. The energetic leader of team RWBY jumped up in joy as she yelled in excitement.
"YES!"
Terre looked at her with curiosity, causing Ruby's face to turn red from embarrassment.
"Sorry, haha," she awkwardly rubbed the back of her head, "I'm just excited is all. The new video game I wanted is finally in stock."
"Which one is it?"
"Grimm May Laugh Five!"
"Grimm May Laugh Five?" Terre mused to himself, wondering what kind of title that was.
"I'm going to go into town to get it…," she trailed off, looking at Terre all the while, "…alone…"
A semi-awkward moment of silence ensued before Terre spoke.
"Would you like me to come with you?"
"Yes! Er, I mean, if you're not busy I guess I could use the company," lucky for her, Terre was denser than steel on these issues.
Terre nodded. Ruby smiled inwardly as she led the way into Vale.
Vale:
"Is this not a pleasant change of scenery?" Asked the artificial girl.
Jai and Pyrrha looked over at Penny. Pyrrha smiled and Jai merely nodded. Jai was seated in between Penny and Pyrrha on a park bench that overlooked the lake. The park was illuminated well by the series of lamps that were evenly spaced out. Just a ways away from them there was a food truck that had a sizeable line. Pyrrha and Jai were currently eating sandwiches. Penny, not needing to eat, simply said she wasn't hungry.
"It is," said Pyrrha, "thank you, Penny."
Penny beamed an infectious smile at the girl. Pyrrha looked at Jai before smiling.
"You too Jai."
"Your gratitude isn't necessary Pyrrha," replied Jai.
"Even so," she replied, "I appreciate the two of you taking the time to make me feel better."
The sound of ducks quacking caught Penny's attention. The curious girl watched as the ducks swam towards the lake's shore and waddled out one by one in a single file. Penny was mesmerized by the waterfowl. She knew what they were, but she had never seen them in person.
"Jai! Look at the ducks," she grabbed hold of the Guardian's arm with one hand and pointed at the aquatic birds with the other.
Pyrrha struggled to contain her laughter at seeing Penny's innocence.
"I see them, Penny."
The ducks were currently wandering about, clearly looking for food.
"I think they are hungry," Penny said.
Jai looked at Penny for a moment before his attention shifted to the ducks and then back to her. The super soldier broke off a fairly large piece of bread from his sandwich and held it out to Penny.
"Would you like to feed them?"
Penny's eyes lit up as she nodded eagerly, taking the bread from Jai, who proceeded to finish what remained of his sandwich.
"Will you come with me?" Penny was still holding onto his arm.
Jai nodded and stood up, allowing Penny to lead him over to where the ducks were. Pyrrha's heart smiled as she watched the sibling-like affection between them. Penny broke the bread into smaller pieces and tossed them into the grass. The ducks waddled over and eagerly gobbled up the pieces of bread. Penny smiled as she watched the ducks eat happily.
"I think I will go get more bread," she said.
"Do you want me to come with you, Penny?"
"No. Thank you, Jai."
"Okay, just don't wander too far."
Penny smiled at Jai before she turned and left to go wait in line at the food truck, intent on buying something bread-based for the ducks. Jai, meanwhile, proceeded to return to his seat on the bench next to a smiling Pyrrha. Jai noticed her prolonged smiling.
"Is something wrong Pyrrha?"
"No, I just find your interactions with Penny to be adorable. It's as though she were your little sister."
"She is my sister; just like Rahm and Terre are my brothers."
Pyrrha looked at Jai in both wonder and admiration.
"To have such a strong bond within a team in such a short amount of time, it's truly remarkable."
"You say that almost as if your team doesn't have a strong bond."
Pyrrha cocked her head to the side in slight confusion.
"I may be a first-year student, but I can say that teams RWBY and JNPR show much better teamwork than teams in their second, third, or fourth years."
"You really think so Jai?"
"I do."
She smiled.
"Thank you."
