Chapter 15
Author's Note: I'm sorry that this is one of my shorter chapters, but I've officially run out of things for me to write about (during this arc) and I have to move on. The next chapter will take place close to the beginning of Team RWBY's
training. If you guys have any suggestions or spot any errors, feel free to let me know. I can't wait to start the next arc, because that's when shit gets real. Thank you for reading!
"Heya, where've you been?" Ruby asked cheerfully as Blake entered Weiss' hospital room.
"Just…out of town." Blake replied.
"Oh, yeah…that didn't sound secretive at all." Weiss said sarcastically. "And I'm going to need something better than 'out of town' as an explanation for where you've been the past three days." She finished.
"I was taking care of a few errands." Blake stated.
"Could you be any more cryptic?" Weiss asked while crossing her arms.
"C'mon Blake, we won't tell Yang." Ruby said with a pout on her face.
"W-what do you mean?" Blake asked.
"You obviously had some sort of fight with her before you left to do your 'errands' or whatever. You came into our room and asked if we wanted anything to eat, left, brought back our food, and then left again for three days…and you certainly weren't acting
normal when you were talking to us, then." Weiss explained.
"We had a disagreement." Blake said.
"Obviously." Weiss stated while stretching her right shoulder the way that physical therapy had taught her how to.
"Listen, Blake, I know Yang can be a little pushy, but don't just run away. She likes you!" Ruby said before taking a sip of her Dr. Pepper.
"So she, evidently, told you what happened." Blake stated unsurprisingly.
"We are sisters…trust me, she doesn't hold back when she talks about her passions." Ruby said.
"With all due respect as my friend, Ruby, I don't appreciate being turned into a prize to be won by her. She might 'like' me, but that's not good enough." Blake defended. "And besides, aren't there more important things for us to be doing than going on
dates?" She asked.
"Then you need to tell her that! And not accuse her of not caring about you…can't you see how rude that was?" Ruby asked.
"But, it only served to prove a point. Afterward, she joked about what I had said and still said she was going to try her best to 'get' me." Blake stated.
"You are a dunce. If you paid attention to her reactions, you'd know that when things start to go wrong, she immediately turns to humor. Or at least her futile attempt at humor…" Weiss explained.
"It's like her defense mechanism. She didn't want you to keep being mad at her, so she lightened the mood." Ruby said.
"That doesn't change her initial mindset." Blake said.
"What? That she obviously has feelings for you?" Weiss said in a condescending tone.
Blake sighed and look to the heiress, "Haven't I already explained why–"
"No. You told us what you think. When you asked me about her previous partners, I told you about them in the hopes that you would see the differences. Because I guarantee she has never lashed out and gone on a crazy killing spree for anyone, because they
got hurt. Not a single person she's dated has gotten that much attention from her." Ruby explained.
"She got shot, stabbed, punched, and blown up because you got injured, and you said, to her face, that she doesn't care about you. I might be the Ice Queen…but that is cold-hearted." Weiss stated.
Blake simply stood in silence, obviously in thought. "It's just difficult for me to trust her based on her past endeavors." She said.
"I'm not sure how your previous relationships have been, but I get the feeling that you're not going to give anyone a shot at getting to know you because of them. You're judging Yang on how your past relationships have been and trying to rationalize it
by saying that her past relationships are the problem." Weiss stated.
"I'm not trying to force you to give her a chance, that's not my place. But if you're not going to, tell her that, straight up and don't blame her for it, entirely." Ruby said.
"I…I-I'll go and talk to her." Blake said as she was about to turn and leave the room.
"Before you go, could you at least tell us where you went?" Weiss asked.
"General Donovan needed me to decode an intercepted message from the White Fang." Blake said.
"Were you able to do so?" Weiss asked.
"Yes. It said 'We've obtained the package. And we will begin our search for the Kraken…might as well get the hardest one out of the way first.' That was all it said." Blake explained.
"Why are they searching for a Kraken…that's one of the most dangerous Grimm out there. Do you know what it means?" Ruby asked.
"No. But General Donovan was very uneasy when he heard it. When I was on my way out, I realized I left my bow in the room I was staying in, on the ship. As I was heading back, I saw the General in the conference room, alone, looking into his cup of coffee…and
I heard him whisper 'Please, please, not again…I don't know if I can handle it a second time.' But I don't know what he means." Blake explained with trepidation.
