Pyrrha Nikos rarely found herself alone in Beacon. Team JNPR was always at her side. It was an excellent change of pace, in her opinion. She no longer felt cornered and alone.
She could call them friends.
Team JNPR had been assigned to her by sheer luck. She didn't connect with them, not really, they were just another gear in their system.
Except Jaune. Jaune was different.
Even so, her loyalties laid elsewhere. With her true companions, and her mistress.
The Vytal Colosseum had a medical wing for emergencies. She had excused herself from Team JNPR to go there and look for Emerald and Mercury.
She asked where they were at the reception, and was promptly guided to the infirmary. In the bed laid Emerald, groaning in pain with a large bandage around her stomach. Mercury was at her side.
Pyrrha stood at the door. Her heart ached for her protegé. But Salem had told her to harden it, for a better world required great sacrifices.
"Could you… leave us alone?" She asked the nurse that had guided her there.
"Y-yes, of course. But be mindful that they will be taken to Vale's General Hospital in a few hours," said the nurse before leaving and closing the door behind her.
With that, Pyrrha was left alone with Emerald and Mercury.
"Hey," Mercury said, arms crossed. "It's done. Don't you have something to say?"
Pyrrha frowned. Mercury had no concept of appreciation, but he was right.
"Of course. Sorry, Emerald," she said, going towards the bed. The green haired girl did not unglue her eyes from her. "Are you alright?" She asked.
Emerald nodded, stunned. "Yes, it's nothing," she said, wincing as she did so.
Pyrrha shook her head, kneeling to be at her level. "I told you to wait."
"But we couldn't! You said it had to be Yang," Emerald replied. Yes, the plan had always been to frame Yang. She was the most likely to be blamed for anything extreme that happened, and the most likely to react negatively to such accusations. Isolation was a powerful weapon.
"I know what I said. But we all agreed Mercury would take the hit," Pyrrha said, placing a hand on Emerald's forearm while glaring at Mercury, who stood at the other side of the bed.
He scoffed. "Well, we did what we could. Things never usually go to plan."
"Maybe. But we chose you because you would feel less pain, isn't that right?" Pyrrha asked. She did not like seeing Emerald get hurt.
"H-hey, it was me. I did it without telling him," Emerald said, leaning forwards to be in her line of sight.
"You've compromised the mission," Pyrrha said, turning to Emerald. She cowered before her sight.
"Hey, it's done. Stop being so uppity about it," Mercury replied. Pyrrha closed her eyes, suppressing those bouts of anger she had felt ever since her champion career began. Of course she had to suppress them. She was a champion, an icon; and now, Salem's most trusted ally. She had to keep her head cool.
But more importantly… "you better watch your mouth," she warned him, eyes narrowed.
"Oh come on–!" As he began to complain, his right leg slid across the floor, making him nearly do a split as Pyrrha twisted her hand. Discipline of those below you was important. So she had been taught by Salem.
"You are out of line, Mercury. Remember who saved you," she said, voice low. Mercury grunted, uncomfortable from his current position.
"Alright. Alright! I get it," he said. She released him, there was no need for him to be hurt more than necessary. He had been made to suffer enough by his father.
"Good," Pyrrha said, standing up. "Then we will proceed with the plan. We must be careful though, and you'll need to make a quick exit."
"Why?" Emerald asked. "I thought you needed me at your side."
Pyrrha sighed. Emerald was sometimes too attached. But she loved that, in a way, since it was genuine.
"I do. But we have a problem," Pyrrha said.
"What problem?" Mercury asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Professor Cinder won't give up on Yang that easily," she stated. Both of her companions stared at her, shocked.
"Your kidding me, right? Everyone saw what happened! It was clear as day on the big screen!" Emerald complained, waving her hands. "Wasn't she really distrustful or something?"
"Looks like Beacon changed her, just as our mistress feared. She won't leave us alone. So we need to erase our trail as soon as possible. I don't want you to get caught, but I'm afraid I won't be able to help you if the time comes."
