Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY
AN/ Back again with a new chapter! So, with the episode that's now out for everyone, I can now point this out without angering anyone. So, if you need another example of what Ruby looks like with her shata, essentially just think of Adam, and that's basically what you get. Certainly, wasn't expecting to see that, but still. Anyways, no major announcements, so on we go!
Ruby hated her luck. Not only was she bedridden again with a migraine, from what little she could gather, Blake was having a bit of an episode as well. Thankfully though, classes were kept relatively light today, so as to see where the visiting students stood in their lectures.
"I still think we should try and press Blake and see what the matter is." Weiss said quietly as she dropped off Ruby's food.
"No, it will only make things worse. Now can we please discuss this tomorrow?" Ruby growled quietly. She understood where Weiss was coming from, and incapacitated or not, it was still Ruby's job to make sure her team functioned at their peak.
"Sorry. And you're right, it's just that, she promised to come to us with any issues she had. Look, Yang and I have to help prepare the dance starting tomorrow, come with us and we'll talk, now take it easy, we've made sure that the exchange students won't be noisy coming through here." Weiss said gently as she stood up.
"Thanks for lunch Weiss, sorry to take up your time." Ruby apologized weakly.
"it's no issue, now rest." Weiss ordered as she left. Sighing, Weiss left to meet with the rest of her team.
"Hey Weiss, how's Ruby doing?" Neptune asked as he walked beside her.
"She's bedridden with the worst headache you could imagine, how do you think she's doing?" Weiss responded in a biting tone. He was a genuinely nice guy, but sometimes he could be a little too dense for her liking.
"Right, sorry, you did explain it to me already." Neptune said as he looked away, slightly embarrassed.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound angry, it's just that between Blake, the dance, and now having to make sure people don't disturb Ruby, today has just been exhausting, and it's only lunch." Weiss explained with a sigh.
"While I can't vouch for Shade, Mistral will respect whatever you say, so long as there is a good reason behind it." Neptune offered with a smile. Weiss was thankful for Neptune, he was almost exactly what she wanted in a partner. Intelligent, good looking and sophisticated without the pompous attitude.
"Atlas students have stayed away from our building entirely. I guess she has some friends from Atlas." Weiss added. Their trip was short as they quickly found themselves surrounded by the voices of fours different student bodies mixed into one dull roar.
"She still look like death?" Yang asked as Weiss sat down between her and Blake.
"A bit more color compared to last time, but yes, she looks like death." Weiss responded.
"So, one of the Haven students came by while you were away, said she was looking for Ruby." Yang started.
"Did she now? What did she look like?" Weiss asked, noticing Sun and Neptune's stares directed to herself.
"About average height, dark skin, blonde hair, said her name was Arslan." Yang explained.
"Remember when Ruby said she ran into someone when we were looking for Blake?" Weiss started as Yang nodded. "Yeah, that was her leader, who she ran into, literally, when we were getting our dresses."
"Oh boy, if Arslan is looking for Ruby, that's just gold." Sun said with a laugh.
"And why is that?" Weiss asked curiously.
"Because team ABRN is a very competitive team, while also being one of the most dysfunctional teams at Haven." Neptune explained.
"How so?" Yang asked.
"Arslan prides herself on her adaptability and is a heavy hitter, however her team is a bit of an odd balance. They work well together until something goes wrong, then it's basically momma Arslan trying to herd her kids, except her kids are like hyperactive cats." Sun added.
"Isn't it a bit unfair that you're giving us information we can use against them?" Pyrrha asked.
"Nah, I got ten lien here in my pocket that says she already looked up what she could about all eight of you." Sun said confidently.
"Like I said, very competitive." Neptune said, backing up his friend.
"Huh, why isn't Weiss doing that?" Nora asked jokingly, earning a cold glare from the heiress.
"Ren, could you please invest in a muzzle, or something that would help keep Nora from irritating me?" Weiss asked with a sigh as Nora only responded with a wide smile.
"I believe that is against the rules, something I believe if you broke, you would begin to melt." The table grew silent at one of the rarest sights at Beacon, a joke from Ren.
