Chapter 28 – Who I Want To Be

"I don't want any of you to die."

Warm bubbles pop against my skin. Soapy froth seeps into my back, my nerves unravelling like silk as I dip deeper into the bath. The only part of me that's not lathered in foamy water right now is my head. Above me, casting from my Scroll placed on the worktop, is the recording given to me yesterday by Professor Ozpin.

"Rewind."

Vocal recognition. The projection spins back.

"Play."

And the process begins again. I lean back for another repeat, the recording cycling through events I've already lived through and I observe everything the past 'Me' did up until the black miasma rises from the misty depth, signalling the Nevermore's death.

"Rewind," I command. "Play."

Rewind. Play. Rewind. Play. How many times have I said that now?

Thirty-nine. Going on forty. If this were a movie, I'd be quoting every line and mimicking every inflection perfectly by this point. However, with each cycle, I notice differences. Ones I hadn't in the previous cycling which throw me off the answer again. Recalling and interpreting your mindset at a specific point in time isn't as easy as I'd predicted it would be.

I groan and sink further into the tub, blowing up air bubbles in irritation.

I was afraid, I remember that much. I'm always afraid. There's always something to be afraid of. Something unpredictable, something I haven't seen, something I haven't anticipated that could steal everything away at a second's notice.

Life's scary.

I was terrified of us all dying, so I stepped up. Had to. Nobody else was doing anything and the situation was already so bad that I didn't think I could've possibly made them any worse.

If I did nothing – We would've died.

If I did something and failed – Well, what was truly lost?

There were no consequences, inaction itself was the consequence, so I acted. It was a fairly simple decision for me to make. Nothing was clearer in that moment and that's how the 'Me' on the Emerald Forest bridge came to be.

And therein lies my problem. Not every scenario we walk into is going to be a live or die situation. There's more to leadership than that: Decisions, strategies, teamwork, so many factors to consider and so many ways they can all go wrong. Just like socializing, really.

Yeah. Almost exactly like socializing…

Beeping. My Scroll suspends the projection as the alarm clock screeches. Nine: Thirty. Class begins soon.

Stretching my limbs: I unplug the bath, dry myself off and put on my uniform, fluffing my hood and flattening my blazer.

I stare at myself, the 'Me' staring right back in the mirror.

…Best not keep them waiting. I snatch up my Scroll and head for the door.

Almost bumping straight into Weiss on the other side.

We gasp, stumble, and dance around each other awkwardly as though we're standing on hot coal. For a moment, our eyes connect, hers flashing in shock. She quickly darts away, towards the desk, and begins digging through it. Looking for pens, or for an excuse not to look at me? Seems neither of us expected the other to still be here so close to class.

I head over to my bed and retrieve my schoolbag, testing its weight with a jostle. Light. It's Friday. Only sparring class today, no books required.

All set. Time to leave.

Weiss continues searching for a distraction as I pass her. I'm almost thankful for it, saves me the trouble of handling this now.

I can deal with her later.

'Weiss is shutting herself away from anyone who asked her about what happened.'

…They were puffy. Her eyes. Puffy red all around the edges, dry with veins shooting out like crackling lightning bolts striking the cornea. It was there, slit almost completely right through her left eye.

A scar.

I never noticed it before, probably because I was always too afraid to look her in the eye. She never bled during initiation, the Entrance Exam is too safe for accidents like that, and she's an upper-class girl to boot, open to training equipment and resources Ruby and Yang never received.

There's no reason that she should have that scar.

I unconsciously touch my side. No reason… that I would presume to know.

'She spends so much time studying in your dorm that she's practically a shut-in.'

No.

I'm handling this now.

"I haven't forgiven you."

Weiss freezes, the unvoiced pact of avoidance between us broken.

"I've had time to think, but I'm still angry," I say. "A lot of what I said, I still feel is right: You were too harsh on Jaune, you were arrogant, you should've been at the hospital and, yes, you're partially to blame for what has happened."

Her head tilts away. Doesn't want me to see her face, in case it does anything that she couldn't control.

I let out a breath.

"But so am I."

Her posture straightens itself. Gradually, not immediate.

"I had… so many opportunities to step up and do something about all of this," I confess, wincing guiltily. "I knew what Jaune was going through, you didn't, but I didn't do anything to stop you or make you understand what you were doing to him. I was in a position where I could've done literally anything to make the situation better, but I was so scared that I'd make things worse that I threw it all at the first person I could and let everything turn into one big car crash."

I gulp down some air, allowing myself a little time to steady myself.

"When… When I gave you the leadership, I didn't give it to you because I thought you were the better option, I gave it to you because I was terrified. I was out of my comfort zone, and you were my out from it all. It wasn't for the team, it was for me," I lament, shutting my eyes. "I used you."

Weiss carefully glances at me and then away, a brief display of surprise. Did she not consider that's why I did it? Maybe she did and just didn't think I would be that underhanded.

"And I yelled at you, cursed at you. I said all this horrible harmful stuff and it wasn't even because I felt 'Righteous' and 'I wanted to call you out,' I just said it because I was so angry and hurt and I wanted to hurt you back and that's… fucked up." I cast my gaze downward. "And I'm so sorry for that."

Weiss doesn't move, doesn't respond to what I've said. I doubt she isn't thinking about it, she responded to everything else so far, but there's no clear indication unlike the last few times. So, I keep talking.

"Everybody doesn't hate you. I didn't mean that. You're difficult to be around but, they don't hate you. Nor do they want to," I tell her, massaging my arm. "And I don't want to hate you, either."

After a moment, Weiss slowly tilts away. Utensils clunk against wooden frame as she resumes her search. It's as though I never said anything to begin with.

Guess… that's that, then.

"That's all I wanted to say."

I've said everything I felt I needed to. If she needs time to stew over it, that's fine. I've made the first step here at least. For now, I should focus on what needs to be done.