"Seriously. You're just going to leave us to rot," Mercury stated. Emerald gasped.
"No. If it comes to that, then…" Pyrrha mused. She knew that as long as people panicked, as long as their trust in the system was broken and Atlas was turned against them, then the plan would be fulfilled. "… I'll take care of it."
"You… sure?" Mercury asked, concern present on his voice, which was something quite rare.
"Yes," Pyrrha said, even if the truth was that she needed time. Beacon had softened her up, Jaune had softened her up. She was a failure in that regard, but disappointing Salem was not something she was going to do. "Proceed as planned. If I see that Cinder is trailing too close, then I'll act."
Cinder felt tense, standing in that hallway with Rhodes and Winter.
Instinctively, she went near her friend. Why, she did not know well. She usually liked to stand alone, face her problems alone.
"Rhodes… how did you get involved with this? Why?" She asked him. The huntsman simply scratched the back of his neck.
"W-well, since I'm from Atlas… General Ironwood reached to me. And I usually take jobs involving… you know… catching other huntsmen, apart from the ever present Grimm jobs," he said. At this, Cinder frowned. So that's what Rhodes did. He hunted huntsmen.
Ironwood had assigned a huntsman hunter to her.
"I see," she said, fists clenched.
"It's a pleasure to work alongside you, mister Fatin. But do remember that General Ironwood is in command, and he has delegated that to me for the time being. So I hope you'll stay in line," she said. At this, Rhodes stood firm.
"Yes ma'am," Rhodes admitted. Cinder felt sick, seeing him so loyal and straight laced. It reminded her why she hated Atlas, and it almost made her want to excuse his abandonment.
"Good," Winter said with a nod. Then, she turned to Cinder. "Since you are leading the investigation, Professor, I do hope you have some idea of how to progress," she said. At this, Cinder gave her a smirk.
"Wow. Why so cold, Ice Queen?" She asked, feeling her tension spike even more. Winter frowned.
"I do want to support you, really, but we are in an official investigation. I must remain professional, and do this by the book. Are we clear?" Winter asked, cold as the day she first met her.
Cinder felt her face scrunch up. So much for 'friendship'. She should have expected this. But she could beat herself up later. Now, she needed to help Yang.
"Alright. I'd like to see the files of those two kids Yang faced, and footage of the match. Perhaps we could see what went wrong," she ordered, deciding to entertain Winter.
The specialist nodded. "The Beacon Tower should have the files we need."
"Then let's go," Cinder said, turning and heading off to prove her sister's innocence, without waiting for anyone else.
While Weiss and Yang had remained in the dorm, Ruby and Blake had headed for the hospital wing in hopes of talking to Mercury and Emerald.
Ruby would be excited, normally. Another mission, another mystery, and she was doing it with Blake. Alone. Which meant… something. She liked spending alone time with her, for some reason.
But now, now she could not feel excited. After what Yang did, what happened to her, a void welled up in her stomach. It was not like the rush of adrenaline she got when fighting Grimm or criminals. It wasn't the cold sensation of anxiety when things were going wrong.
It was a sense of dread, of impending doom. To Ruby, who always kept her spirits high and always moving forward, that was bothering her more than anything else.
But she said nothing. She didn't need to worry the rest of her team. Especially not Yang or Cinder, who already had enough on their plates as it were.
After a long, silent walk, Ruby and Blake entered the infirmary's reception. Lady Emma, clad in her modest purple robes, was the head nurse. She was way too busy ordering and sealing some papers on her scroll to notice them approach. There was no one else, much to Ruby's delight.
No other injured, and no one to look at her, should things go wrong.
"Hello, Lady Emma," Blake said, stepping forward to the counter that stood in the middle of the room. Emma's head shot up, as if startled.
"Ah… emmm… Belladona, was it?" She asked with her raspy voice.
"Yes. Pretty much. Sorry to bother–"
"–Oh! It's no worry. Really. When you are head nurse, you see so many feisty patients that your own patience begins to evolve. So what is it that you need?" She asked with a smile and closed eyes.
