There had been an attempt.
Yet. That was a good word for it. A nice, safe, word to describe the feelings that a particular heiress was experiencing.
Having been assigned (forced) to join with her team leader during their recognisance in regards to the recent supposed dealings between the White Fang and Roman Torchwick, Weiss had believed it to be in her best interests to partner with Neptune Vasilias- the trident-wielding member of SSSN from Haven Academy.
She had the best of intentions in mind. If team SSSN had happened to just-so-suddenly eavesdrop on their plans, who knew what else they had overheard.
It was a smart idea.
Although, the fact that he was rather easy on the eyes was an added bonus of her assignment.
Then little Ruby Rose had come in and her well-placed plans had come crashing down around her by ways of a sudden hearty chuckle and a rather surprising display of strength on the reaper's part and before she knew it she was being whisked away towards the departures area.
Now, Neptune had been partnered with Yang Xiao Long, one of her team members whom was far more… gifted in certain prospects, in comparison to her own more modest self. Whilst previously she had been attempting to gather information on-
Oh, screw it. I wanted to talk to the cute boy that liked me.
There's nothing wrong with that, is there?
No. Of course not. Not here. Not in Vale. Not when I'm away from dear old Father, whom would rather send for marriage contracts than even bother to see if his own daughter was even remotely interested…
Weiss rolled her eyes, trying to flatten the scowl that almost threatened to appear on her visage as her thoughts took on a more bitter edge.
How am I even supposed to talk to him in the first place? I'm the Ice Queen, after all. The big heiress of the grand Schnee Dust Company. Not like he'd even be interested in my history… He didn't even know me when he introduced himself. He's probably realised who I am by now…
Perhaps Ruby stealing her away from the boy had been for the best, so as to avoid any particular failings on her part before she was ready to handle such things.
She probably would have just stumbled over her words and embarrassed herself in front of Neptune anyways. The people of Vale were an easygoing sort- a staunch difference to the refined and sophisticated edge demanded by the denizens of Atlas. Considering how those from Mistral appeared even more carefree and unhindered than even the Vale people, there was quite a high chance that Weiss would eventually find the boy to be too relaxed.
Oum, he'd try to flirt with her in a library of all places. Her. A potential contestant in the Vytal Festival. It was preposterous. An audacious, foolhardy attempt that flew in the face of everything she knew in the field of romance.
...That may have been why she had enjoyed it so much. Bah. It was all such a complicated mess. How in the world could people handle such things on a day to day basis?
"You alright, Weiss?"
She blinked a few times, fluttering her lashes as her surroundings made themselves known once more. In particular, a small little red-cloaked ruffian was glancing at her in something that was quite obviously concern.
"...Fine." she stated simply. Ruby didn't appear all that convinced.
Loathe as she was to admit it, even privately, it had become noteworthy that Ruby had recently developed a noteworthy sense of perception. In the past few weeks, ever since the incident involving Blake Belladonna, their team leader had been paying attention to others and developing closer friendships with a sizeable amount of fellow students.
It was, of course, extremely situational and relied upon who exactly the girl spoke with.
Team JNPR was a notable example. She was able to follow Nora's long-winded explanations regarding her dreams with little-to-no trouble, even asking questions that the orange-haired girl was more than happy to answer. Recently, Ruby had also been able to get Lie Ren to speak the most words she had ever heard from the boy in a single sentence.
Seven whole words- a new record. Damn her. If she keeps it up she'll win Professor Port's bet without even contributing to the pot!
It was absurd.
Yet, she was proud of her team leader regardless of her sudden burst of social awareness seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Ruby was developing as a huntress and learning how to speak with and influence others effectively. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that if she were to continue in this fashion, by the end of the year Ruby would end up to be quite the social butterfly.
Provided that the girl didn't allow her grades to suffer in order to keep her social bonds strong, Weiss was more than happy to let their leader become the 'face' of Team RWBY. Oum knows that she didn't want it, in the very least.
