Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rooster Teeth Productions

Co-Authored with ToxicExotic

IMPORTANT NOTICE - Due to limitations of the site, I'm unable to do strikethroughs here and they are kinda needed for a certain part of this chapter. Therefore, should you see a part with - on either side, just know that was supposed to be crossed out. Sorry for this, not a lot I can really do. Thankfully it's only in the first part and there isn't many.

A Darker Time

June 3rd 2013

Ilia stormed off again today. I tried to talk to her about the upcoming raid, but she wouldn't hear it. Maybe I shouldn't even be having these thoughts anyway. After all, what we are doing is helping people… right? I'm not too sure these days. -Maybe we are going about it wro- Maybe there is a better way. A way that doesn't involve bloodshed. But, surely my dad would have found it already. But if there was such a way, he wouldn't have handed things over to Sienna. I don't know. I really need to stop thinking like this. I'm starting to feel like a traitor. I just need to focus on the raid. There are too many faunus trapped on that farm.

June 5th 2013

I don't know how things went so wrong. The plan was perfect. Set the barn on fire, knockout the Huntsmen, get the faunus off the farm while Adam keeps the owners occupied. Things rarely go as planned, but they actually helped try to put the fire out. They HELPED. I thought they were just too conditioned, but they actually screamed at US. They called us monsters, told us we had no idea what we were doing. And then the Grimm came. We couldn't convince them to run, couldn't convince them they were free. I tried to get Adam so that he could talk some sense into them, but when I got in the kitchen… there was blood everywhere. The owner's wife was -cryin- weeping over the body of her husband, and Adam was just standing there without remorse. He says the man drew a gun on him, that he only acted in self-defense, but I didn't see a gun anywhere.

By the time we left the house, Grimm were everywhere. We barely made it out alive, and I have no idea what to think anymore. Why did they try to put out the fire? Why did Adam kill that man? None of this makes sense. Unless… No. I'm just tired. It's been a long day and I need some rest.

-June 7-

-June 12th 20-

June 16th 2013

Looking back on that day is painful. Even trying to open this diary only to see what I wrote about it makes me flashback to it. But I met a man today. I was out on patrol, just walking the woods trying to clear my head when I spotted him. I recognised him immediately. He tried to put out the fires, he was the one who called us monsters. I know I shouldn't have approached, I should have just let him continue along the road to Shion, but something made me reveal myself to him. He was scared at first, and I worried he might recognise me; but he didn't. When he asked who I was, I lied. Told him I was headed to Mistral to enroll at Haven. With a weapon on my back, it wasn't hard to convince him. I even offered to walk with him to the nearest crossroads.

I don't know why, but while we walked, I asked him where he came from, and I wish I never had. He told me about the farm we raided, and how he came to work there. Apparently the owner of the farm and his son had saved them when a group of bandits raided their camp. He'd heard the commotion and come running to help, but had been too late to save the camp. Afterwards, he'd offered everyone a place on his farm, a chance to work and earn some money so that they could eventually rebuild somewhere new. He'd never forced them, never asked too much, and always worked the farm himself too. Apparently he was a good man who was always trying to help people.

And WE killed him. WE ruined everything. When we got to the crossroad and went our separate ways, I tried to make my way back to the camp. But I couldn't. It was only an hour walk, but it took me five. Five hours of thought and I still have no idea what to make of everything. Adam said he was sure that they were slaves, that they were there against their will. But he was wrong. How many other things has he been wrong about? How many other times had people just been scared and gone with it? How many times have we been the monsters?

I know what Adam would say. That mistakes happen, and that they were acceptable so long as we were helping get faunus' their freedom. That humans had done far worse to us. But is he right? Are the mistakes acceptable? Does the past really justify our violence now? Or does knowing what said violence feels like and then committing it unto others make us worse than them? Or have I just been bli…"

"Ruby?"

"Ahh!"

Dropping the book from surprise, Ruby tried her best to hide it from Blake. However, in her fumbling, she knocked it off the bed and onto the floor. Truthfully, she hadn't known what the book even was when she'd picked it up.