"W-well… we were wondering if we could see Emerald and Mercury, from team… uh…" As Ruby began asking, Emma ruffled papers around, looking for something.
"Yes, yes. Emerald and Mercury from team TMNE. Poor girl, attacked by that savage Xiao Lon–" As she talked, Emma looked over to Ruby, whose face had begun to scrunch up involuntarily. "–Forgive me. I shouldn't be calling students–"
"–It's okay. We just want to make sure they are alright," Ruby said, trying to force back the anxious thoughts of Yang being truly at fault for what she did. Which, if being realist, was probably what happened.
That thought made Ruby feel like Blake was rubbing off on her.
"Of course. They'll be moved to the General Hospital soon. Abdominal trauma is no joke. But please, go ahead to room 24," Emma said, motioning to a set of double doors near her. Ruby and Blake looked at each other, before nodding and leaving Lady Emma behind.
They entered the double doors that lead to a long hallway, and once they were out of earshot, Ruby decided to ask her question.
"Moving them?" She asked, turning towards Blake.
"Moving them?" Blake asked in unison, also turning to her.
They both looked at each other for a moment, before looking away. Ruby wanted to die right there.
"She must be really injured," Ruby said.
"We have to hurry then," Blake muttered.
"Hey… Blake," Ruby said, stopping. Blake noticed, and stopped a little ahead of her.
"What is it, Ruby?" She asked, looking into her eyes.
"I…" Ruby began, looking away a little. Sometimes she found Blake's eyes a little too intense. "… you do believe Yang, right?"
Blake sighed, head dropping. "What do you want me to say Ruby? I expect the worse here."
Ruby said nothing, head dropping as well. "But Yang's my friend. I guess I owe this to her."
A dark thought crossed Ruby's mind, one that made her blurt out something out of place.
"Only your friend?" Ruby asked. Blake and Yang had… well… they were nearly inseparable at times, and very distant at others.
"Y-yes. Why?" Blake said. Ruby looked away, circling Blake to avoid eye contact.
"N-nothing! Let's go then!"
Room 24 was reached in a few moments. Ruby and Blake were side by side, silent since their conversation.
However, just as Blake and Ruby approached the generic looking door, it opened, and out exited Pyrrha Nikos herself.
"Pyrrha?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow. The Champion of Mistral turned to them, somewhat startled.
"Oh! Blake. Ruby. Hi!" Seeing her friend, Ruby's mood skyrocketed.
"Hey Pyrrha! You're here too!" She said, going to her and grabbing her hands. "I'm… are you okay?"
Stunned, Pyrrha nodded.
"I'm fine. Just worried about Emerald," she stated. Ruby felt awful. Seeing a friend injured was a horrible feeling.
"What are you two doing here?" Pyrrha asked with some hesitation, her hands leaving Ruby's.
"Well, we are here to see Emerald as well. Perhaps apologize in behalf of Yang," at Blake's statement, Pyrrha narrowed her eyes.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Pyrrha stated harshly, which made Ruby retreat.
"Well… I still think we should try," Blake stated. Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, hands going to her hips.
"Didn't take you for an optimist Blake," she stated, which also made Blake lower her arms.
"I…" Blake muttered. Ruby had never heard Pyrrha so hostile before. "Ruby thinks we should try. And I guess she's Ruby-ing off of me," Blake said, looking to Ruby for a split second. Ruby had to do a double take. Had Blake just made a bad pun like Yang? For her?
"If you really wanted to apologize, a card would have done it," Ruby was getting anxious. Perhaps some truth would help. She only hoped she would not get angry.
"Alright, alright. We just want to make sure she is alright. But we also want to hear her story," Ruby revealed, hands fidgeting.
"Her story?" Pyrrha asked, crossing her arms.
"Y-yeah. Sorry but… Cinder really wants to prove Yang's innocence. A-and I would like to help," Ruby said, expecting Pyrrha to get angry. Even someone as mild mannered as her would under the circumstances.
However, Pyrrha only sighed. "I see. If you feel you must."