"A-Are you sure?" Ruby prodded as they passed several shopfronts, "It's just, you seem a little… not okay. Angry, maybe. Did I do something? Did something happen?"
Weiss exhaled heavily. She could tell that Ruby was never going to let up until she actually gave the girl a proper answer.
"If you must know, I may be a tad… irked, in how you handled selections of our little teams in regards to this operation." she explained slowly, trying and perhaps failing to hide the frustration in her tone. "I had wished to learn more about team SSSN."
"You have a crush on that blue-haired boy, don't you? Neptune."
"I-Wha- I most certainly do not have a crush!" she denied immediately. It was only when she stomped her foot on the ground and the black-haired-red-tipped jerk levelled a knowing glance her way did the heiress realise she sounded a slight touch petulant, which was quite unbecoming of a Schnee.
This was not how she wanted things to go.
"It's okay, Weiss. I didn't mean to get in the way. If you want I could just call Yang and see if we can swap-"
"No!" she retorted immediately, shushing the reaper as quick as she could. "It… it wouldn't be for the best. Irregardless of my… affections… the deed is done and we should continue with the mission for now. Besides, we're already almost there. I'm sure there will be other chances."
"So you do have a crush!" Ruby squealed, jumping up and down excitedly. Weiss once again hurried to shush her insensitive team leader, glancing around worriedly at the civilians nearby.
"First of all," she hissed, "It is a passing fancy at best. I have interacted with men of his calibre many times before. I am merely curious if he is actually interested in a more meaningful relationship." she denied fiercely, "Secondly, I'm not the one with a crush. I've seen how you looked at the blonde girl we met on the docks. I was there, remember? Do I even need to mention the argument you had with your sister? Oh… now what exactly was it about again?"
Ruby blinked at her, recoiling slightly before cocking a brow in confusion. "Kirakishou? Well, yeah no duh. Of course I like her. I mean, it's not like I've been hiding it or anything. I practically blurted out my intentions to you all after you guys interrogated me when I came back to the dorms this morning. What's that got to do with it?"
There was a moment of silence as Weiss stood there, trying and failing to hide the dumbfounded surprise that was no doubt causing quite the horrid expression to flourish on her face.
The sheer idea of Ruby Rose, the wallflower to end all wallflowers, blatantly admitting her feelings without a care in the world was beyond out of character. Beyond simple emotional growth.
It was just plain weird.
"I-I mean," Ruby continued awkwardly as the heiress fell silent, "I haven't exactly said that I like her in that way and want to be with her... but it was kind of implied, ya know? I don't know why that's such a shock to you. I'm sure once you get to know Neptune you'll be just as sappy. But I, as your resolute team leader, shall not mercilessly tease you if you begin reciting poems or whatever it is they do in Altas."
Something about the twinkle in her silver eyes made Weiss doubt that particular promise.
"Oh har-har." Weiss rolled her eyes, frowning. "Come on, we're just about-"
A sudden scream interrupted her words, tensing immediately she turned to see-
-Ruby squealing at the sight of a landmark.
No, less of a landmark- that was easily an oversell. More of a glorified utilities building that doubled as a tourism snare. Why in the world Ruby, a girl that had obviously been to the city of Vale more than a few times in her life, would ever be this interested in such a building was clearly beyond her reasoning.
Didn't make it any less vexing.
Ugh. This is going to be a long day…
"Wowwww! I forget how big the transmit tower looks up close!"
Weiss barely managed to withhold a snort of derision. "You should see the one in Atlas."
Comparatively, the transmit tower of Vale did indeed tower over most other buildings in the immediate vicinity. However, it was nothing in comparison to practically any of the major buildings situated atop Atlas, or even some of the larger buildings in Mantle. She had attended restaurants held far higher and, no doubt, far more distinguished than a simple transmit hub.
"...Wasn't that the first one ever built?" Ruby questioned, appearing unsure.
