I highly recommend listening to 'Secret Base Kimi Ga Kureta Mono' while reading this. Gives you the feels.
Please support me on Pa-treon as 'The Tanker' if you like my stories *less than three*
I do not own RWBY.
#
Chapter 17 Monochrome
They had expected to see Yang on their first day of school.
And of course, that energetic blonde was nowhere to be seen in Signal.
Blake and Weiss got distributed into the same dorm, and judging by the fact that other dorms all consisted of four people, the heiress must've done something to the distribution system by using the power of the Schnees.
A month had passed since Yang's disappearance and she obviously didn't want to be found – because even the elite forces of the Schnee family couldn't track her down at all.
It was as if Yang Xiao Long had never existed.
Qrow and Summer contacted Weiss not long after the search started, telling her that if Yang didn't want to be found, then they should respect her decision and just let her be. If the blonde wanted to see them, she would come back. Thus, Weiss had called off the search.
It was the second week of November, just a week after they started their first semester.
Weiss had chosen the business and economic based classes while Blake went for huntress training. Therefore, their schedules didn't exactly allow them to spend time together much. The only time that they were able to see each other were meal time and night as the latest time in their schedule was around nineteen hundred.
Today was a long day.
Blake had combat training for the whole day and it was extremely tiring. She finally knew how hard Ruby trained to achieve what she was before she…well, ended up in a coma.
There wasn't a single thing the Faunus particularly liked in Signal. It wasn't a bad school; in fact, the equipments and facilities were complete, plus the teachers were super nice too but she just couldn't bring herself to like this place.
The best thing here, aside from the unlimited tuna supply in the cafeteria was her crush.
No matter how bad her day was, she would always feel better upon seeing her roommate.
"Draw!" The female teacher shouted when a buzz was heard.
Blake panted as she stared hard at her opponent; he obviously graduated an elementary combat school, judging from that hard look that he gave the Faunus. She wasn't bullied, but the people here didn't like scholarship students.
She had no idea why.
The boy's choice of weapon was a pair of gauntlets – and it reminded her of a certain blonde.
Their aura was reduced to fifteen points simultaneously, thus the teacher calling it a draw. She was pretty impressed with the Faunus, seeing as she had never study in a combat school before but her skills could already rival an honor graduate like the boy.
After the teacher announced dismiss, all of the students started packing up to go back to their dorms – Blake included.
She still wore that black colored ribbon to hide the fact that she was a Faunus; although Weiss said that she would beat up whoever prick that dared to lay a finger on her, she still thought that laying a low profile was much safer – even though it was pretty uncomfortable that her Faunus ears were restricted.
Blake knew something was wrong when two tall men blocked her path.
Damn it.
She cursed internally, but remained her poker face on the outside.
Her dorm was just a few steps away!
"Excuse me." The Faunus said coldly, but the two men wouldn't budge.
"You've got some guts, little girl." The tall man with curly red hair said.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand." Blake lifted her head and instantly met with two blue eyes staring hard at her.
"A poor scum like you who took scholarship to study here isn't supposed to beat an honor graduate like David." The other man who was pretty bulky said.
"I didn't beat him. It was a draw." Blake simply replied while looking at her dorm. "Excuse me, I need to go."
"Hey, listen to your seniors when they talk to you!" The red curly hair shouted.
Blake was glad to have that piece of fabric covering her ears because Dust, this man sure could yell.
Even her human ears were hurting.
It seemed like the two men standing in front of her were second years – or third, she wasn't sure.
"I think we need to beat some sense into her. Don't you, Michael?" The bulky man cracked his knuckles.
"Of course, Ryan." Michael replied.
Really?
Blake thought as she sighed internally.
Just a few steps away from my dorm.
Her hand moved towards Gambol Shroud that was sheathed, getting ready to withdraw it when-
"Hey, stop blocking the way!" A bubbly voice came from the men's back.
The Faunus couldn't exactly see the newcomer, but it was definitely a girl.
Michael turned around first, getting ready to yell at whoever dared to interrupt their session – but his face turned into horror upon seeing that girl.
"Michael? What's wrong?" Ryan followed, but didn't seem to be noticing the reason that terrified his friend.
As the two seniors shifted their position, Blake got a good view of the girl – she was ginger haired, had a pair of turquoise eyes and muscles that reminded her of her best friend.
Damn it, why does everything remind me of Yang…
The girl was shorter than Blake, and she had to lift up her head to meet the two men's eyes.
"And you two were bullying a girl?!" The girl half shouted, "Just because she beat that loser didn't mean you guys can pick on her!"
"Hey, watch it you little-"
"No Ryan!" Michael grabbed his shoulder immediately and shook his head, "Let's go."
"What? C'mon man it's just a-"
"A girl who fucking tore the front yard apart!" The man yelled impatiently, "She's the first year that broke both Jon's legs and put him into the emergency room last week!"
"What?! How is that even possible?" Ryan shouted back.
"You weren't there! You didn't see how she fucking destroyed Jon!" Michael said as he started running, "Don't regret it if you don't listen to me!"
Ryan gulped as he turned to the ginger. This short little girl with a goofy smile destroyed the strongest fighter in his team, and judging from that daredevil Michael's terrified face when he saw her – it was better to save his own life.
So he ran.
"Hmph, bunch'a idiots!" The girl huffed and proceeded to take out her scroll, then walking to the dorm just opposite of Blake's.
"Uh…" The Faunus held out her hand to the girl, "Excuse me?"
"Hmm?" The ginger turned to her, tilting her head.
"I…just wanna say thank you for…helping me out there." Blake said while trying hard to not twitch her ribbon.
"Oh! It's no big deal kitty cat!" The girl grinned.