They returned their attention to the light of the broken moon reflecting off of the lake. A minute of silence went by until Jai cleared his throat.
"So…Penny told me the reason you were upset…"
"Oh…yeah…" Pyrrha looked away, not wanting to make eye contact.
"I didn't mean to open an old wound."
"No, no, it's fine. I'm more or less over it now."
"Is this perhaps connected to what we discussed on the roof?"
Pyrrha nodded.
"You know Jai, it's quite interesting."
"How so?"
"Before Penny came to find you, she told me the same thing you told me. It's his loss; not mine."
"It's merely the truth," he replied. "Though I am curious about one thing."
"What's that?"
"Were you more upset about this boy or the dance?"
She sighed.
"It's a combination of both really, although I must say that the words that you and Penny spoke to me have made me have doubts about my feelings toward him. As far as the dance goes, I thought that maybe this time things would be different, and I would finally be able to attend a dance with someone and make up for my missed opportunity at Sanctum Academy."
"What happened at Sanctum Academy?"
"No one asked me, and I didn't have any friends," she could feel the tears trying to surface but she successfully held them back. "My time at Sanctum was difficult for me."
Jai looked at her quizzically. Pyrrha realized she needed to clarify what she meant.
"Difficult in the sense that I was constantly praised, admired, and held up on an ivory pedestal to the point that I was unable to form any real friendships. That's the main reason I chose to come to Beacon Academy. I wanted to go somewhere I could get away from my fame and hopefully make actual friends."
"Do you feel as though you made the right decision?"
She nodded, smiling while doing so.
"Yes. For the first time in my life, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime. And I have you to thank in part for that."
"Me?"
"You were the first person I ever met who didn't even know my name. You treated me like a normal person, and I want to say thank you."
On the outside Jai kept himself composed, but internally things felt…wrong. It was almost as if he were frowning on the inside. What Pyrrha just said was a lie, though she simply didn't know it. Jai knew exactly who she was when he met her. He knew everything there was to know about her. Her safety was a top mission objective. To say that he was truly treating her like a normal person was a lie. But for some reason, a reason he couldn't even fathom, he felt as though he was harming her. Guardian Zero-Three-Seven's eyes narrowed, having regained his mental clarity.
"Pyrrha?"
"Yes Jai?"
He felt the urge to try and make things right. He couldn't explain it, but it was like a small voice in his head that encouraged him. The voice had a point; he owed it to her.
"Would you attend the dance with me tomorrow night?"
Pyrrha blinked.
"W-What?"
"I asked if you would attend the dance with me."
"Really?" She looked like she was in complete disbelief at what was happening.
Jai merely nodded.
The smile that etched its way onto Pyrrha's flawless face was bigger than any smile she had smiled before.
"Yes! I would love to."
"I got more bread for the ducks!"
The two looked over and spotted Penny running back with a hand-baked pretzel in hand. Pyrrha merely laughed as Penny went about feeding the ducks again.
"These are some of the best dumplings I've ever had," Weiss smiled as she savored the food in question. "You have great tastes in restaurants, Rahm."
The two were currently seated outside. The street the restaurant was located on was alive with people walking about. It was a fairly busy street with numerous shops and restaurants.
"I don't know if I'd say that," said Rahm, "in all honesty, this was the first restaurant I spotted that looked good."
"Well lucky us then."
"Indeed."
Weiss glanced over at the bag that was by his foot before looking back at him.
"You sure do enjoy those aerospace magazines, don't you?"
Rahm glanced down at the bag containing his magazines.
"Yeah. You could say it's a hobby of mine."
Weiss looked at him skeptically.
"What?" He asked.
"Rahm, a hobby is something you do in your free time. You were reading one of your magazines during Professor Goodwitch's class."
Rahm merely shrugged his shoulders.
"The material was really interesting, and the class was boring."
Weiss giggled, earning the tiniest hint of a smirk from Guardian Zero-One-One.
