Cinder closed the door of the teashop behind her, waving goodbye to Iroh, who was still inside, cleaning up. He smiled kindly to her, then turned to swipe the counter.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. Every night, after her work was over, she went back to her hunting – Ozpin's hunting. Today, though, she felt much too nervous and stressed for it. The last thing she wanted was to get caught in a bad situation by the White Fang.
Three days had passed since her discussion with Ruby. Three days of dreadful planning for what they both knew was needed… Sooner or later, Cinder had to explain herself to everyone else. She didn't know who she least wanted to see: Yang and Qrow, Ruby's close family; Blake, who had gotten seriously injured because of her; or Ozpin…
Ozpin. She sighed mentally. Definitely Ozpin.
She tapped one foot as she looked up at the sky, her face a mixture of anxiety and anger. Her predicament seemed to worsen the burning. Her skin felt unnaturally hot, her eyes took to a darker amber shade, and, more than once, she had released little spirals of fire from the tip of her fingers. She needed to get it out of her system before she did something she would regret.
Her first thought was to track down Emerald and Mercury again, but that would be going too far. There was a clear difference between stopping them from hurting other people and fighting them for the sheer joy of it. Finding random criminals would probably be equally bad. She didn't trust herself to hold back, and even them, she doubted Ruby would approve such a violent approach… Well, a too violent approach, at least.
Her only option, then, was to find some Grimm. The Emerald Forest was near the city, and it was absolutely filled with the monsters. It wouldn't take more than a couple of hours to fulfill her needs and head back for a good night of sleep.
Cinder nodded to herself, deciding that would be her solution. She took a few steps, then stopped suddenly. The city plaza was empty. She was used to that. Iroh's closed very late, probably the last to do it in the area. But this particular night, Cinder sensed something wrong about it… Like someone was there, watching, yet invisible to her trained eyes.
She gave the plaza a lasting scan, trying to pick something out from the shadows, but her effort amounted to nothing. Cinder shot another worried look back at Iroh, who was oblivious to her alerted state. After a few seconds, she let her guard down, smiling lightly.
As much as she tried to let them go, some habits of her previous life would always linger. But she doubted there was an assassin skilled enough to avoid her detection and who dared to challenge her.
Come on, Fall. She thought, seeking to soothe herself further. Get going. The Grimm aren't going to incinerate themselves.
She walked away from the shop, oblivious to the pair of amber eyes watching her from the shadows.
The students of Beacon were accustomed to weird things. They studied the fine art of killing evil monsters. Most of their professors had strange obsessions with coffee, storytelling, or both. Everyone had come across Nora Valkyrie at some point, and that was an experience most did not want to repeat.
But, somehow, the sight of Ruby Rose, prodigious team leader and fearsome scythe-wielding warrior, pacing in circles around the statue at the front of the school, muttering incoherently about autumn and sleepyheads, still managed to surprise them.
"Come on!" She said under her breath, pausing briefly to glare down at the city of Vale. "We had a schedule! I made a schedule! I can't believe – Grr, Cinder Faaall…"
It was at that moment that Cinder finally appeared, walking with her head turned down, seeking to not draw too much attention from the passerby students. Ruby's eyes fixed on her, sparking with silent anger. All Cinder could do was stare back and point sheepishly to her blond hair, which was uncharacteristically in disarray.
"Sorry." She said. "I didn't have the quietest of nights."
"Yeah? Did you go out hunting bad guys again?" Ruby leered at her accusatorily. "You knew you had to be here early."
"Actually, I went to kill some Grimm, and… Well, it was fun. I got carried away." Cinder looked away, her cheeks reddening considerably.
Ruby stared at her, mouth hanging open in disbelief. Cinder had come a long way from her gloom, doom and death days, but to admit out loud that she had fun and feel embarrassed about it? It was enough to make Ruby forget her anger.
"O-okay, then. You're, uh, forgiven." The redhead cleared her throat and turned her back. She made to point at the school, but truly, she just didn't feel at ease being face to face with Cinder after that interaction. "So, we should start with the most important, right? Headmaster Ozpin. He should learn before anyone else, for your safety."
"Good plan, but there's a problem." Cinder sighed. "I am a known criminal. It's been weeks since I became infamous, but a lot of people will still recognize me. I can't just walk inside Beacon, even if my hair is different."