Upon getting back to the dorm after class, she was in the mood for a little light reading. Unfortunately, when she picked up the manga she'd been saving, she remembered that she'd already read it the week before. Sadly it was a forgettable chapter. So, with nothing else of her own left unread, she'd made her way over to Blake's side of the room. However, since Blake had so many books, Ruby had simply taken one at random and retired to her bed, It wasn't until opening it that she realised what it was. By the time she did though, it was already too late.

Ruby knew that she really shouldn't have been reading Blake's diary, that it was definitely an invasion of the faunus' privacy; but the little she had already read had intrigued her. Since Blake was always so quiet about her past, even Ruby didn't know much of what had happened, so the fact that she had something in her hands that was giving her a little glimpse of the girl's life had been a little too tempting to put down. However, she was kind of regretting reading what she had.

While the diary contained many really good drawings of things like Gambol Shroud, a red-hued blade, and a girl with freckles, Blake's past thoughts were not pleasant... To say the least. The diary had covered almost all of the previous year, but Ruby had skipped some of the darker parts. Raids, training; even her relationship with someone who was clearly very bad for Blake. Whenever the entries began to lighten, there would be one about Adam, and after every Adam entry, the next few entries would become dark again. It was disturbing reading about their relationship, and how he seemed to be warping her mind to fit his views, but there were still glimmers of light while reading.

Ilia was one of them, and a name Ruby recognised. While the girl was definitely pretty extreme in her own methods, Blake always wrote about her seeming torn between right and wrong. There were more than a few entries about them just hanging out and relaxing, and Blake definitely seemed to be aware of the fact Ilia had a crush on her. The other bright side was that Blake's thoughts did lighten more and more as she read, but that anger was definitely still there. Ruby wasn't quite sure what the catalyst was that finally made her start questioning things was, since Blake hadn't written it down from what she could tell, but it was clear to see that she had begun to have her doubts around late April.

However, Ruby also knew everything she had just read should have been told to her when Blake was ready. To have read it without her permission, to disregard her privacy like that was wrong, and she deserved whatever reprimanding that Blake was going to give. So, waiting silently with her head hung low, she watched from her top bunk as Blake leaned down and picked the book up from the floor. Holding it flat in her hand, the diary immediately fell open to June where Ruby had smoothed out the gutter.

"June." Blake let out a sad sigh and ran a hand over the pages. "Shit mon..."

"I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have been reading that but I didn't know and when I found out I was too curious and I know I should stopp…"

"Ruby…"

"... reading but you never talk about it so it was interest…"

"Ruby!" The firm voice and the snap of the dairy closing cut off her ramblings, and she looked up to see Blake staring at her. "I'm not mad."

"Y-You're not?"

Blake turned the book in her hands, no longer looking at it, and shook her head. "Well… I'd prefer you just ask me. But I'm not exactly hiding them."

"Oh."

That was true. It wasn't like the book was hidden behind her bed or anything. They'd simply been in the small bookcase that the team used. Even looking over in that moment, Ruby could see another black spine without a name that seemed like another of the diaries. However, if the one she was reading was from the year Blake left the White Fang, she wasn't sure she could handle one from a year before then.

"So uhhh…" Blake tossed the book back onto her own bed and rubbed her left arm. "Do you have any questions? About what you just read."

"Ummm." Ruby tapped the tips of her fingers together and looked up at her girlfriend. "A few. But only if you don't mind answering them."

Receiving a small nod from Blake, Ruby shifted aside on her bed to allow the girl to jump up. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she remained silent for a minute or two as she thought over her questions. Did she ask about Adam? Ilia? They both interested her since they seemed like important people to the story, but she was leaning more towards the change in her mentality?

Out the corner of her eye, she saw Blake remove the ribbon from her ear and found herself momentarily distracted. They looked a lot fluffier lately, like Blake was letting the hair in them grow out a little. It was something Ruby quite liked, but she quickly pulled her eyes away and settled on her first question.