"Maybe for you it was. That class had some amazing matches. Pyrrha took on team CRDL by herself, Terre mopped the floor with Mercury, and you…"
She trailed off.
Rahm looked at her, waiting for her to finish what she was saying.
"Were you going to finish your sentence, Weiss?"
Her cheeks flushed red for a moment.
"Sorry. Your match with Neptune was amazing. I don't think it even lasted ten seconds. It was honestly one of the most impressive things I've ever seen."
"Really? I was just trying to get back to reading my magazine," he said innocently.
Weiss laughed, amused at what she thought was Rahm being humorous.
"You know Rahm, in hindsight, I'm really happy you cleaned Neptune's clock."
"Because of his mistake in saying no to you?"
She rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed.
"No, you dummy. This night out with you made me look back on Neptune objectively. He was a serial flirt. A jerk like him clearly doesn't respect women."
"I'm glad I was able to help you."
"I know you are," she said, aware of the sincerity in his words.
What ensued next was what seemed to be several minutes of silence. However, the silence wasn't awkward in Weiss' opinion. It felt comfortable. She spent the time studying the super soldier, thinking about the things he said and did. Weiss would be lying if she said she had Rahm and his teammates, except for Penny, figured out. They were enigmas, plain and simple. Despite being an enigma, she couldn't help but find herself intrigued by the man in front of her. Ultimately, she found herself struggling to speak.
Rahm watched her as well, noticing how she looked conflicted.
"Are you okay Weiss?"
She blinked, coming back to reality.
"Yes…well actually there is something."
Rahm slightly leaned forward.
"What's wrong?" The concern in his voice was genuine.
"There's something I want to ask, but I'm not sure if I should ask it," she looked a bit bashful.
Rahm waited patiently as she struggled to ask her question.
"Would you… perhaps be interested…" She trailed off.
"I think you want to ask me if I want to go to the dance with you?"
Weiss didn't answer. Her pale white face was red like a tomato. It took her a moment before she nodded her head.
"I would be happy to."
Weiss smiled warmly, disproving her title of the ice queen.
"Thank you Rahm. That really means a lot to me."
He smiled back at her.
"Don't mention it, Weiss."
Ruby was busy rummaging through the different shelves of video games, searching for the one she desired. The huntress was beginning to get a little irritated because she had been searching the shelves for a few minutes and still had no luck.
"Come on, come on," she said to herself, "where is it?"
"Ruby?"
Ruby looked over to Terre.
"Yeah?"
"Is that the game?" He pointed to a video game that was on the top shelf.
Ruby looked up and smiled. Terre found it!
"Yes! You found it!"
She immediately tried to reach for the game, but her short stature prevented her from doing so. She tried jumping up, but the game remained just out of reach. She continued her comic attempts to grab her desired copy of Grimm May Laugh Five, but she was met with failure.
"Why would they put it on the top shelf where no one can reach it?!"
Terre cleared his throat, getting Ruby's attention. The Guardian reached up and grabbed the video game before he handed it to her. Ruby's face was red from a combination of anger and embarrassment.
"Thank you," she muttered.
She was a bit self-conscious about her height. She wanted to get it herself and now here was Terre being all tall and handsome retrieving her video game for her like a gentleman.
Ruby blushed when she realized she was thinking of Terre as handsome and gentlemanlike. She needed to change the subject, and get her mind out of the gutter.
"Uh," she cleared her throat, "let's go pay for this thing. I can't wait for us to play it."
"Likewise."
Looks like those dance lessons the boys got will pay off haha. I think I handled the interactions well if I do say so myself. I'm curious to know what you all think. As you can se I didn't showcase every single interaction in this chapter. I just didn't feel as thought it were necessary. The parts that diverged away from the actual series were portrayed. Blake, Sun, and Jaune didn't do anything much differently. Tune in next time for the dance. Be sure to like, share, and review. Please let me know if I messed anything up. I'm human and I make mistakes.
-Dude64