"Hmm…" Ruby scratched her chin, even as she gave Cinder's hair a lasting look. "Yeah, you're right. Your disguise is more beautiful than it is practical."
Before Cinder could decide if she was flattered or insulted, Ruby snapped her fingers and smiled brilliantly.
"Oh, no." The ex-criminal closed her eyes. "You just had a really bad idea, didn't you?"
Weiss walked inside her room, humming quietly as she rummaged through her schoolbag. It was a Saturday morning, when everyone was free of classes, but she was determined to get some studying in anyway, if only to set an example for the rest of her team.
Unfortunately, Blake had been taken away by Yang. The blonde had claimed that they would be having a 'partner day', whatever that meant. Weiss wasn't jealous, but the thought of her girlfriend going out with their less than appropriate friend made it very hard for her to concentrate on her studies. But she was not jealous!
She sighed. At least Yang wasn't expecting her to be having a 'partner day' too. She had settled her differences with Ruby a long time ago, but she would rather not spend an entire day alone with her. She couldn't fathom the thought of anyone being able to handle such a terrible fate.
"Come on!" Weiss's head perked up, her having heard her partner speak in an uncharacteristically low, urgent tone of voice. "Just hold on and climb! You did this all the time back in the day, right?"
The heiress looked towards the window and found Ruby almost falling out of it, holding a piece of rope in her hands. Weiss waited a few moments, not wanting to believe in what she was seeing, before she went to the redhead's head.
"Just what exactly are you doing now, Ruby?" She asked icily.
Ruby squealed in frighten and let go of the rope for a brief moment, but managed to grab hold of it again before it flew out the window. Weiss heard a gasp from outside, which only made her more suspicious.
"I'm, uh, doing n-nothing, Weiss!" The redhead laughed nervously. "Just, you know! Training!"
"Training." Weiss repeated, not believing in the lie for a second.
"Y-yeah! Uh, Miss Goodwitch said that, sometimes, we'll have to invade evil lairs, and I thought, hey, climbing a rope to our room should be a good simulation of that!"
"Of course. That's a great idea." The heiress's glare intensified. "And who is climbing the rope, might I ask?"
Ruby's mouth formed a straight line and she looked away guiltily. Weiss shook her head, then stuck her head outside the window to learn the truth. She looked down and found Cinder hanging onto the rope with one hand, while searching for something to hold on to with the other.
"…Should I act surprised?" Weiss sighed.
"You're not mad?!" Ruby's face lit up.
"I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed." The heiress said. Ruby crossed her arms, much like a child getting chastised by a parent. "Forget the rope. I'll help get this insanity over quicker."
Weiss pointed towards Cinder, forming a glyph beneath the hanging blonde. Cinder let go of the rope and dropped on the magical circle, which slowly rose to the height of the room. She was met with a cold look from Weiss, and a little distance behind, Ruby sheepishly looking away.
"Hi." Cinder said awkwardly. "May I come in?"
"You may." Weiss seemed to have given up completely on protesting against the situation.
Cinder jumped from the glyph and landed on the floor of the room. She looked around quietly, noting that was the first time she had stepped inside Ruby's living quarters. One of the top bunk beds was hanging by ropes – she had a good guess as to who slept there.
"So, are you here to murder people, or are you two making out…?" Weiss sat on the edge of her bed, crossing one leg over another. "As long as you don't do these things with me nearby, I'm not going to stop you."
"She's not going to murder people!" Ruby exclaimed defensively.
"Yes. We are also not going to make out." Cinder added. There was a moment of silence before she cleared her throat. "I'm here to… Start over, in a manner of speaking. I was planning on speaking to Ozpin first, but I suppose that's out of the question now."
Weiss gave the pyromancer a measured look, as if she wanted to divine if she was being honest. Alarm bells rang inside her head, especially when she noticed how hopeful Ruby seemed to be, but she decided to not act rashly.
"You don't have to worry about me, Cinder. Don't fool yourself – I don't like you, but neither do I hate you. You got Blake injured, you lied to all of us… You really hurt Ruby." Weiss crossed her arms. "But you did rescue me and Pyrrha and Jaune when we needed it… And Ruby might be a dolt, but there's got to be at least one good reason for her to like you." She smiled lightly. "I'm just an onlooker here, to be honest. My opinion doesn't hold any significant weight."