"Indeed it was." Weiss confirmed, proud to see that their young team leader had actually been studying appropriately. "Atlas developed the cross-continental transmit system to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. After the great war, global communication helped keep the peace… for the most part."
Hiding the cynicism in her tone was a feat that Weiss wondered she'd ever be able to achieve again if Ruby continued to grow more and more perceptive.
After witnessing Blake's memories and seeing exactly how the faunus people were sectioned off from the global communications network for a great many years, she realised that it was a miracle things hadn't degraded into yet another great war already.
They were dangling on a fine line. One wrong move and the future of Remnant could change irrevocably.
"Huh..." Ruby muttered thoughtfully. "You know, you're actually pretty smart. I can see why you do so well in the tests. I hope I can get like that one day."
Weiss knew that, several months ago, Ruby would have mocked her for the sudden divulge of information. The fact that the girl was complimenting her showed just how much the little reaper had grown.
"You will." she assured the girl, smiling fondly. "You most certainly will. After all, I'll be there to help you get there. And perhaps take credit for it."
Ruby smiled at her. "I think I might just be okay with that, actually."
She took a moment to marvel at the lowly girl of fifteen.
Yes. It didn't matter how things went with Neptune. If they developed, then she would still be quite pleased. If not, then it was of no concern. As long as she had friends like Ruby Rose, Weiss believed that everything would be okay.
As long as Ruby is safe.
"Kira?!"
The startled gasp from her team leader tore Weiss out of her musing, once again bringing her back into the moment as she glanced over at what exactly it was that Ruby was so shocked about.
There she was.
Kirakishou. The exact blonde girl that Weiss had been speaking of and, apparently, Ruby's potential paramour if her team leader had anything to say about it.
She had been walking nearby prior to Ruby's excited yell, only to turn around from the sound and greet them with a warm smile. Weiss was privy to the sight of Kirakishou's eye widening ever so slightly moments before an overexcited Ruby crashed into her in what Weiss could assume was an aura-fuelled glomp.
It was made clear immediately from that blonde mop of hair, who exactly it was. Nobody had hair that long, not even Yang Xiao Long herself. Nobody but Kirakishou. It was an honest curiosity just how the girl even managed to keep hair that long even remotely tame, let alone stylised to such a degree. Were Weiss to have been as insensitive as her team leader, she would be badgering the girl for her secrets.
Instead, she settled for a brief huff of frustration and opted to continue inspecting the girl's sudden appearance.
The blonde student was dressed in a ruffled white long-sleeved jacket, coupled with a plaid skirt and long black stockings and carrying a small purse in her delicate hands. Her outfit was completed by a beautiful pair of summer heels that did little to hide the fact that the girl was rather short in comparison to others her age, appearing perhaps a few inches short of Weiss herself.
Kirakishou still wore her odd little rose eyepatch and the two rose hairclips that seemingly helped to part her hair. At this point, Weiss was wondering if the girl either had multiple exact copies of the accessories or just never took them off. Assuming Ruby's babbled explanation regarding her morning wake-up beside the blonde had been entirely accurate, she had also been wearing them to bed.
A small morbid part of her wondered what exactly hid behind the flower that covered her right eye. What deformity could be considered so macabre to remain hidden even in ones own room? Or had it been simply an addition whilst Ruby… attended? There was no way of knowing.
Much like seemingly any kind of information surrounding the 'Rozen Maiden' and Kirakishou's unique name. There had been nothing. No information at all, no matter how far she searched or what connections she implored. It was rather frustrating. A girl with such vexing beauty had to have been noticed, somewhere. Hopefully the Schnee records held some information on her.
...Not that she was jealous or anything of such anonymity. Not at all.
"W-What are you doing here?!" Ruby cried out frantically, eyes wide in surprise as she fussed over the girl much the same way a mother would for their child, looking over the girl as if she would break apart at any moment. Weiss herself remained silent for the moment as she allowed the scene to play out before her.
