Remnant of the Key

by lyokoMARVELanime

Adopted from FandomBard12. Four Keybladers meet four huntresses while on a quest to recover a lost friend. Now, their destinies shall become intertwined as they fight against darkness of both Remnant and beyond. The question is, just what else will come from this meeting between the two?

12. Dance, Dance, Resolutions

AN: [sitting nervously in his seat as his eyes flicker between the audience and whoever's next to him] You are going to keep your promise to let me live at least until the end of this chapter, right?

Qrow: [glaring at AN while keeping his hand on his sword's handle] That's the most I can promise right now. Let's see how things play out, and we'll talk more about whether or not you live to write another day.

AN: [laughs nervously] R-right. Well, as you guys can see, I may very well be on borrowed time, and before anyone asks why I'm not just doing something crazy/silly to keep Qrow from hurting me, the answer is actually very simple...He took my remote away from me.

Qrow: [smirks as he waves the remote in his hand] That I did. Still can't figure out which button on this thing gets me more drinks though.

AN: None of them. Not a single button on that remote can give you any more beer, whisky, or alcohol. We do not have a bar in this studio, and I certainly don't allow drinking!

Qrow: [glares at AN again while moving to raise his sword] You sure you don't want to reconsider that?

AN: [raises hands in defense] Hey, you were the one asking. Look, today's chapter is especially long. Like, new personal record for longest chapter I've ever written long, so can I just answer some reviews real quick and let everyone get to it?

Qrow: [rolls his eyes while resting his sword] Fine.

AN: Ahem, first off, in a general response, I'm honestly surprised how many people are making Star Wars comparisons to Sora's little outburst last chapter, but I suppose you guys are pretty justified in that.

Most of you also asked a lot of questions about how things are going to be fixed, so I'll just simply say that all will be revealed today, no need to wait any longer. Sorry I can't address those questions directly, but again, long chapter, trying to get through this quick.

Now, "Anonymaton", for the last time, no mallets! Last thing we need to give Nora any ideas! She's already grinning creepily from just the thought of having a mallet! [turns to see Nora with said creepy grin right now and shivers] Rafiki's staff on the other hand, I would definitely be on board with.

"Monkey D. Conan", thanks for that first bit of advice. I'll try my best to implement it later on in the future, maybe even go back and see if I can use it to improve the previous chapters in some way too.

"SuperMarioFreak", here's the KH Crew (at least the ones that have made the most appearances so far) to answer your question on which RWBY Semblance that they like best.

Lea: Well, if we're going to go by all the Semblances that have been seen over the course of the entire RWBY series and not just the stuff we've seen so far in this story, I've gotta say, I really like Hazel's Semblance. I mean, come on! Big buff dude like that, and he literally feels no pain. That's hardcore.

Terra: Same here.

Roxas: I kinda like Raven's Semblance. I mean, come on! Who wouldn't want to be able to make a portal to people that you've become close with?

Sora: That's a good point, hence the reason why it's one of my favorites too, aside from Ruby's. Oh, and Weiss's. Her glyphs can do just about anything.

Aqua: I have to agree with Sora on that second one. Weiss's glyphs are definitely great.

Xion: If I had to choose at least one, I'd say it'd be either Blake or Jaune's Semblance. Blake's makes for a great stealth assist and battle assist, while Jaune's makes him the perfect support teammate and healer, kinda like what I tend to be a lot of the time.

Namine: I'd have to go with Emerald's Semblance to be honest. It kind of reminds me of some of the things I can do with my powers, when you think about it.

Riku: Hmm...I'd have to say Qrow's Semblance is one of my favorites. Sure, he can't totally control it, but it is great for making his enemies have a tougher time in a fight, plus, Qrow's just awesome. Aside from that, I also kinda like Yang's Semblance. Reminds me a little of how I would activate my Dark Form while I was in Castle Oblivion, in a way.

Moving on now, "cbustroyer", at this time, Oscar does seem like the most likely person I will be shipping Kairi with, and I get your reasons for being against that and RoseGarden, but really, what reason would Oscar have for joining up with the rest of the gang (aside from helping Kairi find them), than to have Ozpin's soul join with his? And honestly, I feel like it would be creepier/weirder if Ozpin's soul joined with Qrow's, and more dangerous, considering that the two of them have both more than likely accumulated quite the large number of enemies, both shared and separate. Also, really? A shotgun? Really? [snaps fingers and camera pans up to show Optimus Prime, Superman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Gundam Exia, Lightning Farron, Cloud Strife, and a large multitude of weaponry and defensive systems around both the room and the building itself] This is just a sample of what I've got for my security. Do you really think I'm gonna be worried about a little shotgun?

Qrow: How'd you even get all those guys to show up like that when I've got your remote?

AN: I have my ways. [winking to a stagehand that's hiding backstage who nods in return before calling to return camera to previous focus point] "Hamm1999", sorry, can't say that I do.

And finally, I would answer the question asked by "Disney24601", but we are running out of time on this starting note, and like I said, I'd like to get the main story of this chapter started. Don't worry, I'll be sure to answer your question first thing next chapter. Promise. Now, with that said, everyone, let us dance!

[everyone starts break dancing to some awesome music]

I meant as in "start the story", wise guys. Not literally start dancing.

Everyone other than AN: Oh. Sorry.

AN: Anyways...

I do not own anything from either the Kingdom Hearts or RWBY franchises, or any other franchise mentioned in this story.

---

Chapter 12: Dance, Dance, Resolutions

The days that followed the rather upsetting end to Teams RWBY and SLVR's investigation were pretty dismal, to put it mildly. None of the girls were willing to be near Sora unless they had no other option, and unfortunately, that had quite the negative impact on the rest of the guys as well for a little while. Yang had actually skipped on her usual weekend outing with Lea the Saturday after that Friday night, and did so again for a few weeks afterwards, and while she had done so very politely, Weiss had also turned down all of Ven's offers to study and/or spar together. The only one who was not actively avoiding the guys was Blake, but anyone with a pulse could tell that it was only because she was so focused on the investigation into their enemies. Roxas was just glad that she was willing to let him help out at all, even if the conversations they held during that time were either strictly business or kept incredibly short. Thankfully, the girls were willing to let Roxas, Ventus, and Lea back into their social circle after a short time, but that did not change anything in regards to how they felt towards Sora.

Surprisingly, Sora was not really making very many efforts to try and resolve things with any of them. In fact, he had thrown himself even more into his practice and training than ever, and when he was not doing either of those things, he was spending every waking moment and more researching anything he could find that would help him find Kairi. Any time someone did try to at least talk with him, he would quickly brush them off and be on his way, and it was always random whether he did it politely or not. The one person he made a point to truly avoid though was Ruby. Every time he so much as caught a glimpse of the girl being in the area, he did everything he could to be somewhere else before she could catch sight of him, and when he could not avoid her, he tried his best to keep their interaction as brief as possible. It was clear that he was not doing so because he was still mad at her, as everyone had caught him staring at her with a pained expression for several minutes at a time, only looking away when it seemed like she was going to catch him staring. None of the guys had any clue as to why he was treating Ruby this way though, and they did not ever really get the chance to question him on it, because Sora would always disappear at the first chance he had.

Ruby was not really doing much better than Sora, as her teammates would often catch her staring at him with a forlorn expression that made them think she was likely to cry at any second. It was truly mind boggling that she could still be so fixated or even the slightest bit interested with Sora, despite the fact he had been so mean to her, but none of the other members on Team RWBY were willing to call her out on it for each of their own various reasons. Still, the way she always stared at him before looking away seeming like she was going to cry for some reason was certainly disconcerting, and the girls knew they would need to call attention to it sooner rather than later. The only problem with that was that they were afraid she would go running to Sora once she was better and end up getting hurt by him again, and that was the last thing any of them wanted, least of all Yang, since she still seemed like she was ready to beat Sora every second she saw him near her sister without an apology.

This whole plight with the leaders of Teams SLVR and RWBY was getting to the point of being so great that even Team JNPR was concerned, but both groups had assured Jaune and his teammates that they could handle things without any extra assistance. Most of said team were not entirely willing to believe that, but they did leave it be after Lea and Yang had insisted that they could handle things. As time went on though, some would be forgiven for doubting the pair's words, especially since it did not seem like either group was really able to enjoy how Pyrrha was currently delivering a very impressive and thorough beat down to Team CRDL, single-handedly.

"Sooo…Anyone else think she's getting some kind of personal enjoyment out of this? You know, because of the stuff that Cardin did last semester," Lea attempted to joke as he watched Pyrrha practically dance around the arena, easily dodging, deflecting, and countering the attacks of Cardin and his team. It may have been a good attempt, but at this point in time, with the current atmosphere, it fell really flat. He was just glad that he got at least a small smile out of Yang and a bit of a laugh from Nora, but he would have enjoyed it a little more if Sora was not currently so absorbed in something on his Scroll while nodding off every now and then. Probably even more so if Ruby had at least perked up and given a tiny smile as well.

Even if someone was going to comment, the chance came and went, as Pyrrha had just taken down Cardin with a finishing move that would have been worthy of several awards, prompting Goodwitch to finally step forward and declare, "And that's the match. Pyrrha Nikos is the victor."

"Ugh…You got lucky," Cardin dizzily grumbled, only to fall over seconds later, much to everyone's amusement. Even Goodwitch had cracked a small smile though she was able to hide it very easily behind the one she was giving Pyrrha as she praised the girl for her performance.

"A very impressive performance, Miss Nikos. I'm sure that if you and your team were to enter, you would have no trouble qualifying for the tournament based on your skills alone," Goodwitch congratulated.

"Thank you, Professor," Pyrrha happily grinned in return. True, she had been receiving praise for her talents and skills for as long as she could remember, but that did not make it any less pleasing to hear.

Goodwitch gave one last praising look to the girl who was easily one of her star pupils before she turned her attention to the rest of the class. "Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match. Any volunteers?"

On a normal day, she probably would have ended up being a little disgruntled at the fact that some of the only ones to answer that question would more than likely be a member of Team SLVR, specifically their leader, but much like the last few classes, Goodwitch was surprised to see that Sora was just remaining completely still, not showing any signs of willingness to step into the ring. Glynda would have called him out on this, but upon looking at the boy, she could see there was something off about him that left her a little concerned. It was not incredibly obvious to most, and she could only assume that his teammates had some idea of it as well, given the way they were all huddled around him, but any time one of her students seemed to be even the slightest bit unwell, Glynda always at least made a note to try and speak with them about it at the first chance she had. This time was no different, but for now, since it did not seem like anyone was going to volunteer, she had to worry about picking someone for the next match, and she quickly spotted another student that had not been very active in this class as of late.

"Miss Belladonna," Goodwitch called out, pulling the girl out from the book she had just been absorbed in with a start. "You've been rather docile for the past few classes. Why don't you…"

"I'll do it," someone interrupted, making Goodwitch turn to face the student who had dared to interrupt her.

She did not recognize him at first, and that alone told her it was one of the exchange students, so she managed to rein in any anger she would have held for the interruption a bit more easily. After taking another minute to study the student in question, Goodwitch finally managed to put a name to the face. "Mercury isn't it," Goodwitch asked, making sure that she remembered correctly. When the boy silently confirmed her guess, Goodwitch then proceeded to browse through the attendance sheet on her Scroll as she said, "Very well. Let's see about finding you an opponent."

"Actually, I already had someone in mind, if that's okay," Mercury requested. He took Goodwitch's patient silence as the good-ahead for his request, and he immediately turned to point out the person he had in mind. "I wanna fight…him."

Everyone's heads had instantly turned to where Mercury had pointed, and only a select few were surprised that it was in the direction of Team SLVR. It was a little hard to tell for certain as to which one he was pointing at, but everyone had a pretty good idea, regardless of that. "Seriously? I get that he's tough, but why is it that everyone always wants to try and have at least one match with Sora," Roxas questioned, exasperated by the very fact he just mentioned.

"No, not him. We've all seen what your team's leader can do, or at the very least heard one of the many stories about it," Mercury corrected, much to everyone's surprise. It ended up fading very quickly once they had let his reasons roll around in their minds, and that made it easier to understand when Mercury specified which Keyblade wielder he was talking about. "I'm more interested in fighting the other blonde on your team: Ventus."

Hearing that he was the one who Mercury was calling out made Ventus start to grin excitedly. It was not all that often that many people challenged him to a match, and to be quite honest, it felt like it had been quite some time since he had taken part in a friendly spar with anyone besides his teammates or Weiss. That was not to say that Ventus had not been entering the ring a few times, but this was probably the first time that someone had asked him to have a match with them. With that in mind, no one was surprised when he happily jumped up and declared, "Okay, you're on!"

"Well, I suppose I don't need to ask if you're alright with this, Mister Kunsanagi, so I'll let you both prepare for the match while Miss Nikos finds her seat," Goodwitch instructed.

Having everything said and done, Ventus and Mercury both went to retrieve their combat gear, which really meant that Mercury retrieved his combat gear and weapons while Ventus just moved into the ring, summoning out Wayward Wind as he went. Mercury did not seem too surprised by how Ven had gotten ready and into the ring first, like most of the other exchange students were when they asked any member of Team SLVR for a match, but Ventus was a little curious about just what Mercury's weapon could be since it did not seem like the guy had brought it with him. He was going to ask, but the match had started right when he had opened his mouth, and Mercury was already on the charge.

Ventus did not even need to think too much before bringing his Keyblade around to block Mercury's first, high kick, but he was startled just enough to be pushed back a bit farther than he normally would have been when the other boy's boots suddenly fired off a blast. Several more gun blasts followed other kicks that Mercury sent towards him, and while it was still surprising, it was not to the point where Ventus was completely unprepared for them after that first blast. For the most part, Ventus kept on the defensive quite a bit, getting a feel for how Mercury fought before he finally made his move, though at times, he would sometimes use his control over wind magic to try and deflect a good number of Mercury's attacks. This did not go unnoticed by the other boy, but it did not seem to bother Mercury too much either. He just simply smirked a little bit more every time he took notice of Ven's wind magic being activated, indicating that he was satisfied just because he had made Ventus use his powers in such a way. Too bad for him, Ven was planning on wiping that smirk off his face in just a few seconds.

Having reasoned out that Mercury's fighting style was very similar to Yang's, minus the angry outbursts that some of Yang's fights included, Ventus finally went on the attack, spinning his Keyblade around in one hand as he charged. He knew that there was a good chance he could not win in a straight up, frontal attack, but thankfully, Ventus knew he would not need to by going with his usual fighting style of prioritizing speed over power. He would duck and dodge around any blows that Mercury attempted to throw him off, and then easily spin around with a fast counterattack that was sure to disorient the older boy. At one point, Mercury had even used his gun boots to boost himself up into the air, thinking that would keep him out of Ven's reach, but that proved useless when Ventus shot a quick blast of wind magic out from his Keyblade to push himself just as high into the air and commence in a ferocious aerial assault.

When Mercury hit the floor again, Ventus was a little surprised to see him leap back onto his feet again, still looking ready to go and just as excited as before. Sure, he knew that his Aura had more than likely protected Mercury from the worst of his attacks, but it was the fact that he wanted to keep going and seemed ready to retaliate more fiercely that made Ven a little surprised. He figured that this was just a little show of how a more experienced huntsman-in-training could stand in a fight, and frankly, Ventus was growing a bit more excited as well. If this kept up, he figured he was going to have to actually use one of his Command Styles, an ability he had not really had a chance to exercise outside of matches he had with his teammates or battles against the Heartless and Nobodies.

Ventus was not the only one left impressed by how well Mercury was holding up, as his friends were all just as impressed, at least in the case of the ones who were really paying attention. "Your friend's doing pretty good," Ruby commented to Emerald, her voice a bit more chipper than it usually was lately whenever she was around Sora.

"No kidding. I don't think I've seen that many people hold their own against Ven this long while he's holding back," Lea added on.

"This is him holding back," Emerald questioned in surprise.

"Oh yeah," Roxas proudly confirmed with a knowing smile.

Their voices must have carried a bit more than they had thought, as Mercury had suddenly been taken off guard for some reason, giving Ventus another opening to attack. This time though, he led off with a blast of fire and ice magic so that he could create a quick smokescreen to cover his approach, and though he knew Ventus was likely to come from the same direction, Mercury still seemed a little surprised by the tactic. That was just what Ven was counting on, as he proved when he suddenly burst out of the smoke, his leap covering even more distance thanks to wind magic and slashed at Mercury as hard as he could. Mercury managed to duck under the attack, and then proceeded to try and dodge the ones that followed, deflecting as many as he could with his gun boots, until Ven ultimately managed to push him back with a well-placed gust of wind.

Ventus then charged, ready to end the fight right then and there, when Mercury just smiled, raised his hands up, and suddenly said, "I forfeit."

"Wait, what," Ventus gasped out, stumbling a little as he did his best to make sure that his attack would not connect. It probably would not have mattered either way if it did or not, but the surrender had just come so suddenly that Ven had been caught completely off guard. Once he had found his footing again, he turned to Mercury and asked, "You're…You're just giving up? Just like that?"

"Pretty much," Mercury shrugged.

"But why?"

"Don't really see much point. You've clearly got a lot more experience and power than I thought. Sure, I've heard the stories about your team, but I will admit that I took most of them with a grain of salt. Clearly they were not as exaggerated as I thought."

There was something about the way Mercury said that and his flippant tone that did not sit well with Ventus, but he did not comment on the matter. If anything, he was more disappointed that the fight had ended right when he was about to get really serious. More than that, he had honestly thought that Mercury had been holding back quite a bit for most of the fight for some reason, so it was hard to believe that he would just give up out of nowhere unless a lot more of his Aura had been depleted than he originally thought. Looking at the score though, Ven could see that was not really the case, as Mercury's Aura had only fallen to the point of being halfway out, not even close to being in the red, so that just made this whole thing even stranger. Either way, he was not going to protest Goodwitch's decision to accept Mercury's surrender and declare the match in his favor.

"That's all for today everyone, and remember, the dance may be this weekend, but you all still have your first missions on Monday, and I will not accept any excuses short of being sick to the point where the school's doctor orders you to bed rest," Goodwitch then announced as the bell rang. As the students began to file out though, she once again caught sight of Team SLVR's leader, looking a bit more sluggish than everyone else, and called out, "Mister Hikari, could I have a word with you for a moment?"

If it were not for his recent attitude shift, Lea probably would have made some teasing remark about Sora being in trouble. Instead, he, Roxas, and Ventus just cast worried looks in Sora's direction as he made his way down to the professor, ignoring their stares and the slightly less friendly ones that came from three-fourths of Team RWBY. Sora would like to say that he was able to ignore all of Team RWBY's looks, but that was pretty much impossible since he could feel Ruby's saddened and worried gaze stabbing into his back like several knives. Either way, he was still able to school his features for the moment when he stood before Goodwitch, but somehow, it seemed like his neutral expression just made her even more upset with him.

"Is there something wrong, Professor," Sora evenly asked.

"I was actually going to ask you that, Mister Hikari," Goodwitch confessed, her worry now making a full display in her features, and her softened voice easier to hear with the other students now gone from the room. "You've been even quieter than Miss Belladonna these last few sessions of Combat Class, and it has come to my attention that your reserved nature has also been apparent in other classes too. Not to mention that you also look rather unwell physically speaking as well."

"I'm fine," Sora said in a short clipped tone. If he had used it with his friends and/or fellow students, they probably would have backed off, but it was not going to work in this case.

"Are you sure about that," Goodwitch asked. "Have you been skipping any meals recently? Getting enough sleep? Maybe even taken some time to just sit down and relax for a little while?"

"Like I said, I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about," Sora repeated, now sounding a little more annoyed.

Goodwitch was not buying it though, because even if Sora did not wear his heart on his sleeve most of the time, she could see several signs that suggested otherwise, especially now that he was standing in front of her. His eyes not only seemed a little bloodshot, like he had been crying a lot lately, but they also had noticeable bags underneath them. In addition to that, she could also see some signs on his arms of some typical training injuries which were not properly healed, something that should not be a problem given that she knew the boy possessed very impressive healing magic that could rival the healing properties of Aura. To round it all out, his skin also seemed to lack its usual, natural tan, and since she knew Sora did most of his personal training outdoors, she knew that it was not due to getting less sun, so she had to assume that it was from something else. None of the other reasons for it were ones that Goodwitch liked, and she had to find some way to get Sora to understand her reasons for being concerned.

"Mister…" Glynda began, only to stop short and start again, this time with a more soothing tone. "Sora, contrary to what I'm sure is a very popular belief amongst the student body; I do care a great deal about the wellbeing of my students, as do all of the other teachers at Beacon, so believe me when I say that I'm only asking because I am deeply concerned about you right now. Not just because your grades have been starting to take a bit of a decline, but also because you do look very unwell. If there is anything bothering you that I or any of the other teachers can help with, you only need to ask."