With that, Ruby went to hug her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"
With a roll of her eyes, Pyrrha pushed her off gently.
"It's alright. Your sister's going to be in deep trouble if she gets things wrong though. And please try to not incriminate my friend," With that, Pyrrha walked away without uttering another word. Both members of team RWBY watched her leave with some confusion.
"Well that was… odd."
"Y-yeah. Well, let's focus on Emerald for now." With a nod, they entered the infirmary.
Emerald sat on the bed, surrounded by white walls, talking on her scroll. Mercury was at her side, playing with a small paper clip.
Upon noticing their entrance, both young adults seemed to tense up. Ruby figured they scared them, seeing as Yang had hurt her badly.
"What– What are you two doing here?" Emerald asked, quickly putting her scroll away, and nearly dropping it in the process.
"We…" Ruby said, adverting her eyes. Mercury was looking at her, frowning, as if her very presence disgusted him. "...we came to apologize, in behalf of Yang."
"What?" Emerald asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Okay… listen," Blake said, stepping up with her hands raised. "She… She's not like this. She would never hurt you. Something else happened to her."
"Like… she had a mental breakdown or something?" Mercury asked, arms crossed. Blake turned to him, frowning.
"We don't know. But she didn't mean you any harm. So please don't hold it against her," Blake said.
"Also… maybe what happened to her could affect you as well. You need to be careful," Ruby said. Emerald looked away, as if feeling guilt.
"Listen Red," Ruby turned to Mercury, who was glaring at her. That name… it made unpleasant memories pop up. For a second she thought he was Roman Torchwick. "Your sister's crazy, alright? Nothing more to it. If she wants some kind of forgiveness, she won't get it. Not from me."
"B-but–"
"No buts. She's a bitch who hurt my teammate. Who gives a shit if she's your family? Family can be assholes too. So my advice? Leave her before she hurt you too, unless you are so stupid that you still believe in her," Ruby clenched her fist, harder than ever before. A feeling exploded in her chest, a flame that compelled her to do something violent.
However, that flame faded as soon as Blake stepped forward.
"You have no right to talk to her like–!" She began, pointing a finger at his face.
"Enough!" Emerald screamed, turning all eyes to her. "I won't forgive her. You can tell her that. If she really wants to be better, then she better start showing it. Now leave, please."
Ruby took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. There was nothing else to be done. However, Blake did not seem so keen on doing so.
"Blake," Ruby whispered, grabbing her wrist. "Let's go."
Blake looked at her, bewildered, before relenting and following her out the room. Ruby did not look back at the occupants.
Both women walked in silence for a few moments.
Ruby felt so… strange. She had never been on the receiving end of such hostility from people she thought liked her.
It was strange. Very strange. It felt like she had done everything wrong. And with that came a sensation of cold and that she had too much oxygen in her lungs.
"So… that went well," Ruby said, trying to let the air out of her lungs.
With that, Blake stopped in her tracks.
"We didn't need to leave, you know? They are wrong," Blake replied. Ruby tilted her head.
"But… you know what they said. What else can we do?" She asked her.
"You always say you can do something," Blake countered.
"Something to help. But this, I don't know. I don't want to upset them, it's not what a huntress does. I believe Yang. But if they believe otherwise, I can't force them to change their mind," Ruby replied. Blake looked at her with widened eyes.
"Ruby… you can always do something. You should fight if you know something you believe in is right, no matter what other think about it," Blake replied, stepping closer to her. Now Ruby hugged herself, looking at the ground.
"I don't want to hurt anyone," she whispered, mostly to herself. She had seen Cinder… hurt people to protect her. Wether that weighted on her or not, she did not know. But she did know that she never wanted to injure people with good intentions.
Grimm and Roman? Sure. They were evil. Misguided. They hurt others if allowed to. But everyone else was a different story.
"You're going to have to. You can't please everyone. And you definitely can't save everyone," Ruby's eyes widened.
Blake was right, but…
"Can we… can we talk about this later? Please?" She asked the cat faunus. Blake sighed, closing her eyes for a moment.
