Memento Mori

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY

"To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering."

-Friedrich Nietzsche

Chapter III

Weiss cursed her luck. Thirty seconds. Thirty meaningless seconds that had cost her. Only Dr. Oobleck would penalize someone for coming to class thirty seconds late. She glared at her partner, who arrived right as the bell rang, and took sadistic delight as Ruby squirmed uncomfortably. How could someone's whose Semblance is enhanced speed be so slow?

Regardless, Ruby would pay. So would Yang. She deserves it for purposefully leaving her to wake up the red head on her own.

Perhaps Blake would as well, if for no other reason than to be indiscriminate in her teams impending demise.

"I'm sorry Weiss," Ruby whispered as she gathered her books, ready to leave for Goodwitch's class and leave Weiss's ire.

Weiss didn't reply as she watched her flee in a shower of petals. Looking over to the other two members of RWBY she got a thumbs up from Yang and a regretful smile from Blake.

Yeah, Blake deserved to go down with the ship.

"Miss Schnee, do you know why I asked you to stay behind?" Dr. Oobleck asked as the last of the students left.

"I apologize for being late to class Dr. Oobleck. I promise that it won't happen again," Weiss sighed.

"Yes, while calling you out for only being twenty-nine seconds late is good for setting an example, that was not why I asked you here," the History teacher paused to drink some coffee.

Weiss felt her eye twitch at the comment; only twenty-nine seconds? She wasn't going to kill Ruby. She was going to eviscerate her.

'But if that wasn't the reason then why would…' her eyes widened in comprehension.

It had only been a day since her heart to heart with Prof. Port and none of the other faculty had addressed her in any way. Granted, Prof. Goodwitch had watched her like a hawk throughout yesterdays match with Sky Lark. After the fight she simply nodded in Weiss's direction, whether in acknowledgement of her victory or otherwise she couldn't say, but the intent was clear.

I expect you to know your limits and if you need assistance, any at all, then you better not hesitate to bring this to my attention. Classic Goodwitch.

"You're referring to my predicament," she whispered.

Oobleck nodded, turned around and walked towards his desk. "I am. Truth be told, I'm not as familiar with this ailment as I would like, but I have heard of it before."

This got her attention. Walking to the desk, she watched as he rummaged through and around his minefield of a work station.

"You have?" she asked dumbly, unsure as how to proceed.

"Indeed," Oobleck nodded. "I make it a point to read about the exploits of Huntsmen all over the world: memoirs, biographies, autobiographies, journals, even magazine articles and news columns when available. The acronym DAAD has appeared in a few of these, not many mind you. Nor did they go into any detail - Aha!"

Oobleck held aloft a small piece of paper as if it were some great prize. Pausing for a moment to look over his discovery, he let out a content sigh.

Turning towards the Heiress, "I firmly believe that the answers to our own futures are buried in the past. So much of history has been forgotten, lost to the annals of time and the Grimm. I spent the better part of yesterday reading through various books and have compiled a short list of what I believe to be the best source of experience. If you would like, you may find that their trials can ease your own Miss Schnee."

Taking the list from him, she read over the short list. True to his word, it was a short list, only four titles and their corresponding authors were listed.

"They all had it too?" she breathed.

"The first three did, yes, however the second book is a biography written after Orchid Muse's death. The final book is a memoir, detailing Forrest Shale's adventures with his teammate Summer Rein before and after she was diagnosed with Dust and Aura Abnormality Disorder," Oobleck explained.

There were no words to describe what Weiss was feeling at that moment. What Dr. Oobleck had done for her was beyond what she was expecting.

"Dr. Oobleck, I can't even begin to thank you enough," she smiled up at him, eyes beginning to mist over.

"There is no need to thank me. Just learn from their past, their mistakes and victories. Use that knowledge to shape your future into a successful one. Now, you should head on to your next class. Here is a note so that you aren't late," he nodded to door where students were beginning to enter.

"Thanks again," Weiss nodded as she left.

Weiss smiled as she pondered her luck. Only moments ago she was cursing her luck but now could only laugh at her good fortune. Oobleck had manipulated things to make it seem as though she were in trouble and had given her extra homework. It was the perfect excuse to keep her team's concerns at bay.

Perhaps she wouldn't kill Ruby after all. She would still make her suffer, but her teammate would get to live.

At least for today: at any rate.

Clang!

She winced at the sound of steel meeting steel. No matter how many times she heard it, she still found it irritating. Moving back a couple steps she swept low with her blade, hoping to distract her opponent. She wasn't successful, a quick sidestep brought her safely out of range and ready to deliver a lunging counter attack.

With a well timed flick of her wrist her sword parried the other girl's blade. Thrusting swiftly, she grinned as she felt the familiar sensation of connecting with her adversary.

Retreating to avoid any retaliation, she took a brief glance at the monitor. Both fighters still had their Aura well into the green.

Frowning, she began to circle, hoping to find an opening or weakness to exploit.

Unsurprisingly, she found none. Her opponent's form was exceptional, footwork perfect. The two hadn't been at this for very long but it felt that way as a bead of sweat rolled down her head. Her opponent hadn't used her Semblance yet, despite having had several opportunities that would have secured a hit, for she dared not use her own against her.