Sora was quiet for a few moments, apparently gauging just how genuine his teacher was being right now. Not that it was hard to do so, as it was rare for Goodwitch to show this softer side of hers to any of the students, at least outside of times when they were doing an impressive job in their classes. For a moment, Glynda began to think that she was getting through to the boy, but she ended up very disappointed when he finally replied. "I appreciate your concern Professor, but like I said I am fine."

Seeing that she was not going to get through to him so easily right now, Goodwitch let a quiet sigh escape from her lips and said, "Very well then, but at the very least, I would like for you to report to the school infirmary and perhaps ask for something that might help you sleep, assuming that you are having trouble with that. You don't have to, but it would at least put me and many others a little more at ease."

"…I'll…I'll think about it if I have the time. I've got some important stuff I need to take care of though," Sora conceded, seeing that he was not going to win this battle with anything less than a half promise like that.

Goodwitch was willing to accept that, even if it was not a total guarantee, and finally allowed Sora to depart from the classroom. The minute he was out the door, he saw Sun looking a little dejected while Ruby, Weiss, and Yang were turning worried looks between him and a direction that he could only assume that Blake had gone off in, and realized that he was going to have to take a more roundabout way to get to the library if he wanted to avoid the girls. His attempts to get away ended in failure before they could begin, as Ruby chose that moment to look over and quietly gasped in surprise at the sight of him. The two held each other's gaze for a few minutes afterwards, seeing a myriad of emotions in the other person's eyes, until Sora finally managed to tear his gaze away from Ruby and beat a hasty retreat.

He did not stick around long enough to see if Yang or Weiss had noticed him as well, or how Ruby must have looked after he had turned away from her, but right now, he was more focused on something else. That feeling he had gotten from seeing Ruby so upset the other night had come back again, and with it came the memory of when they…well, that moment after they had last parted ways with Penny. Every time he thought of it, he felt his heart start speeding up while an odd feeling of peace seemed to take hold of him. There were also many other feelings, not unlike the ones he would often feel around Kairi, and it was actually that very reason why he was doing his best to avoid Ruby right now. He still retained strong feelings for Kairi and still wanted to find her so badly, but at the same time, this new feeling that was similar yet so different would always rear its face whenever he was around Ruby, and it had become harder than ever to ignore or pretend like it was not even there after that time in the alley. Do not get Sora wrong, he did enjoy being around Ruby, and the feelings she stirred up within him were incredible. It was like Ruby made him feel as though something he had been missing was finally restored, but at the same time, it made him feel like he was betraying Kairi in the most terrible of ways and that was the last thing he wanted. It was all just so confusing for poor Sora.

In his hasty retreat and muddled state, he had not really been paying much attention to where he was going, until he finally ran headlong into his fellow Keyblade wielders, and before he could try saying any apologies for not noticing them, Lea said, "Sora, we need to have a team meeting. Right now."

If the seriousness in Lea's voice was not clue enough, then the very serious and concerned looks on all of his friends' faces definitely told Sora that this was not up for debate, and he had a feeling that it was probably not going to be anything like his conversation with Goodwitch just a little while earlier. What really bothered him though was how that knowledge did not make Sora feel much better, but instead, it just gave him a very deep sense of foreboding.

---

"You what?!" was the question that came in a very shrill voice from Blake to her teammates a few hours later.

"We want you to go to the dance," Yang calmly repeated. "You look like you could use a night to just unwind and have fun."

"Don't be ridiculous," Blake scoffed.

"We're not; we're just worried about you. This investigation is really starting to have a bad effect on you," Yang calmly insisted.

Weiss had no problem listing off the concerns she and the rest of the team had for their resident cat Faunus, thinking that might help prove their point. "You can't sleep, you hardly eat, and to be honest, your grades have been suffering."

"You think I care about grades?! People's lives are at stake," Blake reminded them.

"We know, and we're all still trying to figure out what Torchwick is up to," Yang reassured her. She then scowled a little bit as she muttered, "You know, when we're not having to worry about certain 'friends' biting our heads off and turning their weapons on us."

"Honestly, it's a miracle you haven't gotten to the point where you're as bad as him, but you do look like you're getting close to it," Weiss commented to Blake, knowing what Yang was talking about. She was still upset about the way Sora had acted that night, but after taking the night to rest up and recover, she could not help but think that there was something else going on with him whenever she thought back to that moment. Ventus had mentioned once or twice that Sora had been through some hard times, so Weiss was sure that it would not have been too much of a stretch to say that something had made the wielder of Kingdom Key come close to a breaking point that night. She was just not sure what.

Ruby had gone stiff the moment her friends started talking about Sora, and quickly made an effort to get back on topic before anyone said or did anything that might set Yang off on him, or lead to her spilling the beans on what happened between them. "Either way, at least we're a lot closer than we were before, and it's all thanks to you, Sun, Roxas, and Xion, Blake," Ruby reminded everyone. "Now we know that they're operating somewhere outside of South East Vale, and Ven and Weiss discovered that Vale was a primary target for Dust robberies over the last few months."

"Not to mention that the Schnee Dust Company records also singled Vale out as the location where a lot of their military tech had gone missing," Weiss added on.

"That's all good, but there are still unanswered questions," Blake pointed out.

"And you won't be able to find answers for any of them if you can't even keep your eyes open. Even the best huntsmen need to take some time to rest and recuperate," Ruby countered. That was a lesson that her father and uncle had spent quite a bit of time trying to teach her when she started learning under them. Not that Yang did not have trouble learning it too, but Ruby was sure that she was the one who had a tougher time doing so.

"We're just asking for you to take it easy for one day," Yang insisted.

"It'll be fun, especially since Yang and I are planning the whole thing," Weiss proudly revealed.

"Excuse me," Blake questioned, but none of her friends noticed the dangerous edge that had crept into her voice.

"Team CFVY still hasn't gotten back from their mission, so we were asked to pick up where they left off. That means we can make sure that we all have the perfect night," Yang explained. "And once it's all over, we'll return to our investigation, rested and ready. It'll be great!"

"So, what do you think," Ruby pried, hoping that she would get a positive answer. She did not.

"I think this is a colossal waste of time," Blake practically hissed, and she then stood up and marched out of the room without another word.

"…Well, that went great," Yang sadly sighed.

"She can't keep going like this," Weiss agreed, and she was about to offer up some ideas on what they could do when they all heard a knock at the door. Weiss was instantly on her feet, mainly because she did not want Ruby to answer on the off-chance that Sora was the one at the door. Despite her theories, she was still cautious about letting the boy near her partner right now unless it was to apologize for his behavior. When she opened the door though, she ended up wishing that it was Sora who was there instead of the person it actually was.

"Weiss~," Jaune sang as he strummed the guitar in his arms, only to be cut off when Weiss slammed the door in his face. "Oh come on. Open the door," Jaune moaned miserably as he knocked again. "I promise not to sing again." Against her better judgment, Weiss figured she might as well see what he wanted, and opened the door, only to have her ears assaulted with a few more strums of Jaune's guitar. "I lied~!"

'No kidding,' all three girls thought, but while Weiss was mentally groaning the thought, Ruby and Yang were both thinking it in a more amused sense.

"Weiss Schnee~, will accompany me~, to the dance on…" Jaune continued to sing, until someone finally cut him off.

"Oh god, that awful noise! Somebody please, put whatever it is that's dying out of its misery already," Lea shouted as he came from down the hall, his hands firmly clamped over his ears in an effort to block out Jaune's musical request.

"Was my singing really that bad," Jaune hesitantly asked, a frown already on his face.

Everyone in the area shared uncertain glances with each other before some of them finally gave their hesitant replies. "Ehhhh…" Yang started to say.

"Well…" was all Ruby managed to get out.

"That was you singing," Lea asked.

Jaune slumped over in defeat after that last one, and then said, "You know what, never mind. I think I already know where this is going. I'll just…I'll just leave now."

Seeing how pitiful he looked, and remembering how she had resolved to be a better person in the future, Weiss let out a tired sigh and said, "Wait." That earned her surprised looks from Ruby, Yang, and Lea, along with a hopeful one from Jaune, until she gave him his answer. "As…charming…as the attempt was, I still would have said no. I actually already have a date in mind for the dance."

"Oh. Yeah, I should've figured," Jaune conceded. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised you'd be planning to go with Ven."

"What?! V-Ven?! Where…Why do you think…" Weiss stuttered, her blush adding some color to her otherwise pale features.

"It's kind of obvious that you want to ask either him or Neptune, Ice Princess," Lea stated. He ignored the usual glare that followed his regular use of his nickname for Weiss, and instead focused on the blonde with the guitar. "More importantly though, it's not like you don't have another option available to you, Jaune. I mean, I'm pretty sure she's eagerly waiting for you to ask her."

"Uh…who is," Jaune asked.

"Seriously dude, you can NOT be this oblivious or dumb, can you," Lea questioned, only to be disappointed when Jaune shrugged. "Oh my god, you are serious." He then looked into Team RWBY's room and asked, "Hey Yang, do you think if we got you to hit him hard enough he might get it?"

"Wait, what," Jaune panicked. "No! No, no, no! Please don't let her hit me!"

"Lea, stop teasing and just tell him," Ruby ordered.

"Fine. Ruin all of my fun," Lea grumbled before he focused his full attention on Jaune. "Dude, I'm talking about how a certain girl we all know obviously likes you. A lot! Namely a girl who's on your team." Jaune just stared at him with a blank look on his face. "And is a really great fighter." Still the same blank look. "A certain redhead in particular."

"I'm pretty sure Nora's going with Ren," Jaune informed Lea, only realizing that was the wrong response after he opened his mouth when Lea turned and began banging his head against the wall.

"What. Is. Wrong. With. This. Idiot," Lea grunted with every hit.

"He's talking about Pyrrha," Weiss said as bluntly as possible.

"DUH!" Lea snapped before turning to start banging his head on the wall again.

Thankfully, Yang came in and stopped him before he could injure himself or damage the wall. "Okay Lea, it's out there now. No need to give yourself a concussion," she assured the redhead.

"Wha…Pyrrha? Come on. That's ridiculous. There's no way she likes me in that way," Jaune laughed like he had just heard a silly joke. He only stopped when he noticed that no one else was laughing, and that they were all giving him looks that questioned his intelligence. "Right?" Still the looks persisted. "I mean…Yeah, she's cool, but…we're friends. Best friends! I really don't think…B-besides, she's Pyrrha! I'm sure she's got hundreds of guys asking her to the dance. Why would she want to go with me?"

"Because she likes you, stupid! What part of that don't you get," Lea ranted, looking like he was going to explode at any second.

"It's pretty obvious that she's been into you since you first met," Ruby shrugged, prompting Jaune to stare at Ruby in surprise. If Ruby Rose, someone who was just as if not more socially awkward than him was saying that something was obvious, then Jaune was now hard pressed to believe it, even if it was hard to believe.

"But I…Well, she's…" Jaune stuttered. "I'm so confused now."

"Hey, no one's saying you have to ask her," Yang started.

"Even if you should," Weiss interjected.

"And by that she means you definitely should," Lea added.

"BUT," Yang interjected before glaring at the fire and ice duo a little. "You should at least think about it. Pyrrha cares about you a lot, Jaune. I mean, I haven't seen her do any of the things for others that she's done for you. Not to mention that she's just different when you two are together. It's like she's able to just open up and be herself around you, and not be the invincible girl everyone knows her as. Just think about it?"

Jaune seemed to take all of that in before he ultimately just nodded and slowly wandered off, most likely to return his guitar to wherever he got it from before heading out to meet Pyrrha for their usual training sessions, and the other four were actually pretty happy to see that he did seem like he was thinking things over on this. Once he was out of sight, the girls decided that they should address another mystery that was currently on their plates and turned to the other boy that had appeared at their door a moment ago.

"So what brings you over, Lea? Hoping to start another round with Ice Queen instead of waiting for it to happen," Yang joked, much to Weiss's annoyance.

"Actually no. I'm here for two reasons. One, I was curious as to whether or not the fiery powerhouse of Team RWBY had a date for the dance yet," Lea admitted, a sly grin working its way onto his face. Unlike his usual ones though, there was a hint of something else there, like he was trying to cover up his nervousness with a mask of confidence, and that mask seemed to fracture a little bit as he hesitantly added, "Because if not…Well, I was hoping that she would go with me. You know, assuming she'd want to."

"Well, you'll be happy to know that I don't have a date, but I don't get why you're so nervous about asking. I mean, we've spent a lot of time on dates before," Yang reminded him.

"Yeah, I know, but…You see, I was…I was actually hoping that this time we could call it a real date, and not just…a thing with two friends hanging out," Lea finally admitted.

"Oh," Yang gasped in surprised before she absently started brushing her hair with one hand, trying to hide behind her long locks so that no one could see her blushing. "R-really?"

Lea quietly nodded in response, prompting Ruby and Weiss to start acting like a pair of excited kids who were on the edge of their seats at an exciting game or show. Both of them knew that these two fiery individuals had been growing closer and closer lately, to the point where it was getting ridiculous that they were still maintaining the whole "dating for fun" excuse, and now, it looked like things might finally be getting serious between them. That is assuming Lea did not chicken out and that Yang accepted his invite.

After a few more minutes of trying to cool off so that her face was not so red, Yang finally looked to Lea again and said, "Yeah. Yeah, sure. I'd really like that."

If they were not there right now, the girls were all certain that Lea would have attempted to leap over the moon with a victory fist-pump at that answer. It was written all over his face along with the wide smile that had appeared after Yang said yes. Still, they were going to have to keep him on Remnant for a little while longer, as Ruby made clear when she asked, "So what was the second reason you came to talk with us? I mean, did you think you needed my blessing to officially date my sister, because you definitely have it. It's our dad and Uncle Qrow that you most likely have to worry about."

Despite Ruby's attempt at a joke, Lea's mood still turned sour as he then looked at the three girls with a frown. "Well…That's the thing that might be a bit of a long-shot, or get some of you upset," he admitted. "I was wondering…Have you guys seen Sora?"

He was at least a little correct when he guessed that the girls would get upset at hearing that question, as they all had various different frowns once he had asked them that. "Sorry, but no," Weiss answered as politely as she could.

"Uh…Not since class," Ruby sadly stated, trying her best to not think about when she saw Sora after said time.

"Do you really think I would be here and not trying to hide a body if I did," Yang questioned, and no one was sure just how serious she was.

None of their answers seemed to satisfy Lea in the least, given the tired, agonized sigh he let out after hearing them. "Damn it. I was afraid of that," Lea groaned as he slumped against the wall and dropped to the floor.

Now the girls were more worried than anything else, and quickly pulled Lea up and into their room, thinking that it would not be a great idea to have this discussion in the hallway. "Is everything okay," Yang asked.

Lea just shook his head before he explained what had happened. "We were having a kind of team meeting earlier today to talk with Sora about his recent mood change, and a few…other things. We figured that by telling him about some stuff that we'd been keeping from him, he'd finally start at least trying to get back to normal."

"And judging by how you're now here asking if we've seen him, I'd assume that it did not go well," Weiss guessed.

"That's putting it mildly, to say the least," Lea confessed as he thought back to the moment when they finally told Sora about what Yen Sid learned regarding their mission to Remnant and Kairi's presence there.

---

"You're telling me that old bastard sent us on a wild goose chase, and that he didn't even think to mention that there's a chance Kairi may not actually be here," Sora angrily demanded. He was taking it about as well as the others thought he would, optimistically speaking.

"No, no! It isn't a wild goose chase, and he didn't even know that there might be a chance she wasn't here until after we had already left," Ventus clarified, not really liking the way Sora had referred to Yen Sid just now, but still stomping down any urge to chastise him for his language and disrespect for the moment.

"Oh sure, that makes everything so much better," Sora groused out in anger, not likely to calm down any time soon. "So if Kairi isn't here, then why are we even wasting our time?!"

"We don't know that she isn't Sora, and besides, this is the only world that Yen Sid checked where Kairi was most likely to be found," Lea insisted. "More than that, you can't tell me that coming here is completely worthless. I mean, you've gotten some of your old powers back, or did you forget how you used Firaga Burst during that fight the other night?"

"Not to mention that we've made a lot of great friends that have helped us out quite a few times as well," Roxas reminded him.

"None of that matters if we're not any closer to actually accomplishing the main mission," Sora angrily argued. "I don't give a damn about getting back any of my old powers, and while I'm not opposed to making some new friends, the only reason we came here is to find Kairi and bring her home." It was at that point that the others all fell silent again, and Sora could tell from the looks on their faces that it was not just because what he had said was upsetting to them. "Is there something else you guys have been hiding from me?"

"There…might be," Ventus confessed.

Hearing that, Sora silently crossed his arms and glared at his three friends, his demand for answers perfectly clear without him needing to say anything. In the end, Lea was the one who sang. "Look, despite this being the most likely place that Kairi ended up, there's still the fact that the two strong lights that Yen Sid did find on Remnant weren't as strong as Kairi's was the last time we saw her. We're not sure what that means, but there is a chance that…well, it might mean that…"

"What," Sora snapped. "It might mean what?"

Lea sighed and finally finished his sentence. "It might mean that Kairi was here, but something happened and now she's…gone."

All anger vanished from Sora, a look of horror now in its place. This was not like the kind of despair Sora had felt during those times in the Keyblade Graveyard though; this was much, much worse than that. He could hardly believe what he had just heard. That Kairi may be…and that his friends were actually considering the possibility…It was just too much for Sora. He was just thankful that his bed was right behind him, otherwise he likely would have fallen to the floor when his legs finally gave out from the shock. Still, even through his shock, Sora was not one to give up hope, but in this case, it really seemed more like desperation or even a stage of grief.

"No…No, that's not true," Sora insisted. "She's out there. She's on this world. I know she is!"

"Sora," Ventus started to say, but he did not get any further than that.

"She is here! I can feel it in my heart, and she's out there waiting for us to find her," Sora was now starting to shout.

"And what if she isn't?! What if you're just imagining things because you can't handle the grief?! Is it really worth working yourself to death and cutting off all the ties you have with your friends just to find out it was all for nothing," Lea shouted back. He quickly took a deep breath to calm down, knowing that getting angry was not going to help things, and then said, "Look, none of us want to believe that Kairi might be gone, but it's been almost a year since we got here, Sora, and we haven't found even one clue or even the smallest sign that she's here."

"So I should just give up and abandon her? Just forget about Kairi and get on with my life like she had never been a part of it," Sora demanded.

"No one said anything about forgetting her," Roxas tried to interject, but Sora was not willing to listen.

"I made her a promise that I would find her again so that we could go home together, and you guys know that I never break a promise," Sora insisted.

"Well you're doing a great job keeping your other promise to her," Roxas said, this time making sure that Sora heard him. Even when Sora turned to glare at him, Roxas did not back down. "I seem to remember you once promising her that you would never change, but Sora…Look at what's been happening to you since that last battle against Xehanort. Most of us barely even recognize you anymore on most days. It's not just the fact that your temper is a lot shorter than it used to be, but the Sora I know would never turn his Keyblade on his friends, even in a moment of anger like you did the other night with Team RWBY."

Sora did not have any retort for that, and the guys took that as a cue to press their advantage. "Sora, no one wants to give up and write Kairi off, but at some point, you just have to accept that there may be a chance she really is gone for good and move on," Ventus tried to say. "I'm not exactly too happy about it, but even with all of our power, there are just some things that we can't do or change."

"We all want Kairi back with us, buddy, but it just doesn't seem like that's going to happen. It may be high time to start considering the worst case scenario and start moving on," Lea reasoned.

For a brief moment, the boys thought that they might have gotten through to Sora, even if his silence did not inspire confidence. Though that may have had more to do with how Sora was keeping his head down with his bangs shadowing his eyes, preventing them from getting any real readings on what he was thinking or feeling. For the first time in as long as any of them knew, Sora's thoughts and emotions were a total mystery, and that was probably far scarier than anything that they had ever faced. They found something even more frightening though when Sora looked up, angry eyes burning holes through them faster than any flame that Lea could conjure up, and looking like he was ready to tear apart the world if he had to in order to prove them wrong.

"I can't give up on her. I won't," Sora promised as he stood up from the bed he was sitting on. "Kairi is out there. I know she is, and I am going to find her whether you guys help me or not."

"Sora…Hey, Sora! Wait a minute," Ventus called out. "Where you going?!"

"Out," Sora snapped, and with that, he slammed the door closed behind him, hard enough to the point where the guys all swore that they saw cracks forming in the doorframe and the wall around it.