"So umm…" She gave a nervous chuckle. "I know this might be a little rude, but umm… Why were you so angry? Enough to do those things, I mean."

"It's not was, Ruby." Blake breathed as she leaned back against the wall. "It still is. A lot of faunus are angry, many just try not to draw attention to themselves. That anger you read in that diary, that's still a part of me."

"Really? I never see it?"

"Because it's not when I'm around you. Or the others. You all make me forget those things for a while, and I'm just me. But when I see Cardin bullying Neon, or the weird looks my fellow faunus get, or even the way Yatsu says something sometimes; I still get angry at those things. With Yatsu, I know he doesn't mean it and I'm more angry that it's just how people are in Mistral and they never give it a second thought. But with the others, with everything else, it just shows how little they think of us. They still think we're just animals, and when they treat us that way, it's still difficult to not just lash out."

"But you don't."

"That doesn't mean the desire isn't there." Blake sighed. "Hell, when our first semester started, I attacked two students because they were harassing Velvet."

"Yang does that all the time though."

"Not like this." Blake said with a shake of her head. "Yang fights because it's fun and she knows others here are always willing to fight her. I wanted to hurt them so that they knew what it was like to feel what we feel everyday. I wouldn't do that now, but that was a long battle for me, and I'm worried it won't take much for me to slip back into that."

"Pfft." Ruby reached out and took the girl's hand. "I won't let you. You're a good person, Blake.

"If I was a good person, I wouldn't have to try so hard to be one."

"Or trying to be one makes you a gooder… Uhhh better person."

Ruby didn't know what she'd said, but she heard Blake let out a dry chuckle and the fingers slipped through her own. It had been a line she'd read from one of Weiss' philosophy books when she was bored, and was to have finally found a way to use it. Though she was pretty sure she had messed it up pretty badly. But Blake didn't seem to mind, instead Ruby felt herself pulled into a sidelong hug and an arm snaked around her shoulders. For a couple minutes, she simply sat there in silence mulling, over Blake's answer.

She hadn't known that Blake was still struggling with those feelings, nor that they were so strong. Sure she saw the dirty looks she gave Cardin and how dismissive she was of the boy, but not that she was tempted to hurt him. Though from what Flynt said while they were working at the forge Weiss was the one doing the attacking for the most part. Though she would normally reprimand her partner for such an action, she had never bothered to bring it up since Cardin was starting to get on her nerves too with how he acted. Though she still knew there were good parts to him too, like being a Huntsman and how he treated his friends. She'd once overheard him consoling Sky after the boy was dumped by a girl.

"Any other questions?"

She turned her head slightly and saw Blake looking at her out of the corner of her eye. There was definitely one question she wanted to ask, mostly out of curiosity because they were dating, but she didn't feel it was her place.

"I probably shouldn't."

She looked away a little, but the hum of understanding from Blake showed the girl had pretty much read her mind.

"Adam?"

Ruby hesitated for a little bit, but gave a small nod. "He sounded awful."

"He ended up that way, yeah."

"Ended up?"

"He wasn't always." Blake sighed with a noncommittal shrug. "Just another boy who got lost, strayed too far into the shadows and let his soul get consumed by hate. But what he became, the things he did… he became worse than the people he hated."

There was a sadness to Blake's voice. Remembering past conversations, Ruby knew that Blake definitely no longer cared for Adam, so could only assume the sadness came from the fact Adam turned that way in the first place. Sensing it was a hard topic for the girl though, and not really wanting to hear about all the awful stuff Adam had done or made Blake do, she decided to try for a different topic.

"What about Ilia? Is she like him or…"

"No." Blake's reply was quick, and there was a certainty to her voice. "Ilia is a little… aggressive, but she isn't a bad person. She's like I was, believing what she is doing is for the best. I just hope that she finds her way out like I did."

"She sounds complicated."

"She was."

"And you two never?" Blake glanced down at her with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, kinda seemed like you knew she was into you or something?"