I reach for the doorknob.

"Do you know how many people the Schnee Dust Company has under its employment?"

I stop. Weiss closes the desk shut, standing upright. Her voice, while not quite monotone, lacks the normal glass-shard abrasiveness this girl had used daily since we met. If she asked this very question days ago, I'm sure it would've been brimming with such conceitful pride.

Yet, there's no energy, no barbed-wire. There's nothing.

"One point two million. With nearly three-thousand three hundred retail stores, several major Dust mining operations, an expansive deal with Atlas research and development and our monopoly is still growing," she says as if she's recited it thousands of times in her head already. "That's what I'm going to inherit someday. That is my legacy, my duty to uphold as a Schnee."

That's… quite a weight to hold up. Enough to buckle any ordinary person, I'm sure.

"I've been preparing since I was thirteen: I've studied business management, accounting and financing, political nuance, and I trained for combat despite a private tutor who believed a riposte was a type of Atlesian transportation cruiser," she spits out the last portion. "And I excelled. I was accepted into Beacon. I proved that my abilities were worthy of pride. I am a capable Huntress, I would be an exceptional leader and I would accomplish every goal I set out for myself. Because I am Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee family name."

She surveys our dorm-room, gazing at the broken shelf and collapsed books set aside, at the washing basket half-empty, at the pristine bed linens so flat and untouched that you'd never believe anybody ever slept in them to begin with. All besides her own, which has been made so uncharacteristically untidy that my only guess is that she did it on purpose, to prove that someone, anyone had lived in here for an entire week.

I can see it clearly; This hurts her.

Behind me, I pull out the chair sat in the other desk and take a seat. Weiss glints a glance at me as I settle myself, shuffling comfortably back into my seat. I don't want to say anything yet, she didn't interrupt me when I was spilling my guts, but I want her to know that I'm listening. I'm paying attention. I won't shrug off every word as I did before.

It doesn't seem to harm any, as Weiss continues.

"I couldn't face him," she admits. "It was insufferably selfish of me, I know. The moment that I'd walk into that hospital chamber and seen the stitches, I'd collapse. The blood, the wounds, I knew I wouldn't be able to delude myself any further. I would've had to accept it."

'Accept my responsibility,' she says wordlessly.

"I failed." Pain flares up on her face as if every uttered word is physically killing her, "I failed as a leader, as a teammate, and especially as a partner. How do I intend to lead one point two million people when I'm incapable of gathering three people for lunch?"

"By learning."

Weiss looks at me. For the first time in two days, she does so willingly, her face belying a vulnerability that almost seems misplaced on someone so boastful and proud.

"You know you did wrong, I did too. We're both responsible for the way LABS is, even if we didn't mean for it to be," I say, leaving my chair to stand upright. "So, what we need to do is accept our parts, admit that we both screwed up and we can begin to work on making up for it."

I clear my throat.

"I shouldn't have tried to pawn the position off on you when I did."

Her eyes waver a touch.

"…And I shouldn't have accepted it when you offered." They straighten, looking at me with little intention of hiding away her shame. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

That person is in a hospital bed across the lake, he's the one that has been wronged here. By both of us.

Weiss pauses, nods at me and I reciprocate. An unspoken agreement.

And with that, the thick air of tension around us slowly begins to fade. While she still seems uncertain, I'd be wary too if she were the one who exploded like that, she does seem open to talking with me again. The first step to reconciling LABS has been taken, and it went far better than I thought it would. I let out a small gasp of relief.

That means we can begin taking the second.

"Weiss," I start carefully. "After Jaune was taken to hospital, did you pick up Crocea Mors?"

She blinks, "You didn't?"

That's a hard no, then.

"I… may have went down to collect it after you had left. I-it seemed irresponsible to leave a teammate's weapon behind. But, when I arrived, the blade was nowhere to be seen. I assumed that one of you had picked it up," she reasons, folding her arms. "It seems as though that wasn't the case."

"So it wasn't you…"

Then, assuming Jaune didn't tell anyone else, there's only one person at Beacon left who could've taken Crocea Mors. The only other person who would be privy to the blade's true value. The person I thought had the least reason to take it.

Blake.

Thumping booms from the door.

"Eren!" Ruby shouts. "Hurry up, slowpoke!"

"We're all set out here," Yang adds. "Just waiting on you."

Diving into my pocket, I double check my Scroll to find that, if we don't leave in a minute, I'll be serving a proper detention sentence with Professor Goodwitch.

I shiver. Yeah, best head to class before that becomes a thing.

I call back to them, "Be there in a second!"

Hurriedly, I pick up my bag and return my chair back to the desk. Weiss quirks an eyebrow.

"Something's going on," she states, sending me a pointed look. "What are you planning to do?"

"Fix things," I say, as if that says enough. She eyes me, scanning for more. I can see her mentally visualizing her thought process in her mind, trying to fit all the pieces of the puzzle into place but she's missing a few.

"…What was Jaune going through?"

"Don't mean to interrupt but, it's rather lengthy," Pyrrha, well, interrupts. "Wouldn't it be better if you came with us and we can explain along the way?"

Sounds like an invitation if I ever heard one. And yet, Weiss appears hesitant to accept it. Pyrrha's voice, more than likely, has made her think twice. She always did seem to value her opinion above others for whatever reason. I can't pretend to understand it. Maybe it's because she's so nice?
Still, hiding won't solve anything.

"If there's ever a time to make up for our mistakes," I smile, gesturing to the door.

Even when she finally wells up the courage to step through, apprehension surges through Weiss' body like poison. Her hands knit together in an attempt to appear controlled and dignified but it only makes her self-consciousness all the more glaring. I've told her otherwise but, the idea that the three girls before her despise her must be agitating her heftily still. Weiss placed a lot of her personal value into her leadership and it crashed and burned. I can't say for certain if she has ever suffered failure this devastating before.