"I'd ask if you need some ice for that burn, but I think you've got it covered." Sun added, causing everyone to try to hold their laughter.
"Sometimes I wonder how I'm friends with any of you." Wiess growled as she slumped forward, hiding her face against the table. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Blake hadn't responded to anything that was said, focusing on her book alone. After the jokes at her expense, the topics shifted around.
"You guys were seriously launched off a cliff?! How is that even legal?" Sun asked, shocked.
"Isn't that normal? What did professor Lionheart do for your initiation?" Jaune asked.
"A skills test. We had to complete a set of tasks and that was how we were grouped up, partners came afterwards during the ceremony." Neptune explained.
"We were launched off a cliff, told that the first person we made eye contact with was our partner, and had to collect relics. Oh, and the relics decided your team." Nora explained merrily.
"She forgot to mention that we weren't just launched off a cliff, we were launched off a cliff and into a grimm infested forest." Yang deadpanned.
"Is your headmaster sane?" Sun asked, seriously.
"We have the video of us killing a nevermore by decapitation." Blake said monotonously without looking up from her book.
"Or do you want the deathstalker we threw into a ravine?" Jaune asked.
"I hope we never have to fight Beacon students in the tournament, I'd rather fight Atlas now." Sun said, looking at his new friends.
"Speaking of, have you seen Sage or Scarlett? They were supposed to meet us here." Neptune asked, looking around the cafeteria.
"It's the end of lunch, if they aren't here, then they'll meet us in class. If they still don't show up, I'll ask Ozpin about those launch pads." Sun half joked as students began to file out of the cafeteria.
"Come on, today should be fairly easy, no reason to dread class, especially Ports." Weiss said as she stood up.
"Yeah, about that, are the rumors about him true?" Neptune asked nervously.
"He's not that bad, but I would pop some caffeine pills if coffee isn't your thing." Weiss warned as Yang made a face that contradicted Weiss's statement.
"Right, well, we'll see you around, let us know if anything comes up." Sun said as he and Neptune left.
"How come we haven't made any friends from the other schools?" Nora asked, jealous of team RWBY's luck with the exchange students.
"Because Nora, we haven't had a chance to try and get to know any of them." Jaune explained as team JNPR tried to coral the hammer wielding madwoman.
"Now that they're all gone, I wanted to ask you something Yang." Weiss started as they made their way to professor Peach's class.
"What's up Ice Queen?" Yang responded.
"I was wondering, do you think last nights events caused Ruby's migraine?" Weiss asked.
"It's entirely possible, but I can't say for certain. If I'm being entirely honest, it was about time for her next sick day." Yang reasoned.
"That's fair. I'm just trying to understand as much as I can about this. My name might hold weight, but I can't get access to military files, so I can't exactly go to the source for answers." Weiss explained.
"No, I understand, but I'm kinda surprised you can't get much on it, considering it's not even a military program. Sponsored by, maybe, but its hardly a super soldier program or anything like that." Yang responded, surprised by the admittance.
"Wouldn't you have access to the necessary files Yang?" Blake offered lazily.
"I wouldn't, I'm not her parent or guardian. But our dad might." Yang explained.
"If it's too much of a hassle, then don't worry about it, I can just ask Ruby when she's not suffering." Weiss said, ending the conversation. Entering the classroom, they each took their respective seats. Soon after, professor Peach entered.
"Is Ruby not going to be here today?" She asked, noticing the empty seat beside Weiss.
"Sadly no, professor. Another headache." Weiss explained shortly.
"A shame, she would have enjoyed today. Anyways, welcome everyone, especially students visiting from the other kingdoms. My name is professor Peach, and welcome to dust studies."
*Later That Day*
"Man, if it weren't for attendance, we could have sat out all day!" Yang complained as she led her team up the stairs.
"Suggest that again Yang, and I will personally end you." Weiss threatened. Quieting down as they reached their door, Weiss slowly unlocked and opened the door.
"Hey guys, how was class?" Ruby asked weakly.