"Ah." Blake hummed with a nod. "Yeah… No, wait. I mean I know she liked me. But nothing happened there."

"Gotcha."

Finding herself with no more questions, Ruby simply gave a small nod and nestled into her girlfriend. Though she still felt bad for reading the diary, it was at least good to know that Blake was willing to be honest with her abou everything inside. And was very happy that the girl hadn't been angry. However, as she sat that, she could tell something was a little off Blake still, so looked up at her curiously.

"Do you feel differently about me after reading that?" Ruby felt the fingers on the back of her hand nervously stroke back and forth. "I'd understand if it made you think of me differently. It's not exactly light reading."

"Nope." She replied with a smile. The things she'd read definitely were a little rough, but they in no way changed how she felt about Blake. "You're still the best girlfriend ever."

Lifting her head up, she pressed her lips against Blake's. A small breath of relief brushed across her face before the girl's lips pulled into a smile. She liked feeling that little action beneath her own, how it was just one of the little reassurances that Blake really did enjoy being kissed. That she liked the affection in general. It didn't last long though, since she pulled away and happily gazed up at her.

"I already knew you had a rough past anyway." She shrugged. Thankfully, it slightly widened the smile on Blake's face. "Soooo, you wanna watch a movie or something? I know you're always tired after sparring with Xanthia."

"Sure." Blake replied, her tone a little lighter than before. "You can choose."

"Alright." Ruby grinned, hopping down off her bed.

Unfortunately she hadn't put the holoviewer onto a rotating platform yet so they would have to make do with the couch. That didn't seem to be a problem for Blake though, since she too jumped down from the bed and dragged to quilt with her. Very aware that she was smiling stupidly to herself, she grabbed her Scroll under her pillow and jumped over to the couch, settling in for a movie night with her girlfriend.

Laid on the couch in Blake arms, Ruby felt awash in happiness. Though the afternoon had started off a little weird with the diaries, talking about it had cleared a lot of the air, and the show cleared the rest. Since Blake had allowed her to choose, Ruby had immediately scrolled through Remflix to the documentary section and put on one about a strange man who would show up in a town and make everyone laugh for a week before moving on. It was one of Ruby's favourites. Not only because it showed what huntsmen and huntresses should be doing, going around helping people, but it was also absurdly stupid.

Though many suspected that the man was using his semblance, nobody was actually sure what it was. Not only did he make everyone laugh, but he would also produce random items from nowhere and light everything up with a green light. It also helped that a lot of the people who were giving testimonies were really quite old since the event the documentary was exploring had happened nearly ninety years ago, so their accounts were often hilariously strange.

"So what does Yang think his semblance was?" Blake chuckled as one of the people talked about a time he made a building dance.

"She thinks he slipped everyone drugs."

"Pfft. Typical Yang." The faunus chuckled. "I'm still holding on to him being able to create illusions that people think are real."

"Hmm, could be." Ruby hummed thoughtfully. "I still think he was like Ren and Neon."

"Or maybe he was a descendant of that man who lived on Patch all that time ago." Blake chuckled sarcastically. "Mr Magic Man with green light."

"But he had a staff, this guy has a cane." Ruby hummed thoughtfully.

It was fun to talk about it with Blake, as the documentary was one Ruby was still trying to figure out since even it's own ending was rather speculatory. She couldn't count how many times she had talked it over with Yang, who would come up with increasingly stupid explanation as to how the man did what he did.

"Or maybe he was Ozpin." Blake said with a mischievous tone. "He likes green and has a cane."

"He isn't that old." Ruby laughed, turned her head to look at her girlfriend.

"He's pretty damn old."

"Is not."

"He needs a cane."

"It's his weapon!"

"Likely excuse."

Laughing at the the faunus' stupid answer that rivalled even Yang, Ruby twisted in place beneath the quilt and looked her girlfriend in the eyes. It was good to see them happy again after everything with the diary. It was so good in fact that Ruby couldn't help but press her lips to the girl's. It was also a very good way of getting her to shut up. Thankfully, the ploy worked and Ruby felt Blake's arms tighten around her waist.