---

"…Needless to say, none of us went after him. Ven figured it would be better if we gave Sora some space for a while, but then again, considering that none of us are likely to be Sora's favorite person at the moment, we didn't really need him to say anything," Lea recounted to the girls. He had not really gone into specifics about what they had said to Sora, but he was able to get the idea across to them when he said that their original mission on Remnant might not be as easy to accomplish as they had originally thought. "Problem is…that was a few hours ago, and we haven't seen or heard from him since."

"So why are you looking around or asking us if we've seen him? Can't you find him by tracking his watch," Weiss pointed out.

"Yeah we could, if he was wearing it," Lea revealed, diving into his pocket so that he could show the girl's Sora's discarded Gummiwatch. He then let out another sigh and said, "Whatever it was that happened to Sora the other day, it's definitely made him snap, and we've only made things worse."

"Hey, you can't blame yourself for that," Yang tried to assure him with little success.

"Actually, I can in this case. We kept that stuff from Sora knowing that it would make him worse if he found out, and only told him because it seemed like that had happened anyways, and none of us even have one clue as to what could've happened that made him snap," Lea bemoaned. He especially felt bad about how Sora had run off since he was the one who had suggested the idea of telling him about what Yen Sid discovered. He just wished he knew that it really would cause Sora's breakdown to worsen before they had said anything.

Yang was about to say something else that might ease Lea's guilt, when they all heard a soft thud coming from Weiss and Ruby's side of the room. Turning to the source of said sound, Yang, Weiss, and Lea were all a little surprised and a bit concerned when they saw Ruby stuffing her face into a pillow while letting out a sad moan. "Ruby, is everything okay," Weiss asked.

"No," Ruby admitted, not even wanting to bother with hiding her sorrows even if her voice was muffled by the pillow.

"Look, Sora's acting like a jerk isn't anything to get upset about," Yang started to say.

"He's not acting like a jerk, Yang. He's just…Sora's broken inside, and aside from Ruby, none of us have had any luck at fixing him again," Lea insisted. "At least, that seemed to be the case until…you know."

"Yeah, we do," Ruby replied. "And it's all my fault!"

"Your fault? Ruby, how could any of this be your fault? It's not like you did something that made Sora go off the deep end," Yang questioned. Her sister just remained as she was, moaning miserably into the pillow, and that prompted the blonde to get up and pull Ruby upright again so that she could get some answers. "Ruby, just tell us why you would ever think that Sora's recent attitude has anything to do with you."

Ruby looked around at the people with her in the room, only pausing when her gaze landed on the open door. At that point, Weiss realized that she would want at least some privacy on this matter, and quickly shut the door so that no one in the hall could listen in before she took a seat next to her partner again. Seeing that this was all the privacy that they were going to get, and breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that there did not to be anyone hanging around outside their window, Ruby finally revealed the big secret to the three that were seated around her at this very moment, hoping against hope that they would not freak out too much.

"I kissed him," she squeaked out.

Weiss's eyes immediately widened upon hearing that, while Yang's jaw seemed liable to fall off given how much it had dropped. Out of all of them though, Lea's reaction was the one that seemed most notable as he had turned almost as pale if not paler than Weiss, almost as though the very thing Ruby mentioned had terrified him to no end. Thankfully, Yang was able to find her voice again before her sister could have a chance to think poorly of their reactions. "Like on the cheek, or…" she barely managed to ask.

"No, I mean I kissed him, kissed him. Full lip contact and everything," Ruby clarified, still sounding more upset than Yang would have figured her sister would.

"So…how was it," Weiss asked, not sure what else she could ask right now. "I mean, it wasn't…bad, was it? Did he not kiss you back, or…?"

"No, he did, and it was great! I'd never felt happier in my entire life than I had in that moment. It was like something right out of a storybook," Ruby admitted. "And I'm pretty sure he was enjoying it too, but then, he just suddenly pulled away and freaked out, and started muttering that he shouldn't have done it, and all I could really do was just stand there stupidly and say I was sorry even though I really wasn't because it was just so great, and I wish I could do it again, but at the same time I don't want to upset him again, and I feel horrible for wanting to make him do something he clearly feels like he doesn't want to and…Gahaaagggh!"

Once again, Ruby's face was meeting a pillow as she screamed in frustration, nearing the point of crying, and neither of her teammates could really think of anything to say or do to help her. At least Weiss was able to offer some solace by patting Ruby on the back, hoping that would at least soothe her partner a little bit, and eventually, Yang came over to wrap her sister in a comforting hug as well, for all the good it would do. Lea on the other hand could only stare at the hooded huntress in awe, hardly believing what he had just heard, but at the same time, finding that so many things had just started to make sense now. He was so shocked by it all, that he had not even realized he was verbalizing his thoughts until after the fact.

"Yep, that would do it," Lea had muttered, and despite all the noise the frustrated Ruby was making and how quiet he was being, someone still heard him.

"What was that," Yang asked him.

"Uh…Nothing!" Lea attempted to lie, very poorly. "I was just…I just thought of something that might…help to find Sora. Yeah, so I'm gonna go tell the guys about it right away. Thanks for the idea, Ruby!" He then started to beat a hasty retreat before Yang or anyone else in this room could stop him, but still added one last request before he left. "Listen, if you do find him, just please don't do anything stupid. And definitely don't do anything smart either. There's a little grey area in between that is…also full of stuff that you shouldn't do."

"Well then what SHOULD we do if we see him," Weiss asked, not understanding anything Lea was trying to tell them in his apparent stunned state.

"That is a very good question, Weiss. I'm gonna go ask the guys about that. Right now. And get back to you all with the answer later. Okay, bye now," Lea rapidly replied, and the next thing anyone knew, he had raced out of the room faster than Team CRDL would run from an angry Roxas, much to the threes confusion.

"Oh-kaaaay. That was…weird," was the only thing that Yang could think to say at that moment.

"I doubt anyone could possibly be having to deal with worse or stranger drama than this," Weiss muttered, still giving Ruby a reassuring pat on the back in the hopes that it might raise her spirits a little.

Regardless of Lea's rather strange behavior just now, it seemed that there were now two members on Team RWBY that were going to need the dance to be an incredibly unforgettable event if they were going to be cheered up, and while Weiss did not really have many ideas on what to do to ensure that Ruby and Blake would attend and feel better by the time the dance rolled around, Yang certainly had one or two ideas in mind for at least one of her teammates.

---

The things that he learned from Lea, Yang, Weiss, and Ruby stuck with Jaune for quite a while after that conversation in the hallway. While he was not opposed to the idea of Pyrrha liking him, it was just too hard to imagine it being true. After all, this was Pyrrha, his partner and one of his best friends since initiation, and probably one of the few people who had never wavered in their belief in his ability to be a huntsman once. Plus, the girl was also talented, famous, and, if Jaune was being honest, incredibly beautiful, so he had no clue as to how a guy like him could ever have a chance with her. Yes, he was well aware how that made him sound, given the fact that he had tried to flirt with Weiss in the past, but Pyrrha was a different story. She was not just a celebrity; she was his partner and one of his best friends at Beacon. The idea that things between them could go beyond friendship just seemed a little too far out there for him. At least, that was what he had been telling himself even before the eye-opener that his friends had given him. After that moment though, he started to really take notice of certain details in his partner and not just in the physical sense either.

It had actually started during his regular training session with Pyrrha that same night. Even after all the time that had passed, the two would still meet up on that same rooftop to train together, and Jaune could definitely see some improvement in his skills and abilities. Apparently, Pyrrha had noticed too, given how proudly she had smiled when he actually managed to push her back a little and made her get a little more serious during their sword training. Sure, Jaune still lost, but that mattered little to him, because the fact that he had not only lasted longer this time but also managed to push Pyrrha further onto the defensive than ever was evidence of his growth. Pyrrha certainly seemed to agree with how happy she seemed. She even let loose a quick laugh to show that she had actually been enjoying things, and it was in that moment that Jaune realized that he did not really hear his champion partner laughing all that often. Not that it was weird or anything; in fact, her laugh was actually quite lovely in Jaune's ears, and he found himself wanting to hear it more often.

When she helped him up again and then offered to listen to whatever troubles he had when he admitted to not feeling up to practicing with his Aura that night, Jaune found himself getting a little tongue-tied for the first time since meeting her, but only because he noticed the way her eyes seemed to light up when he met them with his. It only made sense, given that her armor would probably make it easy for many other guys and some girls to pay more attention to other parts of her body, but for Jaune, it always seemed natural to keep his eyes on Pyrrha's face. This time was a little different though, especially after he mentioned that he was thinking about the dance and saw that her eyes seemed to sparkle a little in a way that indicated she was getting excited. Jaune had not even realized that he had taken notice of such a little detail about Pyrrha before, and as he thought that over, he realized that there were a few other things that he had noticed about her which others probably had not.

For one thing, whenever Pyrrha got excited, aside from that sparkle in her eyes, there was a slight twitch in her legs that indicated she was trying to stop herself from so much as bouncing on the balls of her feet, similar to how Ruby would at certain times. When she was feeling depressed, Jaune had also noticed that her shoulders were slightly more slumped down, even when she was putting on a brave face that hid her sadness. Even in battle, Jaune had picked up on some cues that others might not have realized. One example would be how he noticed that her hands would sometimes twitch when she seemed like she could not decide right away if it would be better to use her Semblance or just block with her weapons. Looking at Pyrrha that night also allowed him to realize that the moon seemed to add an extra, luminescent shine to her hair and face that made her seem just a little more angelic than she did in the day time, and it was at that point that Jaune realized that this was not something he could talk to Pyrrha about. He was not sure if she really believed him when he brushed it off as nothing serious, but he did feel his heart clench a little when he saw a bit of disappointment flash in her eyes, but that did not stop him from looking for help on this from another source.

Thankfully, Jaune's team did consist of at least one other guy, and he had not hesitated to seek out said teammate so that they could talk at the first chance he had. "Ren, we need to talk," Jaune insisted when he caught the boy. The only problem was that Ren had just come out of the shower, and he doubted that either of them would be comfortable talking so long as one of them was in a towel, and quickly added, "As soon as you get dressed."

Ren nodded in thanks for that, not wanting to be in a towel for what was likely to be a very long or very strange conversation. It was really hard to tell with Jaune sometimes, but since the guy was seeking him out on this, Ren figured he might as well hear what was on his team leader's mind. Jaune did not have to wait too long for Ren to get back into his usual outfit, but he did wish that he had taken a little more time so that he could get his thoughts together. In retrospect, he probably should have thought about how to approach the topic with Ren a little sooner, but it was too late to worry about it now, so he figured he might as well just dive in. Albeit as gently as possible.

"Ren, I'm just gonna come out and say it," Jaune started off, not knowing that he had made Ren a little nervous with that line, or that the ninja had mentally sighed in relief at the next part. "You are one of my best guy friends. These past few months, I feel like we've really bonded…Even though you don't say all that much. I mean, you are really quiet. Probably about as quiet as Blake, but in a less moody way. Don't ever tell her I said that please. To be perfectly honest, I may not know too much about you personally, but darn it, that doesn't stop me from thinking of you like the brother I never had."

"And I you," Ren assured the young knight, even though there were several points of that speech that had him a little more nervous than others. If it were not for the fact that he knew Jaune liked girls, he would have been a lot more certain of that going a very different direction.

"Which is why I wanted to get your advice on…girls," Jaune finally revealed.

"Girls? What do you mean by that," Ren asked, now confused as to why Jaune would think he had any advice on the matter, at least until he remembered who he was talking to.

"Yeah, I just…I don't know…well…girls," Jaune stuttered, floundering a little at last. "Um, I guess what I'm trying to ask is…well, I mean, you do seem like you might know a few things considering you and Nora…That is, how did you two…?"

"Nora?! Uh…Uh…I-I mean…" For the first time since he had known him, Jaune heard Lie Ren stutter, completely broken out from his usual stoic, calm façade. Apparently he had not been expecting that at all, and it was not helping Jaune's expectations for any advice that he got from his teammate.

"Ahem," someone cut in, and the boys both turned to the girl that Jaune had just brought up laughing nervously. "We're not actually together, together."

"NORA, I SAID HEADPHONES ON," Jaune snapped, causing the girl to quickly obey the command as she pulled said device back up over her ears. His annoyance quickly vanished though when her words registered in his head. "Wait, you two aren't…? But I could've sworn that you two were a couple. I mean, with how close you are and how you act around each other…"

"Jaune, is there any particular reason why you're asking about this," Ren interrupted, and despite regaining his usual calm, his question did seem like it had rushed out a little more quickly than it should have been to be considered casual interest.

Seeing that he could no longer just beat around the bush, Jaune sighed and finally got as much of the problem off his chest as he could. "Well…there's this girl…She's been a great friend to me ever since we started at Beacon, and some people have implied that she might have feelings for me. Beyond friendship, I mean. I honestly thought it was silly at first; I mean, she's just so incredible, talented, smart, and beautiful, and that's all without the reputation she has, so it was a little hard to imagine that she would actually fall for a guy like me. Don't get me wrong; after really thinking about it, I will admit that I would love to be with her, but like I said, we're best friends, and I'm not sure that I really want to risk that. I'm just worried that I might mess everything up by telling her that I've started to think of her as more than a friend and end up losing her forever if she doesn't feel the same way."

Ren would not lie; that little speech was rather heartwarming. Sure, Jaune was not being as subtle as he thought he was in professing his feelings for this "mystery girl," but hearing such an honest confession made him hold back his urge to call Jaune out on how he knew exactly what girl Jaune was more than likely talking about. Right when he was about to give Jaune some advice on how to proceed with this matter, which if he were being honest, probably would not have helped too much, someone else spoke up that he had been sure was not even anywhere near their room at the time.

"Just tell her then," said Pyrrha Nikos herself, startling all three members of Team JNPR with her sudden entrance. "Tell her everything that you just said. No ridiculous schemes, no pick-up lines; just be honest."

"But…but I…" Jaune stuttered, still stuck on wondering how long Pyrrha had been at the door, listening to everything that he had just said.

"Jaune, you can't get it wrong if it's the truth," Pyrrha assured him. "If she really does feel that strongly for you, then I'm sure that this girl will be overjoyed to have you ask her out, whether it's to the dance or just at all. From the sound of things, she could be that one special girl that everyone's looking for, at least for you."

Hearing that made Jaune brighten up a bit, and gain a new sense of confidence inside. Confidence that only grew at seeing Pyrrha's encouraging smile, but behind that, he could see a sense of sadness in her eyes as well, indicating that she probably thought he was talking about someone else, and in that moment, Jaune found that he wanted nothing more than to show her otherwise. "You're right," Jaune nodded. "She is that special one, and I'm not going to let her get away."

"So…I guess that means you're going to go find her and ask her to the dance now," Pyrrha guessed, her sadness slowly creeping into her voice and proving Jaune's hunch.

"Yeah. I'm gonna ask her right now," Jaune confirmed, moving closer to Pyrrha without her noticing.

"Well…You'd best go find her then," Pyrrha asked.

"I don't really need to look. She's already here," Jaune revealed, confusing his partner afterwards. He was going to change that in a minute though. "Pyrrha, will you go to the dance with me?"

Pyrrha froze, not entirely sure her ears had heard that right, or even if she was awake right now on the off-chance that they had. Given the way that Ren was smiling a little proudly while Nora's jaw had dropped to the floor, she must have, but she was still a little too shell-shocked to properly process anything. "Wh-what," she finally whispered.

Jaune could not help but chuckle a bit as he joked, "And the others said I was being dense. Pyrrha, that girl I was talking about is you, and I meant every word. I know you're not perfect; heck, I probably know that better than anyone with how close we are, but I don't care about that. I just care about you: Pyrrha Nikos, a brave, loyal friend who apologizes a bit more than she probably should, is not just beautiful but also incredibly strong in body and spirit, and is just simply the most caring and selfless person I've ever met, even if it means that you have to sacrifice your own happiness for it." Even after saying all of that, he lowered his head a bit as he added, "It's alright if you don't want to go with me though. I'm sure you've got a few dozen other guys lining up to ask you, a lot of which are probably way better than some guy who faked his way into this school…"

"Actually Jaune, there isn't any other guys," Pyrrha revealed, much to Jaune's surprise. "Nobody has asked me to the dance until now."

"What? But that's…That's crazy! I mean, you're Pyrrha Nikos! How could nobody else have asked you besides me," Jaune questioned, his disbelief being shared a little with the rest of his teammates. Even if they knew that she would be holding out for Jaune, Ren and Nora were a little perplexed by the idea that no one would have asked Pyrrha at all.

"It's because of that, actually," Pyrrha revealed with a sad look on her face. "I've been…blessed with incredible talents and opportunities, and constantly surrounded by love and praise my entire life. The problem with being placed on a pedestal like that for so long is that it ends up causing you to become separated from the people who put you there. Everyone just assumes that I'm too good for them; that I'm on a level that they simply can't attain, and that's made it impossible for me to form any sort of meaningful relationship with people, whether it's in terms of friendships or something more than that." She then smiled a bit more as she faced Jaune again and added, "That's one of the things I like about you, Jaune. When we met, you had no idea who I was. You didn't even know my name."

"Is it weird that I think that still sounds like a bad thing," Jaune asked.

"Maybe a little," Pyrrha giggled. "But to me, it was relief. Even after you learned about my status, you've continued to treat me like I was just 'Pyrrha,' like I wasn't any different from everyone else, and not 'Pyrrha, the invincible girl,' and thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime." Her smile became much warmer and heartfelt as she finished, "What I'm saying is…you're the kind of guy that I would want to be with, more than anything: someone who just sees me for me."

Jaune smiled upon hearing that, and said, "Hey, it's not like I really had to think about it, but if I did, it would only have been fair. You saw something in me that made you believe in me even when others didn't, including me."

"You've never given me any reason not to," Pyrrha insisted.

"So…does that mean…?" Jaune prompted.

"Yes, I would love to go to the dance with you," Pyrrha finally answered, her smile already stretching across her face to the point where you would think it would cover it entirely.

When he heard Pyrrha's answer, Jaune found a grin of his own forming, and before he knew it, he had scooped Pyrrha into his arms and happily spun her around, much to her surprise and both of their delight. The moment quickly ended when they realized what they were doing and jumped apart, obviously still a little nervous about this new development in their relationship, but happy all the same. "Uh…S-sorry," Jaune said. "I guess we're probably not quite…"

"No, no, it's fine. I…I liked it," Pyrrha insisted, her hand slowly coming to wrap around his just to show how little it bothered her.

"Okay, great," Jaune sighed in relief. "Well, I should…I should probably make sure that my suit is ready, so…"

"Yeah, I've…I've got to check on my dress, too, so I'll…I'll see you later," Pyrrha replied.

"Yeah, later," Jaune nodded as they both turned to the door. Right when he was about to head out though, he turned back to Pyrrha, still feeling pretty brave, and leaned in to plant a quick kiss on her cheek, much to her surprise. "Uh, hehe, I thought that might be a better send off that just 'see ya later," Jaune nervously replied.

"I…I see," Pyrrha stuttered, unable to really say anything else, but still smiling all the same. Her smile brightened a little more after she returned the gesture and pecked Jaune on his cheek, drawing a brilliant blush followed by a goofy smile from said boy, much to her amusement.

After that, the pair finally headed out to take care of the business they had just mentioned, leaving Ren and Nora alone to exchange looks and one simple thought. "Finally," Ren cheered.

"You said it, Renny," Nora agreed. She then turned a little nervous and asked, "So, we're going to the dance together too, right?"

"I was unaware that was ever in question," Ren replied with a smile. "I mean, we've already attended a lot of other things together, why would this be any different?"

"Oh, uh…No reason," Nora laughed off, even while she was grumbling a little in her head. 'Now I just need to work on getting him a wakeup call.'

---

The day before the dance was nearly upon Beacon, and just about everyone was excited for it. If it was not a case of trying to find a date at the last minute, then it was final preparations for their party attire. Sure, most of the guys would be wearing the customary dress version of their regular uniforms, but all the girls were definitely eager to show off how great they would look in whatever dress they would choose for the night. At the same time though, there were still some that were not quite as excited about the dance as others were.

One such example could most likely have been Sora were it not for the fact that no one had seen him in a few days, and that in effect made the rest of Team SLVR really worried and unable to really feel that excited about the dance. What really came off as strange was that after Lea had learned about Ruby and Sora's shared kiss, Roxas had started insisting to everyone that he be the one they get in touch with if they found him. Clearly the former Nobody had some kind of plan in store, but he was not saying as to what it was. Aside from that hiccup, the guys were still pretty eager for the dance to roll around.