This must be what I look like whenever I'm talking to others, that fear of rejection, an extra crushing boot grinding her already fragile ego to bits.

But then, Yang smirks her playful smirk of hers, "Nice to see you out of your cave, ice queen."

"Yeah! Lunchtimes didn't feel the same without you there whining about everything," grins Ruby, joining in with her sister's teasing.

"It's good to see you out and about, Weiss," Pyrrha smiles warmly. "You were beginning to make us worry."

Weiss is dumbfounded, mystified, completely confounded by the three girls in front of her, their every word loosening her closed-off posture. They could've done that with ease if they so desired. Pay back every abrasive, boastful barb in kind and yet, they didn't. I did, but they won't.

It stuns Weiss silent. She opens her mouth. Closes it, and then averts her eyes. Can't say for certain, I never really can, but I take that as a cue to move on. Yang shoots me a look that's saying the same thing. Give her some time to recompose herself.

Right. To the business at hand.

"Okay, um, I feel like this is a dumb question, but I want to be absolutely sure anyway," I begin, gaze washing over the group. "If there's anyone here who wants to back out-"

"Nope."

"Hell no."

"Absolutely not."

The girls answer decisively, Pyrrha especially with an almost vehement snap. It'd be jarring but, honestly, this is nothing compared to how she reacted last night. I'm pretty sure the reason why she's so friendly and polite is because she's secretly the vassal to a vengeful daemon that needed an extremely temperate person to keep it contained or else it would burn the whole Kingdom to the ground!

As for how she found out, well… Ruby, Yang, and I had our much-needed talk in RPRV's dorm since mine and Yang's were currently occupied. Pyrrha came back earlier than expected, felt the mood, got totally suspicious by the 'Totally-not-baring-my-soul' not-talk we were having and Ruby is the absolute worst at being subtle. Couldn't tell Pyrrha 'No' once everything was said and done.

Much to my chagrin. Not that I should be turning down the help.

"Just thought I'd offer," I smile and clap my hands. "Alright then. Let's go get those confessions."

Tracking down five people who explicitly didn't want to be found isn't an easy task to be sure, and the only sources we have to go off of are their teammates and passing students who just so happened to notice and recall the people matching our descriptions didn't make the search any more so. Between dead-end leads and mistaken identities, our task is a tedious one to be sure.

By the time we finally find the first of CRDL's targets, the five of us lapse into an early celebration, Ruby grabbing me and squealing that, "We found one! We finally found one!"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Leave me alone."

Our rejoice dies on the spot.

One out of five. No confessions. Not a great start.

Despite the setback, our group scavenges up its optimism and we continue our search.

"There's still four more to talk to," says a hopeful Ruby. "The others could be more willing to talk?"

"For the last time, he- Cardin has done nothing to me! G-get out of my face!"

So willing you'd think Cardin threatened to murder his family.

Two out of five. No confessions. That's disheartening.

"N-no! I-I've never even talked to Russel Thrush. He has nothing to do with- I-I have to go!"

Three out of five. No confessions. Ruby, Pyrrha, and Yang, try to keep all of our spirits up but, at this point, it's impossible not to see a running theme.

"Nah, man. We haven't seen er' in days. Hasn't come to class. Won't turn up for team practice. Girl's Scroll rings out every time we try to phone 'er. It's really startin' to freak us out, y'know?"

Four out of five. Still no confessions.

"Sorry…" He says sombrely, speckled white ears drooping as he turns himself around to leave.

Two hours. We've spent almost two hours searching for these people and so far, we've come up with jack-crap.

This guy is our last chance. We need him to take down Cardin.

"W-wait!" I cry out and rush after him. Over his shoulder, he looks back at me. "L-look, I know what you're trying to do but, CRDL aren't going to stop."

"He's right!" Ruby steps to my side. "They want you out of Beacon no matter what. They've already managed to force one of ours friends out. If we leave this alone, who knows how much people are going to leave!"

"Please," I plead. "We can actually do something about them. J-just talk to us."

"…Why?" He asks, voice barely above a murmur. "Didn't work before…"

Before?

I'm not given a chance to question it further as the dog Faunus speedily paces away, disappearing into the growing crowd shovelling into from the corridors.

We all share lost looks with each other.

Five out of five. No confessions…

"Well, that was a wash," Yang grumbles, munching down another giant dollop of leftover beef lasagne as her Scroll buzzes in her free hand.

Lunch had officially ended about half an hour ago and the mounds of presented platters had been whittled down so much that were lucky to find food that wasn't stone cold bland. We're putting up with it the best we can, in our own ways, mostly because the common-room is on the other side of campus and we're all really, really sick of walking.

Picked the wrong day to start eating again. Lukewarm lamb tastes like plastic. Eck. My stomach's just thankful that it's food.

Ruby sighs, absentmindedly sculpturing her sweet potato into something or other, "None of them even considered it…"

I hum, rubbing my eyes before sneaking a glance at Weiss. She's fixated on her bowl as she eats, methodically scooping up an uncannily exact amount of pasta in an almost rhythmic tempo. Must be her way of focusing herself, I'd imagine. She's been subdued these past couple of hours, only speaking up on one or two occasions. At least, when I've been present that is.

…Pyrrha lays down her cutlery, subduing her evident disgust, and makes a suggestion, "Couldn't we ask Jaune? If he learned that CRDL are going after you, Eren, I'm sure he'd be willing to confess."

A decent idea, I swallow. Except, "Then he'd just run into the same problem I have."

Might even make things worse. They'd probably think we'd be doing it out of vendetta, and they'd be even more sceptical. It'd turn into a 'He-said, he-said' situation. By the time they'd have sorted things, more people will have dropped out by then.

"Are you sure that's how that works?" Weiss, breaking out of her head for a second, speaks up.

I shrug at her. It's what Professor Ozpin told me, and he knows more about that sort of thing than I ever cared to. I'm in no position to say whenever it's right or wrong.

