Chapter 9: Looming Truths
Blake would be lying if she said she wasn't agitated by Yang's antics.
She would also be lying if she said that she didn't understand the need for personal space.
For a team of women such as themselves, privacy was a rare thing. They'd been smooshed together like a can of sardines for three long years. Learning when to willfully ignore her teammates came with the territory. After all, they couldn't always be nosing around in each other's personal lives. That only offered a recipe for complete disaster. In truth, there'd been countless fights over the years because of someone crossing a line or two by accident.
It was a slippery slope, and Blake had to be very weary of her fragile place within the team.
Ruby and Yang were sisters, kinfolk, family. Purely by that extension, they shared a history. There were little truths that Blake knew, ones that Yang didn't want anyone knowing. Yet, purely by virtue of dating Ruby, Blake did know those tiny things. For anyone else, Yang's standoffish attitude might have meant nothing, but the Faunus wasn't so sure. The sisters were both sentimental creatures in their own way. They were damaged beyond repair in others.
Ruby might be the one that acted socially awkward, but she was not the only sibling to lack social skills. On some level, Yang was worse, and she had every right to be.
The blonde had been betrayed one too many times. She had been hurt in ways that were incomprehensible to the Faunus. The evidence was clear as day, laid in front of her by a series of little white lies and thousands of lonely smiles. Simple little phrases carried a weight that had to be burdensome. Even Ruby's desire to be a huntress came with a simple, yet gory truth. It was, after all, a violent ambition. They were selfsame as siblings in that regard. Both of them were angry at the things that had been ripped away from them.
The difference was that Ruby's anger only pinpointed one target; the Grimm.
Yang's anger had no real target.
Instead, her rage bubbled from the ghosts of her past. It continued to boil because of the losses she couldn't salvage from the wreckage known as time.
That's also why Blake knew the truth about Yang's sexual inclinations. Yang wasn't promiscuous simply for the sake of it. She did it because keeping people at arm's length hurt less. That way, they wouldn't have a chance to hurt her. She would never truly risk being hurt again. She could be held, but that was fleeting. She could find release, but not stability. She could be liked, but not loved. Coveted, but never kept.
She could be the happy-go-lucky brawler, with that faintly waning smile.
Blake wanted to slap that stupid shit-eating grin right off of Yang's face. She wanted the blonde to see what she truly had, the people she had, waiting for her. Yet, Blake couldn't do that, either. Her mind couldn't grapple with those small little facts, even as she concluded that they were the cause of this massive problem. She couldn't dignify Yang's behavior, even if she understood it. She couldn't placate Weiss, even though she desperately wanted to. She couldn't look at Ruby without seeing the shards of a broken family, and she couldn't stand any of it.
An agitated snarl worked it's way up from her throat.
"Blakey, you're doing it again." Ruby said knowingly, though she didn't look up from her videogame.
The Faunus only grunted, one ear folding back in dismay as she reached to scratch an itch. Then she flopped onto her side, a low utterance falling from her lips.
Silver eyes caught the flash of white as the Faunus laid on her side. Her back on display as she curled around herself to face the wall. Ruby waited a moment before talking casually as ever. "If you mumble like that, I can't hear you."
"I said, your sister is a pain in my ass." Blake said loud enough for Ruby her hear.
"Ah…"
"There is a bigger problem going on, I just don't know what that is. She won't tell me."
Ruby set down her scroll, her playable character meeting its demise. Instead she edged over across the small seam that separated the two mattresses. She also flopped down then, laying hallway across her annoyed girlfriend. "It's not like I'm completely clueless." Ruby said then, as she regraded Blake's agitation with a gentle expression. "Yang tries to hide it, but she's always been pretty easy to read."
"That idiot…" Blake mumbled then.
Ruby chuckled under her breath as she reached over to push a strand of curly black hair behind Blake's human ear. "I know that's not what's bugging you, though."
"What if she's not okay with us?" Blake asked. "What if she's just pretending that she is, just for our sake?"
"Hmm. I don't know." Ruby shrugged then. "I guess I never thought of it that way."
"Yang bites her tongue a lot more than we give her credit for." Blake said then, regarding Ruby with a quiet sense of thoughtfulness. It lingered in the soft vibrato of her voice. "She puts up those stupid fake smiles, and I keep waiting for the inevitable…and it just doesn't come. I hope I'm wrong, but, what if I'm not? If that's the case, it's just another strike against us."