Cinder looked from Ruby to Weiss, quietly considering the latter's words.
"Your opinion matters, Weiss, just as much as anyone else's. There are no onlookers here. There's the people I hurt, and me." The blonde smirked sadly. "I'm hoping to form a third group. The 'Cinder reform club', if you will. There's a lot of vacancies to fill."
"Hmm. I might want to join that club." Weiss pointed towards the door. "Go talk to the headmaster."
Cinder nodded, then walked out of the room. Ruby gestured thankfully to Weiss, who just rolled her eyes, before following the blonde.
Weiss immediately reached for her Scroll and entered its texting app. She wasn't surprised to find a bunch of inappropriate messages from Blake, followed by an apology and an explanation that Yang had been the culprit. Then, she went on to send a message of her own.
Something interesting just happened.
A few seconds passed before Blake replied. Hi, hottie. Want pics?
Stop it, Yang. A psychopath just climbed up our window!
"I'm not going to knock!" Ruby protested quietly.
Cinder stared at her helplessly, gesturing towards Ozpin's office's door.
"Please?" She asked.
"Cinder, this is ridiculous! You're acting like a child! I'm, like, two years younger than you!" Ruby pointed out.
"Well, that never was a problem before, now was it?" Cinder crossed her arms. "Someone has to knock eventually, and I'm not budging."
Before their argument could escalate further, the door opened to reveal a puzzled headmaster.
"What is happening over here?" Ozpin asked calmly, looking from Cinder to Ruby.
Cinder faltered, then looked towards Ruby in search of support, only to realize the redhead was now hiding behind her.
"Ozpin. We have… a lot to discuss." Cinder said carefully. "I hope you will hold your judgement until we're done talking."
"Of course. By the look of things, however, you won't need to elaborate for too long." The headmaster nodded. "Are you participating, Miss Rose?"
Ruby's first urge was to run away and hide, but once she noticed Cinder's silent plea for support, she decided to do just the opposite.
"Sure."
Ozpin walked back inside the office, followed by the two girls. He sat behind his desk, then gestured to the chairs positioned in front of it. Cinder and Ruby took their seats.
"Sir, I've… not been completely honest to you. I have broken our agreement several times." Cinder said. "Your orders were very strict. I was to act as your agent, tailing important White Fang members and protecting their targets. You also told me never to interact again with any of your students."
"Clearly that's not what happened." Ozpin gave Ruby a vaguely accusatory look.
"It's not her fault." Cinder was quick to clarify. "As you know, I am working on a teashop in Vale during the day, to keep up appearances. Ruby unknowingly went there one day, and we…talked. And we continued to. I should have driven her away the first time. I will accept any punishment you see fit."
Ruby felt like unfolding Crescent Rose and bashing Cinder in the head with it, but she once again had to resist her immediate urges.
"A noble stand, Miss Fall." Ozpin tapped his fingers against his desk thoughtfully. "I can't say I'm happy about this, but no real harm has been done. You've done more than enough good with the freedom you've been given. There will be no punishment."
"Thank you." Cinder waited a moment before touching on the riskier subject. "Sir, I would appreciate immensely if you lifted that restriction from me. I know interacting with Ruby or any of your students is not important for the mission, but it's important for me."
"Indeed." The headmaster leaned closer to his desk, so that he could look Cinder straight in the eyes. "And why should I grant your request?"
"Because you want to." The blonde smiled knowingly. "Might I remind you of who I was? A master assassin, thief, spy… Someone very intelligent and perceptive. Your primary reason for releasing me might have been so you had a worthy agent on the field, but there's another, smaller reason, too. You want me to change, to better myself. You want me to take the coin and make my own luck."
There was a long moment of silence, during which Cinder wondered if she had gone too far. Ozpin stared at her, as if contemplating a conundrum inside his head.
Ruby just seemed really confused.
"Coin?" She asked. "What are you talking about?!"
Cinder looked at her in bewilderment. When she took in Ruby's expression of pure puzzlement, a string of laughter escaped her mouth.