Both Ruby and Weiss stopped what they were doing and looked directly at Blake. "The General is worried about something?" Ruby thought. There are many things that strike fear into a person's heart: dictators, corruption, weapons of mass destruction…but
the Knight-General has always been a person to stand up in the face of danger. For him to be so shaken by a terrorist organization is something to behold.
"From what I remember from history class, General Donovan has had a pretty easy time as the Knight-General. There haven't been any great wars, rebellions, or crises during his short reign. I suppose something has happened to him in the past five or six
years." Weiss said.
"How old's the General?" A familiar voice said from the doorway.
As the girls looked toward the door, they saw the sight of their blonde, boxing teammate. "Yang, how long have you been creeping on us." Weiss asked.
"Since the whole decoding a White Fang message." Yang replied as she walked to an empty seat. "Anyway, how old is the guy?" Yang said as she took her seat.
"He's 23 years old." Ruby said.
"Your borderline stalking-level knowledge of the Knight-General never ceases to amaze, Rubes." Yang said.
"If I remember correctly, all Knight-Generals are granted the title at adulthood. It only makes you wonder how much training they receive in order to obtain that title so early…but that's neither here nor there." Blake said.
"Indeed. When he gets back, we need to pry some more information out of him." Weiss said.
"And what makes you think he wants any help from a couple of students?" Blake asked.
"Well, he's obviously been asking for your help, a lot. And he offered to train us…surely that means that he sees something in us that he doesn't see anywhere else." Yang stated.
"True, but do you really think we are going to get enough training for us to help him with something that even he is worried about? He's been trained his whole life and is, definitively, the best hunter in the world…and he was hoping that whatever the
White Fang are doing won't come to fruition because he doesn't think that even he can handle it." Blake explained.
"Then we'll just have to show him that becoming our team administrator was the best damn decision he'll ever make." Yang said.
"How very egotistical of you." Weiss said.
"Don't know what that means, so thanks!" Yang said. "Now, our training starts in a little over two weeks, so we should probably get started on those books he gave us." She finished.
"You haven't started yet? I've finished my first one." Weiss said.
"Same." Blake said.
"I'm halfway done…" Ruby said meekly.
"Ruby Rose, I told you to read three chapters a day, did I not?" Weiss scolded.
"What?! You guys have read one already?" Yang asked in surprise.
"Of course…you're way behind." Blake said.
"They're so boring…and why are one of the books about fencing…I use a scythe-sniper!" Ruby said.
"One of the books I've finished is about the 'art of espionage' or something along those lines. I think he gave us the books to help us understand what skills we're lacking. Fencing will probably help you understand how to be more fluent in your moves.
The espionage book was probably because of my lack of self-awareness during the hunt…and that is a skill notorious for being used in spying." Weiss said.
"It looks like I got a book about fencing, also…and one for 'frontline tactics?' I wonder why?" Blake pondered. "There are a few other strange ones, too." She finished.
"Well, he did say that we would think that they were strange, but to read them anyway." Ruby said.
"True, but he had better have a good reason for all of this." Weiss said.
"He's the fucking General of the Knight-Hunters…I'd drink mercury if he told me too, because whatever he is doing is obviously working." Yang joked.
"Well, I'm going to go and continue my reading. Have you two been told when you'll be allowed to leave the hospital?" Blake asked toward Weiss and Yang.
"No, as of right now, I will be here until further notice." Weiss said.
"Doc said I'll be around for at least another week, probably more." Yang said as she stood up headed for the door.
"Oh well, I don't mind staying in here for a bit longer." Ruby said.
"You are so clingy." Weiss said playfully
"You two kids play nice now, ya'hear." Yang said sarcastically as she left the room.
"What does she mean?" Weiss asked toward Ruby.
"I think she wants you to stop scolding me and let me have some more cookies." Ruby whispered as she mocked a secretive tone.
"In that case…no." Weiss said.
"I'll be heading back to Yang's room." Blake said to no one in particular as her words had been drowned out by the bickering between the heiress and their team leader. Blake sighed and walked out of their room and knocked on Yang's open door.
"Heya' kitty." Yang said as Blake walked in.
"Yang, I need to talk to you." Blake said.
"What's on your mind?" Yang asked.
"I need to apologize about what I said a few days ago." Blake said.
Yang sighed, "What did Ruby say." She asked.
"She explained what I did wrong, but honestly, Weiss was the one that put it into perspective." Blake stated as she walked to the empty chair next to Yang's bed.