Her lips thin, "It's very inefficient."

That, we can agree on.

"Yo, you two," Yang calls, waves her Scroll at us. "Heather's visiting the hospital right now. She passed by Jaune's room to check up on him for us and she sent a pic back. Here."

Weiss and I lean closer as she flashes her Scroll screen. On it is the picture Heather sent, taken from the outside of his room with the blinds half-tilted and the windows imperfectly smudged is Jaune lying in his hospital bed, shoulders hopelessly hunched, cradling a white sheath in his arms. His family crest lays bare on the front and he's staring very intently at it.

Crocea Mors?

He got it back?

"Apparently, he found it on his hospital bed a couple of days ago. Just woke up that morning and, boom, there it was. He wanted to pass on a message to you, Eren." She pulls her Scroll, to switch tabs, and reads his message aloud,

"'Thank you, but this doesn't change anything.'"

My stomach recoils in a heavy blow, face churning into a grimace. That… had the potential to happen. I'm not going to pretend it didn't but, still, that's a… a bit of a blow to take…

Hold on. Why does he think I gave it back?

I haven't gone to the hospital since his confession, I haven't even left Beacon! In-fact, assuming that I'm right in Blake having the sword, then surely, he should've seen h-.

He didn't see her.

Roll with that thought: Blake snuck away from us first day of class, she was there Tuesday after the incident and she knew where his room was – She could go in and out of Jaune's hospital room without being noticed, she can do that. Possibility established.

Why, though? Why so indirectly? If she wanted to give it to him herself, she could've walked right in when we were there, chucked it at him, say something cool like 'Hmph. Try to look after it better next time,' and done. If she didn't want to deal with him, she could've easily given it to one of us. Weiss and I were… indisposed but, Ruby? Yang? Pyrrha? They could've handled it and she would've saved herself a trip so, why? Why did she do it that way?

I rake the back of my fist across my forehead. Guessing is giving me a headache. Better just file this in the 'Worry about it later' folder for now.

"Give Heather a 'Thank you' for me."

"Sure thing." Yang types away, rolling her eyes. "Not that she'd accept it. Damn overachiever."

Weiss points a look at me. I mouth, "Later" back at her. I'm sure she's wondering the same thing I am but, really, I think we can put all that on the backburner for now. Crocea Mors is back where it belongs and Blake isn't going anywhere. My idea of using the blade to coerce Jaune into staying hasn't worked so, my best shot now would be to focus on CRDL.

And how the hell we're supposed to sort that out.

I mutely groan to myself and take a swig of water from my glass, letting my gaze wander the cafeteria. Most students have already left for crazy weekend pastures already but, there are still some stranglers loitering around, either talking or studying or doing whatever the hell they feel like. Probably can't be arsed to move anywhere else honestly.

My roaming curiosity stops at the sight of chocolate brown bunny-ears, sitting on her lonesome far across the dining hall.

"Sfh," gargles Yang, swallowing down another forkful of her meal. "What's the plan? What are we doing?"

They twitch.

"Oh!" Ruby bounces out of her chair, gleaming. "How about our classmates! The ones we talked to were just the ones skipping class, right? There could be others. Maybe we could speak to them?"

They twitch!

Pyrrha puts on an uneasy smile, tapping her partner's shoulder, "Ruby, I don't mean to dishearten you but, how do we know if they'd be any more forthcoming?"

They twitch…

…I exhale and chug down my glass of water.

"Well… I dunno," Ruby sinks back into her seat, resting her head on her elbows. "We need people to confess. Who else are we supposed to ask?"

I place it back down, gasping out.

"I'll be right back."

At their confused gazes, I stand up and anxiously make my way towards the brown-eared rabbit faunas. Do I think this will work? Absolutely not but, nothing's lost from trying anyway.

The girl tenses, ears springing up and then falling as she turns around before I fully approach her. We both stare at each other, like two deer with flashlights taped to our heads, waiting for the other to make a move.

Take the first step. It won't kill us.

"Um, h-hi," I stutter.

"H… hello," she stammers back.

We both fall silent…

"D-do you mind if I… sit with you?"

"U-uh…" She fidgets. "Yeah, sure. I-I don't mind."

Carefully, I take the seat right next to her. Wait, this is a bit too personal. Should I have taken the one across from her? Too late now. Gah.

We both fall silent. Again…

"U-um, I-I'm Eren."

"V-Velvet."

We both fall silent. Uh…

Well, this isn't awkward at all.

"S-so…" I say, fingers tapping against my legs. "H-how's your ear?"

Velvet's eyes dart, her knees huddling together, "I-It's fine."

What she really means is, 'I really don't want to talk about it. It sucked. Please drop it.'

"Th-that's good…"

Regret instantly socks me one in the gob. No wonder, I want to punch myself for that bright idea.

Smart choice, Liddell. Bring the subject right to the one thing we know she doesn't want to talk about. What should we do for the next funeral? Ask the crying Mother if the body's still warm after cremation?! Get your act together, you social-moron!

And, back to silence we go. I withhold my despairing sighs. Ugh.

'Take the first step. It won't kill us.' Then why do I feel like dying?!

Okay, okay. Calm down. Maybe try broaching a subject – A good subject. Something we can have a back and forth on, converse normally and not at all awkward and uncomfortable.

My eyes snap as her ears as they twitch and turn again.

"A-are they supposed to do that?"

The question leaves my mouth before I can mediate and oh my god, I went straight back to the rabbit ear thing, what is my malfunction?! Now is not the time for Faunas questions, she's feeling awkward enough as it is, dumbass!

Velvet's ears inflate, "A-ah, it's just a tic I have. I-it happens whenever my ea-" She stops herself, wincing guiltily as her ears quickly fold over and point back over her shoulders. "Ah. S-sorry. You didn't ask for an explanation. F-forget I said anything."