The other example of people who were not as excited about the dance as everyone else was Ruby, who was currently slumped over on one of the tables in the ballroom as her sister and partner led the charge on finishing with the decorations for the big event. At least, she was slumped over, until Weiss suddenly slapped down two samples of cloth in front of her. "Ruby, I need you to help me pick a tablecloth," Weiss insisted as she slid the two samples closer for her team leader's examination.

Let it be known that Ruby Rose was not dumb; she knew exactly why Weiss was asking her about this instead of someone that might actually be able to see a difference between the two, off-white squares. It was the same reason why she and Yang had dragged their saddened leader to the ballroom in the first place. They figured that having Ruby around to help them with decorating for the dance would keep her distracted from any thoughts about Sora. Too bad for them, being in the place where such a big event was taking place only reminded Ruby about how Blake had insisted that she would not be going to the dance. Plus, there was also the fact that Ruby had been hoping to go to the dance with Sora, and that just made her even more upset, so really, the distraction ended up being an even bigger reminder about the problem that was plaguing Ruby's mind. Still, she was willing to humor her friends, even if she was not feeling like her usual self at the moment, but she still doubted she would be much help with this.

"Weiss, they both look exactly the same to me," Ruby admitted, even after studying the two squares for a few extra minutes.

That was not the answer Weiss was hoping for, but she knew that now was not the time to be getting upset with her partner about any little thing, so she just settled for moving away from Ruby in a mild huff. After Weiss had left, Ruby slumped over again, barely even noticing when Yang came by to set down one of the large speakers that would used to play the music for the dance. It may have seemed weird that Ruby would miss something like that, given that the speaker had been set on the floor with a small boom and that it actually made her and the table she was moping on bounce into the air, but then again, she had grown up with Yang, so she was used to small exhibits of her strength like that.

Seeing her sister still looking depressed, Yang took a moment to dust off her hands and check in on the poor girl. "So, have you picked out a dress yet," Yang asked.

"What's the point? Who cares about the dance if Blake isn't going," Ruby miserably questioned in return.

"Oh don't worry. She's going, and I can guarantee that Sora will be going too," Yang confidently promised.

Ruby perked up a little bit when she heard that, not necessarily looking like she was feeling better, but really more surprised than anything. "I never said…"

"You didn't have to. I just know you that well, Sis," Yang kindly reminded her. That kindness did not last though when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye she did not agree with and immediately turned to the perpetrator behind it. "Weiss! I thought we agreed no doilies!"

"Hey! If I don't get doilies, then you don't get fog machines," Weiss immediately retorted.

"Really? You're going to deny us having fog machines at the dance if you don't get some stupid pieces of cloth? That's pretty cold even for you, Ice Princess," Lea joked as he stepped into the room with his two blonde buddies on one side of him while Sun and Neptune were on the other.

"Oh! Well, I wasn't actually being serious, I just…I-I mean," Weiss stuttered, her confidence suddenly taking a nose dive upon seeing Ventus. Not that she really understood why she was suddenly nervous around him, but she had a feeling that the things that she had talked with her friends about the other day were having a weird effect on her.

"Hey, if you want to have doilies, I say go for it," Ventus said in support of Weiss, earning him weird looks from the others. "What? Aqua's got a bit of thing for stuff like that, but I think that's mostly because it was something that Master Eraqus would always insist on having at big social events like this, if we ever had that many of them. I mean, Terra always said that they did so…"

"Speaking of Aqua, where's she been lately? I haven't really seen her around," Yang pointed out.

"Off on a mission. Apparently there was a big Heartless attack that King Mickey needed some help with, and Riku was caught up dealing with a separate problem with Naminé and Terra. So, as the old saying goes, a Keyblade master's work is never done. She said she would be back in time for the dance though, and that she was bringing Terra with her, so I'd say it's a safe bet that we'll be seeing her again tomorrow night," Lea shrugged like it was no big deal.

"So I'm guessing that it was on another world, right, since we haven't heard anything about those Heartless things attacking here," Neptune guessed.

"Dude, shush! Don't go blabbing about other worlds just anywhere," Roxas hissed after elbowing the blue haired boy. "But yeah, it was in such a place."

"That's pretty cool," Neptune grinned. "Wish we could see some of these places you guys have been too."

"Yeah, where did Aqua's mission take her anyway," Sun inquired.

"A world called the Caribbean, where you can experience all kinds of cool adventures on the high seas worthy of the greatest pirates," Roxas revealed.

"Yeah, it's one of Sora's favorite places to visit," Lea added on.

"Dude, no way! Are you saying there's a world out there that is almost entirely made up of oceans, and where you can fight honest to god pirates?!" Sun asked, clearly really excited, while Neptune on the other hand seemed to have gone a little pale.

"Not just fight against them; there's a few that you can team up with too," Roxas replied.

"That is awesome! We have to go there someday," Sun insisted.

"Uh…I don't know. That sounds…really dangerous," Neptune stuttered.

"Nah, its fine, trust us," Lea reassured him. "But before we start making any travel plans, maybe we should worry about the plans we have on this world."

"Yeah, I get you," Sun agreed. "So, you all ready to get all fancy and dress up?"

"Pfft! Yeah right," Ruby scoffed in denial. Even if she was excited about the dance, she would still not have been too fond of getting all fancied up. She may wear combat skirts, but an actual dress was just not Ruby's style.

"Laugh all you want. I'll be turning heads tomorrow night," Yang proudly promised.

"Hopefully you'll only be paying attention to one guy's head instead of all the others," Lea teased with a grin. "Besides, if anyone's going to be turning heads, it'll be Roxas and Xion. I guarantee those two are going to be the envy of every couple in the room given the ensemble that they've got lined up."

"Axel," Roxas grumbled in embarrassment.

"So you and Xion are going together," Weiss guessed.

"Naturally," Roxas confirmed. "Xion's especially excited since this will be her first dance."

"Really," the girls all exclaimed.

"Yeah, really. What did you think any of us had time to stop and party during our past adventures," Lea asked. "Trust me, she's got good reason to be excited. Though that's not much excuse for how my ears are still ringing from how loudly and happily she had been squealing when Roxas asked her, or the amount of time spent yesterday helping her to find the perfect outfit for said occasion."

"Okay Lea, we get it," Ventus told his friend. A second later though, he did mutter under his breath, "Even if that does explain where you two went the other day after class was over."

"What about you? What are you guys going to be wearing," Weiss then asked of the other boys.

"Sorry Ice Princess, but I'm keeping it a surprise for my beautiful date," Lea denied. "Although, I am curious if you're going to be wearing some formal version of your armor or something, Ven."

"Yeah, that's not happening. The formal version of my armor is just my usual armor with a cape, and while it is tempting to show up like a knight in shining armor, I'm just going to stick with a simple suit, thank you very much," Ventus insisted.

"Xion insisted that I keep quiet on our attire so that we can surprise everyone on the night of the dance," Roxas admitted.

That just left the two boys from Mistral, and one of them did not really seem to get why he would be wearing something different from his usual attire. "Uh…this," Sun answered as he gestured to his usual open shirt and blue jeans.

"Ignore him, for he knows not what he says, and is dumb," Neptune excused for his friend.

"Said the rookie cop," Lea grinned, reminding Neptune of his poor interrogation skills from the other night of their investigation, much to the boy's chagrin.

Sun appreciated the assist, but he was plenty confident in his ability to stick up for himself. Although he probably should not have tried, given what he did say in his defense. "Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a shirt-and-tie kind of place."

"Yeah, we've noticed," Yang deadpanned, her flat look lining up with those of her teammates and friends.

Sun could tell he was not going to be winning any points on this matter, but he did not need to think for long to find another topic to pursue. "So, what does Blake think of all this," he asked. "Is she still being all…ya know…Blake-y?"

"Obviously," Weiss sighed. It was no secret to anyone that Blake was another person who was not looking forward to the dance, as she had insisted time and again that she had no intention of attending, and Team RWBY had yet to come up with any way to change her mind. At least, most of them had not.

"Don't worry. I've got that covered," Yang stated.

"What makes you think you're gonna be able to make her change her mind," Ruby inquired, curious as to what her sister had in mind.

"Just trust me. Blake will be at the dance tomorrow," Yang insisted before she made her exit from the ballroom.

"Great. So while Yang's dealing with one sourpuss, how do we solve the problem of the one person who's being more Blake-y than Blake," Lea inquired.

"I wish I knew," Ruby sighed before she stood up and slowly trudged out of the ballroom, only muttering something about heading back to her team's room as an indication of where she was going.

Seeing how sad Ruby was by the whole thing, and now knowing the reason behind it was also part of the reason for Sora's steep decline, Roxas now felt his resolve to find Sora growing stronger than ever, and it showed in his voice when he next spoke. "You guys just focus on making sure you're all ready for the dance," he told the rest of their group of friends. "I'll deal with getting Sora back to his senses again."

"What makes you so sure you can," Weiss asked.

"…Personal reasons," Roxas answered, and he left it at that before he also departed from the ballroom, with most of the others watching after him with curious looks. The only one who did not was Lea, who was merely frowning sadly after his best friend.

'It may have been a while, but you still feel a little guilty about that time, don't you bud," the redhead thought to himself.

---

Blake was not sure what was more embarrassing; the fact that Yang had tricked her into taking a break from her attempts to find Torchwick so they could talk, or the method said blonde had used to trick her. Really, betrayed by her own animal instincts, and all because of a stupid laser pointer! What was she, a toddler Faunus?! Maybe her teammates had a point in saying that she was starting to wear herself out, because there was no way that would have worked under normal circumstances. If she had decided to follow that little red dot otherwise, it would have been because it was annoying her to the point where she wanted to tear the person using it apart for thinking that she would play around with it like an actual cat. At least, that was what she would be saying if anyone asked in the future, and it was not like anyone would be brave or stupid enough to question her on it. Not that she was able to change anything now, since she was caught firmly in Yang's grasp and being forced to follow her partner to wherever they were going to have this talk that they apparently needed to have.

After being around Yang for all this time, Blake knew that there was no stopping her when she really wanted something, so she figured that she would just let Yang pull her along until they had reached their destination. She would be able to tell Yang off much better then. At least that was the plan, until something caught her attention and made her put more of an effort into making Yang stop.

"Yang, wait a minute," Blake said.

"Oh no. This is not up for debate," Yang denied, thinking that Blake was trying to worm her way out of this conversation. "You and I are going to have this talk, even if I have to…"

"No Yang, seriously, stop," Blake ordered this time with a sense of urgency in her voice.

That certainly got Yang's attention, partly because of how this was the first time she heard Blake speak in a way that was not heavy with anger or weariness lately, and partly because the slightly panicked look that was in Blake's eyes when she turned to face the cat Faunus. "What is it," she asked.

"Sora," Blake answered.

Yang could not help but roll her eyes at hearing that name, and she immediately said, "Look, I'll worry about him later, after Roxas does whatever it is he's going to do with him. Right now, I'm a little more focused on…"

"No, Yang, its Sora! Over there," Blake clarified in a panic, sprinting off in the direction she was facing.

"Huh," Yang asked, her eyes following after her partner until she looked past Blake to see what she had spotted. When she did, her own eyes widened in panic as well, and just like that, she was rushing after her partner as she gasped out, "Oh my god! Sora!"

The reason why the girls were so freaked out was easy to see. There, lying on the ground, was the spiky haired, Destiny Islander himself, apparently unconscious, and when the girls got close enough, they could see that his clothes were littered with dirt stains, tears of varying sizes, and a few different kinds of splotches that could have been from either sweat or blood. It was most likely his own blood, as they could see several cuts on Sora's exposed skin, along with even more dirt as well. Adding on to the mess of the boy was the fact that his hair was much more disheveled and wilder than usual, while it looked like one of his usual gauntlets had been damaged to the point where it was liable to fall off at any minute, a very likely scenario since it was missing its yellow strap. When they turned him over, even though they were being incredibly gentle, they could hear him faintly groaning in pain, and they soon found out why. Sora's front exposed even more injuries, a lot of them on his torso, while his jacket was missing some of its buttons and had one of its pockets torn to the point where it was just hanging loosely on its seams. The only part of Sora's outfit that did not seem damaged was his crown necklace, and even that had a bit of grime on it.

Seeing Sora in such bad shape made Yang completely forget any reason she ever had to be angry with him, and she quickly started doing whatever she could think of to make sure that he was not dead, or in any danger of ending up that way in the next few seconds. She probably should have realized he was still alive just from the earlier noise of pain he had let out when she and Blake turned him over, but Yang was still much more relieved to find a faint pulse after checking him for one. Still, Sora's pants had way too many pockets for her to rifle through in order to find any of his usual magic healing potions and elixirs, and considering that his pants looked like they were going to fall apart from the slightest touch, Yang was not too eager to try her luck there, so she figured that now was the time to follow Roxas's orders on what to do if they found Sora.

"Blake, call Roxas, right now," Yang ordered her partner.

"Are you crazy, Yang? We need to get him to the school infirmary," Blake tried to argue.

"We may not have time to get him there! Just call Roxas," Yang insisted.

This time Blake did not argue, and quickly whipped out her Scroll so that she could dial Roxas's number. When he picked up, all she had to say was that they had found Sora and that he was in bad shape, and Roxas was instantly promising that he would be there as soon as possible once he was told their location. All they could do at that point was silently, worriedly wait, but the wait was not completely quiet. No, they found the air being filled with nearly indecipherable mutterings, courtesy of the barely conscious Keyblade wielder. Yang was not really able to make out much of what Sora was saying, but Blake could pick up on one or two different things thanks to her stronger sense of hearing.

"No…Please…" Sora quietly grunted under his breath. "Don't…Please come back…Kairi…I won't…Ruby…No, not you too…I've gotta…I can't let this happen again…Kairi…Ruby…Please…d-don't…go…"

Even though it was clear that Sora was either dreaming or hallucinating, Blake was not entirely sure what to make of most of the things he was saying. She could tell that it had to be a nightmare, and that Ruby must have been involved for some reason, but everything else just left her confused. Who was Kairi? Why did it sound like Sora was begging for her to come back? And how was Ruby involved in any of it to begin with? It did not make any sense to Blake, and from the look on Yang's face when she told her what she heard, it seemed that her partner was just as much in the dark as Blake was.

It was actually right when they were about to start actually talking about any ideas or guesses they had about the gibberish Sora was spouting when Roxas finally came racing onto the scene. When he saw Yang supporting Sora as gently as she could in his current state, the worry on Roxas's face seemed to suddenly increase several times over, and did not stop even after he had slid down next to his friends. "Cover me," Roxas ordered the two as he summoned out Oathkeeper.

Knowing what that was the Keyblade wielders' code for, the girls both jumped to their feet and started keeping an eye out for anyone that might pass by while doing their best to keep Roxas hidden from view as he literally worked his magic. Roxas may not be the most adept at magic, but Sora had made it a point to make sure that everyone on the team was at least able to perform all the various levels of the Cure spell, and the former Nobody was now very thankful that he had. Nothing short of the best healing magic was going to help Sora reach the point of being safe to move to somewhere a little more comfortable than the hard ground of the school's courtyard. After he saw that the last of the injuries had disappeared from Sora's body, Roxas checked to make sure that nothing else was wrong with his friend, and then started lifting Sora up off the ground as best as he could. That was not an easy task to accomplish.

"Ugh, I think this guy needs to cut back on the ice cream for a little bit," Roxas muttered as he struggled under Sora's weight. The next thing he knew, Sora became surprisingly easier to move, and he turned to see that Yang was helping to support the leader of Team SLVR as well. "Thanks," Roxas nodded.

Yang just nodded in return, happy that she was able to do a little more to help right now. "So, are we taking him to the school infirmary now?"

"Heck no; that's crazy talk," Roxas denied nearly as fast as Ruby could run. "We're taking him back to our room. There's a little chat I need to have with him when he wakes up, and this time, I'm not letting him leave until he actually listens."

Despite not knowing all the details of what he could mean by that, the girls still nodded in response to Roxas's decision, and began heading for Team SLVR's room as quickly as they could go. Of course, they had not gotten very far before Blake finally asked Roxas the question that was burning in her mind almost as much as the matters relating to their investigation. "Roxas, who's Kairi," the cat Faunus asked.

If it were not for the fact that he was currently supporting Sora, and that Yang was helping him to do so, Roxas probably would have frozen completely when he heard that name escape Blake's lips. That did not stop his eyes from widening in surprise though, or his voice from sounding very astonished when he quietly asked, "Where did you hear that name?"

"Sora was muttering it just a moment ago, along with Ruby's name and a lot of other things," Blake revealed. "So…who is she?"

Even without looking at the two partners, Roxas knew there was going to be little chance of keeping this from either of them, given that they would more than likely be sticking around to make sure that Sora was okay once they got him back to their dorm room, but he was not going to just blurt it out in a place where anyone could overhear. "I'll explain once we've got Sora to our room," Roxas promised.

The girls seemed to accept that, but while they just continued on in curious silence, Roxas was mentally panicking in his head for the moment when Sora woke up and found out that they now knew about Kairi. He was just glad that one of his usual, go-to plans could be used in this scenario. Just with one small adjustment. 'If he asks, it's all mainly Axel's fault.'

---

When they finally arrived in Team SLVR's room, Yang could not help but smirk a little at seeing how the boys had turned their beds into bunk beds like Team RWBY had, and that smirk grew a little more when Roxas admitted that Sora got the idea from Ruby. Impressed or not though, it did not change the fact that getting Sora into his bunk would have been a challenge right now, given that his was one of the top bunks, so they had to settle for laying him down in Ven's bed for the moment, after Roxas had gotten Sora changed into some clean clothes. Blake was about to offer her services in repairing the damaged ones when she saw that the damaged garments were already fixing themselves, even to the point where they were replacing the jacket's missing buttons.

Yang had taken notice of that too, and since they had already gotten Sora well situated in the bed, she had no problem asking Roxas about that. "Another benefit of having magic outfits," Roxas shrugged when he gave the simple explanation. "They always fix themselves no matter how much damage they take."

That worked for Blake and Yang, but it did not distract them from the reason why they were still in the room even after helping Roxas get Sora situated. "So, if you're done leaving us in suspense, tell us who this Kairi person is," Yang prompted.

Her question drew a sad look onto Roxas's face, along with a sad sigh as he sat down in one of the desk chairs in the room, waving for the girls to do the same wherever they could. That all told them that this was either going to be a long story, or a very serious one, so they did not argue or refuse the offer to sit, with each of them taking a seat on Lea's bed. "First off, let me just say that I need you guys to keep all of this to yourselves," Roxas requested, feeling that it was necessary to do so before he told them anything. "Sora will tell everyone about it in his own time, but above all else, I need you to promise that you won't tell Ruby. It would be much better if she heard about it from Sora himself."

"Okay, sure," Blake shrugged indifferently. Sure, it may seem like she was not seeing this as a big deal, but if she were being honest, she was in fact able to see just how important this matter seemed to be for Roxas.

"I swear on my honor as a huntress," Yang assured her fellow blonde, and that served as Roxas's cue to finally reveal the big secret.

"When we told you about our history, even if it was an abridged version, there was one particular detail we left out, which I'm sure you all noticed," Roxas began as carefully as he could. "There were a lot of different reasons for doing so though, but the biggest ones were because…well, it still hurt quite a bit for us to talk about it, and because Sora has been taking it harder than anyone else."

Even in her weary state, Blake was able to put enough pieces together to figure out what Roxas was getting at. "Does this have anything to do with that friend you all came to Remnant to find," she asked.

"Try everything to do with her, actually," Roxas corrected, finally specifying whether or not that friend was a boy or a girl at last. "Kairi is the missing friend we're trying to find, but she's so much more than that. She's also one of the previous and new seven Princesses of Heart, probably the first of said individuals to become a Keyblade wielder, and…"

"And what," Yang asked, not liking the way that Roxas had paused just now.

"…And Sora's first love," he finally revealed, drawing astonished gasps from the yellow and black members of Team RWBY when he did. "Kairi and Sora had known each other for years, ever since she just suddenly appeared on Destiny Islands one night after a meteor shower, and over the course of being best friends for all that time, they both found their feelings for each other growing stronger. Most of Sora's journeys, be it his first, second, or even the third one, were all about Sora finding his way back to Kairi, because even after returning home with his friends after his second adventure, Sora ended up being dragged away on another quest shortly after that, if for no other reason than the fact that there were people out there who needed his help, and who helped him to become who he is. Despite that though, Kairi was still willing to let him go, because she knew that every time he left, he would always promise to come back again, and that no matter where either of them went, they were always with each other."

"Whoa," Yang gasped. Even if Roxas was summarizing it as briefly as possible, she could still pick up on the romantic nuances that were woven into the tale of Sora and Kairi. Plus, it had the added benefit of helping her to make sense of a few other things as well. "That explains why he had freaked out after he and Ruby kissed," she absently muttered aloud.