Feeling a smile pull at her lips, she pulled away and gazed into the deep pools over amber. The break only lasted a moment however, as she was compelled to reclaim the lips, deepening the kiss and allowing herself to melt into the warmth that was Blake's body. A rush travelled through her and the all-too-familiar knot began to settle in her stomach again. It wasn't uncomfortable though, and neither was it scary anymore. With how often these moments seemed to happen now, Ruby was used to it, and actually quite liked it. It filled her with anticipation and desire, desire that caused her tongue to gently rub along Blake's lips to request access. The access was quickly granted, and Ruby let out a small hum of appreciation as the faunus' wet muscle came out to meet hers.

Using her tongue had been a little awkward at first since she was scared of screwing it up, but that too had become more comfortable as the pair practiced more. From what she could tell, Blake no longer seemed to find fault in her technique either, and that also spurred her to be a little more bold during their make-out sessions. She could tell that was something Blake liked too, for as much as the girl seemed to like taking charge of the kissing, Ruby couldn't help but notice that Blake also seemed to really like it when she took the initiative.

With that in mind, Ruby began to shift herself slightly again. Using her arm, she pushed the material covering the both aside and slid her leg over Blake's. Using her now free arms, she pushed herself up, careful not to break the kiss, and moved to straddle the girl's waist. It was a position that had become very familiar over the week, and as such, Blake's hand immediately took their place on her hips, holding her gently in place. A small hum of satisfaction escaped the raven-haired beauty and Ruby smiled at how much of an effect that simple action had on her.

For what felt like minutes, they both enjoyed the affection. It was rare to have the room to themselves for so long, but Weiss was off helping a student with Dust and Yang randomly declared that she was headed to Patch for something. Since the blonde would likely ride Bumblebee back, Ruby was confident they both had a decent amount of time before they were interrupted. Because of that, she allowed herself to enjoy the moment for what it was without worry.

That wasn't to say there wasn't a little hesitation when she felt Blake's hand slowly begin to travel down from her hips. It wasn't bad though, in fact, it only helped to build the anticipation within her. Inch by inch, the hand slowly worked it's way downwards, leaving Ruby plenty of time to stop it. She didn't though, she knew where it was going, and she didn't mind at all. Finally though, she let out a small gasp and broke the kiss as Blake hand slipped onto her butt and simply rested there, the strong fingers applying just enough pressure for Ruby to feel her breath catch at the new sensation.

Thankfully, Ruby knew she had what many would consider to be a good butt from all her running, and Blake definitely seemed to find it satisfactory from the smile that pulled at her lips. Taking that as a good sign, Ruby grinned down at her too as Blake reached up to reclaim her lips. Blake's lips crashed into her with much more gusto than before, and Ruby was reminded of that time back in the forest amid the ruins when Blake had partially lost control of herself. The wild way that Blake's fingers grabbed at her and the heavy breathing fogged her mind, and she found herself wanting it more herself too.

As if on it's own, her hand began to slowly slide up the faunus' front, the soft fabric sliding beneath her finger tips. It wasn't until they met a very distinct curve that she realised exactly what they were doing, but she was so caught up in the moment and didn't have the presence of mind to stop herself. And probably more importantly, she didn't want to. Blake wasn't just a person she loved hanging out with or talking to, she was also someone whose body Ruby mind would constantly wonder too. The girl was gorgeous, and Ruby knew she had full permission to do whatever she wanted. So finally, with a small breath, she pushed past that particular boundary and let her hand find it's goal.

Though it was still covered in clothing, the soft mound of flesh that her hand found felt wonderful. The moment her hand cupped it, Blake took in a sharp breath of air and Ruby felt the fingers on her butt dig in. The feeling sent sparks up her spine. Of course she'd felt her own breasts, but Blake's felt better in every way. They were just a little bigger, but felt so much softer and warmer. Acting on her own again, Ruby felt her finger twitch, and Blake let out yet another gasp as her teeth closed on Ruby's lips. The reaction alone was enough to encourage Ruby a little more.