Was… Was that a signal?

She didn't hunch up or reject it immediately. Is she looking to… talk more about it? I mean, I could be projecting my own desires here – Sure, animals are a lot more straight-forward with their body language than humans are but, that doesn't mean that she would-

You know what? Maybe I should just snub my stupid second guessing and just go for it.

"I'd like to hear more, actually."

She blinks, ears pointing towards me, "Really?"

I nod, "I-if you're alright with that?"

Her mouth churns indecisively but eventually, they smooth into a polite, yet somewhat eager, smile.

Good sign! Thank you, snubbing!

"O-okay then." Velvet inhales and then points to her bunny ears, "My ears twitch whenever I need to adjust my hearing. My Faunus trait lets me hear at twice the range than somebody with ordinary ears. I can even swivel each ear independently so I can basically funnel and track sounds from whatever direction they're coming from."

So, not only can she hear further than normal humans, she can tune in and out of specific conversations whenever she pleases. They're like sonar dishes!

"That's so cool!" I enthuse, silently regretting the fact I didn't bring any pen and paper with me. Bleh, me. Bleh your stupid face. "You could detect Grimm ambushes before they even hit you. Your teammates must be very thankful to have you."

"W-well, they are more useful now. During my childhood, I couldn't control them properly. I had to wear earplugs almost all the time or else I would've heard everyone within with a mile. Used to keep me awake at night, amongst other things…"

"All the more reason you should be proud you can control them now," I say, smiling. "The fact they're not causing you any trouble anymore just means you're grown since then."

"I… appreciate the gesture," she says, combing an ear with her fingers. "But these ears have caused me more trouble than sleepless nights ever did…"

I wince. Right. That incident with Russel was just like any other she's had to deal with throughout her life. And unlike the man at the bookstore, Tukson, she's never really had any options to hide it – Not without hurting herself that is. I suppose I wouldn't be any more proud of them if I had to deal with such hatred daily because of them…

All the more reason why I have to do this.

"Velvet." I push the air through my lungs, "You were listening into our conversation, weren't you?"

She nods slowly.

"Then you know why I came to talk to you."

She doesn't nod. Her drooping ears say enough.

I gust out my breath and spin towards, trying my best to look into her glazed over eyes.

"One of my friends is about to leave Beacon. I-I haven't known him very long but, if he goes, he'll be abandoning his lifelong dream. I know it will make him miserable, and Cardin and his asshole friends will just laugh it up like it's something to celebrate because they're responsible for it all."

Velvet doesn't respond. I consider putting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her but, I quickly rule against it. Too forward. All I can do is implore her, "Please. Don't let them control you like they did them. Talk to me."

She glances at me…

And then straight down at the table. "…It's not them I'm worried about."

"Velvet."

A deep, yet smooth voice thrums from above. We turn and-

Holy. Bloody. God.

Okay: Pyrrha – Tall. Professor Goodwitch – Pretty tall. Cardin – Mountain.

This guy, scantly two years older than me but it seems more appropriate, towering above, shadow casting over us like a solar eclipse is a goddamn planet compared to those three! His muscles are the size of craters! Even his school uniform looks like it's just struggling to contain him. This guy, this man, could eat me whole and I wouldn't even be enough as a starter.

Should probably stop staring at him before he gets any ideas then. You goon.

"Y-Yatsu!"

The large man considers me for a moment with his stoic eyes and then focuses on Velvet.

"Coco and Fox's arena fight's about to start," Yatsu states plainly. "We need to hurry."

Velvet shoots up from her seat, "R-right! Right! I'm coming!"

She scrambles around, snatching up all of her books, utensils and all of her studying kits as she stuffs them almost mindlessly into her bag, hurling it onto her back. "Ready," she tells Yatsu.

He nods and begins walking towards the door, his mammoth feet rippling intense vibrations through the floor like a stomping elephant.

Is there something in the water supply? Where can I get some of that?

Velvet stalls for a second. She gazes at me over her shoulder and then averts it, staring down guiltily.

"Sorry, but I need to think about this."

Her feet begin to move, following after her teammate, and she disappears behind the massive double doors.

…So that's a 'Don't count on it' then.

I let my head falls into my bundling arms, a small thunk thrumming against the table as a weary sigh escapes my mouth. Great. Now what do we do? Only plan we have left is just going around asking people if they're being bullied by CRDL, but what are the chances of that working out? No, we need a new plan, but what else is there? Nobody's willing to talk to us.

I trill two fingers against my arm and huff. This is all because of what happened with Jaune. If they were so scared of Cardin before, they'd be petrified of him after busting Jaune's head open. Looks like their tactic worked after all.

Well, yippee for them…

My fingers stop.

That's it.

That's how we'll get them to talk!

Grabbing the thought tightly, I push off from the table and make a beeline back to the group, planting my hands hard on the table as their attention snaps to me.

"I have an idea," I announce, lips pulling. "But you're not going to like it."

"I want to fight you."

Crumbled crisps spew from Bronzewing's mouth. He chokes out, saliva spluttering from his wild coughing fit as his packet tumbles down to litter the eternal dumping ground that is Team CRDL's dorm floor.

If he didn't have a sliver of cup noodles stuck to his lips, Cardin probably would've reacted the same way. Maybe less clumsily, probably more violently. The pause lingers a moment, then he slurps the rest of the cup down, letting the empty cup pop and roll onto their floor bin. His palms rub away at his eyes.

"I think I momentarily blacked out from sheer stupid," he groans, dropping his hands and scowling at me. "What the hell did you just say, Liddell-boy?"

"You heard him," Pyrrha answers dryly.

"I want to fight you," I repeat.

Cardin's face scrunches up violently like he just tasted spoilt grapefruit.

Perched from his spot at the windowsill, Russel snickers and shakes his head, "Holy shit, Cardin. Did you give him brain damage, too?"