"I'm sorry. What happened," Blake exclaimed, having only just now heard about this.

"I'll tell you more, later," Yang assured her partner. "Like I was saying, I'd be pretty freaked out too if I suddenly kissed another girl behind my girlfriend's back like that."

"Yeah…the thing is…Sora and Kairi never really got together in the official sense," Roxas revealed. "I mean, the closest that they ever came to sharing their feelings with each other was when they shared a paopu fruit the night before our final battle against Xehanort and his thirteen darknesses."

"How does sharing a fruit count as a way of expressing their feelings to one another," Blake questioned.

"Oh, right. You probably don't know about that," Roxas remembered. "Well, do you guys know about the story behind Ven's good luck charm? Namely the part about the tree that grows star-shaped fruit?" Both girls nodded yes in reply to the question. "Well, that same tree is actually on Sora's homeworld, and the fruit is called a paopu fruit. Plus, there's another legend that's just as if not more well known than the one about carrying good luck charms shaped like the fruit. It's said that when two people share one, their destinies become intertwined, and they'll remain a part of each other's lives forever."

"Okay, yeah. That does sound really romantic," Blake admitted.

"But from what you're telling us, they never did anything more than that," Yang cottoned on. "Never said 'I love you,' or kissed, or anything else?"

"Afraid not," Roxas confirmed. "I can say with total confidence that your sister definitely has the honor of being Sora's first kiss. Then again, to be fair, it's a little hard to find a romantic moment for any of that when you're constantly being pulled away into some big adventure to help save all the worlds from darkness. I'm honestly more amazed that they even had that one night and the confidence to finally share that fruit with each other."

"Oh geez. Now I feel like a jerk," Yang grumbled, earning her questioning stares from the two. "Sure, Sora was being really lousy with how he's been acting lately, and especially the other night, but I was too busy being angry over the fact that he made Ruby upset to realize that he was only acting that way because he's been dealing with a broken heart."

"Hey, don't do that to yourself. You didn't know, and that's partly our fault for not telling you," Roxas reassured the blonde. He then let out another sad sigh as he added, "But then again, you can't really blame us. Even if some of us hadn't been particularly close to Kairi for all that long, what happened to her still hurt everyone a lot, and since Sora was especially hurt by it, we were all doing our best to keep him from breaking down at any moment."

"Well, it's not like all hope is lost, right? I mean, you said it yourselves that you came to Remnant so that you could find Kairi and bring her home, right," Blake remembered.

Unfortunately, the cat Faunus's attempt at cheering him up backfired, because it made Roxas remember the conversation his team had the other night, and as a result, he could stop from flinching back a little like someone had just punched him. Yang and Blake both noticed this very easily, and even though they were curious about why he would react that way, something about it also gave them a very bad feeling in their stomachs about it. Just not to the point where they did not ask at all.

"What's the matter," Yang asked.

"…There's something you guys should know about our search for Kairi," Roxas revealed.

From that point on, Roxas was forced to fill someone in on everything that Aqua had told him and the others once again. He would admit that it was a little easier to admit this now, at least compared to when he and the guys had told Sora, but the pill was still really hard for him to swallow regardless of this fact. The only thing that made it harder to tell this story was when he brought up what had happened when he and the others had revealed all of that information to Sora, and how he had taken it afterwards, and judging by the looks on their faces, Yang and Blake were not too likely to take it much better. At least, not until after Roxas finally finished with one last detail.

"…I'm guessing that after he stormed out, he probably went off somewhere to do everything he could to find even the smallest clue that would prove us wrong in thinking that Kairi really was gone. When he couldn't, he just went out somewhere to train, and he then started going between the two different things like that nonstop with little to no rest until you found him passed out in the courtyard," Roxas concluded, sharing his guess on the most likely scenario behind Sora's condition when they found him, thankful that he was able to mention all of that before Yang and Blake had a chance to explode on him for now.

Truth be told, Yang and Blake still felt like they were on the verge of exploding after everything they had just heard, but given how upset Roxas seemed to be, and the emotional overload that came with this whole thing, they just were not entirely sure what to actually say. At the very least, they did understand much better than ever now why Sora was acting the way he did since the end of their late night investigation, but it was still just too hard for them to imagine just what it was like to be going through what he was right now. Not only seeing your first love getting struck down like that, but then finding out that there may still be a chance to save her, only to have the person who told you this turn around later and say that they found out the chances of doing so were a lot less likely than originally believed had to be hard for anyone to handle. Frankly, the girls were more amazed that Sora had held together for as long as he had, and that he had not done something that was even more reckless and dangerous by now.

After taking in everything that she had heard for a few more minutes, Blake finally found the strength to speak again. "I can't imagine what that must be like," she said. "I mean, I've got some idea about what it's like to lose someone you care about in a sense, but I've never experienced anything like what Sora has."

"Yeah," Yang agreed, though she did give Roxas a curious look when she asked her next question. "What I'm wondering though is how you plan on helping him out with this."

"I'd say you'll see if you stick around, but…" Roxas started to say, only for his fellow blonde to interrupt before he could finish.

"Which is why I'm gonna have my little talk with Blake here when Sora wakes up. I get the feeling Sora could benefit from hearing what I have to say to her just as much as she will," Yang concluded.

When Blake was reminded of this, she slowly started edging towards the door, thinking she might be able to escape, only to have her animal instincts betray her again when a little red dot appear on the floor caught her attention, and prompted her to freeze as she followed its path with her eyes. Eventually, she saw the little dot move all the way back over to where Yang's feet, and immediately looked up to see her partner holding her laser pointer from earlier along with a sneaky grin. It was not until she had turned back to where Roxas was that she realized that he had moved further between her and the exit, ensuring that he would block both her and Sora should either of them try to slip out. Not that she was too concerned about that; at the moment, she was more upset with Yang using that same trick from earlier on her again.

"Will you stop that?! It's not funny," Blake scolded her still grinning partner.

"It kind of is, actually, and no, I most likely won't stop if it means that you'll be staying put until you and Grouchy over there hear me out," Yang insisted sounding far more serious than she normally was.

That certainly had Blake's attention, so she just returned to her previous seat as they all waited for Sora to wake up. They ended up waiting for quite a few hours though, but Roxas did not seem to care that much. Considering that this was the first he had seen Sora asleep in one of this room's beds at all since they told him about Yen Sid's discovery, it was easy to understand why Roxas was able to relax a little better as he went over what he was going to say to his friend while also attempting to figure out what Yang was planning to tell both him and Blake.

By the time Sora did finally awaken, the sun was starting to set outside, and Yang had received a few messages from Weiss demanding why she was not in the ballroom helping with the remaining preparations for the dance. She paid them little mind, because the two situations with their overworked and highly emotional friends was much more important right now. Besides, Weiss could handle the dance prep perfectly fine on her own, and if Ventus had stuck around to help her out, then that would most likely mean that she had set the heiress up with the perfect opportunity to ask her Keyblade knight in shining armor to the dance. A basic win-win all around in Yang's mind.

"Where…what happened," Sora groaned as he slowly sat up in his bed.

"Hey there, sleepy-head," Yang greeted, alerting him to her presence, and by extension the presence of Blake and Roxas as well.

"Yang? What're you…" Sora started to ask.

"She and Blake found you passed out in the courtyard and helped bring you back here after they called me," Roxas explained. "And before you even think about getting up, just know I will use a gravity spell to hold you in place if I have to, because we need to talk."

Sora's face fell into a scowl after that, as he huffed and started getting up as he said, "I've heard more than enough from you and the others."

"He didn't say that you and Team SLVR needed to talk, Sora. He just said that the two of you needed to talk," Yang gently insisted. "And by extension, so do we, or more accurately, you should probably hear what I have to say to Blake."

Sora looked to the blonde, wondering if he should listen to her. Considering that Yang looked like she wanted to beat him to death the last few times he had seen her up until now, it would be stranger if Sora was not skeptical about whether or not she would just be talking with him. Then again, she had said that this was also a conversation she was going to be having with Blake, and he doubted that Yang would hurt her partner in the way she likely wanted to hurt him, so Sora just sat back on the bed, and crossed his arms, silently telling her to go on.

Blake on the other hand was a different story, because she doubted that anything Yang had to say to her would be of any help to Sora right now. "Yang, if you're going to tell either of us to stop, then you're wasting your breath, especially in Sora's case. He's got even more of a reason to keep trying to find Kairi than I do to stop Torchwick."

Sora's eyes widened when he heard Blake mention Kairi's name, but they were soon narrowing again after he spun to the only member of his team that was in the room. In response, Roxas instantly raised his hands up in personal defense and quickly said, "They heard you muttering Kairi's name while you were out, and Axel told them everything before I could stop him, which would have been easier if I wasn't already trying to carry you back here on my own. By the way, you need to consider losing some weight."

"Oh really? Axel told them," Sora questioned. He was not so stupid as to fall for that excuse, given that he knew that it was one that he and Ventus also used to avoid trouble more than a few times since coming to Remnant.

"It's not important who told us," Yang interrupted. "What is important is what I have to say to you guys, and it's not a request for either of you to stop. I want you both to slow down."

"We don't have the luxury to slow down," Blake insisted. 'And I really doubt that it would help Sora all that much,' she added in her head.

"It's not a luxury; it's a necessity," Yang replied.

"What's necessary is that we stop the bad guys and find Kairi. Nothing else matters," Sora insisted, only to have Roxas grab him by the collar of his shirt and glare at him straight in the eyes.

"You don't get a vote on this! We've been worried sick after you basically disappeared for days. DAYS! And when you finally showed up again, you were barely conscious and practically looked like something had thrown you in a meat grinder, so shut your mouth, and listen to what Yang has to say at the very least," Roxas all but ordered, doing his best to make Sora understand that nothing he could say would get him out of this.

Yang and Blake both stared at the boys for a minute, until the former said, "Not quite how I would've put it, but Roxas is right. Before either of you doing anything else, you're gonna have to just sit down and listen to me for a little bit." Seeing how hesitant Blake and Sora both still seemed, Yang felt the need to then add, "I will have Roxas lock every way out of this room with his Keyblade if I have to, but I would rather you guys hear me out without that."

Sora and Blake then shared a small look with each other before they simultaneously sighed in defeat, "Fine."

Yang nodded happily upon seeing that the two were taking the easier choice here, because she did not want to force them into this anymore than she and Roxas already were, and she then began a tale that she had not told very many people until now. "Ruby and I grew up on an island just off the coast of Vale called Patch," she began. "Both of our parents were huntsmen, but while our dad mainly taught at Signal, our mom would take on missions around the kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose, and she was like…Super-Mom. Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters."

"Yeah, that does sound like the perfect mother for you two, or at the very least for Ruby," Roxas chuckled lightly, and Blake and Sora could not help but smile in agreement. At least until they all realized that Yang was referring to the woman in past tense.

Only Sora was brave enough to ask the question though. "What happened to her?"

"The job. One day she left for a mission and never came back," Yang sighed sadly, earning her sympathetic looks from her three friends. "Dealing with it was tough for everyone. Ruby was really torn up, but I think she was still too young to really understand what was going on, ya know? My dad on the other hand just kind of…shut down."

"Can't say that I blame him," Sora muttered, unaware that Yang had heard him.

"Well, there was actually another reason besides just losing Summer and it wasn't long before I finally found out why. Summer wasn't the first love he'd lost; she was the second, and the first…was my mom," Yang revealed, surprising the three quite a bit.

"Your mom," Roxas repeated. "You mean that…You and Ruby are…"

"Actually half-sisters. Yeah," Yang confirmed.

"You don't really seem too bothered by it," Sora noted it.

"It was hard to believe and deal with it at first, but I was able to get over it after a while, and it didn't really change all that much. At the end of the day, Ruby was still my baby sister, and that was all I needed to know," Yang admitted.

"What about…What about your birth mom," Roxas asked. "Did your dad say anything about her after you found out?"

"No, he wouldn't really tell me all that much," Yang said. "But I did learn that the two of them had been on a team with Summer and Qrow, one of the best teams to ever graduate from Beacon at that, and that she had left me with my dad just after I was born. No one had seen her since."

"Did you at least learn what her name is," Sora asked, hoping that Yang knew that if nothing else.

"Yeah…Her name is Raven."

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that she and Qrow are related," Roxas lightly joked, not knowing how right he was until Yang spoke up again.

"They are. Raven's the older twin sister of Qrow," Yang revealed. "Not that it really got him to tell me very much about her. I think he might have been almost as upset by her leaving as my dad and Summer were."

"Why did she leave you all," Blake then asked.

That drew a sad sigh from Yang as she glanced away from all of them. Clearly they had now stirred up some less pleasant memories for her. "That question…Why," Yang recalled, still soldiering on with her tale despite the sadness it brought her. "I didn't know the answer, but I was determined to find out. It was all I ever thought about for the longest time, and it drove me to ask anybody I could what they knew about her. Then, one day I found something: what I thought was a clue that could lead me to answers, or maybe even my mother herself. It was only natural that I decided to go after it, but I knew that dad probably wouldn't let me, so I waited for him to leave the house, put Ruby in a wagon and headed out. I must've walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises, was totally exhausted, but I wasn't going to let anything stop me. Sure, I wasn't as bad as Sora was when we found him earlier, but given that I was still just a kid at the time, I might as well have been. When we finally got there, I didn't even care that I could barely stand. I had made it, and I was sure that I would find something about my mom. I did find something alright, but it wasn't my mom. The minute I got closer, I saw them…Those burning, red eyes, the skeleton armor, and all those snarling teeth bearing down at me and Ruby like we were a tasty snack."

"The Grimm," Roxas whispered in realization.

Yang just nodded to confirm his guess, and continued from there. "So there we were, a toddler asleep in the back of a wagon and a stupid kid that was too exhausted to even try and scream for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter, but as luck would have it, our uncle had been close by and showed up just in time. I don't know if he was following us or if he just happened to be passing by at the time, but I didn't care. My stubbornness should've gotten us killed that night had he not been there, and I was just glad that he had shown up when he did."

Hearing Yang's story, the other three could not help but sympathize with her to various extents. If anyone else had gone through that, they probably would have wanted to do anything and everything they could to stay clear of the Grimm, and yet, Yang still chose to be a huntress so that she could fight and kill the monsters that had nearly killed both her and her sister. On the topic of Ruby, the story also explained why Yang was so close and protective of her. Any half decent older sibling would be after they put their younger sister/brother in danger like that, and Yang certainly seemed to regret her actions from back then quite a bit now. Knowing all of this made the three's respect for Yang grow stronger than ever, but it did not seem to do too much in convincing Blake of anything, and from the look on his face, Roxas could tell that Yang's point had not gotten across to Sora either.

"Yang, I'm sorry that happened to you, and I understand what you're trying to tell me," Blake started off, but Yang could tell that her partner was not really getting the reason why she told her all of that even before she had gotten halfway through her statement. "But this is different! I'm not a child! Sora isn't a child, and we aren't just on a search for answers. Neither one of us can just…"

"I TOLD you, I'm not telling either of you to stop," Yang interrupted. "I haven't. Even to this day, I still want to know what happened to my mother, and why she left me, but I will never let that search control me again. Especially not to the extent that Sora's search has started to control him."

"What's THAT supposed to mean," Sora demanded.

"Dude, you do remember what we said about where we found you and the shape you were in when we did, right," Yang questioned, still not facing anyone in the room.

"And that's not even the worst of it," Roxas added on. "The Sora I know, that all of us know wouldn't let himself be turned into someone that gets so obsessed with his mission that he cuts himself off from everyone around him. He knows that his true power comes from all of his friends, and he would remember his promise to never change who he is on the inside."

"We're all going to find the answers we're looking for, you two," Yang said. "But what's the point of finding them if we destroy ourselves and lose everyone that we care about in the process?"

"You just don't understand," Blake nearly shouted. "I'm the only one that can do something about Torchwick!"

Roxas was about to remind her that both her team and his were also doing something about said criminal, when Yang beat him to it. "No, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND," she angrily yelled, finally spinning around to face the room again with her eyes now turned red. "If Roman Torchwick walked through that door, what would you do?"

"I'd fight him," Blake instantly answered.

"You'd lose," Yang corrected, pushing Blake a bit to better emphasize her point.

"I can stop him," Blake pushed back, much more feebly, and even she knew it.

"You can't even stop me," Yang countered as she pushed Blake again, this time hard enough for the cat-girl to fall over on the bed. Despite her tired state, Blake still managed to get back up again, even as Yang slowly closed in on her, making both Blake and the boys think that she was going to start throwing punches now, until Yang surprised them all by wrapping her partner in a tight hug. "I'm not asking you to stop," Yang quietly repeated once again, her eyes changing back to their normal color again. "Just please, get some rest at the very least. Not just for you, but for the people you care about, and the people who care about you."

That silenced any further arguments that Blake might have had, especially since the entire time that Yang was holding her, she could feel how the blonde was trembling out of what she could only assume was a very heavily suppressed need to cry. Seeing how her behavior had placed this much of an effect on Yang, Blake started to feel rather terrible for her choices and actions as of late, and as she thought about it more, she realized that she had been just as bad to others as she had been towards Yang. With all of this now being brought to light, Blake could barely bring herself to meet Yang's gaze when she finally pulled back, and ended up hanging her head in shame. Too bad Blake was the only one who seemed to have come to this realization.

"As nice as it would be to take a break and rest up, I can't afford to do that right now. Not while Kairi's still somewhere out there, lost and waiting for us to find her," Sora insisted.

"Is that why you don't want to slow down, or is it because it's easier for you to keep pushing all of us away and you won't have to face your grief or fears so long as you're doing some kind of work," Roxas questioned.

"What," Sora challenged, but this was not like when Ventus accused him of being afraid to play a board game with the girls, and Roxas knew it.

"Look Sora, I do get what you're going through," Roxas started.

"No you don't," Sora instantly protested.

"Oh really? Think about whom you're talking to for a minute, and then shut up and listen to what I have to say," Roxas ordered.

Sora looked ready to attack Roxas for that one, but he did still take a bit of time to get it together, and had to admit that it probably was a little silly to think Roxas could not understand what he was dealing with. Being his former Nobody did give Roxas a few benefits in regards to him that few others could ever hope to have, so Sora ended up going quiet once again, giving the floor to Roxas.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out in a quick sigh, Roxas began again. "Do you remember what Axel and I told you about our history together with Xion? Namely how she was created and for what purpose?"

"Yeah, she was originally a replica that the first Organization created so that they could have a Keyblade wielder that they could control," Sora recalled, and even now, that detail still surprised Yang and Blake.

"More accurately, they wanted a Keyblade wielder under their control which had all of your powers," Roxas clarified. "Do you also remember what we said about how Xion had been destroyed?"

"The only thing that you ever said about it was that it had happened and as a result, everyone she ever encountered had their memories of her erased," Sora pointed out.

"Well, there's a lot more to the story than that," Roxas admitted. "When Xion learned the truth, she wanted to do everything she could to make things right again, even if it meant her destruction, and while the plan she came up with did work, I still don't agree with it. She found me shortly after I had left the Organization, made me think that she was close to becoming what they had wanted her to be, and then…she…She forced me to fight her to the end. It was not a fight that either of us enjoyed, and in the end, I was the one who dealt the blow that ended her life, even if only for a short time."

That was the last thing that anyone expected to hear. Yes, all three of them knew that Roxas and Xion had fought against each other at one point, and that Xion had technically died, along with what happened after she was gone, but this was the first time any of them were hearing about all the details regarding how it happened. The last thing any of them expected was that Roxas was the one who had done the deed, especially given how close he and Xion were, but thinking of that helped Yang, Sora, and Blake better understand just why the couple was so close now. Not that it helped them figure out what to say to him in order to help him better deal with the sorrow the memory of such an action was no doubt bringing to him.

Roxas did not really seem to care for any comfort, as he proved as he pressed on with his story. "When I realized what I had done, I begged and pleaded for it to not be true, and for Xion to come back, until finally, the only thing that really stuck in my mind was the last thing she had asked me to do. She asked me to free all the hearts she had captured for the Organization's Kingdom Hearts, and while I did set out to do that, it was not for any noble or selfless reason like she had wanted. I didn't care about making things right or what happened to me because of my actions. In my mind at that moment, I truly believed that if I were to free all of those hearts from Kingdom Hearts, then everything would go back to the way it was; that she would come back somehow. Even as it started to become a struggle just to remember Xion's name, I still pressed on, storming into the Organization's world at my full strength and using two Keyblades for the first time ever. It was not until Riku appeared that I finally stopped, and the only reason I wasn't able to continue was because no matter how many times I defeated him, he just kept getting back up and moving into my way."