The blonde smiled, nuzzling her cheek affectionately against Ruby's even as the reaper in question squirmed in embarrassment.
"A pure white rose must venture out from her garden to explore the encompassing area, so that she may seek out the weeds that attempt to entrench themselves in her beloved field." she murmured, just loud enough for Weiss to hear the words over the bustle of the city. "Even a weed has its purposes within a garden, held under the watchful eye of a skilled rose."
Weiss didn't have the slightest clue as to what any of those prose-filled sentences actually meant, yet from the slow nod that Ruby gave in response it was clear that her leader was clearly fluent in the girl's unique verbiage to some degree.
It reminded her of the way in which certain politicians and senators would speak to her father on occasion. Especially during board meetings or other similar events. There was a skill to be learnt in understanding the underlying intentions behind words.
'Meanings beyond words, Weiss. If you are to become heiress, you must look underneath the pointlessness of flattery. You must learn to see what exactly it is that they want from us.'
Her father was many things. Of all the horrid failings of that man, Weiss would never deny that he held a calculating mind and a keen understanding for the social construct. Whilst her initial assessment of Kirakishou at the docks had been rather limited, she hoped that this meeting would give her a deeper insight into her intentions.
It was clear that Kirakishou was out looking for something. But what?
"B-But still..." Ruby muttered, detaching from the hug and shooting a quick worried glance over her way for a moment. "Vale is a pretty big place, Kira. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."
Weiss didn't need her father's strict tutelage on the intricacies of verbal and nonverbal cues to see that whilst Ruby was embarrassed to be hugged by Kirakishou and rather worried on the girl's behalf, she was also sneaking more than a few glances at her outfit. Judging by the flushed cheeks her leader displayed, she most certainly appreciated the view.
She is uncharacteristically shy towards Kirakishou in comparison to her actions with others. There's definitely a crush as she said, but how can a girl so forward as to easily admit a crush to a fellow teammate behave like this towards said crush? Is it just a general discomfort in public, or something more?
What is it about this girl that enraptures you so, Ruby Rose?
Does she even understand how you are feeling towards her? Does she see? Does she feel the same way?
"Kira. It is so very good to see you again." Weiss decided to interject, taking a blatant step forward and injecting herself in the conversation in a formal manner. "I wanted to thank you for taking the initiative to assist my team leader this morning. You didn't have to do that."
The blonde's amber eye snapped to her in an instant, yet she made no adjustment of her posture away from Ruby barring a slight turning of her head at the last second. Her smile, however, deepened a few inches.
"I did have to do that." she answered softly, a lilt of amusement flourishing within her tone. "A pale rose will always be there for her maiden of red. Although, she won't deny that she enjoyed the activity immensely. Ruby was very affectionate with her beloved pale rose."
"Kira!" Ruby hissed. Or whined. It was hard to tell. She was blushing heavily and waving her hands about like some loon. "We… we really need to work on your words. Y-You can't just go saying things like that to random people, you know, even if they are my teammates..."
The blonde merely giggled, cupping her own cheeks in a decidedly cute manner and mumbling an apology of some sort from what Weiss could understand. Ruby's protests died almost as quickly as they had formed. The young leader glanced away from Kira, unintentionally meeting Weiss' eyes.
"S-Sorry about this, Weiss. It's not what it sounds like..." Ruby murmured. "She doesn't really have that much of a filter with things."
The sentiment was appreciated, however she knew already not to take Kirakishou's words at face value. Especially in regards to something as absurd as whatever Ruby's hormone-addled mind was assuming. It was far more likely that Kira had merely phrased things poorly.
Weiss waved off her leader's worries with a placating smile, uttering niceties as the blonde immediately returned to speaking with Ruby about her exploration of the Vale city proper. It was clear that she had become the third wheel in this particular outing, even if neither of the two other girls had even intended such.
For a brief moment, the heiress allowed herself to bask in the relative ease of her team leader coercing with somebody else for a change.