"You didn't miss a thing, aside from Peach showing off some dust." Yang explained quietly as she stepped quietly around the room.
"I like her presentations, they're always so much fun." Ruby said with a smile.
"Need some pills or no?" Yang asked, careful to avoid her other teammates as they prepared themselves for an early night.
"Please? I haven't been tired at all today." Ruby asked, grimacing slightly.
"I'll get them, I'm almost there." Weiss said, stepping into the bathroom. Ruby smiled. Thankful that she had teammates so readily available to help her. Feeling Weiss's hand on her shoulder, Ruby held out her hands.
"Thanks Weiss, you're the best." Ruby thanked before swallowing the pill that was dropped into her hand, chasing it with the glass of water she was supplied.
"Not a problem. Now sleep, we've got things to do tomorrow." Weiss all but ordered.
"Night." Ruby said before turning over. With the rest of team RWBY following suit, silence fell over the dorm.
*The Next Day*
"So, what should we do about Blake? She was up late last night and woke up before any of us." Weiss started as her and Yang began to take inventory of what was started and what was planned.
"If she doesn't come to us soon, then we'll push, but this is something she has to be willing to work on. We can't just force her to stop, she'll just work herself harder." Ruby reasoned.
"I understand Ruby, but at this rate her grades and her health will start to suffer. And Despite the fact that we made up, I doubt she'll listen to me." Weiss shot back.
"I'm between you two. We have to do something before Blake starts to hurt herself, but Ruby's right, we can't just force her to stop, especially if she really has set her mind to it." Yang said, standing between the partners.
"So, what should we do? We're in agreement that something needs to be done, but what?" Ruby asked, looking towards her teammates. All of them jumped when a new voice spoke up.
"If I may, it sounds like you three are having trouble with a teammate." Ozpin spoke up, smiling softly as three faces turned towards him.
"How did you sneak up on me?!" Ruby shrieked, trying to catch her breath.
"Consider it a talent of mine, miss Rose. Now please, if there is an issue with my students, I would very much like to help." Ozpin asked.
"It's Blake, she's starting to focus too much on something, and we aren't sure how to get her to stop." Ruby explained, leaving out certain parts.
"Why should she stop entirely? From the sound of it, she has deemed this something important enough to worry about." Ozpin asked.
"That's the thing, it all started as a small worry for her, and then it just kind of, exploded into more." Yang explained.
"If memory serves me correctly miss Xiao Long, you know a thing or two about obsessing over an issue." Ozpin said. Weiss watched as Yang looked at her feet, ashamed of something.
"What does he mean?" Weiss asked, looking to the sisters.
"I'll explain later Weiss. But professor, this situation doesn't have a chance of something like that happening, she isn't reckless enough." Yang said defensively.
"And I wasn't implying you either of you were. We all make mistakes, and we should all hopefully learn from them. However, sometimes we watch people walk a similar path that we once did, and if the outcome is less than favorable, we should try to share perspective. I do hope you can solve the problems laid out ahead of you, and please remember, the staff here will always be ready to help, should you ask." Ozpin said, turning towards the door. Once the headmaster was out of the room, Yang sighed in relief.
"Weiss, can you handle planning tomorrow? I know how to help Blake." Yang asked.
"I suppose I can. We'll still be looking at what team CFVY was able to come up with." Weiss explained, excusing Yang for tomorrow.
"Awesome, Ruby, you're free to go do whatever, we got this." Yang shooed her leader away.
"Not like I can spoil anything I see here anyways. Good luck you two!" Ruby said as she found her way to the door. Stepping out into the hall, Ruby was surprised to see so many students walking through.
"Ruby! There you are!"
AN/ And done! So, I was thinking things through, and this story is going to be just a bit more AU than originally planned. Originally, I was going to extend this well into volume 5, but then I got to thinking that it would never end at that point, and some of the things I've written in wouldn't work with the canon storyline. Don't worry, this won't change anything that has happened, or that I wanted to happen, it's just not going to be 50+ chapters and covering an entire AU of the canon story. Anyways, until next time, have a great day!