Ruby nodded in understanding, as she sat back up. "Your still thinking about your dad, aren't you?"
"It's hard not to." Blake admitted. "He really doesn't want you and I to be a couple. He hasn't tried to put a stop to it yet, but I know he's not happy."
"So, he's a little gruff, so what?" Ruby said with a laugh. "My dad will probably be over protective too. Don't even get me started on me uncle."
"Aren't you in the least bit intimidated?" Golden eyes flicked over to Ruby. The young woman just sat there, thinking. Whatever was rolling around in her head didn't seem to bother her. Instead, she only shrugged, grabbing her scroll once more.
"Right now? Nope." Ruby said, laying back down as she restarted her game once more. "I mean, he's your dad, Blakey. It's not like he's a Grimm." Rolling onto her side, she waited for the Faunus to embrace her before pressing she start screen. "Besides, we're still students, so we don't have to worry about anything yet. So for right now, I just want to enjoy what we have."
Faunus ears flicked backwards for a moment before returning to their natural state. The handful of rebuttals seemed so small compared to Ruby's words. Blake swallowed them down, and closed her eyes. The soft scent of roses permeated her senses, quelling any lingering doubts. She buried her nose in that scent, letting it suffuse her entire being.
Ruby was right, sometimes it was just better to enjoy the moment.
The dull roar of chattering teams did nothing but annoy Weiss on the weekends.
During the actual school week, people tended to be quieter, more subdued. Those without weekend classes simply enjoyed their day for what it was. Meanwhile, club activities took place unabashedly on Saturday for those foolish enough to join one. Particularly studious fourth year students found themselves cobbled together in small class sizes. Usually they looked to be half-asleep, but even the multiple professors looked a little more unkempt than they usually were.
Saturday was just that sort of day.
Bartholomew Oobleck was holding up the coffee line again, his shirt and tie even more rumpled than normal. His hair hadn't been tended to in the slightest. He meticulously tried each and every coffee on the counter before making his selection. Just as he began to make a choice, he placed coffee pot down and tasted each and every one of them again.
Weiss cast her gaze around the room. She almost instantly spotted three fourths of Jaune's team sitting at a far table. The blonde boy tried to curtail Nora guzzling the maple syrup, failing spectacularly. Across from them, Blake seemed be trying to hamper Ruby's ingestion of cookies, looking even less successful. Then Ren finally saved the day, sliding two plates of pancake's in front of the troublesome duo.
There was a distinct lack of messy blonde hair and uproarious laughter at the table. Yang wasn't there.
Weiss had begun to notice a pattern in Yang's scarcity. For as insufferably loud as she could be, seemed unusually quiet even with Nora's encouragement. The blonde was either absent or distracted, plain and simple. She had been avoiding mealtimes and wandering off alone. Ruby and Blake assumed that Yang was just caught up in classes, which seemed like a rational assumption.
Yang's workload was no less difficult than their own.
Finally, it was her turn to step up to the coffee bar. Weiss poured her coffee distractedly before walking into one of the small meeting rooms connected to the eatery. There, a handful of other female students sat gathered around a circular table. Professor Goodwitch also sat at the table, her hair down from its usual bun and glasses set off to the side. She stifled a yawn as she drank from her own cup of coffee. A thin booklet sat in front of her, though the blonde haired teacher seemed uninterested in it.
"Miss Schnee, so good of you to finally join us." Glynda quipped dryly.
"Doctor Oobleck was in front of me in the coffee line." Weiss deadpanned in equal measure. Her usual zest for education dwindling in the early morning.
"Better you, than me." Glynda scoffed inelegantly, having suffered similar fates countless times in the past. His obsession with the student coffee bar was legendary, matched only by the one found hidden away in Ozpin's office. "Take your seat so that we may begin."
Weiss chose the chair nearest to Pyrrha. The champion was much more pleasant, even if the sun had yet to rise. Pyrrha only offered a waning smile as Weiss gulped down her coffee as though it were her only connection to life. Perhaps it was, if the bags under her eyes were any indication. Across the table, Glynda seemed to do the same. Finally Glynda set down her mug and cleared her throat.