"Oh, it's just-" She looked away embarrassedly. "Just a callback to a discussion we had. You completely ruined its effect."
"Oh." Ruby frowned. "Oh, no! I'm so sorry! Mister Ozpin, please forget I asked anything!"
The headmaster once again looked from one girl to the other, mesmerized by how such an unlikely pair had been formed.
"You are permitted to interact with my students, Cinder Fall." He said. "But I still expect you to give most of your time to the mission."
"Of course. Thank you, sir." Cinder got up. "Now, I'm afraid I have other people to talk to…"
Ruby's scroll beeped. Cinder looked at her, only to find the redhead staring at the screen with a terrified expression.
"What is it?" The pyromancer asked worriedly.
"…Uh, see for yourself…"
Ruby showed her Scroll, which displayed a text message from Yang, written entirely in capitals letters and with an exaggerated quantity of exclamation marks.
"Well…" Cinder looked at Ozpin. "It was good working with you, sir."
The door of RWBY's room opened, drawing Weiss's attention. She looked up and found Blake poking her head inside with a careful expression.
"Weiss." She said. "You made a horrible mistake."
"What-"
The heiress was interrupted by a loud, enraged shout, followed by Blake being knocked aside and Yang stomping inside the room, eyes turned red and hair shining like fire.
"Where is she?!" The blonde demanded. "Where's the maniac?!"
"S-she's talking with the headmaster!" Weiss retreated closer to the wall. "Yang, you need to take a deep breath, stay calm-"
"I am calm!"
"Y-yes, of course! H-how silly of me!" The heiress slid to the floor fearfully. She was soon joined by Blake, who managed to crawl past her partner without drawing her angry attention.
Yang stood in the center of the room, breathing heavily, fists clenching and unclenching. After a few minutes, they all heard two pair of footsteps reaching the room. A vicious smile appeared on Yang's face, and all Weiss and Blake could do was hope their friend did not turn into a killing machine.
Eventually, Ruby appeared on the doorway, Cinder following close behind. The latter took a step back as soon as she saw Yang, and it was fortunate she did, or else she would have been caught in her furious grip.
"Hey! Hey!" Ruby yelled, putting herself between her sister and ex-girlfriend. "Yang, calm down! We need to talk, not kill each other!"
"Oh, don't worry! I'm only killing her!" Yang tried to push past Ruby, but the redhead proved herself surprisingly strong for her size.
"Stop. It! You big… child, you!" Ruby pushed Yang back. "Seriously, can't we just have a nice conversation for once?!"
Weiss and Blake nodded their approval, and were joined less enthusiastically by Cinder. Yang's eyes turned a lighter shade of red and she took a step back, but her fists were still clenched.
"Okay." Ruby took a deep breath. "I'll speak first. I am very, very sorry I lied to you guys! It's been some time since I began talking to Cinder again. I… slipped out, all these times I was away. But we just talked, nothing more!"
"Oh, that's a relief!" Yang exclaimed sarcastically. "I'm so glad my little sister has only talked to a homicidal maniac!"
"Hey! No name calling!" Ruby looked at Cinder. "Do you want to say anything?"
The pyromancer looked at Yang helplessly.
"I don't know what to say to you, Yang. There's nothing I can say that will convince you that I've changed." She frowned. "I can only ask you to trust me."
"You can't, and I won't." Yang replied fiercely.
"Well." Cinder said in a defeated tone of voice. "I guess that's all I have to say to you, then." She looked at Blake, who had risen from her cowering position. "Blake. I'm very sorry I put you in danger, and even more that I placed you against your friends."
The faunus's gaze was surprisingly gentle, more so than anyone had expected.
"I don't blame you. I made my own decisions, fully aware of its consequences." She said. "Besides, I have no right to judge you for your past. I can see you want to change. That's enough for me."
Cinder smiled at her. Yang grunted angrily, then jumped to her bed.
"Good. Everything's nice and settled. Miss I'll-Burn-You-To-A-Crisp has her fangirls, now she can go."
Ruby opened her mouth to protest, but Cinder laid a hand on her shoulder and shook her head slowly. The redhead looked down in frustration, but said nothing.
"Thank you for not stabbing me." Cinder said to Weiss and Blake. "I should probably talk to Team Juniper too, right?"