"Yeah, that sounds like Riku all right. Always stubborn when he thinks that he's doing something that needs to be done," Sora muttered, recalling a few memories of other times when his best friend was like that.

"If that isn't the pot calling the kettle black," Roxas commented in an attempt to lighten the mood at least a little bit before he carried on. "The only reason I finally stopped was because Riku unleashed the full power of the darkness inside of him, and looking back on it, I'm actually kind of glad that he did that. If I had gone through with my crazy plan, there's no doubt in my mind that I would've ended up dead, and without any chance of coming back. You know the rest of the story from there; DiZ and Riku put me into the Virtual Twilight Town, rewrote my memories so that it would be harder for the Organization to find me, and of course, everything else that happened on my first and, at the time, last summer vacation."

"Yeah, and," Sora questioned, no longer really seeing where this was going.

"What you don't know is the full story about what happened when I finally met Naminé during that vacation," Roxas revealed. "From the moment I saw her face, I could feel something inside me that just drew me to her, begging me to learn more about her and get closer. If I had known back then who she was and what our relationship was really like, I probably would've felt a little disgusted with myself. I was practically lusting after my own twin sister, after all."

"Yeah that is kinda gross, dude," Yang cringed along with Blake.

"But even with the draw I felt towards Naminé, deep down inside my heart, as young as it was back then, there was a slight tugging that was telling me that something was wrong. That there was someone else out there. Sure, I couldn't remember that it was Xion, but I still had enough memories to remember how I felt about her, and that made things a lot more difficult than you think when it came to getting to know Naminé. I had to make a choice between this strange girl that had just suddenly appeared and may likely lead me to a path that I wouldn't like, or someone whose face I couldn't even remember despite all the happiness I felt in my heart just knowing somehow that she was out there."

"And in the end, choosing the latter helped you get Xion back," Sora finished for him. "How's that any different from my situation? I'm telling you that Kairi's out there, and…"

"Sora, I'm telling you this because I know for a fact that you're not drowning yourself in this search just so you can find Kairi anymore. You're doing it so that you don't have to stop and think about how your feelings for Ruby are growing beyond the boundaries of friendship," Roxas interrupted, surprising him a little.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about," Sora stuttered in an attempt to brush off the accusation.

"You can't fool anyone now, Sora. Especially since we all know about the fact that you and Ruby kissed," Roxas told him.

Sora was surprised that the all knew about that, but he did not let that stop him from trying to get out of this. "Ruby and I are just friends! That moment shouldn't have happened! I shouldn't have let it happen!"

"Do you really believe that for even a fraction of a second," Roxas challenged. "Can you look me in the eye, and honestly tell me that in all your heart, you really believe that you don't feel something special for Ruby?"

"I…I…" Sora stuttered, unsure of what to say now, until ultimately, he finally snapped. "I don't know, okay?! I don't know what I believe now! In my heart or in any other part of me!"

"Sora," Blake started to say, thinking that he needed someone to help comfort him, until Yang stopped her with one arm and a shake of her head. Seeing that look in her eye, Blake quickly realized that Yang had already figured out that Sora needed to vent and let this all out, and it was best if they let him.

"I came here on a mission to find Kairi, and I fully expected to make some new friends along the way, but I…I never once thought that…that I could end up meeting someone that makes me feel the way that Ruby does! Someone who actually makes me question if my feelings for Kairi are still as strong as they were before, or if they were even what I had thought they were in the first place! I want to say that I've tried to follow my heart on this, but for the first time ever, I don't know where my heart is trying to lead me, or what it's trying to say! I don't want to just give up and forget about Kairi, but at the same time, I don't want to pretend that what I feel for Ruby isn't there. I just don't know what to do!"

Now that the dam had finally burst, Sora could no longer stop his tears from pouring out in a virtual waterfall, and no one had any intention of faulting him for it. Heaven knows the poor guy needed it and deserved it more than anyone else after all that he had been through, and all that he had learned. That did not mean that they were going to just sit back and watch as he cried his heart out, as Yang soon proved when she walked over and gave Sora a tight hug to show that she at least was willing to be there for him. Blake soon followed after that, going so far as to pat him on the head in an effort to help with the process, and Roxas probably would have joined in too were it not for the fact that the girls had blocked all the openings he could use to join in on the group hug without making it awkward. He did still find a way to give his condolences to Sora by at least patting his back in a comforting manner.

When Sora finally calmed down, he silently nodded to each of his friends in thanks for their support and that seemed to be Roxas's cue to start speaking again. "Look Sora, I know that we already said this before, but none of us were lying when we said we don't want to give up on Kairi, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be prepared for the worst. It's been nearly a year since we came to Remnant, and we haven't found even the smallest hint of her being here, so maybe it's time to consider the possibility that it may be best for you to move on."

"But I can't just forget about her, Roxas," Sora insisted.

"I'm not telling or asking you to," Roxas interrupted. "No one's asking you to forget about her. There's a difference between forgetting about someone and moving on from them. You can keep going after Kairi all you want, but I honestly think that she would rather you were happy with someone else than miserable because you lost everyone around you just to find her again, assuming there's anything left to find. Last I checked, your happiness was the one thing that Kairi wanted more than anything else."

That seemed to get Sora thinking a little more, but this time, Roxas could tell his words had the impact that was desired, and he took that as his cue to leave. Yang also got up as well and made to follow him, but not before sparing her two friends a few more words. "For now, you two just rest up. If you feel like coming out tomorrow Blake, I'll be sure to save you a dance, and Sora, if you decide to come out, I guarantee that it will make the night extra special for a certain someone," Yang promised the two with a sly wink to them both.

Having said all of her piece, Yang finally exited the room, leaving Sora and Blake on their own. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, until Blake finally just sighed a bit and made to say something, only for Sora to speak up first. "I've been a real jerk," he muttered.

"Considering the way I've been acting lately, I probably don't have much room to criticize, even if you are right," Blake attempted to lightly joke.

Sora appreciated the effort, but he still turned to her and said, "Blake, I'm sorry for the other night. I just…"

"It's okay. You don't need to explain, but apology accepted, all the same." Blake insisted. She then glanced about, as she finally realized just how tired she really was, and asked, "Do you mind if I crash here for a little bit? I don't think I'm going to be able to make it back to my own room without collapsing in the hallway."

"Not if you don't mind if I go to get a quick shower before crashing as well. I'm still feeling pretty nasty from all that training I was doing earlier," Sora said in return with a small smile that was very close to his usual one. Close, but not quite there yet.

Blake just giggled shortly before she nodded and then settled into Lea's bed, pulling the covers over her as she quickly fell into a deep slumber. The sounds of the shower going did not even disturb her in the least, nor did the few noises that Sora made when he came back into the room and climbed into his own bed as he passed out as well. She and her friend both were just too tired to really let anything stop them from doing anything other than going to slumber land.

---

'I don't know why I'm even surprised,' Weiss grumbled in her head that evening as she finally made her way back to the dorms after a long day of setting things up for the dance with a huff. 'I mean, I know Yang was probably trying to convince Blake to change her mind, but did it really need to take so long for her to do it? I'm not sure if I even have time to so much as find Neptune or Ven so I can ask one of them to the dance.'

Her last thought made Weiss pause in her angry stomping, as it once again reminded her of the dilemma she was currently facing. She was well aware that everyone seemed to think that she and Ventus were close, and she could not blame them. She had opened up to him in ways that she had not with anyone else. Not even her own sister was privy to some of the things she and Ventus talked about. On the other hand, Neptune was really nice too, but he was also charming, handsome, and seemed to know exactly how to treat a lady. Not to say that Ventus did not have those qualities too; Neptune just showed them a little more. Add in the fact that he seemed genuinely interested in her as something more than friends, and Weiss was just not sure which of the two boys she should choose to go with. She had settled on asking Neptune earlier on, but after the conversation with Jaune and the others a few days ago, she just was not sure, especially if there was a chance that she could upset Ventus by asking someone else.

Weiss was so caught up in her thoughts that she did not even realize someone was approaching her until the person was right next to her. If she had Myrtenastor on her, she probably would have drawn it out of reflex in her surprise, but she quickly relaxed at least a little bit when she saw who it was. A little, but not entirely. "What do you want, Jaune," Weiss tiredly asked, thinking that he had come to ask her out again despite their last talk.

She was left surprised once again when he answered, but this time in a more pleasant manner. "I just wanted to say thanks for what you and the others said the other day," Jaune said. "You know, when you gave me that little wake-up call about Pyrrha. It really helped a lot."

"Oh, well you're welcome," Weiss just barely managed to say even in her stunned state. Thankfully she was able to get back to normal again and asked, "So does that mean you and Pyrrha are going to the dance together?"

"Yeah," Jaune confirmed with a wide, genuine smile that Weiss had seen only a few times in the past. It faded a little though when he then added, "Also, I wanted to apologize if any of my attempts to ask you out in the past came off as weird, or uncomfortable, or…"

"Jaune, I've had guys asking me out in much stranger ways than anything you did for my entire life, and most of them were only interested in me because of my family name. Still, I suppose I can forgive you for your rather annoying persistence," Weiss assured him.

Despite the way Weiss said it, Jaune was still very relieved to receive that forgiveness from Weiss, and said, "Okay, great. So I guess I'll see you at the dance tomorrow with whatever guy is lucky enough to be your date." Just when he was about to leave though, he saw Weiss's face fall a little, and being the nice guy that he is, he could not help but ask, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing you should really concern yourself with," Weiss tried to play off, but she must not have sounded or looked very convincing, because Jaune remained rooted where he was in front of her. "I guess…I'm having a difficult time deciding on who my date should be now. Mainly because my choice is between two good friends," Weiss admitted.

"Ventus and Neptune, right," Jaune guessed, trying his best to not sound like he was making a statement instead of asking a question.

"…Yes," Weiss admitted after a brief pause.

Jaune seemed to understand her dilemma pretty quickly, and considering that he felt like he owed Weiss and the others for giving him a wake-up call to Pyrrha's feelings, it was no surprise that he decided to lend Weiss a hand on this matter. "Weiss, if someone were to ask you which of these guys you really like, what's the first answer you would give? And I mean the honest answer," Jaune asked.

Weiss was not sure what Jaune was going for in this, but she was still going to do her best to humor him. "I…I'm not sure," she replied. "I mean, they're both great in their own ways and…"

"Weiss, just go with the one that feels most honest," Jaune told her. "I've heard that you can't get it wrong if it's the truth."

"Whoever told you that must be pretty smart then," Weiss complimented with a smile. She then took a minute to breathe and relax herself, and finally said, "I think…I know who I'm going to ask now."

"That was quick. Are you going to tell me," Jaune asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see at the dance tomorrow," Weiss teased as she turned on her heel and headed off again.

If it had been before he had realized his feelings for Pyrrha, Jaune would have been put out by that answer, but this time he just shrugged it off and let it be. After all, even if it was not the one he was expecting, he had already gotten his girl, and he could not have been happier about that. Sure, it still hurt a little that his crush had picked someone else instead of him, but then again, that was part of the reason why they were called crushes. Sometimes, you end up getting crushed, and Jaune was okay with it in this case. It certainly showed when he smiled after hearing Weiss call out to a certain someone just before he was out of earshot.

"Oh, Ven!"

"Hey, Weiss. What's up," Ventus greeted.

"I was actually just looking for you," Weiss said. "I guess you're going stargazing or something, right?"

"No, I'm turning in early tonight. Want to be rested up for the dance tomorrow. Plus, Roxas just told me and Lea that he finally got Sora to see sense with a little help from Yang, so I wanted to see for myself if it was true," Ventus admitted.

"I see," Weiss nodded, now understanding a little better why Yang had disappeared for so long. It would make sense that she would be gone for the rest of the day if she was talking to both Blake and Sora.

"So, why were you looking for me," Ventus asked.

Despite the comfort she felt earlier at seeing Ven, Weiss could not help suddenly being overcome with nervousness. Thoughts that Ventus might already have a date or say no when she asked while laughing in her face quickly filled her head, but Weiss Schnee was not about to do something that made her look like a fool in front of Ventus. Besides, the fact that she was this nervous about asking Ventus must have counted as some form of proof to how much she really liked him, right?

"Okay…" Weiss muttered to herself before doing her best to look Ventus in the eye, even if she was lightly scraping the ground with the tip of her shoe out of nervous habit. "I know that this might be a little unorthodox, but I wanted to ask if…well, if you would accompany me to the dance tomorrow? As my date, that is."

Now it was Ven's turn to be surprised, and he could not help but stutter as he checked to see if he heard that right. "You…You want to…go to the dance…with me? Like as…as my date?"

Weiss's nerves seemed to finally overtake her, because she lost all ability to speak right then from the anticipation of what Ven's answer would be. She was so nervous that it came as a surprise to her that she had managed to hear his question at all, but thankfully, she did find enough courage to finally give him a small nod. Her face felt like it had turned as red as Ruby's cloak, but she still managed to get out that silent reply.

Ventus was not much better in keeping a blush off his face, but it also came with a small smile and his reply. "Yeah, sure," Ventus agreed. He then cleared his throat as he playfully added, "It would be my utmost pleasure, milady."

His second statement and attempt at sounding all proper made Weiss giggle a little, while on the inside, she was partying like an excited kid in a candy store. As she worked out the other details for their date, like whether they would meet at the dance itself or at one of their dorm rooms, Weiss's smile grew a little bit more as she mentally thanked Jaune for his earlier advice. Not that she would ever admit it to anyone. She had a reputation to think of, you know.

---

The following evening, everyone had turned out for the dance, and no one could deny the great work that Weiss and Yang had put in to making the ballroom perfect for such an extravagant event. From the decorations to the music, even to the food selections and flower arrangements that were resting in the center on the tables surrounding the edge of the dance floor, everyone would agree that they had never seen a more amazing setup for a school dance. It was not just the location that looked good though, as the people attending all looked very impressive, with the guys all dressed in their best suits, be it a more formal version of their school uniform or just something that they got from a store in Vale, and the girls all clad in very nice dresses that seemed to flow with their every move. Undoubtedly, this would be a night that many would remember for quite some time just because of the décor and overall appearances of everyone in attendance.

Speaking of attendance, Yang was currently manning a podium at the door to make sure that no one got in that was not on her list. That list included the entire staff and student body of Beacon, along with the exchange students, General Ironwood, and of course the otherworldly guests Aqua, Xion, and Aqua's boyfriend, Terra. So far no one that should not be here had so much as shown up, but Yang was much more eager for when her friends showed up so that she could see how they all looked all dressed up. Team JNPR had already arrived, with Ren and Jaune wearing the basic dress-version of their regular uniforms, while Pyrrha was sporting a very eye-catching, elegant red dress that left her back exposed, and Nora a pink strapless number with a white skirt.

At that moment, a familiar pair of arms came around Yang's waist from behind, and she could not help but smirk over her shoulder to their owner. "Hoping to earn a few favors for something, Mister Firebrand," Yang playfully questioned.

"Not unless pulling you away from a boring job for a dance counts," Lea joked in return, making Yang turn to face him.

Like many of the other guys, Lea was sporting the formal version of the Beacon uniform, but he had added his own personal touch by discarding the tie completely, and left his top buttons undone, while the sleeves of his jacket seemed to have the added detail of flames to it. His hair was a bit more slicked back than usual, but otherwise retained its usual spikiness. It may not have seemed like much, but to Yang, it was definitely impressive.

"Well as tempting as it is to accept that offer from you, handsome, I'm afraid that you're gonna have to wait. My first dance is actually taken," Yang finally answered.

That confused Lea a bit, as he wondered how her first dance could be spoken for by someone other than him, since he was Yang's date, but he was still able to roll with it regardless. Though that was mainly because of who walked in at just that moment. "Well, look who it is! The best contestants for cutest couple," Lea teased seeing his two best friends.

Turning to face the people Lea was speaking to, Yang had to restrain herself from gushing like crazy, but still ended up saying, "Oh my gosh! You two do look like that!"

Standing before their fiery friends, Roxas and Xion could not help but blush a little at the praise, though the latter ended up brushing her hair back in a shy way as she drew a little closer to her date, almost as though she figured Roxas would be able to hide her away from all the compliments, teasing or otherwise. Roxas's suit was much better done up than Lea's, and saw him sporting a tie that matched the color of Xion's dress. Said dress was a silvery-blue color, and had a pair of relatively thin straps, but not to the point where they were completely unnoticeable. The skirt of her dress came down to a short distance past her knees, which were clad in dark colored stockings, while her feet sported a pair of dark grey heels. The only other thing of note was the white corsage she wore on her wrist, doubtlessly given to her by Roxas. In short, while beautiful, Xion's outfit gave her a very innocent kind of look that perfectly agreed with her.

"Will you two please stop saying that," Roxas begged.

"Not so long as you two keep being cute," Yang refused.

"Come on, guys. You're going make me blush," Xion whined, apparently not knowing that she already was.

The two finally backed off, allowing Lea to get serious and say, "Seriously, you two look really great. I wouldn't be saying that you're likely to be the couple everyone else is jealous of if I didn't mean it."

"I don't know. I think I know at least one pair that might give them some competition," Yang remarked as she nodded her head in the direction of the dance floor, making the three best friends turn their attention to Jaune and Pyrrha, who were performing much better than most of them were expecting.

At the sound of the door opening up again, Roxas turned and saw a pair that made him say, "Well, here's another bit of competition for you."

Confused by what he was talking about, the others all turned back to see Ventus coming in with Weiss on his arm, and they were left quite impressed. While his coat and pants were the standard set up that most of the other guys from Beacon were wearing, Ven had elected to go with a dress shirt that was the same color as his Wayfinder, along with a silver tie that he had pinned his usual badge onto for extra character. Weiss looked just as elegant and lovely as ever in her white, sleeveless dress that had cutouts on both sides of her waist, and a translucent mesh at the yoke, while her usual heels were replaced with white pumps, but there was a certain extra touch in there that was doubtlessly coming from the way she was smiling right now.

"Whoa-ho! Ladies and gentlemen, the princess and her prince, or maybe that should be knight in shining armor. I'm not entirely sure," Lea praised, half-honest and half-teasing.

"No kidding. You guys look like you could be royalty," Yang praised.

"Thank you," Weiss happily nodded, not the least bit bothered by any bit of the teasing that may have been mixed in with the compliments. She then turned it around and said, "And you all look quite lovely as well."

"Thanks Ice Queen," Yang grinned with a thumbs-up, earning her an eye-roll from Weiss. Clearly the heiress was too happy with her date to retort to the nickname like she usually would.

Just as Ventus was about to give a compliment of his own, someone suddenly said, "Say cheese!" At camera shutter going off came soon after, and Ven could not help but blush when he turned to the blue haired perpetrator behind the camera. "Oh, you all look so great! Especially you and your date, Ven."

"Aqua," Ventus exclaimed, both annoyed and a little angry. "You promised you wouldn't do that!"

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry! But you all just looked so good that I couldn't resist," Aqua playfully whined, clearly enjoying herself. Her teasing smile only grew a bit more as she added, "Especially you and Weiss~. Oh, you two are just so adorable! Let me get one more!"

"Hey, no, no, NO! No more pictures! You always make me look bad whenever you take my picture," Ventus protested as he scrambled to try and take Aqua's Gummiphone from her to prevent her from taking anymore pictures, much to everyone's amusement, including Weiss's. "Guys, this isn't funny! Weiss, help me out, here!"

"Actually, I wouldn't mind if she took just one or two more," Weiss admitted, much to everyone's surprise. "That is, as long as she gives me a few copies later."

Aqua smiled in approval as she whispered to Ventus, "You'd better make sure you treat her right, because she is definitely a keeper for you."

"Please, stop it," Ventus whined, growing more embarrassed by the second. The only comfort he received was when Weiss wrapped her arms around one of his again, and posed with him for the next few pictures that Aqua made. The bluenette would likely have continued to make pictures of the pair all night if someone had not come to their rescue before she started getting too crazy with them.

"Just remember to keep it at one or two, maybe three at the most, dear. They're never going to be able to enjoy the dance if they have to spend all their time posing for you," a very masculine voice advised Aqua, making her fake annoyance with a roll of her eyes.

"Terra," Ventus immediately brightened up as he went to over to greet his older brother figure.

"Yo Terra! It's been ages, man," Lea greeted as he high-fived the older Keyblade wielder.

"Great to see you guys, too," Terra smiled in return while giving Ven his usual head-rub. He then turned to the girls who were present and said, "So I take it from that exchange just now you two are Yang and Weiss of Team RWBY, right?"