"Sure. But–" It was then that Ruby saw them. Two people in nurse unusual grey uniforms going into Emerald and Mercury's room with a stretcher. "–Are you listening?"
Ruby turned back to Blake. "Sorry! Sorry! I just… looks like they are here for Emerald."
Blake turned around, looking towards the door to their room.
"Who?" Blake asked.
"Two nurses," just as Ruby said that, the door opened. Blake quickly pushed Ruby near a bend in the hallway, hiding both of them.
She tensed up upon seeing the two nurses leave with Emerald in the stretcher and Mercury following right behind.
Once they were out of sight, Ruby relaxed. However, Blake did not.
"Blake?" ruby asked. "Is something wrong?"
Blake looked at her, before turning for a moment as if considering another course of action.
"I was in the White Fang," she began, face scrunched up. "During some infiltrations where Adam would… deal with hard to reach targets… we would use Ambulances as a disguise for extraction."
"So?" Ruby asked, her mind already feeling something was wrong.
"Well, it's not easy to get your hands on medical equipment. Not new, up to date ones at least. Those uniforms were old. We used them all the time. Most people don't suspect about using old stuff, since sometimes that is all they have. But here, with all this security…"
"Are you saying they are with the White Fang?" Ruby finished, her mind swimming in questions.
"I don't know. But I don't want to chance it. Do you?" Blake asked. Ruby looked into her eyes, before hardening her gaze.
"No. Let's go."
Yang's match had been incredible, with her and Weiss demonstrating impressive teamwork, even when their opponents taunted them so much. Yet, Yang had gotten riled up more than once thanks to Mercury, causing her to chase after him recklessly. If not for her semblance's brute strength, she would have lost.
No matter how much Cinder looked and looked, there was nothing on the recording of the match, and nothing about their Semblances on Beacon's files. Nothing at all. And that irritated her.
Emerald and Mercury's files were clean. Nothing out of the ordinary.
As she ran her finger through the screen, being careful to not miss any of the lines, she once again saw Emerald's semblance listed as 'undiscovered'.
"Cinder…" Rhodes said, his hand hovering over her shoulder.
Cinder turned to him fully in less than a second. "Don't start."
"There's nothing," he said.
"He's right, Cinder," Winter said, looking up from her terminal. "Their files are all clean. Perfect, even."
Cinder sighed. "And that's what worries me. They are too perfect."
Rhodes rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "Well… when things are too perfect, it's possible it's a forgery."
"But these files are all from Lionheart himself. He wrote them," Winter stated.
"Maybe they lied," Cinder said. She didn't know much about Lionheart, except from what little she saw of him on the Vytal Festival as it's de facto announcer. And to her, he seemed meek.
"He would have seen it," exasperated, Cinder turned, smacking her own arms against her hips.
"Really now. How do you know that?" She asked.
"He was selected specifically by Ozpin for the Mistral headmaster position. It's not a decision taken lightly, thus, he is trustworthy, to all of us," Cinder sighed for the umpteenth time.
All this trust for authority, for those with power, selected by others with power. It made her want to facepalm. And she actually did facepalm.
But she needed to stay calm. Think of Yang.
"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "Alright. So… we don't know their Semblance. So either it was another thing, or they lied very well."
"Well, one of those seems like reaching," Rhodes commented.
"And what would you know? Are you even trying to help here?"
"I'm not being biased, that's what I'm doing. This is serious, Cinder. You can't just accuse a victim, you'll make everything worse, especially for yourself. You'll be persecuted forever if you make a mistake!"
Cinder felt the need to scream. To punch something.
"Can we at least…?" She asked, balling her fists. She hated pleading, but right now, she felt cornered and powerless. And she hated that more than anything. But she had friends now, they could help her, right?
No. No they could not.
She was by herself.
Always had been.
She lifted her chin. "I'm saving Yang. I'm not going to abandon her like you abandoned me."
"Cinder…" Rhodes whispered, shocked beyond belief.