...To think that, originally, she had been pleased to get Ruby away from her little crush for a brief period. She hadn't anticipated that without the object of her affection to occupy her interests, Ruby would stoop to her endless nonsensical babbling and every damn subject under the sun. Worse still, she seemed to possess an almost childlike inability to choose a subject and stick with it.
Suffice to say, Weiss Schnee was both glad and… not so glad, that they had happened to stumble into Kirakishou during their mission. For all of her advancements so far, Ruby Rose was still an excitable young girl.
If anything, this will be useful blackmail material if I need it. It is almost fascinating to see how much the 'fearless leader' melts under her presence…
Weiss continued to stare as Ruby excitedly prattled on about a menagerie of random topics with the blonde student, intrigue stirring within her as she saw how easily Kira seemed to handle everything regarding her team leader. There weren't any requests for clarification, no sense of agitation with her rampant flood of topics, no awkward pauses.
She simply listened, added her own words when necessary, and continued to lather affection whenever she could get away with it.
Her lone eye had never left Ruby, Weiss observed. Not once. There was a distinct possessiveness held within that amber eye that left the heiress feeling a vague sense of unease. She had seen many a look before in the eyes of her younger brother Whitley found something that interested him.
It was rather jarring to see such a look aimed at a person, let alone her very own team leader.
"...Penny?"
"...Penny?"
Things had escalated, Ruby decided. Not that she was averse to such things, but it was kind of a shock to her at first.
It was actually really fun talking with Weiss like this, just the two of them. She figured that the Schnee Heiress was a little bit uptight around others and could only really unwind when she didn't have to deal with maintaining everyone's expectations. Whilst Ruby noticed that she had got a little bit better when it was just the team she was talking with, Weiss overall kept people at an arm's length. Ruby wanted to change that.
She hadn't expected her to be this difficult to actually speak with, but perhaps that was because Ruby did admittedly have other things on her mind at the time.
Thankfully Weiss had surprised her and actually started up a conversation with her that Ruby was all too happy to reciprocate into a passingly decent chat. The Atlas-born girl was incredibly knowledgeable about historical facts and was more than happy to speak about it when prompted. It was kind of like a one-on-one lecture, come to think of it.
But she wasn't complaining. It was just about the best she could get from Weiss at the time.
Kira showing up was a bit of a surprise, but it was a welcome one for sure. From what she could understand, the blonde was exploring Vale in her own unique way. It had worried Ruby immensely that the girl who just last night had seemed so weak was out and about in the streets of an unfamiliar city, but Kirakishou had assured her she would be fine.
Nevertheless, Ruby was still worried. It reminded her of the times when Zwei would run out around the forest for a bit and they'd all have to go looking for him. Perhaps comparing Kirakishou to an overeager puppy wasn't the best comparison, it was still the first thing that she thought of.
"Uhh..." a particular ginger-haired girl stammered, drawing her thoughts away from the blond doll for a moment.
Penny. She's here too. I remember her.
Because of how they had been requested to escort Kirakishou to the headmaster, she hadn't really had much time to say hello to Penny when they had first met. But even still, when Penny had found her again soon after, they had got along rather easily and Penny had all but volunteered to help Ruby with her investigation.
When Penny had joined in on the battle at the docks against the White Fang, with her and her mother alongside, the girl had absolutely shredded.
Fucking LASER SWORDS. That will never NOT be totally cool. Oh gawddd.
"Where have you been?!" Ruby cried out, wondering what had happened with the girl. She hadn't heard from her in what felt like ages. "We haven't seen you since the night at the docks. What happened?"
Kirakishou, standing beside them, blinked a few times and focused her gaze on Penny, cocking her head to the side in a silent display of confusion. Ruby wasn't entirely certain what that meant, but decided she had bigger fish to fry at the moment.
"S-Sorry… I, er, I think you're… confused." Penny hiccuped, rapidly looking over at the three girls with slowly mounting worry. "Uh… I've got to go..." she stated, abruptly turning and disappearing into the crowd as fast as she could.