"You are correct, sir," Weiss confirmed with a nod. "And I suppose you're Ven's friend Terra, right? He's told us a lot about you."

"He has," Yang asked, not remembering hearing all that much about the guy aside from what their friends had told them in their history.

"More like Ven's told Weiss a lot about him," Lea whispered.

"Either way you'd guess right. Terra Viribus, at your service. It's nice to meet you both at last," Terra stated.

"And it's also nice to know that you do actually own a nice set of clothes," Ventus teased, taking his own chance at ribbing someone with pride.

While the two boys just goofed around, the others all took some time to take in Aqua and Terra's appearance. Terra's outfit was nearly all black, save for his dark grey shirt, and the gold sash around his waist, which was fastened by his gold badge, and could be most closely compared to a traditional, men's kimono, while Aqua appeared to have gone almost all out on her attire. She was clad in a beautiful blue dress that seemed to compliment both her eyes and hair, and went all the way down to her ankles. The dress left her shoulders bare, and had a long slit running up the side of one of her legs, at least to her mid-thigh, and seemed to shimmer like stars under the lights of the ballroom. On her feet, she wore a pair of light blue slippers that seemed reminiscent of Cinderella's glass slippers, and a pair of long, white gloves adorned her hands, reaching all the way up to just past her elbows. In short, if Weiss was the princess of this dance right now, then Aqua was most definitely the queen.

After Terra and Ven had finished playing around and Aqua had gotten enough pictures of everyone here and their dates, the three pairs all set out to join the other students and guests either on the dance floor or on the side for polite conversation and refreshments. They had no idea that leaving when they did would mean that they would miss the moment when Ruby finally arrived, or how Yang finally lost all control of herself at the sight of her sister. Not that Lea could blame her; given just how well Ruby seemed to have cleaned up.

"Oh, you look beautiful," Yang gushed as her sister stumbled through the door.

"I'll say. Lookin' good, Little Red," Lea appraised as well.

Ruby was not going to say no to their compliments, as she would admit that she did in fact like the way she looked right now. She still had some reservations about coming to the dance, but when Yang had insisted that she would have a much better time going to it than she would moping in her room, Ruby ended up caving and letting both her sister and Weiss help her dress up for this event. So here she was, attending the dance and all decked out in a short, red, sleeveless dress with a thick black sash around her waist and black trim around the dress's bottom of the skirt, translucent mesh similar to the one Weiss wore with her dress, black stockings, and black pumps. A faint hint of make-up had also been applied to her face thanks to a little help from Weiss, enhancing her features just a smidge more than usual, while bringing out her silver eyes much more than usual, and while Ruby would not deny that she looked pretty, she still had one complaint about her current attire that she just could not leave unspoken.

"Can we have a serious talk about how the heck Weiss fights in these things," Ruby questioned as she gestured to her current footwear, only to stumble a little as she tried to maintain her balance in her shoes, much to Yang and Lea's amusement.

"I think it might have something to do with a little thing called practice, and you know, the fact that Weiss always wears some variety of heels," Lea reminded the young huntress-in-training.

Ruby just rolled her eyes at the freakishly tall boy, and then glanced about the room in an effort to locate the rest of their friends. When she did not see two in particular, Ruby looked back to Lea and Yang, and asked, "So, are they…?"

"Not yet, but Blake will definitely be here soon," Yang promised. "And so will Sora."

Ruby just nodded in response before making her way further inside, but after watching her stumble and nearly fall over a few more times, Lea finally excused himself from Yang so that he could lend her a hand. Yang was left on her own for the moment after that, and could not stop from counting the seconds until the two she and her sister just talked about had finally arrived. Thankfully, she did not have time to worry for too long, as the doors opened up again, and a familiar voice said, "Excuse me, ma'am, but I believe you promised me a dance."

Even before she looked up, Yang was smiling widely, and that smile grew just a smidge more at the sight of Blake coming in on Sun's arm. The monkey-boy had in fact gone with an outfit that was not too different from his usual one, save for the buttoned up black shirt and the tie he was struggling with, but Blake had definitely gone through quite the radical change. Her attire had been switched out for a short, purple, asymmetrical halter neck dress that was split up the right side and had a black collar, with a black mesh that covered her shoulders and back, and a black belt fastened around her waist. Topping off the outfit with her black pumps, Blake had even gone so far as to replace her usual black bow with a teal one, and from the look of things, the girl had even traded out the bags that had previously been under her eyes for a beautiful violet eye-shadow.

Sun did not seem too bothered by having to pass his date off to Yang for that first dance, and everyone was left to enjoy the show of the two girls dancing together for the duration of one song. The partners put on quite the spectacle indeed with the way they twirled and spun about in near perfect sync, almost to the point where you would think that they had practiced this dance for weeks on end just so they could give this little show to everyone. After one last twirl, the girls curtsied to one another, and Yang was handing Blake off to Sun, allowing the two Faunus to begin enjoying a few dances of their own.

Joining up with the rest of her teammates, Yang shared in their smiles as they all watched Blake happily dancing with her date to the point where she actually let out a joyful laugh at one point before shooting a smile in their direction as well. Seeing Blake finally relax and be happy certainly proved to be a great relief for the rest of Team RWBY, and it also brought smiles to the faces of the Keyblade wielders as well, including Terra, who had only just seen Blake when she was dancing with Yang. It seemed to serve as a perfect reminder of how even the most serious and focused of people can just relax and have fun for a moment.

"Told you she would come," Yang reminded her friends.

"And I would say that's at least one mission accomplished," Weiss nodded, glancing between Ruby and the door as her way of silently communicating what the other mission was.

"Don't worry. He'll be here. I'm sure of it," Roxas promised everyone. "Until then though, I believe I owe the loveliest lady in the room a dance."

"Oh Roxas," Xion giggled, but still accepted his hand as he led her to the dance floor.

While the rest of her friends all took that as their signal to move off and begin having their own fun at the dance, Ruby remained right where she was, not really feeling up to enjoying the festivities before her, even if she was wearing more comfortable shoes, and instead slowly started making her way over to the punch bowl. Had she stayed where she was or continued watching the ballroom's entrance, she probably would have noticed when Mercury and Emerald finally arrived, and one final guest shortly after them. A guest that Yang was much happier to see showing up than she would have thought she would be before the events of yesterday.

"Glad to see you made it," Yang greeted with a smile.

"Yeah, sorry if I'm a little late, but it took me a while to find a good suit for this," Sora confessed while sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. Instead of his usual attire, Sora was currently wearing a red dress shirt with a black tie, along with a very nice suit with gold lining, and dark grey buttons. He had even switched out his normal sneakers for a nice pair of dark brown dress shoes, but beyond that, the only other change that Sora had made to his usual appearance was in the fact that he was no longer wearing his usual necklace. Everything else about him remained exactly the same, but Yang was happy to say that he had regained some of his usual color, and that the bags under his eyes were completely gone now. Not that she was going to stop herself from critiquing some part of his current appearance.

"I'm a little surprised you didn't try and do something about your hair. I mean, even Sun has gone the extra mile to fix up his hair for this, and so have most of your other friends," Yang informed him.

"You're not exactly one to talk, you know," Sora countered with a wave of his hand to indicate Yang's own long, blonde locks. "Besides, last time I tried so much as combing my hair, I had to go to the emergency room to get the brushes removed."

Yang burst out laughing after she heard that, thinking that Sora was joking, but she quickly stopped when she realized that he was not laughing as well. "Wait, are you serious," she asked.

"That is not something anyone would joke about, and honestly, I'd rather not talk about it," Sora stated, making sure that his tone he would not hear any argument on the matter. His expression softened up into a look of apology soon enough though, and he then looked to Yang and started to say, "Listen Yang, about the other night, I just…I wanted to say…"

"Hey, go make things right with my sister, and we'll call it even," Yang gently interrupted, her smile not faltering at all. She then decided to tack on one little warning though, and added, "But just remember, if you ever make her even a little sad again…"

"I know, I know, you're gonna make sure no one finds my body or something, right," Sora guessed.

"Oh, trust me, that'll only happen if there's even a body left to find, considering that you'll have to deal with me, Uncle Qrow, and our dad," Yang promised. As much as she enjoyed watching Sora going pale with fear for the retribution that her family would unleash if he upset Ruby again, Yang was still able to put her fun aside so that she could lend one last helping hand on this matter, and then went back to her gentle, encouraging tone as she added, "She's most likely over by the punch bowl, by now."

"Thanks," Sora meekly nodded as he made his way past Yang and over to the location she said that Ruby could be found at.

In a full disclosure of honesty, Sora was really nervous about coming out to this dance, but he knew that he had to make things right with all of his friends, especially in the case of Ruby, and this was the best time and place to do that in his mind. Even knowing that, Sora's stomach still felt a little uneasy at the idea of finally talking to Ruby again after everything that had happened the last time they had properly interacted with one another, and the various different images that fluttered into his head about how Ruby might look in a dress did little in helping to ease his nervousness. If anything, it just seemed to make his legs turn to jelly. When he finally spotted Ruby, that jelly-legged feeling came about once again, but this time, he barely took notice.

There she was, just standing by the punch bowl, all by herself, and even with the neutral, not-quite-happy look on her face, Sora thought that she looked very beautiful. Then again, the fact she was not smiling was the only thing keeping her from being the most radiant and amazing Ruby Rose he cared so much about and Sora was determined to bring her back out of her shell again. That determination served to drive him forward, even with his legs shaking more and more as he came closer and closer, until finally, he was standing right before Ruby. His voice had caught in his throat a little now that he had a closer look at just how pretty the young girl was right now, and he could not help but question how it was possible that he could be this nervous about talking to Ruby after fearlessly facing off with any of the monsters and villains he had encountered in the past, but Sora was not about to stop after coming this far. So, he took a deep breath to better calm his nerves before he said or did anything stupid, and then uttered as many words as he could in greeting to his friend that he was beginning to realize really did mean so much more to him than that.

"Uh…H-hey, Ruby," Sora greeted as best as he could.

Ruby jumped a little at the sound of his voice, and instantly spun around as she quickly set her cup of punch down on the table next to her. "Sora! Hey! Hi," Ruby rapidly greeted, just nervous as he was. "You're…You're here."

"Yeah, well it's been a pretty long time since I was able to go to a school dance," Sora tried to play off, hoping to ease both of their nerves a little more. It must have worked a little bit in his case, because it brought a more natural smile to his face as he quickly looked Ruby over again and said, "You look…You look really beautiful, Ruby."

"Oh, thanks," Ruby bashfully replied as she tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. "You look pretty handsome yourself," she then added before her eyes noticed something amiss with Sora's appearance. "But, where's your necklace? I thought you always wore it no matter what."

"Uh…I thought it would look a little silly if I tried to wear it with this suit," Sora shrugged like it was no big deal. His answer ended up drawing a knowing smile onto Ruby's face though, much to his confusion. "What?"

"You have it somewhere on you, don't you," Ruby guessed, not even trying to hide that it was not a question.

Sora did not even bother attempting to deny the accusation, and patted his right jacket pocket as he said, "Yeah. Tucked it away right here. Like I said before, it's pretty much a part of me, so it would be weird if I went anywhere without it." Much to his surprise, after he had finished speaking, Ruby suddenly reached into the indicated pocket so that she could pull out the crown necklace that they were talking about. "Ruby, what're you doing?"

"Lean down a little," Ruby requested, ignoring his question for the moment. Sora just shrugged and complied with the request, leaning forward a bit so that Ruby could reach up and place the chain of his signature necklace back around his neck where it belonged. When she saw the pendant glisten in the light, Ruby finally moved back a little with a smile and said, "There. Now that's much better."

Sora could not help but smile a little more, seeing that something so simple had given Ruby a little more happiness. Still, it was not at the point where it was Ruby's full-fledged happy smile, and Sora was not planning on stopping until he got that back. Having her so close certainly helped remind him of what he needed to do to make that happen, along with the added touch of seeing how her silver eyes had started to sparkle in the way that they did when she was especially happy again, and Sora decided that there was no better time to dive in than now.

"Ruby, about the other night…" he started to say only to have the girl interrupted him before he could continue.

"You don't need to explain, Sora," Ruby assured him, trying to sound brave, but her eyes told a very different story. "I understand if you just see me as a good friend. I mean, sure it was a heat of the moment thing, but…"

"No, Ruby, it wasn't just something that happened in the heat of the moment, and I do need to explain," Sora insisted before she could talk herself down any further. "Look, there's a lot of baggage when it comes to me, and it affects a lot of my friends in ways that I wish it didn't. When we…When we kissed, I was in a pretty tough spot, one that had my head and my heart running all over the place so much that I reacted in a way that I shouldn't have. But if there's one thing that I know for certain, it's that…that I'm glad that my first kiss was with someone special like you."

"Your first…I'm your first kiss," Ruby gasped, having not known that before. When Sora nodded, Ruby felt her face heat up a little more as she could only add, "Wow."

"Yeah," Sora agreed, but he was not going to leave it there, because he still had more to say to her. "I promise that I will explain everything. About why I had reacted the way I did, and why I've been such a jerk ever since, but for right now, all I care about is making sure that you know just how much I care about you, because to be honest, I really like you a lot."

"Really," Ruby whispered, wondering if she was just dreaming at this point.

"Really-really," Sora confirmed with a playful grin, earning him a cute laugh from Ruby. "You're kind, selfless, brave, fun, and just all-around amazing in so many different ways that I think someone would have to be crazy or just evil to not like you. Honestly, after how I've been acting towards you, I can't help but wonder if I even deserve you as a friend at the very least."

"Sora, don't say that," Ruby protested. "I was never really upset with you. Sure, it hurt a lot seeing you try so hard to distance yourself from me, and when you got mad that time, but I never once stopped thinking of you as my friend." Her face then turned a little red as she decided that there was not likely to be a better time to come forward with her true feelings, and said, "If we're both being honest though, I…I really like you, and I kind of wish we could be a little more than just friends."

Hearing her admit that certainly surprised Sora and the bashful look on Ruby's face coupled with her blush served as more than enough proof of how truthful she was being when she said that. Still, he felt that he had to be absolutely sure. "You really mean that," he asked.

"Yeah, I do," Ruby confessed. "I understand if you don't feel the same…"

Ruby was stopped short when she felt Sora gently place his hand on her cheek so that he could move her gaze to meet his again, and seeing that shine of happiness in her eyes had grown a little more gave him the courage to say, "Haven't you been paying attention? I did say that I care about you a lot, and I didn't mean as just a friend, either."

Yep, that was Ruby's heart skipping a beat just now. At least she thinks it was just one beat that was skipped, but whether or not it was more did not matter. The way that Sora was looking at her with that sweet, caring smile and those brilliant blue eyes told her that she had not imagined him saying that, and he really meant it too. If her heart wanted to continue fluttering like it had wings that were going to carry it out of her body at any second, Ruby did not care. She was just too happy to have heard that from Sora. Now she only had one question. "So, what now," she asked.

"I think that depends on two things," Sora replied. "First off, do you forgive me for what I did?"

"Of course," Ruby asserted once more. "And second?"

His answer was to hold one hand out to her and ask, "Would you like to dance?"

Now Ruby was getting nervous again, as she slowly admitted, "Oh, well I would, but…I'm not really much of a fancy, pants-y…dance-y girl."

Sora only looked at Ruby for a minute, not judging her, but rather like he was trying to figure something out, until he just came out and asked, "Do you…not know how to dance?"

"…Not really, no," Ruby nervously admitted. "Is that weird?"

That one made Sora chuckle a little before he reminded her, "Ruby, you're talking to a guy that's friends with robots, multiple different animals, a computer program, an honest-to-god fairy, pirates, soldiers, several different princesses, and Kingdom Hearts knows what else. What's weird for some is very much normal for me." His words did the trick in cheering Ruby up, given how she was giggling in response to his statement, and he then said, "I could show you, if you want."

"Are you sure," Ruby asked.

Sora just nodded as he held his hand out to her again, and said, "Only if you want to."

Ruby was still a little hesitant, but looking in Sora's eyes seemed to give her a sense of calm even in the sea of nerves and anticipation that she was swimming in right now, so it was really no surprise when she slowly placed her hand in his, and let him guide her to the dance floor at last. She stumbled a few times along the way, cursing her heels more than once, but Sora managed to keep her steady the entire time, and soon enough, they were out on the floor with the other dancers, with Ruby placing her other hand on Sora's shoulder, and Sora placing his free hand at her waist.

"I'm counting on you to help make sure I don't twist my ankle because of these stupid lady stilts," Ruby informed Sora.

"Don't worry. I've got you, Ruby," Sora promised, and with that, he began leading them in a simple waltz.

While they started off by simply swaying to and fro on the dance floor, the pair slowly began to do a little bit more than that. They would spin about, turn, and Sora even went so far as to carefully dip Ruby down for the briefest of moments, much to her enjoyment. As time went on, Ruby started to barely even notice any stumbles she might have made because of her heels, and instead, just relaxed and enjoyed being so close to Sora. The way his smile shone in the lights of the room and how his eyes twinkled as they remained on hers just made all of her troubles melt away to the point where she even started to get brave enough to try and get creative with a few dance moves of her own as Sora spun her outwards from him. It must have worked pretty well, because a number of people that had stopped to watch the two clapped immediately afterwards, much to her enjoyment.

Sora was also having a pretty good time with this, not just because the whole dance was fun, but also because he felt truly relaxed for the first time in days. Having spent so much time apart from Ruby really helped him to realize just how much of an effect that the silver-eyed girl had on him ever since they first met so many months ago, and Sora was starting to wish he had never tried to put a barrier between them in the first place. Then again, if he had not, who was to say that he would have realized just how deeply his feelings for Ruby went by now if ever. Holding her close like this as they twirled about on the dance floor gave Sora a sense of peace that he could not ever remember feeling, and as he looked down at the girl in his arms, Sora felt a great thrill run through him at seeing that pure, childlike happiness had returned to her smile as her eyes danced with an equal amount of joy.

The two were so caught up in their moment that they hardly even realized that they had drawn the attention of nearly everyone in the ballroom, with several people forming a circle around them as they tried their best to get a glimpse of the pair that had basically taken over the dance floor with their performance. Even if they had noticed, they would not have cared, because that feeling from before when they first kissed had returned in a whole new light, and left them in a place where the only things that mattered was a paradise exclusive to Sora Hikari and Ruby Rose.

When the song finally ended, Ruby and Sora paused to step back and give a bow to one another, signaling their audience to show their appreciation with a round of applause. All that clapping had the added effect of helping the two to finally notice said audience's existence, and while they did become a little bashful for inadvertently giving off such a show, they did still nod in thanks to everyone. Those nods were later accompanied with a bit of laughter when they heard Ventus demanding that Aqua give him her camera, telling them that she had most likely filmed the whole thing, and they quickly moved to make sure that Ventus did not delete whatever footage she had taken of them.

After they had secured Aqua's video footage from Ven's wrath, the two took to the dance floor again, this time going for more simplistic dances so that they could really enjoy themselves without any more prying eyes, and that helped them to see how the event was now in full swing with everyone enjoying themselves quite a bit, be they students or teachers. They even spotted Penny at one point, doing a little dance of her own with one of her usual Atlas guards, and could not help but laugh when they realized that, ironically, she was doing the robot. All of this and more only served to heighten the happiness that filled the air for the pair.

Eventually, they did take a brief break from dancing so that they could rest up and catch their breath, and to their surprise, they found themselves doing so at the same time as Jaune and Pyrrha. "Hey, I see you two have decided to hide from your fans by the punch bowl," the leader of Team JNPR teased.

"Pretty much, yup," Ruby giggled while popping the "p" at the end.

"Hey, it's not like we're the only ones that have drawn an audience with a little good dancing," Sora shrugged off.

"I don't know about that. I mean, Lea and Yang have been going back and forth about which pair would likely be chosen as cutest/best couple for a while now, always between Roxas and Xion, Weiss and Ven, and the two of us," Jaune revealed, gesturing to himself and Pyrrha at the end. "But after that performance, I'd say you guys would have won it hands down if we were having a competition like that."

"Hey, don't think you guys aren't pretty good too," Ruby insisted. "I mean, Jaune, I've heard that you've been really tearing it up on the dance floor out there since you two got here."

"She has a point. Even I had no idea you were such a good dancer, Jaune," Pyrrha admitted, her smile showing just how happy and impressed he was.

"Oh yeah, well, what can I say? These things do tend to happen when you grow up with seven sisters," Jaune shrugged like it was no big deal, much to Pyrrha's amusement.

"Seven sisters! I can barely handle the one," Ruby exclaimed in astonishment.

"I heard that," Yang shouted from somewhere close by.

