Things had changed in RWBY's dorm room since that mission two weeks prior, and Weiss wasn't quite sure what had happened. She had woken up the next day to find that Ruby had woken before her. As out of character as that was, Weiss didn't dwell on it since it had happened the odd time over the past few years.
Though Blake spoke to her on occasion when Yang wasn't in the room, she seemed to be folding her nose even deeper into her ever-present books when Yang was there. Often she'd offer a quiet hum as answer to a question directed to her, or she'd simply ask not to be disturbed while she was reading. And while the rest of the team was used to the latter of the two tendencies, the former had their leader starting to worry even if she didn't admit it openly.
But from the three members of her team, the one who's change was most confusing was Yang's. Weiss had spoken with her only twice over as many weeks, and both times had been out of necessity. That in itself, Weiss could live with. Especially considering she disliked the blond's constant puns and general disrespect for her. But what was going on was something she'd never imagined.
Yang seemed to outright ignore her. She'd give no indication she'd see her enter the room, she wouldn't greet her with a nick-name, or comment on the fact that her entire outfit was white. She wouldn't make a horrible pun from anything she said. In fact, Weiss was fairly certain Yang was tuning her out on the odd occasion she'd be speaking to the room at large. She passed her in the halls without even a glance of recognition, and would simply ignore whenever someone referred to her as a teammate.
Weiss knew Yang enough to know that sort of treatment wouldn't go unwarranted in some way or another, but that was Weiss's conundrum. To her extensive memory, she hadn't done anything to deserve the ghost treatment she was receiving. And, though she'd never admit it to a single living soul, it hurt. The past few days she'd even found herself wishing the brawler would just start making puns about her obsessive grammar, or warn her not to get lost in the snow.
And if she described Yang's change as unprecedented, then Ruby's was exponentially so. Since that first day, Weiss had dismissed the notion that it was chance that found Ruby awake before her. The younger girl appeared to be studying, though what she was studying throughout each and every day was a mystery.
Every morning, Weiss would find Ruby scrolling through text on her scroll. And it wasn't the kind you'd call light reading. She had a notebook resting beside her with a pen that she seemed to be using to jot down notes with numbers and the odd word that was scribbled so badly Weiss couldn't make it out without looking closely. Once, and only once, she caught a glimpse of a graph as she was walking by that she could have sworn was a stock management tool.
Ruby's attitude, however, seemed to have returned to normal. She laughed and joked with the heiress as usual, the flirting still present in almost every interaction. But Weiss could tell something was not right. Ruby's smile was never as bright as it had been before, her laugh missing the musical note that Weiss had come to know. And Weiss couldn't help but think she was the reason it had gone.
Yet not once could she offer Ruby an apology. The one time she'd tried, Ruby had shot her down saying she would win Weiss over yet. Even with graduation looming and the clock working against her, Weiss had never heard her resolve as clear as it had been when she'd said that. It was even more powerful than the time she'd told Weiss she was going to take being a leader seriously in their first year. It was the attitude that told Weiss that no matter what, she'd do anything to achieve her goal. And if Weiss was completely honest with herself, it suited Ruby.
"Something on your mind?" The kind voice broke through her thoughts and she looked around at its source.
"Yeah! You never can't study! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO WEISS SCHNEE?" Nora yelled from her spot beside Pyrrha.
"Nora, be quiet. We don't want to get kicked out again." Ren spoke from across the table. Out of everyone, Nora seemed to only have ears for him and quieted down.
"But anyway, you've just been tapping your pencil on your paper for like, twenty minutes straight." Nora spoke in a hush.
"If you need someone to talk to, we're all here if you need us." Jaune said with a gesture to include the rest of his team in his offer.
"Thank you, but that won't…" Weiss trailed off as Yang walked through the doors. As was usual, her eyes slid over the heiress before finding the others.
Weiss looked down at her hands as she waited for the inevitable encounter to end. She already knew how it was going to go, and knew that it would be best if she just kept quiet.
"Hey guys!" Yang greeted the table as she approached. "Just wanted to see what you guys were doing later. Thought we could have a good old fashioned RWBY vs JNPR spar."