There was a brief moment where the three girls watched Penny depart, staring at her in bewilderment.
"What was that about?" Weiss wondered aloud, brows furrowed. "She seemed awfully… disquieted."
Ruby didn't bother to reply, merely opting to grab Kira's hand before rushing into the crowd after the odd girl. In a way, it was almost comical how Kirakishou's long blonde locks swayed violently in the wind as she was abruptly yanked away from the scene without a moment's notice.
For her part, Weiss did not deign to attempt to stop her team leader in any way. There was simply no point in attempting such. It was clear that Ruby aimed to get to the bottom of whatever it was that had occurred at the docks with Penny- Weiss wasn't certain on the details of the event and she doubted she ever would be. Neither Blake or Ruby wanted to speak of the event and even Yang seemed to want to leave the matter alone.
Just as she was about to lose sight of Ruby in the crowd, she spotted Kirakishou turning to look back over her shoulder directly in Weiss' direction, pinning an intense amber gaze her way.
For an instant, a single fleeting second as Weiss stood outside the transmit tower, she felt her blood run cold. Try as she might, she could not tear her gaze away from that odd blonde-haired girl who followed her team leader into the distance. Her gut squirmed as the sounds of distance chatter faded into a horrid silence.
The girl in question smiled momentarily and promptly turned away even as Weiss suddenly found herself privy to the sound of the rapid beating of her heart. Only then, did she finally find the strength to avert her eyes.
What it oum's name was that?
Much to her relief, it didn't take that long to catch up with Penny. She was getting pretty good at picking the girl out from a crowd and her semblance made it so that speed wasn't much of an issue. Besides, it wasn't as if there were that many people who had orange hair!
Well… Nora does. But she's in the Albert St Mall arcade at the moment.
...Perhaps I'm paying too much attention to that girl's updates online… but I can't help it! She has the funniest updates ever! Who'd have thought that Jaune was so freakishly good at air hockey?
Getting back on topic, she found the orange-haired girl from the docks walking down the stairs away from the transmit tower, trying and failing to blend in with the crowd.
"...She is a very… interesting little flower, is she not?" Kirakishou murmured. "Why, I can barely see her. How odd."
It was with a sudden start that she realised that she'd inadvertently dragged the blonde doll along with her in her rush to chase after Penny. She hadn't been meaning too, not really, but she'd acted on instinct and grabbed her the moment she could.
"Oh… um. Sorry. I didn't mean to just pull you away like that, Kira..." she mumbled in embarrassment, glancing away.
Kirakishou merely giggled and tapped her on the nose. "Where else would I be, but by the side of my beloved rose? Silly~"
She didn't bother to deign that with a reply, no matter what the heat in her cheeks or the tingle down her spine implied about her feelings in the matter. Huffing, she grabbed the doll and marched over towards Penny before the quirky ginger-haired girl could get away from them.
"Penny! Wait up!" she yelled out the moment she got close, "Where have you been? It's been weeks!"
The girl froze, staring at her with widened eyes before glancing away. Next to her, Ruby could see Kirakishou cocking her head to the side in apparent confusion.
"...There, seems to be a misunderstanding."
"You are the one mistaken." Kirakishou interjected suddenly, stepping forward before Ruby could think to stop her. "Ruby is worried, little stranger. She is confused. Scared. She only wishes to understand what happened with you, during that night at the docks. Is that so wrong? Are you really the type of person to run from a friend?"
Penny glanced away in shame, yet Kirakishou did not relent.
"Do not shut us out, please. Ruby only wishes to understand your side of the story. If you are her friend, you owe her that much."
Ruby squirmed ever so slightly at the impassioned speech coming from her doll. Her lover. It had been the first time all day that she had seen Kirakishou take the initiative and actively speak up, rather than merely replying when spoken to.
And she'd done it for her.
Ruby wasn't going to let this moment go to waste.