"I don't follow." Yang said while crossing her arms.
"It doesn't matter, the point is…I haven't had it easy and I have had a bad relationship before, one that I would rather forget about. And I misunderstood what your sister meant when she told me about you previous partners, so I began assuming things
about you. Regardless, I want to apologize for how hard I was on you…so, I'm sorry." Blake said as seriously as possible.
"There's no need to apologize because everything you said wasn't entirely wrong. I was just thinking about myself, and I assumed that you wouldn't mind dating me." Yang said.
"This probably isn't what you want to hear, but I should at least be as honest as possible. I don't want to have any sort of relationship right now." Blake said meekly.
"I understand. Doesn't mean I'll give up…I just won't be so pushy and I'll let you fall in love with me yourself." Yang said.
Blake sighed, clearly annoyed with her partner's response. "You're right, I wasn't wrong about everything I said." She finished.
"Damn straight. This is who I am, and if I can't win you over with my amazing charms, then so be it…doesn't mean I'll start changing who I am." Yang stated.
"Fine." Blake said monotonously. "I'm going to head back to the dorm and finish my reading." She finished.
"That's cool…and tell us if you're going to leave next time. Doesn't take long to send us a text." Yang nagged.
"I will. You had better be ready when our training starts. I know I'll be preparing myself in between visits to the hospital." Blake said as she stood up.
"Visit every day…and bring cheeseburgers." Yang said as she opened her scroll to the textbook she was supposed to be reading. Upon seeing the amount of words, she could be seen visibly wincing.
"Only if you read that book. I expect at least four chapters a day or else I stop visiting you." Blake said.
"What?! Four?!" Yang exclaimed.
"Yes. And I don't want any slacking off. You read before anything else…no movies, video games, or texting until you've finished your reading." Blake said in a condescending tone.
"Fine." Yang said dejectedly as she waved goodbye to her favorite kitty faunus.
Blake waved back and walked out of her room, but stopped at Weiss' door. She glanced in and saw Weiss reading silently, and Ruby, laying on her stomach, looking at her scroll and glancing up to the heiress every so often. "Well. I might have been mean to Yang, but at least I'm not oblivious to her advances like a certain Ice Queen."
She thought. Blake pulled out her scroll, still not having been noticed, and sent a quickly sent a text to Ruby.
[B]: See anything that you like? 3
Ruby's head darted up to the door, sending Blake a worried look. "Something wrong?" Weiss said having noticed Ruby's quick movement. Blake, however, had cleverly positioned her body, around the doorframe, to be out of Weiss' line of vision, but not Ruby's.
"Uhh…no, Blake just left and waved goodbye." Ruby lied.
"Well, you looked like you saw a Beowolf. Anyway, she could have at least come in and said goodbye to us." Weiss said as she went back to reading.
[R]: dont say a thing
[B]: I don't think she's going to notice, otherwise.
[R]: i dont wanna be weird
[B]: I'm fairly certain she already thinks that. But, it's not my business, so I'll leave it alone.
[R]: thx are u goin back to tha dorm?
[B]: Yes. Make sure you read your books and get a bit of training in…as soon has you're fully healed, of course.
[R]: i kno, weiss has been naggin me too
[B]: Alright, I'll see you later.
[R]: b safe
"You sound like miss popular. I can hear your scroll ringing from over here." Weiss said.
"No, no. I was texting Yang. Anyway, I'm gonna start reading now." Ruby said.
"That's fine, but I want you to go out and train some more for the next few weeks. You said you'd be fully healed in the next two days, right?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah." Ruby answered.
"Good. I want you to train yourself, specifically in the area of hand-to-hand combat." Weiss said.
"Why in that area?" Ruby asked.
"I still remember our practice match before the Hunt. Whenever I managed to get you away from crescent rose, you would devote all of your energy to retrieving your weapon. Whereas Blake, Yang, and I would simply switch our strategies to a different form
of combat. You cannot rely on your weapon all of the time." Weiss explained.
"Okay. I'll do it." Ruby said.
"Good. Now, have your finished your reading for today?" Weiss asked.
"Not yet." Ruby replied meekly.
"Don't sound so sad…I'm only doing what's best for you." Weiss said.
"I know…thank you, Weiss." Ruby said as she pulled up the book on her scroll.
"You're very welcome." Weiss said as she continued her own reading.