"Actually, we have a mission tomorrow, so we'll need our rest." Jaune said with an apologetic smile. "Sorry."
"Not a prob!" Yang waved as she continued past the table. "Maybe another time then."
"BYE!" Nora waved as her team shushed her.
A moment passed before Weiss looked up to find all eight eyes of JNPR on her.
"I would ask, but I think we all know what's up." Ren stated the obvious as they waited for Weiss.
She sighed and placed her pencil gently atop her blank page and took a deep breath. "It's not just her. My whole team is acting strangely."
"Really? How so?" Pyrrha asked while Ren stood to take a fidgeting Nora out of the library. By now she was used to the two disappearing so as not to disrupt the others.
"Ruby's gone study-crazy like she was at the beginning of first year but she's definitely not studying anything for her classes. Yang, as you could see, seems to have denied my existence entirely which is somewhat disconcerting. And Blake…" Weiss trailed off. She didn't exactly know how to explain that one. "She seems to be disconnecting again."
"Are you sure she hasn't just found a new series?" Jaune asked, knowing the tendencies of the faunus girl.
"It's been two weeks now." Weiss said as she closed her eyes to rub them. "And everything started at the exact same time."
"Oh…" Jaune replied dejectedly. "I guess that isn't it then…."
The group sat in silent contemplation, thinking of Weiss's teammates and why they'd be acting strange, yet only enough so someone on their team would notice. Weiss found herself simply cycling through the usual questions that she'd asked repeatedly over the last few days. Why is everyone acting differently? What made them change? Was it her fault? No answers were provided.
"Maybe the best thing to do would be to have a team meeting." Jaune suggested at length. Weiss turned her attention away from her blank paper to look at the other leader. He noticed her stare and sighed before he continued. "Something we've done as a team over the past few years was to have a monthly meeting where we could say every little thing that bugged us about each other, in a 'no holds barred' sort of way. That way we could learn to cooperate better or work on things like not getting kicked out of the library."
"But the important thing is that everyone has to agree to keep their feelings to themselves about what is said about them. Otherwise it doesn't work." Pyrrha noted.
Weiss gave the idea some thought. Sure they'd had meetings similar to the one suggested, but everything was always said so as to be polite, making the issues smaller than what they were. But maybe if she suggested it and made herself available, she'd be able to talk to everyone and in turn get everyone to talk.
"You know, I actually might use that idea." Weiss smiled thankfully to the two as she put her supplies back into her bag. "I'll let you know how it turns out."
"Good luck!" Pyrrha waved as she left the library.
Now… where would I find Ruby?
"Okay, so since this was Weiss's idea, I'll let her explain it to everyone." Ruby said from her usual perch at the foot of Weiss's bed.
"Hey, I didn't hear anything about this, so I'm leaving." Yang said as she turned to the door and started walking.
"Yang! Sit down!" Ruby ordered simply.
Yang hesitated, her eyes connecting with Ruby's. A moment passed and she sighed in defeat. "You know, I liked your puppy-dog eyes better."
"It's easier to just throw you off balance. That's how I won our last spar, remember? Now sit." Ruby shrugged.
"Make this quick, Weiss." Yang growled. No nickname, no pun.
"Right…" Weiss took a deep breath as she made sure everyone was paying attention. "Lately I've noticed that something's changed in our team dynamic and I'm a little concerned about it."
Yang sighed heavily. "Did you figure that out yourself? Or did you need one of daddy's servants to help with that too?"
Weiss ignored Yang's blatant insult and continued. "So after getting some advice from Jaune and Pyrrha, I suggested to Ruby that we hold a team meeting where we can all just say everything about each other that bothers us. But we all have to agree not to be angry about anything anyone else says."
Yang rolled her eyes as she noticed the rest of her team looking at her. "Yeah, fine! Let's just get this over with."
"Okay then, who wants to start?" Ruby asked, looking around. Not a single sound was made for a moment before Blake sighed.