"Please, Penny." Ruby pushed. "I don't exactly know what's wrong, but I'm your friend. Please just listen to me. Those guys we fought at the docks, I think they're up to something big. Something bad. I need you to tell me what happened to you that night. Please. As a friend."
Penny looked up at Ruby. There was a hesitant expression on her face, yet she seemed to gain resolve and eventually nodded slightly.
"...It isn't safe to talk here."
They eventually found themselves in small coffee shop on the outskirts of Vale, overlooking the surrounding ocean. Much to her internal relief, there weren't that many people around at this time in the early afternoon. Most of the foot traffic she'd see around Vale typically centred around the business district or major shopping districts.
Originally they hadn't been planning to actually find a place like this, but upon Kira's prompts that a smaller area would be better than just walking around, Penny and Ruby had relented. It was thankfully a pretty good idea that saved her poor feet from any more pain. Plus the waitress gave them all a free sample of something called 'kakigori' which vaguely reminded her of a snow cone, albeit a lot fluffier and served with a spoon.
She'd originally wanted to get some of the regular ice cream there, as supposedly they were well known for their soft-serve, but after taking one look at the lady serving them she decided to keep things nice and simple and just accept the free serving.
To be honest she had felt a little bad for the waitress. She'd recognised the girl from Beacon Academy. Probably a second or third year from what she could tell. Regardless, the girl had certainly looked like she hadn't slept that well recently. There were bags under her eyes and she barely spoke a word when Ruby tried to introduce herself.
"Oh!" she blurted suddenly, grabbing the attention from the other two girls as a sudden thought came to mind. "I completely forgot to introduce you two. Penny, this is Kirakishou. Though you can call her Kira if you want. She's a… close friend of mine. Kira, this is Penny. Do you remember her? We met her around the docks when I first met you."
The two girls blinked at her, before turning to stare at each other for a moment in a rather creepy display of synchronicity.
She was about to comment on the awkwardness when Kirakishou clapped her hands to her cheeks and put on a teasing expression that Ruby recognised all too well. "Ah~ I see my beautiful little rose finally remembered her manners. It is a pleasure to meet a friend of Ruby. A pale rose regrets her poor behaviour during the docks, I was… overwhelmed by the city at first."
Ruby was about to comment on how she definitely did not 'just remember her manners' thank you very much when she realised the way that Kirakishou spoke to Penny was a little odd. Compared to how she'd been when Ruby had introduced her to her other friends at Beacon, Kira actually seemed genuinely interested.
Borderline intrigued, really.
Plus she was using first person speech (for the most part) which… well, she was sure that it meant something. Whilst it was certainly a lot easier to talk with Kirakishou nowadays, she was still having a bit of trouble understanding a lot of her depths.
Which was one of the things she absolutely adored about the doll. But… ah. Perhaps it wasn't the best time to go down that particular road, or else she'd start getting flustered again.
In front of a guest, too! That would be so embarrassing!
"...That's okay." Penny said hesitantly answered. It took Ruby a moment to remember what was actually going on. "When I first arrived in Vale, I could tell that it was very different to Atlas. I didn't really know anybody and my Uncle was worried I that wouldn't get to know anybody. Then Ruby came and offered to be my friend. I was so overjoyed."
...Ruby tried not to think about how her 'offer of friendship' with the orange-haired girl had been essentially a halfhearted statement she'd thrown on at the end of a sentence.
It didn't matter. Her dad always did say that sometimes you just… stumbled into friendships whether you liked them or not. Apparently it had been how he'd eventually developed a friendship with Qrow the first time they'd met at their Beacon initiation.
She was glad to have met Penny, no matter how they had met in the first place. Hopefully, she could learn a bit more about the girl.
"...Still." Penny continued. "I didn't want you to get involved with this, Ruby. Trainee huntress or not, I wouldn't want a friend of mine to get hurt fighting bad guys."
Ruby could only shrug. "Eh. When you go and stop a robbery and just so happen to get inducted into Beacon a couple years early, you learn that sometimes life likes to throw a surprise your way."