"I'm done," she said, going to the terminal and downloading Emerald's file. "I'm going to ask one person about this. Then we'll see which one of us is right."
Winter said nothing, following Cinder to the elevator with a frown. As Cinder entered it, Winter turned to Rhodes, who stood still at the centre of the room.
"Hunstman Fatin, move it please," she said. This seemed to snap Rhodes out of his stupor. He and winter entered the elevator, with the white-haired woman standing between them.
The other two had their arms crossed and their gazes on the nearest wall of the elevator.
"I don't get paid enough for this," Winter whispered under her breath, but Cinder heard her.
"Think about your foes, about those that pushed you to who you are."
Weiss held the Glyph stead as it spun in the room. She sat on the floor, cross legged and sword held firm in front of her.
She strained to keep her eyes close and not give in to the need to release it. She thought about her foes, about the Grimm, and the Arma Gigas. That Arma Gigas that forced to prove that she was more than the Schnee heiress. That she was a fighter.
But in the end, the glyph broke. A pressure was lifted off her chest as she let out ragged breaths.
"Hey, you almost got it. I saw an arm this time!" Yang said from her bunk bed, the first time since she had been arrested that joy seemed to sip in her voice.
Weiss groaned as she looked to the brawler with a glare. "Ae you actually going to help me?" She asked. Yang lowered the book she stole from Blake's secret spot to look Weiss from the corner of her eye.
"Sorry," she said after a moment, closing the book and putting it aside. "I'm just out of my element with this semblance of yours."
"Right," Weiss said, running her hand over Myrtenaster's flat end of the blade. "Well, how do you use your Semblance?" Weiss asked, turning to Yang slightly.
"Well…" Yang rubbed the back of her head, looking at the ceiling. "… it's like… I feel the pain and stuff and it just, remain in there, bubbling. And the more I have, the harder it is to control. And when I need to use it I just… let it flow."
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "So you let your Semblance control you?"
Yang shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it's part of who I am, isn't it? I guess it's less letting it control me and more like… just being myself."
Turning back to Myrtenaster, Weiss thought about her own Semblance, and how it wasn't really her own. It has her family's, it was inherited. What about Glyphs said Weiss Schnee? She honestly didn't know. Semblances were shaped by experience, but Weiss was shaped by her Semblance.
Even if she hated what her parents had made of the family name, she still loved her late grandfather.
And her Semblance was his, as much as it was hers.
Sighing, she went to sit on the bed, at Yang's side.
"So I guess your true self is an uncontrollable beast?" She said with a smirk. However, Yang didn't seem to take it too kindly.
"Maybe you're right. Maybe being a violent monster is who I am," Yang said, looking into the wall at the other side of the room.
Feeling a pang of guilt, Weiss put a hand on Yang's shoulder. "I was just joking, you know."
Even with that, Yang still looked miles away. "They say jokes are the deepest lore. What if I am a monster? What if it was my Semblance that made me see things, in order to let out my frustration?" Yang pondered, shoulder's shaking.
Weiss had enough of that, and thus grabbed her face so that she would face her fully.
"It's not your fault! We all believe that what happened was an accident, and that it had nothing to do with you!" Weiss stated, voice loud so that Yang would hear her.
The brawler looked at her with widened eyes, then, she pulled her face away. Yang's eyes betrayed sorrow.
"I wish everyone did that," she muttered, looking at the carpeted floor.
"What do you mean?" Weiss blurted out. A bad habit. All rich kids gossiped. She hated it, but being around that environment so much… some things stuck with her. As much as her team helped her get away from it, some things were hard to escape from.
"Blake doesn't believe me," yang stated with some bitterness.
"Blake?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow. The cat faunus had stated her intent to help prove Yang's innocence.
"Yes, Blake," Yang said, raising her voice and looking at her directly.
"Blake believes you," Weiss said.
"She didn't initially. Besides, everything changed once Ruby gave her those eyes," yang stated, looking away. Now Weiss was even more confused.