There were not many people that she feared to use her own Semblance against but Weiss Schnee was one of them. Her own Polarity could have serious repercussions if she moved the thin blade of Myrtenaster too little or too far to the side when Weiss was thrusting or cause an accidental discharge of energy when coated with Dust. Pyrrha didn't even want to consider the damage that either one of them could sustain if she interfered when Weiss was casting her Glyphs.

Such as the ones that were surrounding her now.

Eyes wide, Pyrrha ducked underneath Akoúo. She couldn't help but grin as the shards of ice impacted the shield. Now things were getting interesting. Flipping backwards, she shifted Milo into a rifle and shot off three rounds of blind fire.

Using the reprieve to regain sight of her opponent, she took careful aim at the Glyph shielding Weiss. Taking a quick glance at her own Aura, she grimaced at the damage she had taken. The ice did more damage then she had thought; she was in the middle of the yellow.

The resounding crack of her gun and the faint cry of shock was a highly satisfying one. She didn't need to look at the screen to know that Weiss was in the yellow too. The line of Glyphs that manifested to accelerate the Heiress was answer enough. Raising Akoúo and shifting Milo into a javelin, the Champion readied herself for the attack.

Pyrrha did not expect Weiss to hesitate at the last second; stopping a good three feet in front of her with a panicked look on her face.

Seeing her chance to end this, Pyrrha quickly in a flourish, delivered several stabs. With a final thrust, she sent her adversary collapsing to the ground.

Ding!

"Well done Miss Nikos. While wise to show restraint when combating Dust, do not be afraid to take the initiative. Miss Schnee, your offense was splendid. However, hesitating in the middle of battle is ill advised. Don't be afraid to utilize your Semblance and Dust. Class dismissed," Prof. Goodwitch called out as the final bell rang out to the joy of the students.

All the while, Pyrrha frowned as the combat teacher addressed Weiss. 'She noticed it too,' she thought.

That hesitation was small, barely noticeable: a split second action that, as it had, could change the course of a battle. As second years, Pyrrha didn't doubt that everyone in the classroom, those that were paying attention, would have missed it. But no, it was not that that had seemed out of place. It was the prolonged absence of Weiss's Glyphs.

The fight was short, only a modest ten minutes, but for seven of them Weiss had not used a single Glyph or an ounce of Dust. It certainly was out of character but so was that hesitation. Pyrrha had seen Weiss perform that technique time and time again. It was without a doubt a signature attack.

Frowning, Pyrrha held out her hand to her fallen friend, "I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?"

"Only my pride, fortunately, as a Schnee I have plenty to go around," Weiss retorted through a thin lipped smirk.

"Small mercies then," Pyrrha pulled the girl to her feet. "Are you alright? You don't usually rely on pure strength."

"I'm fine. I merely wanted to test myself. I was simply curious as to how well my skills are with my blade. I fear I may be getting too reliant on Dust," she shrugged. "I apologize if I worried you."

"Nonsense, your skills are superb. Besides, there is nothing to fear by being reliant on Dust. It's how you fight, how we all fight," the Champion smiled.

Now things were starting to make sense. Weiss, while always an aggressive fighter, utilized Dust and her Semblance to augment her strength. Not weak by any means, the Heiress's stamina certainly wasn't suited towards prolonged melee combat. This was why Myrtenaster, a rapier, was such an excellent weapon for her.

A rapier is a nimble, light, and accurate weapon, capable of quick thrusts and stabs while delivering a well timed parry for a follow up riposte. Myrtenaster was the best solution to Weiss's Glyphs. The fact that it was a one-handed sword was also advantageous. It might as well be a magic wand. It was certainly used as such for casting Glyphs and Dust spells.

And perhaps Weiss was right, her entire form of combat was a tad over reliant on Aura usage. It certainly wouldn't hurt to practice for any eventuality, and what better place to practice than Combat class.

"If you still feel you need to practice more swordplay, I would be happy to help. So would Jaune, he could use the practice," Pyrrha offered, glad that her concerns were laid to rest.

"Maybe," Weiss replied with a thoughtful frown. "If you'll excuse me."

Pyrrha waved goodbye to her friend as she left down the corridor. Speaking of her partner, she was going to be late to their training session.

'Stupid! Careless! Pathetic!' Weiss grimaced.

She had been so careful. She had thought that her good fortune from Oobleck's class had carried over when she and Pyrrha had been chosen to fight for the last match of Goodwitch's class. She needed to know how well she could fight without her Glyphs or Dust in an equal setting. She knew that Pyrrha wouldn't use her Semblance on Myrtenaster. Granted, there was nothing stopping her from using her Polarity on Akoúo and Milo, but that was an acceptable risk.

And she had done well, seven minutes till she had gotten greedy. She had her on the run, confused and wary, playing defensive. Then she began a charge.

And then it happened. It had shocked her, frightened her so badly that she came to a dead stop at the worst possible moment.

Looking down at her hand, she glared at what she saw: the blood that she had coughed up during her charge.

She was fortunate that Pyrrha didn't notice the crimson staining her mouth. She was misfortunate that Goodwitch was a sharp and perceptive individual.

Rubbing her hands raw in the restroom sink Weiss steeled her nerves as tears slid down her face.

She was going to find an isolated corner and she was going to talk to Winter.

A/N: Sorry for the wait. I hope you guys enjoy. Thanks to all who reviewed and added Memento Mori to your alerts and favorites lists. Stay classy.