"Well, now that we're all here, welcome to the continuation of huntress studies." Glynda looked down at the thin book, flipping some of the pages "Does anyone remember where we left off?"
"We were discussing feminism as it applies to huntresses." Cinder Fall, the newest addition to the class replied airily. "It turned into something of a debate."
"Indeed, if you can call the drivel that poured out of your mouth, debatable" Weiss muttered, glaring daggers as the last heated debate came to mind. "Truthfully, I find it comical that you have an opinion on the matter."
"Don't you?" Cinder said with an elegantly upraised brow.
"Your misogynist of a teammate leads me to think otherwise." Weiss said primly, her ire particularly chilly in the early hour. "You allow him to run his mouth off at every turn."
Cinder just smiled softly, but there was a bite in her tone. "If you're referring to Mercury, he's completely harmless."
"Either that, or you're completely incompetent as his team leader." Weiss said, matching every inch of Cinder's tone with her own frosty tone. "I'm inclined to believe it's the latter."
"That's enough of that." Glynda cut in, feeling her own ire spark as her class got off to a rough start. She groaned inwardly, rubbing her eyes. Weiss Schnee was every bit as opinionated as her elder sister, and twice as likely to voice those opinions. It never seemed to bode well. "Yes, we were discussing that topic rather heatedly, now weren't we? Several personal disputes came to light, which I remind you, are strictly that. They have no need to be brought up in this space. If you truly take issue with each other, you may address that in the arena."
"Formal arrangements could be made." Cinder offered her eyes glimmering in delight.
"Gladly." Weiss remarked coolly.
"Perhaps another time." Glynda hedged, folding her hands gently onto the table. "Now, unless there is something meaningful to be had within this dispute, I'd suggest you put the matter aside."
"No, actually professor, I think the intent bears consideration." Pyrrha replied.
The professor inclined one eyebrow, tilting her head slightly in fascination. At least the redhead was mild mannered. "Elaborate, Miss Nikos."
"Well, the topic at hand isn't uncommon. In my own life, I've heard the accusation made often enough." Pyrrha replied, her mind entirely on the class. "Some think that a women have problems controlling male teammates. At least, that is the implication. If we were to explore that notion, we might find meaningful debate in that. After all, team leaders like Cinder tend to be within the minority."
The girls around the table murmured amongst themselves until one of them spoke up. "Uh, have you seen Beacon?" One of the other girls in class chimed in, obnoxiously fiddling with her nails. "Chicks and dudes are pretty equal."
Pyrrha only nodded. "I realize it seems that way. One might argue that female huntresses are rarely placed in positions of power, including minor ones. Beacon is one of the few schools that actively place women in roles of leadership just as equally as men. The same standards do not hold true for our sister academies. Furthermore the same cannot be said for teams formed outside of Beacon. Vale still largely seeks men for leadership."
"Intriguing notion, in its own way." The professor replied as she paused to take another sip of her drink. "While I don't inherently disagree, what evidence do you have to support your claim?"
"The numbers don't lie, Professor." Pyrrha said simply. "Atlas has the worst statistics of all. Only one fifth of teams are assigned a female leader. Of those, over eighty percent of them seemed to be from teams comprised entirely of women."
"And would anyone be willing to make a rebuttal?" Glynda replied.
"I would." Weiss supplied, blue eyes willingly seeking the intellectual challenge. "Atlas doesn't have the same number of female students enrolling, comparatively speaking. Men are more commonly encouraged to join the combat schools. The numbers Pyrrha stated reflect that. Being a huntress is atypical of the traditional atlesian woman. Atlas is, as we previously discussed, a kingdom that relies strongly on patriarchy. I won't argue its sexist leanings. What I will argue, is that the women of Atlas who have risen to the occasion do receive an equal opportunity. It's merely that less of them choose to do so."
Glynda seemed to consider the topic before looking up at the clock. "Alright then, that seems like a good place to start as any. Miss Nikos, you may begin to defend your claim..."
"Are you alright?" Pyrrha asked after the class had been dismissed.
She had hoped allowing Weiss a proper debate would calm her down. Yet, that was not the case. Weiss was still angry, her annoyance edging into all of her words.
"I'm fine." Weiss said in a tone that demanded that the topic be dropped.