"Yes." Weiss agreed. "But be gentle with Jaune. He might have a panic attack once he sees you."
"That's precious advice. Thank you."
Cinder and Ruby exited the room. Weiss and Blake looked at each other, glad that the situation had been resolved peacefully, but also anxious about how things would progress with Cinder.
Yang lied down on her bed, glaring at the ceiling furiously.
"Oooh, I'm Cinder. I'm a psychopath, but everyone should forget about it, because I'm so charming and level-headed. Hey, Ruby, let's make babies and hide it from everyone else." She muttered in a falsetto, missing Cinder's tone of voice by a large margin.
"Yang. Lesbians can't have babies." Weiss sighed. "We have discussed this matter already."
"And they're not dating anymore." Blake added.
"Screw you guys!" Yang turned her back to them and crossed her arms. "I liked it when all I had to worry about was Ruby not eating all of our cookies in one afternoon."
Blake smiled kindly, then jumped to her partner's bed. She enveloped one of her hands on hers.
"Come on, Yang. Everything will be okay." She whispered. "Don't you want Cinder to not be a threat?"
"I suppose…" The blonde said hesitantly.
"Well, that will take time. And if we're patient, Cinder might become an ally. A friend, even." Blake's expression hardened. "And if anything goes wrong, if she gives the smallest hint of going bad… I'll be the first in line to take her down."
"And I'll be right behind her." Weiss added.
"Heh." Yang smiled. "I'm sure you're always behind her."
The heiress threw her arms up, resolving to never offer Yang any emotional support ever again.
The visit to Juniper was relatively calmer. Jaune fainted, Pyrrha shared her support for Cinder, Nora made an improvised fort, and Ren served as a piece of Nora's improvised fort – he also nodded approvingly a few times.
After that, Ruby and Cinder left Juniper's room and found Raven leaning against the wall of the hallway. She did nothing more than share a hard to decipher look with Cinder before leaving. Ruby tried to pry the pyromancer for answers, but Cinder could only offer speculation.
They tried to find Qrow, but it was a futile attempt. The search quickly morphed into the two of them finding a quiet, secluded spot in the campus and discussing the events of the morning.
Both were ecstatic about how things had gone. Ruby had been optimistic from the start, but Cinder didn't have the same mentality. To come out of the school without any bruises and with Ozpin not cursing her had been like a dream to her.
Then again, being able to talk freely with Ruby again, smile and laugh about silly things and just forget about the White Fang… That was something higher than a dream. Impossible. A blessing and a miracle.
Cinder was perceptive enough to realize how precious her position was, and so she didn't take any other steps. She did not allow her eyes to wander, for her words to transmit anything more than friendship.
Ruby was happy. If she wanted more, Cinder didn't know – and she wouldn't take any risks. Not soon, anyway. She would let time take its course… And if it took too long, then she would start taking risks.
After an hour of talking, Cinder excused herself, saying she still needed to take care of work in the city. Ruby didn't protest, but she was obviously upset.
As Cinder made her way out of the school, she noticed a shaded form leaning against the gates. Once she was closer, she was able to see what it was: Qrow, his eyes fixed coldly on her, a black cloak giving him a threatening look to an otherwise harmless man.
"Cinder Fall." He said simply. "If you make my little Red shed a single tear, I will beat the living shit out of you."
And with that, he parted from the wall and walked past her. Cinder stood frozen, feeling terrified for one of the few times in her whole life.
The city was awfully bright at night. Even when the sun was down, hundreds of lights turned on inside houses, from lampposts, billboards… Cars still raced through the streets. People were everywhere, and it was infuriating.
And tempting.
Mira waited until the latest possible moments, when barely a soul walked the streets. She got up from the bench she had been sitting on all afternoon and crossed the street, then entered the little teashop.
The owner looked up, surprised, even as he prepared to wash his teapots and cups. Cinder Fall had her back turned to her as she swiped a table.
"Hello, miss." Iroh, she presumed, greeted. "I'm afraid we're closing right now."
"Oh. I'm sorry." Mira feigned disappointment. "I was so tired, it didn't even occur to me how late it was."
"I'm terribly sorry."
Cinder turned and smiled easily to her.