Cardin glares at him. Russel's amused smirk disappears, quickly replaced by a scowl and an annoyed flail of the hand. 'What? You did what you did, man,' his face says.

Just then, the bathroom door swings open.

"Brain-what now? Who are you guys talking t-"

Sky, thankfully fully clothed into his casual getup, halts at the sight of our group crowding around their front door for whatever reason. His bewildered quickly wilts away however, when he finally lands on Yang standing right behind me.

She smirks, "Hello, Sky."

And he immediately slams the door shut.

I look back questioningly at Yang and she just grins.

This girl scares me sometimes.

"What's his problem?" Cardin ponders aloud, before redirecting his attention back to us. "Anyway, as much as I'd love to kick your scrawny ass up and down that arena, I can't. Friggen' Goodwitch put me on probation: Five weeks of detention, stricter curfew, I have to be supervised every time I want to grab my mace and most importantly, I'm banned from sparring class until I'm let off! I'm stuck with those worthless hologram dummies in the training rooms. Said I was a 'Danger to others' and she 'Wouldn't willingly force them' to fight me."

Yang snorts, "Maybe it's because you're a total psycho."

"Maybe you can eat me, bimbo."

"Ooh, you'll be eating something in a minute, pal."

Okay, we really don't need these two duking it out right now. They'd destroy the whole floor, holy crap.

"The arena, then," I quickly step in front of Yang, trying my best to sound controlled. "If Professor Goodwitch won't allow us to fight in her class, we'll go to the next best thing. She can't say anything against it if I fought you by choice."

At least, I'm hoping she won't. My plan's kinda buggered if she's blacklisted him from the Arena's registration.

"Great idea, Liddell-boy! Wonderful! Just wonderful! Gold star!" Cardin claps his hands in condescending applause. "Gonna pass on that, though."

"You didn't back down when Jaune challenged you," Ruby harumphs. "Scared that Eren might win?"

"Three syllables. Let me spell them out real slow for you, kindergarten," he sneers, demonstrating with three fingers. "Pro. Ba. Tion. The staff's watching me real closely. One wrong move, and I'm out of this academy for good. Why the hell would I go and risk that just so I can waste thirty seconds of my day indulging Liddell-boy's little vengeance-quest?"

We… have no answer to that. I mean, we thought that just me challenging him alone would be enough to set him off; it happened with Jaune but… I guess not.

I hiss at myself. Damn. The one time we needed his stupidly big ego to act out and it's now of all times he's decided to be rational about it.

"Made my point? Good. Then piss off." He falls back onto his bed, nabbing himself a stray comic book and kicks his feet up. "I'll kick your ass once my probation's done."

Professor Goodwitch never gave an end date as far as I'm aware, I'm guessing that it'd be all behaviour-based. In that case, none of us would know when it would be finished, exactly. Could be weeks, might even be months before she finally drops it and by then, Jaune will have left and maybe even the people CRDL are targeting too.

My teeth grits into my bottom lip. I don't need this fight to happen whenever it can, I need it to happen now.

"I'm not waiting that long," I tell him. "And neither are you."

"Oh yeah?" He challenges, sporting a mildly amused grin. "And what are you gonna do to make me?"

I pause, resting a finger on my chin. Fighting me in itself wasn't enough as I hoped it would. Therefore, I'll need to offer something else to entice him but, what? What do I have that could possibly interest him?

…Ah. I feel an idea click together. So, that's what I have to do, huh?

Fine by me.

"A bet," I say suddenly. "A limited time offer that expires one week from today."

There's a tug at my arm.

"Ooh?" Cardin sniggers, setting the comic aside. "And what are you offering?"

Another, more urgent tug.

"My Huntsman career."

A powerful tug jerks me around.

Ruby. Both of her hands are clutching my arm, her nails pincering in as if to hold me in place, like I was planning on leaving her. I can feel her fingers trembling. A paleness whitening her skin as she digs in harder, hard enough to break skin.

She shakes her head, whispering a wet and pleading, "No."

She's… scared.

She's afraid. I've known Ruby six months and I've never seen her this frightened before. Never: Not during initiation, not during sparring, not even the night she saved my life.

She's afraid… because of me.

I glance at the others, at their disbelieving stares. Yang's look especially is screaming, 'What the hell are you doing?!' at me.

This isn't the time to fall back now.

"Trust me," I whisper back. "Please."

I need your faith. Now more than ever.

Ruby's face churns but, she reluctantly lets go.

"Bull. Shit!" Russel growls, bounding off from his spot. "We've got no leverage over that. How do we know that you'll follow through after Cardin breaks your face in?"

"You have my word," I answer, keeping my face straight.

"Your word…" He scoffs. "What a load."

"You want me gone, right? I lose, I'll leave Beacon. No fuss. Believe me. I have no intentions of backing out." I say, before raising a finger narrowing my eyes into a glare. "But! I'm not risking my career just so I can cut a month off my waiting time. I know what you've been doing to Jaune."

Cardin gives a curt sniff, "So, Jauney-boy snitched on us then."

That's… not exactly true. I wagered that Sky wouldn't have told him what happened, it's not like it would've done him any good if he told Cardin that he basically told me everything, probably told Russel and Bronzewing it would've hurt the team or something along the lines to keep them quiet about it too.

I'm not going to correct him; it won't hurt my plan any if that's what he chooses to believe. Plus, it makes Bronzewing and Russel squirm a little when it's brought up and that's always nice.

And so, I reiterate, "If you win, I'll pack up and you'll never see me in Beacon again. But if I win, you're going to get Jaune to stay by any means necessary. That's my only term."

It might seem like I'm overextending here, but it's simply obstruction. A necessary distraction. For as much as they'd love to watch me walk away from Beacon with my head held in shame, if I were them, I'd be pretty suspicious if someone offered something as life-changing like that for zilch in return.