A lesser person might not have been able to navigate the chilly temperament. Those among certain circles would have thought it insane to try. Pyrrha wasn't so easily intimidated. She knew the affluent world that Weiss had been raised into. She understood the impossibly high demands of pomp and circumstance that had built Weiss from the ground up. She too, had been put on a pedestal and paraded around with little consideration towards her feelings on the matter.
"If you want me to believe that, you really should stop scowling so much." Pyrrha said with a small laugh. "If you're still angry about Cinder, I don't even know why she bothers you."
"I don't have an issue with Cinder on a personal level. I don't even know her. It's her team I take issue with. She's a poor leader, and that's just the way I see it." Weiss replied hotly. "She should have better control of her teammate."
"Yes, because our team leaders have exemplary control over what you and I do." Pyrrha laughed, causing Weiss to turn on a dime.
"Don't misunderstand my point." Weiss said, looking up into that beatific face that everyone told her she should love. The reserved humor dancing in Pyrrha's eyes couldn't hold a candle to Yang's smile. "I have said things that have been challenged. I have done things that Ruby would not let slide. The racially inaccurate sentiments I used to harbor were only put into question because my team leader forced me to question them."
"It helps that you are a genuinely good person, Weiss." Pyrrha remarked. "Don't cut yourself short, either."
"Regardless, I had enough respect for Ruby to consider her words. At the time, I couldn't offer Blake that same respect." Weiss said honestly. "The same could be said for Jaune when it comes to your team, Pyrrha. You have every reason to think him inadequate, and yet, you don't. The reason why doesn't matter, only the result. The mark of a leader isn't quantified by their ability in battle. It's the ability to earn and maintain respect."
"While I agree with you, I don't seem to understand how that involves Cinder."
"There comes a point where we must capitulate with our leaders, even if we may not agree with them." Weiss said, perhaps the current circumstances with Yang colored her words. It certainly made them ring true, as she followed Ruby's guidance not to push Yang too far. Weiss still felt a deep desire to press the matter. "If Ruby didn't have my respect that would be impossible. It will always be that simple. If our team leaders say jump, we ask how high. That's the way it should be."
"And extrapolating from that, you feel as if Cinder hasn't earned her team's respect?" Pyrrha asked.
"I think Cinder doesn't know her own place, or she simply doesn't care. She has a very self-absorbed moral compass. It shows by how 'harmless' she thinks her teammate really is." Weiss said as she shook her head, trying to clear the fog. "Compare her actions to our own team leaders."
"I don't know her well enough to do so." Pyrrha admitted.
Weiss only huffed, aggravated. "Then compare and contrast. It doesn't matter how lacking I think Jaune is, he would never put up with a teammate like Mercury. He has never tolerated unmitigated racism and bigotry. He most certainly wouldn't ever belittle you purely based on your gender. Neither would Ruby. If I acted like Mercury does, she would certainly have something to say to me. I know that from firsthand experience."
As Pyrrha was about to say something, a camera's flash went off in her face. A reporter looking at them both expectantly from the safety of the window. Green eyes blinked rapidly before turning into a disapproving glair as the man scurried off. The two women shared a look to his retreating form.
Weiss glanced over to the champion who walked just a little too close to her side, and put more space between them. Pyrrha's warmth was different from Yang's. It was no less gentle, of course, and no less genuine. Yet what made Yang so alluring was not her warm aura, but the bombastic way in which she used it. Choosing to live life with very little regard for what might seem prim and proper. Pyrrha was schooled and measured, where others were not.
The rumors around the school had done some rather questionable things to the social identity of the disowned heiress.
Weiss flicked her gaze over to Pyrrha once more. Of course people who didn't know them at all would think they were dating. They both carried an image of refinery that looked pleasant to the eyes. They were both surrounded by people who were less than photogenic to the mass media, and had no idea how to behave themselves in front of public scrutiny.
Pyrrha Nikos was different.
She had everything. Good looks, great pedigree, accomplishments from a young age, and even a demure personality. She was, in the eyes of many, a perfect woman. If that woman was to be with anyone at all, one look at their friends made it seem obvious. Those who made the Schnee's unreachable had done the same to Pyrrha Nikos. Thus, Weiss could be the only option the tabloids had to latch into.