"I suppose in the spirit of things, I'll start." She looked at Yang who seemed surprised to be the first target. "I hate how every time you get food, you get the spicy version. Not that that's a bad thing all the time, but I really hate that frigging pizza you always pick."
"Like that." Ruby nodded at the rest of her team. "My turn then. Yang, you always use up all the hot water and after dealing with it my whole life, I'm done. Either start leaving some for the rest of us or go shower somewhere else."
"What is it, pick on Yang day?" Yang asked after being the target twice in a row.
"No, but I also find your puns quite grating." Blake replied.
"Fine, I'll try to be more considerate of you guys and lay off the puns, okay?" Yang huffed in annoyance.
"Hey, Weiss? This was your idea, so why aren't you saying anything?" Ruby asked after noticing that only the three of them were talking.
"Actually, I don't mind Yang's puns." Weiss said quietly, getting everyone's attention. "Or the nicknames or bad jokes…. They're much better than being ignored."
"I'm sorry if I have nothing to say to the bitch who broke my baby sister's heart!" Yang replied in a huff.
"Since when did she break my heart?" Ruby asked, feigning nonchalance.
"Since you made that fucking stupid contract with her sister." Yang replied before slapping her hand over her mouth. Everyone looked at Weiss who was blinking slowly as she processed the information.
"I'm amending the rules of this meeting. If you're asked a question, you have no choice but to answer. Agreed?" Weiss asked getting a nod from Blake who she could tell was already starting to disconnect again. "Ruby, Yang?"
The sisters exchanged a nervous glance as they shrunk under the sharp gaze of their white haired teammate. They nodded meekly, afraid the look in Weiss's eyes might just translate to a very bad sparring session later in the week.
"Good!" Weiss's expression changed to her usual passive expression. "Now, what would my sister have to do with you two, and why do I think that it has something to do with Ruby's studious behaviour over the past few weeks?"
"Heh, well… I guess… um…" Ruby stuttered, looking to Yang for help.
"Sorry sis, you're on your own there since I have no idea what files you took." Yang shrugged unhelpfully.
"If you don't need me…" Blake interjected, waving her book as she made to remove herself from the situation.
"Then I'll ask the only question I had for you first." Weiss decided to give Ruby a minute to get her thoughts in order before she returned. "Why are you so into your books lately? It never takes this long when you find a new series."
"That would be because it's written in pre-war Vytalian." Blake replied as if it were obvious. "I've been having trouble translating some sections and I'm only on the second book."
"That makes sense." Yang sighed in understanding as if the answer had been right in front of her all along.
"Right. Just be careful not to get too involved with that?" Weiss asked as Blake nodded in response. The entire team had to constantly pull her away from her books on normal days, when she found a new series that task became much more difficult.
"Yes mom." Blake sighed. "There's only three books in this series anyways."
Weiss nodded already turning her attention back to Ruby. She shifted under the gaze before she dropped her head with a sigh.
"Are you sure you really want to know why I made an agreement with your sister?" Ruby asked dully. Weiss could have sworn she flinched when she glanced up at her but maybe it was something else, something she disliked even more.
Weiss thought for a moment, glancing around the room at Yang and Blake. This conversation really didn't concern them in the slightest, though it would be rude to just leave without having at least a partially decent answer.
"I really would like to know, but we'll talk about the why later. I want to know what you promised her in return for whatever it was you wanted." Weiss could already guess the answer, but she wanted to hear it first hand.
"She wanted to help me so that I'd get you disinherited." Ruby sighed. "But at this point I may as well give up."
Sensing the conversation was once again taking a personal turn, Weiss stopped the train before it could leave the station. "In that case I suppose I have my answer. Do either of you have anything more to say in this meeting?"
"Weiss! Truth or Dare?" Yang said automatically as if she had been waiting the entire time.
"If I must pick one, truth." She responded, tapping her foot in annoyance.
"Okay, what color is your underwear today?" Yang asked making Ruby blush heavily.
"Lime, now is that all?" Weiss was done with this group meeting and wanted to have a private conversation with Ruby.
"I have one." Blake said, looking over her book. "Who'd you rather spend your life with? Ruby or Yang?"