Besides, it's not like Cardin would ever consider that I'd beat him – Little Eren Liddell? Beat big buff Cardin?

Stop. Please. He can only laugh so hard.

"Alright Liddell-boy," he grins, oozing in arrogant self-satisfaction. "You're on."

Yes!

All we need to do is go to registration and settle on a time.

Cardin stands up and shouts to the bathroom, "Yo, Sky!"

Clunk!

There's a sound of metal meeting metal and funnelling of wet hissing spurting soon after it. Through the crack of the door comes a trickle of water, then streams, and eventually a whole wave soaking the carpet in a dirty brownish sponge. The half-chewed chocolate wrappings don't help the colouring.

Bronzewing gapes, "D… Did he just break our shower?"

"What the hell is going on with him?"

Yang snickers into my ear.

Seriously, what did she do to him?!

The Scroll reader blinks blue, the instructions flashes on the registration devices user interface.

I swipe into it first: It acknowledges with a ping.

Cardin's next, barging me aside and swiping in: Thankfully, it acknowledges with a ping and, after a couple of moments of bringing up our student profiles and other technical procedures, the device screen confirms the settled settings.

Eren Liddell Vs. Cardin Winchester.
Three-minute singles match.
Next Friday. 2:55PM.

And so, it is set.

"Better start counting, Liddell. This is your last week in Beacon academy," Cardin spins around and starts swaggering away. "Savour every minute."

Bronzewing quickly follows after him, like a scared puppy scampering after his owner. Probably doesn't want to be stuck alone with the scary pretty lady after what happened last time.

Russel however… lingers, staring very intently at us. At first, I think it's me he's louring at or even Yang for that sucker-punch she gave him but, line-of-sight doesn't quite match-up. He turns away, albeit shuffling his feet somewhat.

Then he stops. He growls out a harsh batch of breathe.

"What the hell are you doing, Schnee-Dust?"

Russel rounds back on us, wearing a particularly stormy scowl, "I can get these dipshits being stupid enough to support those mass murdering monsters, but you? Don't buy it. You know just as well as I do what they're capable of and what they will do if they're ever given an inch. Why the hell are you helping them?"

Weiss raises an eyebrow, "Implying that I should be helping you?"

"Hell the fuck yes you should be helping us!" He barks. "I don't give a crap about those other assholes but, I'll be damned if I'm ever letting the White Fang into Beacon and you shouldn't-"

"Very sorry, but I'm not here for whatever it is you believe I'm here for. I'm here for my team," she says simply, as if it should be a clear fact, before narrowing at Russel. "And also because I have little tolerance for your team's arrogance, barbarism and obnoxious self-righteousness. That is all."

Russel snarls at her. Pyrrha and Yang stand her side like two muscular bodyguards, postures aggressive and stances ready to intercept as soon as Russel makes a move.

"Russel, what are you doing?" Cardin calls gruffly. "Come on."

Russel… decides to veer back. Good choice. I know he's the type for restraint but there was no way that this situation was going to end well for him, or for his team for that matter.

He clicks his tongue spitefully, "Tch. Whatever. Don't blame me the day they put your pop's head to the chopping block."

Russel leaves to regroup with his team, disappearing up the stairs to wherever isn't here, and I let out a small sigh of relief.

Be honest, would you put it past him to strike an outnumbering group?

I look at Weiss, eying the stairs as if to ensure that Russel's gone, and I ask her, "What was that all about?"

She sighs, "It doesn't matter. I stopped caring halfway through."

Not sure if I should really buy that but, honestly, it sounds like just the biggest kettle of drama and the last thing Weiss and I need right now is more of that, no thanks.

"More importantly…"

Weiss shoots me a glare. So do Yang and Pyrrha for that matter. Ruby's just staring at the ground.

Ah. Right. This.

I huff out a sigh, walk away a couple of paces and, like a crooked president on a podium, I stand straight in front of them.

"Fire away."

And so they do. Excluding Ruby, the girls let out all their criticism in one go: ranging from irate ranting -Weiss- to raging frustration -Yang- to an almost motherly scolding -Pyrrha-, everybody overlapping the other until it just devolves into no better than scraggily radio noises.

Scrutiny in stereo. Blasting straight from their mouths to my ears.

Disclaimer: Eardrums not included.

"What were you thinking?!" Weiss screeches. Nice to see she's crawling out of her shell, finally. Definitely not nice to hear, though. Ow.

I rub my poor, poor ears, "I did say you wouldn't like it."

"Yeah, no kidding," Yang grunts. "You missed out the part where you planned to bet your Huntsman career when you pitched this 'idea!'"

I scratch the back of my neck bashfully. To be fair, that part was a… mostly an on the fly thing. Not that any of them would accept that as an excuse.

Hell, not even Pyrrha's willing to grant me any mercy here, "This is far too reckless."

Yang lets out an exasperate groan, "Eren, I swear, if you did this out of some overwhelming guilt-"

"That's not it!" I interject, heat sharpening my tone rougher than I'd like. It doesn't really do anything to dissuade their disapproving glances but still, I'm not trying to commit career seppuku for the sake of it here. There's more at stake than that.

"We need this fight. We need to get Cardin in that arena, in front of all those people they've tormented, and I need to beat him. It'll tear down their image of him as this 'Unbeatable monster.' That's how we'll get them to talk," I tell them. It's a copycat of a plan, I'll freely admit that, but if it worked to keep them silent then it can work the other way too. "And if I need to use my Huntsman career as bait to reel him in then that's what I will do."

"And what of LABS?" Weiss folds her arms, "What do you expect will happen to us if you leave?"

I shake my head, "Weiss, if I fail here, then I wouldn't be any better as team leader."

Pyrrha sighs, "Does it have to be you?"

The simple answer is yes.

To be more elaborate; I point to each of them.

Pyrrha - "Exceptional dualist."

Yang - "Juggernaut pyromania."