The media were going to have a field day with that picture, even if it was only of two friends standing side by side. As usual, they ignored the minor annoyance. The people who knew them, knew the truth.
"You aren't truly going to fight Cinder in the arena, are you?" Pyrrha asked worriedly. "It wouldn't solve anything."
"That entirely depends." Weiss replied.
"On?" Pyrrha murmured, almost afraid of the answer.
"Just how far she crosses the line." Weiss said. "If she won't handle her teammate, she's part of the problem. I don't have to stand for that."
Even on a Saturday, they couldn't just lay around.
After her morning classes, Weiss had managed to goad her entire team into studying. The white haired woman had to acknowledge the thick stacks of books that sounded them. It might have been a bit too much. Even so, Weiss had made sure that Yang couldn't escape the study session. Although, by the looks of it, she desperately wanted to. Yang seemed exhausted. Obviously, she was pushing herself in ways that tested her body to the limit. In fairness, though, Weiss knew she was doing the same.
After the study session ended, Weiss headed for the gym. She needed workout of her own.
Donning a standard issue swimsuit that had been provided by Beacon academy, Weiss had dove into the water with a swimmers grace. She swam aimlessly at first. Acclimating to the cool temperature of chlorinated water. She would dive into one end of the pool and swim across. Then she would, climb out, and dive back in and swim to the other. She did many laps this way, examining the ripples in the water.
Every time she dove in, her impossibly long hair trailed like silk behind her. She knew there'd be tangles to smooth out in the aftermath. Usually, that would have been a deterrent for entering the water. Today, it wasn't even on her mind. Instead, she swam just like she would have in her private pool at home. She wanted to think back to simpler days, when her training had been reduced to child's play. She used to splash around, making waves and ruining her graceful form.
Winter used to scold her back then for being foolish and wasting time. In some ways, she wished Winter would scold her now for the same thing.
After all, wasn't that what love was? A whimsical emotion? A childish thing? A total waste of time?
Weiss had never known romantic love. She had never experienced true carnal desire. She had read many dissertations on both topics, but they were only that. Written texts for which she had no practical or applied knowledge. At first, she had been alright with that. Now, it wasn't nearly enough. It was maddening just how little Weiss knew on the topic. She wished to know so much more.
Worse yet, was that she would never trade her dignity for those all-too-important revelations.
Even if she might be able to have them with Yang. Even if the fog would clear, and smash away the delusions of what love actually was. Even with the promises of finally meeting reality, Weiss couldn't bring herself to tell Yang about her feelings.
That's why it hurt so much.
Frankly, the blonde woman that had done the impossible. Weiss had never thought for a second that Yang would capture her heart. That Yang hadn't even noticed, hurt too. It boiled her blood to know that Yang was so blind to it, and also sleeping around. A bubbling sense of jealousy made her heart clench painfully. She'd never before known the names of the people Yang hooked up with. She had never had to face that person in a crowd. Now, she couldn't escape it, even if she wanted to.
Every day Weiss saw the grey hired huntsman-in-training.
Each and every time, she felt a stab in her chest.
Just looking at him made her feel sick. She could remember his words in the library. According to him, Yang had asked for more. According to him, he had turned her down. According to him, she had been meaningless. According to him, he'd thrown away the one thing Weiss so desperately craved, and he didn't even seem to care.
Weiss grit her teeth as she swam faster, chest burning as she gasped for air.
Her arms and legs propelled her unrelentingly as she pushed forward. Her heart and mind trying to escape the doubts growing within. In her memory, she could see how he slouched back in his chair. A smug expression coloring his tone as he talked about Yang. Obviously, she had meant nothing to him.
All Weiss could recall was fury. She'd wanted to do more than tell him off. She had wanted to hurt him. Harm him more than what any sane, stable-minded person, would want to do.
At least, that's what Weiss had told herself.
So, she left the situation. She stormed off, slamming the door behind her. The door had since been replaced. She had gotten off the hook with a reprimand. Now, there was only bitterness in the wake of the memory. She hated that library table. She hated the chair upon which he sat. She hated his filthy words, and his disgusting laugh. She hated him.
She absolutely, loathed Mercury Black.
Most of all, she despised the sickening question that had settled in her head.
Had Yang actually loved him?