"That's obvious. Ruby." Weiss replied quickly. "Yang's too much work to deal with."
"I know, so try it some time." Blake replied to an indignant hey from Yang who leapt onto the reading faunus, trying to wrestle the book from her hands. Weiss shook her head at the commotion and turned to Ruby who was still looking downcast.
"Will you accompany me on a walk?" She asked her leader who responded with a simple nod. Weiss followed her out of the room as the other half of their team continued their wrestling match.
After several minutes, they stopped outside a random set of windows that looked out over one of the many courtyards that dotted Beacon. There was a couple sitting on a bench facing away in the center of the area but the halls around Ruby and Weiss were completely empty.
"Ruby, here's fine." Weiss pulled the girl to a stop and she turned back to face Weiss.
"So… I'm in trouble now aren't I?" Ruby asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"No… I'm not upset with you. My sister can be a bit of a pain sometimes, but I can blame my father for that." Weiss shook her head, musing at how easily she'd gone off on a tangent. "No, what I wanted was to continue the conversation we were having back in the room away from prying eyes."
"Oh… sure." Ruby deadpanned. Weiss felt like she was seeing the stress that had obviously been building within her leader bubble out of her like an erupting volcano as she took measured breaths to deal with her nerves.
Weiss wanted to ask the why, but first she wanted to know what had prompted this studious change in her partner. She could find out why it was necessary afterward if it mattered. "What did you need my codes for that you couldn't get with your own guest ones? And why is my sister involved?"
"That's a bit of a long story." Ruby deflected the question, looking out to the happy couple sitting on the bench and frowning. "I hate people."
Weiss glanced over to find the girl giggling at some joke the guy must have made and cuddling up under his arm which hung protectively over her shoulders. Weiss couldn't say she honestly disagreed with Ruby's assessment but at the same time she knew what she really wanted was to trade places with that girl, or was it the guy she wanted to trade places with? Ruby'd effectively had her questioning her preferences ever since that night at the bar. She still had no answers.
"A-anyways, I'd like to know." Weiss spoke up, not exactly sure how long she'd been staring through the window with Ruby.
"Everything's on my scroll." Ruby stated simply. "And your sister was conveniently the manager on duty that day so she put an agreement into the files I asked for. It basically says it's not her fault if anything comes from us messing with them."
"I suppose it could have been worse then…" Weiss thought to herself, wondering what Winter had been doing by making such a vague agreement with Ruby. "Does she honestly think father would re-inherit her if something happened to me?"
"I guess if it's bad enough, yeah." Ruby replied.
The two continued to stare out the window, watching the couple interact as if they were watching a silent movie. They laughed and remained wrapped in each others arms and eventually started kissing, oblivious to the two spectators separated by three panes of glass and half the courtyard.
"I hate my life." Weiss watched them kiss and found herself mumbling just loud enough to be heard by Ruby.
"No, don't say that." Ruby responded, snapping Weiss out of her musing.
"Wha-"
"NO! I don't want to hear that!" Ruby shouted as if she could get the point across to Weiss by simply yelling. Tears were bubbling up in her eyes as she closed the space between them, sealing their lips together.
She's getting better at this. The thought flashed across Weiss's mind, bringing with it conflicting thoughts that battled, leaving her motionless as one side of her told her to kiss back and the other reminded her of her obligations and duties. Before she could finish processing anything, Ruby took a step back and turned her back to her.
"I don't want to lose you, I cant deal with that." Ruby said to the empty hall. She passed her scroll to Weiss who took it in confusion. "I don't even know what I'm doing anymore…"
"Ruby-"
"I need some air. Come find me on the roof once you've looked through everything." Ruby said before passing Weiss in a quick walk. Her eyes never once turning in the heiress's direction.
Weiss looked down at the scroll in her hands and turned it on. It was already open to a directory full of what she recognized as Schnee contracts. And all of them were dated more than fifteen years ago.
"What have you been looking at Ruby?" Weiss mumbled to herself as she slowly walked to the library while reading contracts she'd never actually seen before for the first time.