Ruby just giggled in reply, not offering any kind of apology for her remark since she was sure Yang knew it was only half true, while Sora said, "I'm not sure I could handle that much, considering how much trouble the surrogate variety gives me."

"We heard that," Aqua, Ventus, and Roxas all called out, much to their surprise.

"Man, sound really seems to carry in this room even with the music playing," Jaune muttered in amazement. Just as he said that, a certain song suddenly started up, and he just had to grin excitedly. "Oh man, I love this song!"

"Same here," Pyrrha cheered.

"Well then, shall we," Jaune asked his date.

Pyrrha just smiled back with a nod as they took to the dance floor, and were soon joined by Ren and Nora. From that point on, everyone was treated to another show of incredible dancing, this time courtesy of Team JNPR showcasing an incredible display of rhythm and synchronicity that was worthy of famous dance teams and performers. Everyone was more than happy to let the four have the dance floor to themselves for a little bit longer before others started to join in as well, including Ventus, Weiss, Blake, Sun, Penny, Lea, and Yang. Of course, Ven stopped short when he spotted Aqua with her camera out again, and a cheeky smile on her face, and he immediately took off after her.

"Aqua! Enough with the camera already," Ventus shouted as he gave chase as best as he could, much to the amusement of both his and Aqua's dates.

Sora and Ruby both laughed along at the sight of the two from where they were, but they were still not quite feeling up to getting back on the dance floor just yet. Besides, Sora still had something else that he needed to tell Ruby before anything else could happen, and he intended to do so before the night was over. What better place to do something like that than out under the starlit sky and away from any prying eyes and ears? "Hey Ruby, do you want to go outside and get some air for a bit," he asked.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Ruby agreed, and she happily followed him over to one of the doors that would take them to any of the balconies that were connected to the ballroom. Just when they had gotten close to the main exit though, Ruby caught a glimpse of movement in the shadows of the rooftops on the building across the way, and immediately narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Hey Sora, hold on a second. I think there's someone up there."

Looking to where Ruby was pointing, Sora quickly spotted the same bit of movement that she had and said, "Hmm, hang on a second." He then started searching for something in his pockets, while muttering, "I know I brought that thing along with me…Aha! There is it!"

"What's that," Ruby asked as Sora somehow pulled out a red and black headset with a blue visor from his pocket.

"A special device that my friend, Hiro made for me when I visited his world. He called it an AR device, or something. I don't really get everything on how it works, but I do understand enough to know how it's more important features work, including the zoom lenses," Sora explained as he put on the headset and tapped the dial on one side so that he could get a closer look at the figure on the roof. When the image came into full view, he just caught a glimpse of a woman in black jumping over to the other side of the roof before she disappeared from sight completely. "There's definitely someone over there, and I don't think they're planning on going to the dance."

"You thinking what I'm thinking then," Ruby asked.

"Oh yeah," Sora knowingly smirked in reply, and with that, the two quickly raced off in the direction that they had seen the mystery figure going.

---

Sora and Ruby's chase had ended up leading them all the way to the CCT tower, and given that they found the guard outside was unconscious, their earlier gut instinct about the shadowy figure they saw could only grow stronger. Strong enough to the point where Ruby used her Scroll to summon her rocket locker so that she was armed and ready with Crescent Rose when they went into the tower, while Sora changed his Keyblade into Crystal Snow, while changing the rest of his current Keychains to Hero's Origin and Shooting Star. He also played around with the settings of his AR Headset a little, thinking he might be able to use it to scan for their target once they got inside, and with all their preparations complete, they quickly headed inside.

The first things they found in the tower were more unconscious guards, and from what they could figure out, it looked like someone had used the elevator to go up to the communications room for some reason, so they did not need to think too hard on where they had to go next. Getting into the elevator, Ruby looked to Sora and asked, "What do you think is going on?"

"I don't know, but whoever's behind this is about to be in for quite the surprise when we show up to stop them," Sora replied with a confident grin.

Right when Ruby nodded in reply to that confidence, the elevator dinged to signal their arrival, and the two slowly stepped out with their weapons at the ready, surveying the room for anything out of place as they went. They were not able to see anyone or anything, and the silence eventually started to get to Ruby, to the point where she could not help but try seeing if calling out might get their foe to show themselves.

"Hello? Is anyone here," Ruby called out. Her only answer was Sora elbowing her in the side. "Ow! What was that…?"

"Shush! For all we know they might be hiding and try to run when they realize we're in here," Sora cautioned.

"A little late to tell me that, isn't it," Ruby questioned before she suddenly stumbled again, making her glare down at her annoying shoes. "Why didn't I ditch these things in the elevator?"

As cute as it was to see Ruby grumbling over her problems right now, Sora needed to keep his focus on their current situation, and that meant acknowledging that Ruby had a point about keeping quiet now. "Okay, whoever's hiding in here, you might as well come on out," Sora declared.

Their perpetrator did not say anything in response to Sora's demand, but they did still step into the light, allowing Ruby and Sora to see that the person in question was a young woman with long, dark hair, clad in an all black outfit and a mask. Despite that though, Ruby could still see a familiar set of glowing, amber eyes, and her mind instantly went back to the woman she fought the night that she first met Goodwitch and Ozpin. "You know, last time I checked this wasn't a masquerade party," Ruby could not help but quip.

"Besides, why try to hide who you are behind a silly mask anyway? It's only going to come off once we…" Sora started to add on, only to stop short when the woman suddenly swung her arm around and summoned a number of glass shards that she then launched at the two of them. Seeing this attack coming, Sora acted on instinct, and raised one hand up as he shouted, "Reflect!"

His spell worked like a charm, as a barrier of light surrounded him and Ruby, protecting them from the glass shards and then exploding outwards to blow back their attacker. When the barrier had dropped, Ruby was shown to have already spun her scythe around so that she had it in firing position, and the room was soon echoing with the sounds of her sniper rifle going off. Much to their surprise, the woman actually blocked most of Ruby's blasts with one hand before she spun around and summoned out a pair of swords in a blaze of fire. Ruby immediately lunged forward, thinking it would be better to take the initiative and attack before the woman did, and swung her scythe down at her, only for the woman to leap into the air and combine her blades together to form a bow while a trio of arrows materialized from her hands just after parts of her outfit had glowed bright orange again.

Letting go of the bow string, the woman's arrows sailed easily enough towards Ruby, but Sora was quick to jump in and deflect each blow with his Keyblade, and then leveled a glare at the woman as she landed on the ground again. "You know, I think you really need to chill out," Sora quipped while aiming Crystal Snow at the mystery villain. "Blizzaga!"

Massive ice shards shot forth from Sora's Keyblade the minute he called out his spell, and likely would have frozen her in place had it not been for a bit of last minute interference. Said interference came in the form of a collection of shadows suddenly materializing between the heroes and their enemy, and from them came a man that was clad in an Organization XIII coat, who simply swung his hand and batted Sora's icy attack away like it was merely a volleyball, much to his surprise. He managed to shake off his surprise quickly enough and begin firing off a few more similar spells, only to have them batted away by the stranger in the black coat as well. Luckily, Sora was not aiming for his spells to work; he was just building up the energy for a more powerful attack that he was sure would not be blocked or deflected.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, kid," the figure in the coat advised, his masculine voice being the only sign of his gender, but at the same time, it also sounded a bit familiar to Sora. "Unless of course you want to turn this whole room into a frozen wasteland."

Sora just grunted in annoyance, knowing that this guy might have a point. The last thing anyone needed was for any part of the CCT to be damaged, and his most powerful ice spell was very likely to do that. It was not going to stop him from at least trying to get some answers from this new arrival, considering he was a bit more talkative than his partner. "Who are you? And why do you have an Organization coat?"

"First off, this coat was someone else's long before it became the standard attire for the Organization. Can't say I blame you for not knowing that though, all things considered," the figure clarified. "As for who I am, let's just say that I'm someone who's original self was forgotten by history as he watched it unfold, yet who you know quite well."

"Huh," Sora asked, not understanding that at all. Before he could ask any more questions though, everyone heard movement from the elevator, and Sora and Ruby both turned to see General Ironwood arriving to investigate the disturbance as well. Seeing the general had now showed up made the two heroes think that the odds had turned in their favor, but when they looked back to where their opponents were, all they saw was the last traces of a dark corridor vanishing after it had closed. "Rats! They got away," Sora grumbled.

"Who got away," Ironwood asked, sounding a little suspicious of the pair before him. "Could one of you please tell me what's going on here?"

A worried look passed between Sora and Ruby at the general's tone, but all the same, they did their best to explain everything that had just happened just now. When they finally finished, Ironwood's suspicions of them were obviously lifted, but his worry still seemed to remain. Too bad for them he was not about to let them in on why he would be worried.

"Thank you both for telling me this. I'll inform Ozpin about this as soon as possible, but you should probably expect us to call you both so that we can talk about this again tomorrow morning," Ironwood informed the two.

"If it means that it'll be easier to catch those guys then we'll be happy to help, General," Sora said with a nod.

Ironwood nodded back to show his acceptance, and then said, "Why don't you two go back to the dance for now? No reason for you to end this night on a poor note if you can help it after all."

Sora and Ruby nodded in thanks to the general and proceeded to head out, with Ruby returning her scythe to her locker as they passed by it. There was a bit of a somber mood around them, but as they came closer to the ballroom again and heard the sounds of the music still playing, it became a little easier for them to at least cheer up a little bit. That is until Sora remembered the original reason why he asked Ruby to step outside for some air, and he stopped short a few feet of the entrance.

"Hey Ruby, can we talk for a minute," Sora asked.

"Sure. What is it," Ruby asked in return, confused why Sora was no longer following her in rejoining the rest of their friends.

In response, Sora led her over to a nearby bench and said, "You may want to sit down for this. It's a bit of a long story." He could see that it was not really helping Ruby's confusion too much, and while it did create a small ache inside of him, thinking about telling her this, he knew that he could not put it off any longer. "It's about the friend that my team and I came here to find. I think it's long past time that I told you everything about her."

"Her," Ruby repeated in question.

Sora nodded to say that Ruby had heard right, and then went on to say, "Her name is Kairi, and she's both my best friend and the first girl I ever loved."

When Sora said he was going to tell Ruby everything, he meant everything. From the moment that he first met Kairi all those years ago, to the day when he lost her the first time, to the time when they were reunited in the Castle that Never Was, and all the way right to the end when Xehanort had struck her down right in front of him. It was hard telling this story, but as he progressed further and further through it, explaining all the details to Ruby as best as he could, Sora found that it became easier, like a heavy weight was being lifted off him that he did not know he was carrying until now. As hard as it was to talk about Kairi, it also felt really good for him to finally do so, especially with Ruby. The only thing he was really worried about now was how Ruby was going to react.

In all honesty, Ruby was a little worried about hearing what Sora had to say from the moment he mentioned that Kairi was his first love, but she was proud to say that she was able to keep any feelings of jealousy at bay so that she could hear him out. Sure, it was harder at some points than others, like when Sora mentioned how he had wanted to share the paopu fruit with Kairi, but when he brought up the less pleasant times, Ruby found that she was more saddened for Sora and Kairi than she was jealous of them. Hearing how he was constantly being pulled away from Kairi time and again, until they were finally separated in the most permanent sense made Ruby's heart ache in a way she never knew that it could, right to the point where she was sure that a few tears had slipped past her eyelashes on Sora and Kairi's behalf. The thing that finally did it for her was when Sora told her about what his friends recently learned regarding whether or not Kairi really was still on Remnant, and at that point, she did not bother even trying to stop herself. She just launched forward and wrapped Sora in the tightest hug she could manage while shedding tears for her friend, and from the wetness on her own shoulder, she could tell that Sora really needed a moment to cry as well.

After they had shed all of their tears and pulled apart, Ruby was left with just one burning question. "So…what now? I mean, do you really think that Kairi's still out there?"

"I'm sure she is," Sora insisted once more. "Kairi didn't give up hope that I would come back even when she could barely even remember me, so I can't start thinking that she may be gone for good when we haven't found anything that says if that's true or not just yet. I owe her that much at least." He then paused for a brief period before he turned to Ruby again with a smile and said, "But I'm not going to let that search control me anymore. Not if it means that I'm going to lose my friends in the process, or my chance to maybe find something special with you."

As flattered as she was to hear that last part, Ruby was still worried about one thing. "Are you even sure that you care about me in that way," she asked. "Or that I'm not just a replacement for Kairi?"

"Ruby, of course you're not a replacement. You deserve way better than that," Sora instantly insisted, surprising Ruby with how quickly he had answered. "I won't lie, though; Kairi will always have a place in my heart that can't be filled by anyone else. Like they say, you never forget your first love." He then placed a hand on Ruby's cheek, gently caressing it as he finished, "But that doesn't mean I can't make a place in my heart that's just as special for someone else, if not more special, and I believe…No, I want that person to be you, Ruby Rose. If you'll have me."

For the fourth time that evening, Ruby found herself surprised by something Sora said or did, only this time, it was so great that she could barely think properly as a result. The words themselves were very nice, but it was the amount of certainty and passion that Sora had spoken them with that really got to her, and they all told her that he truly was serious about this. When she finally did think of a response to give, she just went with the first thing that popped into her head, without even thinking about how it would sound.

"I really want to kiss you right now, if that's any indication," Ruby told the boy who was currently looking at her in a way that no other boy ever had before.

Knowing that Ruby might be getting ready to mentally beat herself up right now for that answer, Sora merely smiled a little more, moved a bit closer to her, and whispered, "I wouldn't be complaining if you did."

'Well, goodbye heart. You did a great job at keeping me alive for as long as you did' was the only thing Ruby could think right now, with how her heart was now definitely fluttering enough to the point where she was sure that it would pop out of her chest and fly away, but she did not care. It was plain as the smile on her face as she and Sora closed the distance between each other and shared their second kiss.

Just like the first one, their kiss remained gentle and sweet, without any form of forceful pushing or tongues getting involved. It simply remained as innocent as the two souls who were sharing the embrace, while simultaneously holding all the love and care that they held for one another, launching them into a paradise all their own, filled with brilliant fireworks and magic unlike anything either of them had ever known. They only broke apart when the need to breathe became too strong to ignore, and even then, they just kept smiling at one another with the happiest grins you could imagine.

"So, I know that it might be a little late to ask this, but Ruby, would you like to be my date for the dance? Or what's left of it anyway," Sora breathlessly asked.

"I would love to," Ruby replied. "But only if you'll go out with me."

Sora just smiled back, his eyes dancing with a happiness that Ruby had certainly never seen until now and wanted to see more of in the future, and said, "It would be my honor."

With that, the two walked back into the ballroom hand in hand, and ready for whatever the future may bring from then on out. Sure, they were bombarded with a few teasing remarks from some of their friends when they realized what had happened between the pair, but they did not care. Tonight had turned out to be absolutely perfect, and they were more than happy to see it through to a peaceful end.

"AQUA! For the last time! Put the camera away or I'll take it away!"

"NEVER! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! I need to get a few pictures of those two!"

…Well, as peaceful of an ending as it could be, at least.

---

AN: Hehe. Well, that's one way to end a chapter, and on a light-hearted, yet still very high note. Even so, there's a lot of stuff we need to go over that went down today, so I'll try to make this as quick as I can before we run next chapter's preview. But first...[looks to Qrow] We good?

Qrow: [silently stares at AN, glaring intensely, judging him...and then just tosses his remote back] Fine. You get a pass.

AN: Phew! I'm safe! Okay, let's get right to work. To start off, I'm sure you all noticed the changes to the combat class at the beginning of the chapter, like how we didn't go into detail about Pyrrha's fight with Team CRDL. I mean, why would we need to? We all know that Pyrrha totally owned those tools, and besides, it wasn't a main focus point. Might as well have mercy on Cardin and his goons and not rub more salt on the wound...this time. Also, I'm sure you guys noticed how Mercury challenged Ventus to a match instead of Pyrrha. I went with that because one, we've seen that fight enough as it is, and two, Ven hasn't really had all that much solo action in the story so far, at least on-screen, so to speak, so this was his big moment to really shine.

Speaking of shining, we also got to see Goodwitch's softer side come to light as well with her show of concern for Sora at the beginning. Like she stated at the beginning, she, like any other good teacher, does care for the well being of her students, so of course she would become concerned with Sora's sudden change. What did you guys think of that moment though? Did I make her seem too soft? I mean, we rarely see that side of Glynda as it is, so it's not that easy to say for sure.

Anyways, let's talk about the moment when Jaune was trying to ask Weiss to the dance. Honestly, I didn't think Jaune's singing was that bad. I just had Lea say it was for the sake of humor for the situation, and so that he could have an entry point into the conversation. I mean, when you think about it, it seems kind of obvious that Lea would help spell things out for Jaune about Pyrrha, and thus, the most important changes to that moment in Team JNPR's room when Jaune finally wised up and asked his warrior girl princess out. Yeah, Arkos is now alive in this story baby!

Speaking of pairings that are becoming official, looks like Goldenflame is getting closer to being realized, and Windchill is really on its way now thanks to a little extra push from ol' Vomit-Boy. Who'da thunk it? I mean, besides just about everyone. Come on! If Jaune was willing to give Neptune some advice so that he could get closer to Weiss, why wouldn't he try to help Weiss out in getting together with the guy that she really likes most?

Now, one of the big matters that I'm sure everyone was wondering about: Sora and Blake's intervention. Originally, I wasn't going to make them both one meeting, but I figured it would save time if I did, and that Sora would benefit a little bit more if he heard what Yang had to say to Blake. Plus, it also served to help the girls get a better understanding of Sora's mood by having Roxas spill the details about Kairi after the moment when Bumblebee found our hero in such a poor state.

Speaking of big moments, the dance is another one that I'm sure everyone was glad to see, and I hope you all got a pretty decent idea of what our visiting heroes looked like. The RWBY crew all kept their original dance outfits (and Jaune got to avoid having to wear a dress this time, as funny as that was), but...well, I really explained the KH gang's dance attire as best as I could in the main story. There's no shorter way of explaining it, aside from mentioning that Terra sported a classic style of Japanese formal wear.

On the topic of Terra, like Aqua, his last name is Latin in origin, and in point of fact, is translated to mean strength. No surprise given his preferred fighting style, right?

Plus, there was the confrontation that Ruby and Sora had with Cinder, only this time around, they had a little surprise interference. Who could that man in the Organization coat have been? What did he mean with the strange things he said? And how did...Oh, who am I kidding? We all know it's Luxu aka Braig aka Xigbar, right? Right. Moving on.

The final touch that I'm sure everyone was hoping for: sweet, beautiful, loving RoseHeart goodness galore! The touching moments, the resolution to the previous problems, the big confession about Sora's previous love, Ruby's reaction, and finally, at long last, the moment when it all became official! I mean, Arkos taking off is cool, but let's face facts, it's really more of a background thing that we all knew was going to happen, because this story's big main pair is now a-go! Yeah! Hail the conquering hero!

[you know what scene from Aladdin would follow after that line, so by all means...watch it, laugh at it, enjoy it]

Sora: Are you done?

AN: Yeah, I'm good. Oh, and yeah, I did have to make Aqua be the one who was constantly taking pictures of everyone, because, let's be honest, she's more than likely the type to do that, especially with her younger friends. Plus, you could also say that if anything, this makes her revenge on the boys complete at last. Assuming Ventus doesn't have any intentions of getting back at her later for getting all picture crazy. Hehehe. Can anyone else see that coming up again as a little skit in the SLVR Chibi story for this series? (And yes, that would be what I intend to call it)

Now then, I'd say that this would make for a nice early birthday present for Ruby, and I'll still have her other present that will be getting posted on Halloween as well. Just keep your eyes on RWBY Meetings for that one. As for this story, I'll bid you all ado by saying Happy Early Halloween, Happy Early Birthday Ruby Rose, and of course, Onto the Preview!...

It's time to get back to work now that all the drama between our heroes is dealt with and their all rested up, but not before Ruby and Yang get a special surprise visitor from home. With Ruby and Sora managing to let Ozpin and his allies know about the base in the south east, you would think that would be enough for our heroes, but that's where you would be wrong. Team RWBY is determined to see this matter through to the end, and manage to find a way to get on a mission to said area soon after. Sadly, Team SLVR is unable to join them for said mission, having one of their own with Aqua acting as their leader and backup, but it may turn out that the two missions are actually the same mission. Find out what there is to discover as the two teams head off for one of the most famous historical locations in Vale for their respective assignments, next time.

Once again, Happy Early Halloween to everyone, Happy Early Birthday Ruby Rose...

Ruby: Aw, thanks! Can't wait for the present you're gonna give me on the day itself.

AN: Oh, you should be excited. It'll be a good one! And as always...

Please read and review, and may your heart be your guiding key for your landing strategy.