"I'll take care of it! Don't worry about it, Iroh, I'll stay the extra time to clean whatever I use." She said. "What do you want, miss?"
"Hmm… What do I want…?" Mira smirked deviously as she neared the counter. She tapped her fingers against it, as if they were dancing. "I want you to stop being a nuisance, Cinder."
Iroh looked at her confusedly, just as Cinder froze where she stood. Mira stared at her amber eyes with her own, fire burning in them.
"You." The waitress muttered. "Iroh, get out."
"Jasmine, what is happening?" He seemed more concerned than angry.
"Iroh! Just go!"
But it was too late. Mira's finger stopped dancing. Index and middle joined to point at Iroh's chest, and a narrow barrage of fire burst from them. His eyes widened as a hole was burned where the fire struck.
Cinder dashed to her, swinging a fist furiously. Mira lowered her head, dodging the attack with ease. The older pyromancer took hold of the younger's outstretched arm and slammed it down on a table.
Cinder tried to break free from the holding position, but Mira proved too strong for her. The blonde glared at her, and grew even more furious when she noticed Mira staring right back, a playful smile between her lips.
"Now, now… Be a good girl and stop struggling…" Mira leaned closer to whisper on her ear. "Have you learned your lesson?"
"What do you want?!" Cinder exclaimed, her eyes traveling to Iroh, who was slowly sliding on a wall down to the ground.
"I want you to stop being a child." The older woman said. "Yes, you are a child. Do you know why? Only a child dreams of being a hero, when she knows she is not one. Only a child foolishly goes against what she truly is. Only a child seeks to hurt. Her. Mother."
"What-"
Cinder was interrupted by a knee to the stomach. She fell to the ground, breathless, and before she could get up, a foot was planted on her right shoulder.
"You're going to stop lying to yourself, dear, and join me." Mira said. She pressed her foot down harder. "Understood?"
"Who the fuck are you?!"
Cinder swung an arm up, releasing a barrage of fire from the palm of her hand. The flames parted around Mira, as though of their own volition.
"I'm the leader of the White Fang. A mistress of fire, heiress to a most powerful legacy. My name is Mira Fall."
Cinder stopped struggling for a brief moment, long enough for Mira to smile with satisfaction. Then, her eyes flared with anger, and she managed to break free and land a blow on Mira's right cheek.
"Liar!" She yelled. "You are not my mother!"
"Oh." Mira turned her head slowly, and suddenly, Cinder was being pressed against a wall, a burning hand pressed around her neck. "But I am. Will you join me?"
The blonde couldn't get a word out, but her eyes spoke a clear message.
No.
The next thing she knew, Cinder was enveloped in a living inferno. Strands of fire lashed out at her like solid, living things. Red, yellow and orange filled her vision, and then suddenly blue and violet and white. She felt herself being thrown around, yet how, she didn't know.
When her senses came back, Mira was gone and the teashop was in shambles. The tables and chairs were splintered wood, the windows were broken, and fire spread on the walls and ceiling.
She tried to get up and immediately fell back down. Slowly and weakly, she crawled around the counter and found Iroh, lifeless, sitting against the wall. Tears burned in her eyes, but she ignored them and reached for the pocket of his shirt, where his Scroll always was.
Her head felt like it was split in two and her ears rang shrilly, but she still managed to tap her desired number. A long, long minute passed before she was answered.
"H-hey. R-Ruby?" She realized her lips were split open. "N-no. 'M fine. Teashop… I-Iroh… She…"
Her fingers trembled, the Scroll flew from their grasp and smashed against the ground. Her vision spun and wavered and darkened. And then she fell, broken.
END OF ACT II
Oh shit, son. Yep. That just happened. Is Cinder going to survive unscathed? Will Ruby and her have babies? Will Mira make a good grandmother? Find out sometime in Falling Roses Burn Brighter.
So, yeah. I was actually planning on ending this act a bit later (2 chapters, I think), but this felt much better. Cinder is reintegrated in the Beacon circles, but now Mira has revealed who she is - or not. This last act should be very exciting to write and read!
Now to settle on chapter title themes for Act III... *sigh*
Not-Iroh!-sized thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited Falling Roses Burn Brighter!
-Zeroan