Opening her eyes, she saw Blake's were closed and waiting for her to do it again. Figuring it was a day for big steps, and not wanting to stop, Ruby gently pulled her lips free to reclaim Blake's and…

"Sup, Ru… oh m…"

"AHH!"

"YANG!"

"... y gods."

Feeling her entire body turn as red as her cape, Ruby pushed herself away from Blake so hard that she landed on her feet next to the couch. Snatched the discarded quilt midair, she wrapped it around her entire body despite being fully clothed still, leaving only one eye visible. A huge grin was plastered across Yang's face, and the blonde leaned against the door with her arms folded.

"What did I interrupt, huh?" She cackled evilly. Or at least it sounded evil to her in that moment. "Som…"

"N-N-Nothing." She stuttered heavily.

"Can't you at least knock?" Blake sighed as she sat up, clearly a little annoyed at the interruption herself. "You know, like we do when Coco and Velvet are here."

"I didn't know you would be here feeling my little sister up." Yang replied with barely contained humor. "Her poor, innocent little mind. You're corr…"

The humor finally broke as Ruby picked up a cushion and hurled it at her sister. She didn't even try to dodge and it struck her square in the face. Not that it helped at all, because the girl simply stood there laughing at them both. Unfortunately, it seemed Ruby's embarrassment was not over for the day, as another voice called from behind Yang and a man with black, slicked back hair appeared in the doorway. He wore his usual grey tailcoat and black pants with the short cape hanging from his back.

"What's taking so long?" Qrow asked the brawler. "Though we were all getting dinn.." Yang cut him off by not so subtly pointing into the room. Taking the hint Qrow turned his head and his pale red eyes widened a little. "Oh… Now this brings back memories."

"Oh my gods." Ruby breathed, feeling herself blush a deeper red and turning around. Normally she would be super excited to see the man, but the embarrassment of getting caught feeling up Blake dampened her usual reaction a little. "You two are the worst."

"Hey, nothing to be ashamed of, Kiddo." Qrow chuckled, leaning against the doorframe next to his niece. "I definitely saw worse with your dad."

"Ew." The grin faded from Yang as she gave him a sidelong look. "Gross, Qrow."

"You think he was bad? Don't ever ask him what Summe…"

He was cut off again as Ruby threw another pillow at her uncle.

"Ughhhh!" She groaned at the pair and threw another cushion. "Get ouuuuut!"

"Yang…" Blake's head fell into her hands. "Can't you just give us a minute."

"Alright, Alright." The blonde laughed and pushed herself off the door. "Let's go, Qrow. Ruby, Dinner in twenty minutes. Just us three."

"Fine! Just go."

"Alright, I'm going." Yang grinned as she and qrow walked towards the door. Before she shut it though, she stuck her head back through and stuck out her tongue. "Calm your tits."

"UGHHH!"

Yet another cushion was thrown, but the door was already closed, leaving behind nothing but the muffled laughter that floated in through the hallway. Shaking her head, Ruby let out a groan of frustration.

"I hate sharing a room!" She huffed, letting the quilt drop. She had no idea why she had felt the need to cover herself in the first place, but that feeling had vanished when Yang left.

"No you don't." Blake smiled, her hand coming out and entwining their fingers together. "You love sharing a room with her."

Ruby let her lips form into a pout as she was pulled forward. Straddling Blake's lap again, she looked down at her girlfriend with a scowl. She knew the girl was trying to talk her around, but it wasn't going to work. Sharing a room with Yang meant they were always being interrupted and teased. It was constant embarrassment.

"No I don't."

"Mhm. If you say so."

Blake's strong hand moved up to her face, pushing back into her hair. Despite knowing she was trying to distract her, the simple action felt nice and Ruby closed her eyes to enjoy it and leaned into the leading touch. Very gently, her head was lowered and lips pressed against her own. It wasn't the heated kiss from earlier, but the remnants of that session were still pulsing through her veins. Due to that, Ruby felt herself lean into it a little more than Blake probably intended.