"What does Ruby have to do with anything?" At her question, Yang let out a groan and got up from her bed.
"Come on Weiss cream. Don't tell me you didn't notice," Weiss could imagine what Yang was getting at. But right now that was what was on Yang's mind? She herself didn't even care about love stuff anymore. She wanted to focus on her studies, not on potentially getting her heart broken by some guy like Neptune.
"So you're saying that Blake and Ruby are interested in each other?" Weiss asked with a frown. Yang whirled around to face her.
"Yes. You saw how they flirted with each other at dinner. Ever since Mt. Glenn," Yang said.
"Well, I didn't notice much. Although…" her mind was wandering into pointless stuff again, so she shook those thoughts off. "… wait, really? That is what worries you right now? Wether Blake may be dating Ruby and not that your life may be getting ruined?"
"It's ruined already!" Yang screamed, fists balled and eyes coloured red. "All of it. I'll never live this down even if Cinder finds out there was something else. I'm alone, I'm going to be alone again. But…"
Yang calmed down, voice growing sorrowful. "… I still had Blake. I… we spent so much time together… I opened myself up to her… and she did the same. I… I thought that maybe she was someone I could trust. And then Ruby sweeps in with that… dorkiness of her and just swipes her like nothing!" Yang said, going to hang from her arms off Ruby's bed, as if defeated.
"Yang…" Weiss muttered, eyes widened and unable to move. "… I… This is the first time that you ever speak like that of Ruby."
Things were worse than Weiss thought if… if Yang spoke ill of Ruby.
The brawler sighed once again. "I'm… don't get me wrong, I love Ruby. I love her a lot. Even if she got into Beacon early for… reasons… I still love her. But now it's like… she took something away from me. I hate being mad at her, but I can't help it."
Weiss said nothing, caressing Myrtenaster in order to try and steel her nerves, just to say something that would help Yang. Anything
"I think it's normal to be jealous of your siblings. I know there are times I'm envious of Winter. And Whitley, my brother, he loathes us both. He is a twig, can't even lift a sword. I don't really know if he loves me anymore," Weiss said, thinking back to those painful years.
Yang turned to her, and they locked eyes.
"You… you don't need to be jealous of her. Not if it makes you angry and resentful. There are still people that love you for who you are. Even if Blake is not interested in you, I'm sure she still loves you as a partner and friend," Weiss looked away, and just blurted out whatever came to mind. A mistake, if she ever could call something that. "I love you."
Yang's eyes widened, and upon realizing what she said, Weiss' cheeks turned red. "I- I mean as a f-friend! Don't misinterpret things, you brute!" She added, looking away.
A silence reigned. Followed by a snicker, and a full blown laugh, which made her face even redder.
"Haha! Oh man, Weiss Cream, that is…" Weiss turned to look at Yang, livid. Yet, seeing her smile… it made her feel like she had accomplished something wonderful. Yang calmed down, and simply gave her a warm smile. "… I… thanks. For being my friend. I'm sorry about you brother," she muttered. Weiss smiled, the heat on her cheeks lessening.
"It's fine. He'll grow up, I hope," she said. Their hazes remained locked, and then Yang slowly approached her.
Weiss didn't move. She felt nervous, as in being approached by a Grimm, or a dangerous situation.
Yang kneeled at her level, and approached her. A thousand embarrassing images ran through her mind in that moment.
Yet, Yang only hugged her tightly. Weiss remembered what she was doing at that moment, who she was it, and relaxed.
"Thank you," upon hearing that, Weiss buried herself in her teammates golden mane.
"Anytime."
They spearated, and Yang stood up.
"Alright. I'll help you now. And I'll start by making you win the tournament," Yang said with a smile. Weiss raised an eyebrow.
"How?" She asked.
"Well, I've seen you deliver some hard hits," she said, flexing her right arm. "But you can't take them. So I'll make sure you are ready to do it."
A/N: And that's it. Next chapter, Blake and Ruby follow Emerald and Mercury while Cinder interrogates someone close to them.
That is all this week. Thank for reading!