The blonde sitting beside her nodded approvingly. "Yes. You were quite the surprise, beloved. Yet a pale rose could want nothing more. Sometimes, surprises are truly beautiful things."
Penny looked between them, going from her own embarrassed expression over to the blissful contentment showing on her doll. Eventually, she nodded in understanding.
"...My father asked me not to venture out too far." she continued, shooting the two a few glances occasionally. "He loved me a lot, but he worries… I really don't want to make him worry, Ruby."
She gave a smile at girl's anxiety, a little amazed that a woman like penny could even exist. She couldn't imagine saying something so very sappy out loud, let alone with a straight face.
"You love him."
She turned to Kirakishou upon hearing the blonde speak. Kira wasn't smiling like she normally did, but her tone didn't sound that bad. Ruby wondered what the girl was thinking.
Penny nodded immediately, clearly not picking up on Ruby's concern. "I do. So when I was… asked… not to speak to any of you, I had to listen."
"...Your dad was that upset?" Ruby asked lowly, taking a sup of her drink as she thought about the idea. She'd heard of protective dads, but even that was a lot in her mind. To ask a girl not to talk to her new friends was crazy.
Penny shook her head. "No. It… it wasn't my father. It was my uncle."
That would make a bit more sense. The guy's probably just trying to look out for his niece. I think Qrow was a bit like that when I was younger, especially right when I started training to be a huntress. Dad was brutal, but Uncle Qrow had the eyes of a hawk. One wrong move and BLAM! Every time. Couldn't get away with nothing.
"...General James Ironwood of the Atlesian Military. The hero. Your uncle."
Blinking in surprise, Ruby whirled around over to Kirakishou following her declaration. She wondered how the hell Kira could have assumed something like that. But judging by Penny's gasp, the girl had been right on the money.
...'Right on the money' is how that saying goes, right? She wasn't sure. It sounded right.
"No that's… I-I didn't mean… what I mean is-" Penny hiccuped before abruptly slumping as she drooped her head, dismayed. "Oh no… They're going to be so upset…"
Her Uncle really is General James Ironwood. Whoa. Is she like… a lieutenant or something then? Or does that not pass down the family? Is she a soldier? Bah. I wish I knew more about the military. Oh! I'll ask Weiss when I can. She'd know. I hope.
"It's alright..." Ruby consoled as best she could after that bombshell of news. "Just because Kira figured it out, doesn't mean that you accidentally said things you weren't supposed to."
"H-How did you figure it out, Miss Kira? I.. I didn't think that I'd said anything that could imply such."
Kirakishou smiled faintly and glanced down at her untended drink. "Even the most pale of roses can grow in an unfamiliar environment, provided they take the time to listen."
Ruby rolled her eyes at the remark. It seemed that even though Kirakishou was paying a bit more attention to Penny than she had been for most other people she'd been introduced to, there was nothing that was going to stop her flower speech.
She did feel an odd tightness in her chest as she glanced between Penny and Kira, but she was sure it was nothing.
"That probably just means she just overheard some soldiers talking about it or something." Ruby supplied when she saw that Penny was looking confused. "Kirakishou likes to speak like that sometimes. It takes a while to get used to it. Nobody seems to understand it but think it's really cute."
She hadn't meant to say that last part aloud, but judging by the hand that was suddenly intertwined with her own, she'd failed that particular quest. However it was only when Penny's eyes snapped to stare at their conjoined hands inquisitively did she realise how in particular she'd failed.
…Oh boy. Please don't tell me I have to explain this to General Ironwood's niece…
A/N:
Another one down! This chapter was very difficult for me to write. Now that we're into the plot, there are certain lines of dialogue which need to be transcribed and certain events that need to take place. I found myself rewatching early RWBY episodes over and over again, just to find the right little detail.
Regardless, we move ever onwards. Looking forward to writing some action-packed scenes soon.