"I take it you enjoyed what just happened?" Blake asked curiously after breaking the kiss.

Biting her bottom lip, Ruby opened her eyes to see her beautiful girlfriend was smiling mischievously. After a couple of seconds, she gave a small nod.

"A l-lot." She said, feeling her face burn red again. "Did you?"

Hands moved to her hips and slowly roamed downwards, just like they had earlier. Yet again, Ruby didn't stop them and felt her stomach flip when they found their goal. A glint entered Blake's eyes and she could pull hers away from them.

"Definitely." The fetching faunus replied. "But we probably shouldn't repeat it right now. And you should get ready for your dinner thing."

"Nope." Ruby grinned, still not pulling away.

"Sooo? You gonna get up?"

Pressing her lips against her girlfriend's, Ruby let out a low hum of contentment. While she wanted to stay, wanted to resume what had been started earlier, she knew she couldn't. The longer she delayed, the more Yang would tease, and since Qrow was here, the more he would tease too. However, though she knew she should be moving, she allowed herself to revel in the feeling of Blake's scent surrounding her for just a minute longer.

Finally though, she pulled away, gazing down with a smile at the beautiful girl beneath her.

"You're tempting me on purpose."

"Guilty as charged."

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, Ruby pushed herself off of Blake and stood up, straightening out her clothes. The groan of disappointment that issues from her team member was almost enough to make her go back, since she too felt the same, but she knew she had to get ready.

"You know we won't get the room to ourselves again for a while, right?"

Hearing the seductive tone in her girlfriend's voice, Ruby felt her stomach twist.

"Well…" Ruby said in her best attempt to be aloof. "I'm the one who sorts out the training schedule. Maybe Weiss and Yang will be busy soon."

"Oh? Is that a promise?"

Instead of replying, she simply stuck out her tongue and made her way towards the bathroom. With one last look, back at her, she pushed the door open and slipped inside. In truth, Blake's words had resonated with her. It would be a while before they next had the room to themselves. Which was a shame, because Ruby really had enjoyed how the relationship had just taken another step, as well as what that step was. And the fact that it could be a while before they could explore the new step a little more left her feeling a little disappointed.

But there was little she could really do about that. It was the curse of sharing a room with two other people. All she could do was hope that Yang and Weiss found themselves busy over the next week or so. Not that she knew what would happen if she and Blake were alone together for longer. Would she have stopped where they had? Or would something else have happened. She wasn't sure. But she was definitely interested in finding out.

I suppose I can talk to Velvet or Coco, she thought to herself as she walked towards the sink. Though they likely couldn't help with Weiss, those two would definitely be able to get Yang away for a while. Yeah, She turned the tap on and splashed some water on her face. I should definitely talk to them.

Raalm's Notes

Hello all. So a mixed chapter today. For the most part, we really wanted to address Blake's past and finally explore some of the things she did during her time in the White Fang, but we also wanted to show how Ruby takes them in stride and still believes Blake to be a good person despite them. Even so much that she spends the rest of the day just relaxing with her and showing how much it doesn't bother her. There was also some progression in their relationship with I hope felt natural. And a surprise appearance from a birb man O_O Surely that's a good thing right?

Anyways, that's it from me. I hope you enjoyed. The next chapter starts off a few things that have been building for a while now, so hopefully the next few chapters should be pretty important.

Chapter 43 will be uploaded on the 15th.

Something you should know

I've been thinking of taking a short break from this series soon. I'm not sure when, but I've been feeling the need to refresh my batteries for a while now. I will make sure to keep you informed though and rest assured I will never put a story on break halfway through big things happening.

Toxic's Notes

YES WE DID IT, IT'S FUNNY TO HAVE A FLUSTERED RUBY! Plus Blake gets her hands on some Rubooty, there's positives everywhere in this chapter! looking forward to ya'lls comments!