Weiss - "Magic knight heiress."

Ruby - "Grade 'A' gunsmith and scythe-wielding prodigy."

And finally, myself - "Neurotic pipsqueak with a gun. Who would you be more embarrassed to lose to?"

Yang and Pyrrha frown, especially at the description I gave myself, but I'm not wrong here. I've seen the way our classmates look at me with such disdain, 'The coward who doesn't fight.' They expect way less out of me than they do these girls. I… I have a reputation here. A reputation I can use against CRDL.

They might disagree, but I won't budge. I know this is the right thing to do.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't consult you guys on this but, this has always been my problem. This is my decision and I'm not sorry for making it," I say but, none of them seem convinced. "Think of it this way; I wouldn't have been personally affected if I lost before. Now I have extra incentive not to."

Granted, that's a very twisted way of viewing things but, hey, this is a very twisted situation.

"Can you win?"

I blink. Ruby's looking up now, right at me, wearing an... indescribable expression.

"I have t-"

"Don't say that!"

Her piercing tone sends me reeling. With a scowl permeating across her face, she strides up to me, "Don't give me any of that stupid 'I have to' stuff! It's not fair on us!"

"Ruby…"

…She's right. It's not fair.

I'm asking them to believe in me and then I just turn around and tell them that I don't? After what I just pulled? It's the same as telling them I'm going to lose and just abandon everything. That's not right. That's not fair.

And it's especially not fair to her.

"Look me in the eyes," she tells me. "Look me in the eyes, tell me that you can win and make me believe it."

…Yes. She deserves that. She deserves reassurance after everything that's happened. I owe her that.

So I stare at her, deep in her shining silver eyes and I promise her with mustered earnestness.

"I. Will. Win."

Ruby absorbs, contemplates them.

And she smiles.

"I believe you."

I smile back at her. It doesn't matter if I don't fully believe in myself. What matters is that I have a reason to believe and that'll be enough to pull me through. Like it always has before.

"Technically speaking," Pyrrha says, gingerly tapping a finger against her cheek in thought. "Eren does have the advantage in agility. Should he play his hand right, it's entirely possible he could last the entire three minutes without getting a scratch. However…"

However, surviving isn't going to be enough to sway their targets. Telling these people, 'This man is survivable' wouldn't be nearly be impactful or impressive as telling them 'This man is beatable' in order to convince them to talk.

I need to win and to do that, I need firepower.

"Weiss?" Yang calls. "Where are you going?"

I snap up. Walking in the opposite direction of Team CRDL, Weiss turns around wearing a deadpan expression.

"A week's hardly much time, isn't it?" She answers dryly. "I have to start preparing immediately if he's going to win."

Assuming her answer was sufficiently informative, Weiss strides away in whatever direction she's going to. Alright. Bit ambiguous, that.

"Any idea what's she talking about?" Ruby asks.

"I think I do," I answer. I have no idea what'll exactly come from it but, if there was one positive thing I could remark about Weiss before today is that she prides efficiency above all else. Whatever she gives me for the fight, I'm certain I'll make the utmost use of it.

Probably.

"Ruby-"

She stops me with a hand, "I've been waiting for those magic words for six months. I need a moment to prepare myself."

Uh, alright.

Ruby inhales air through his nostrils, her shoulders rising as they flex and tense together.

Then, she exhales, letting the tendons in her shoulders unravel and unfurl. She sighs contently.

"Okay. Go."

"Will you upgrade Warbreaker for m-"

"YES!" She crows. Loudly. So, so very loudly. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Ow, ow, ow! My ears are ringing again. Seriously. Ow!

"I'll go grab my blueprints, going to be a pain trying to pick between all three dozen of them but, hey, my baby girl deserves the best. She has to grow up all big and strong like her big sis Crescent Rose," she sighs dreamily. I can just picture the cloud above her head, various consorted and convoluted ideas racing throughs like a one-man factory production line. "Stop by our dorm later and we can get to work. See ya then!"

And so, Ruby bounces away like a six-year-old chasing after an ice-cream van.

I choke out a laugh at the absurdity of it all. Girl could be forced to make rifles for everyone in NATO and she'd be glowering the entire time.

Ah, she's so weird. But, in a good way.

"Baby girl?" Pyrrha asks, rightfully befuddled.

"Ruby calls Warbreaker Violet Vigil and it's a she," Yang clarifies.

I nod, "It makes her happy."

"I, uh, see."

No, she doesn't.

"Guess that leaves us to take care of the training." Yang begins stretching her arms, punching fist into open palm with a satisfying smack and sporting herself a very eager grin. "Alright! What do you wanna do, Eren? Got seven days, better make the most of them."

I rest a finger around my chin. Seven days. How much can I make with seven days of training?

Maintenance, probably. Qrow and I didn't exactly make magic in our first week of training or anything. Beacon has a couple of shooting ranges around that I can spruce up my skills at but, no matter how intense the training, there's no way I'd be able to make up the difference between Cardin and I in a week. Especially not strength-wise. Like hell that'd happen. No. I don't need to fight stronger.

What I need is to fight smarter.

Good thing I have the best girl for the job.

"Pyrrha, you remember our talk on long-ranged fighters in the Professional circuit?"

She blinks, then a knowing smile spreads across her face, "Yes, I do."

Perfect.

"I'd like to learn how they fight solo."

A/N: So... Hi there. Been a while. Life kinda happened. Had to step away from this chunky story for a bit and come back to it. If the prose seems like a total mess to any of you, that's because it is but really, I don't want to linger anymore on this chapter than I already have.

To everyone who's still reading this, thank you very much for sticking around. You have the patience of saints. To those who aren't, I don't blame you one bit. I am a total writing mess. Kind of like this chapter!

Thank you very much for reading. How do you guys feel about the story so far? Be sure to let me know in the reviews. Constructive criticism is encouraged!