Kitty cat? She knows?
Blake flinched in defense as the ginger continued her sentence.
"You know, if you replace that black ribbon on your head with cat ears, it won't make any difference! I mean, you really look like a cat!"
Oh.
The door to the girl's dorm opened, revealing a man with long hair and green shirt, as well as a pair of sleepy eyes.
Blake recognized the man, she saw him a few times when she came back from training in the evening. However, she had never seen this ginger in front of her for the whole week since she started studying here.
But Michael just said that she tore the front yard and broke a senior's legs last week, which meant she was here already.
Maybe Blake needed to change her habits of not paying attention to important news and her surroundings. Or maybe she was just too tired.
"Nora, I'm really tired here. Please stop shouting." The man said.
"Awww Ren, I'm so sorry!" Nora shouted, then pointed to Blake, "See, I made a new friend!"
Ren turned to the Faunus, sighed and apologized.
"I'm sorry, Nora's a bit over passionate sometimes."
"It's fine." Blake smiled, "She saved me from some bullies."
"You live at the opposite dorm with Weiss Schnee right?" Ren asked.
"Yeah. My name is Blake Belladonna, nice to meet you." The Faunus held out her hand.
But it was Nora who took it.
"Nice to meet you too Blake! I'm Nora, and this is Ren!" The ginger said happily.
"Nora, please calm down."
As the two were talking, a white haired girl got near Blake's dorm and scanned her scroll on the lock. She looked really tired and was carrying a lot of books with her left hand.
"Sorry, I need to go now. See you, Ren and Nora." Blake smiled and hurried before her roommate.
Weiss didn't seem to notice her as she quietly settled down her books on the study table beside her bed, then limped to the bathroom after grabbing a set of clothes.
Blake looked at the girl with furrowed eyebrow; something had been bothering her and the Faunus knew exactly what it was.
Although she had called off the search, she still wanted to find the blonde. She just disappeared without saying anything and even though Weiss didn't tell Blake about the detail, she did say that she was the reason Yang took such drastic action – because she had hurt Yang. Blake had no idea how, but it sure was enough for the strongest member of the team to just vanish like that.
The Faunus closed the door lightly and shook her head.
Am I jealous of Yang? No…
Honestly, she felt a little jealous, and maybe a slight of anger. Blake was just by her side, supporting her and looking after her, but it was the missing blonde who got her attention the most.
Look at me Weiss…please look at me…
She sat on her bed on the other side of the room and slapped her cheeks lightly with both hands.
Stop thinking like that Belladonna. You shouldn't think of your friends like that! Weiss is just worried about her, and I am too!
Sound of shower water running came from the bathroom and as Blake took off her ribbon, her cat ears caught a faint sobbing.
Weiss was hiding away from people and crying alone again.
She was always like this.
Blake didn't know if it was her ego or she just didn't want people to worry about her.
She clenched her fist; she hated to see her crush being so depressed. The only way to get her out of it was to locate Yang.
But, if she did that, then Weiss' attention would be on the blonde again…and Blake herself would stand no chance.
The Faunus let out a cry of frustration as the bathroom door opened, revealing a Schnee in blue gown. Weiss seemed to be shocked to see Blake as she didn't notice her coming in. On top of that, her eyes were watery and her lips were bleeding; Weiss knew she was worried about Yang just like herself did.
"Hey Blake." Weiss said while walking to her, hands busy drying her hair with her towel.
"Hey." Blake shifted her position a bit so that the heiress could sit beside her.
"Yang's gonna be okay." Weiss took her offer and sat down on the bed.
No, I'm worry about you you dummy.
"That's the thing I should be telling you." Blake said.
"What?"
"Weiss, you know you can rely on me right?" Blake gazed into the heiress' icy blue orbs.
Her mouth opened slightly; her brain trying to look for the correct respond. She could just tell Blake she was fine, but she didn't want to.
Because she wasn't.
The guilt of chasing Yang away, literally was eating her up.
She dreamed of the blonde every night; she still saw that hurtful look on her face when she slapped Yang and her heart ached.
Blake was the only one left that she could rely on.
With her family constantly away, Ruby in a coma and Yang missing, the only person left that would support her was the kind Faunus.
But, was she in the position to do so?
If she had relied on Blake to ease her guilt, then she would just be selfish.
Blake was obviously worried about her and she didn't know if she should tell her the truth.
"I know." Weiss simply answered.
"Weiss, please." Blake held her hand, "You should have a good rest."
"I'm fine, Blake. I just need some time."
"If you continue doing this, you'll get sick."
"I can handle it. If I can't, I'll come to you. Don't worry about me, Blake."
"No." Blake released her grab on the heiress' tiny hand, "I know, Weiss."
"Know what?"
"I know you have nightmare every night. I can hear your breathing and heartbeat with my…Faunus hearing. Although you did your best to not scream, those gave you out. Weiss…is there anything I can do?"
Weiss remained silent for a while before letting out a heavy sigh.
"No Blake. I just need time to get used to it."
"Weiss, if you don't want me to help…at least talk to me. Bottling everything up is very painful."
"It's fine."
"No it's not. Let me help you, Weiss." I don't want to see those wrinkles between your eyebrows Weiss.
The heiress' eyes widened as she realized something.
So this is how Yang felt when I kept pushing her to tell me her feelings? Dust…
Tears started forming in her eyes, but she stubbornly held them, not letting them flow free.
"Weiss?" The Faunus started to panic.
"I…"
Blake looked at her silently waiting for her to continue her sentence.
"I didn't know…"
"Relax Weiss, take it slowly. I'm listening." The Faunus' fatigue from training all day had gone.
"I didn't know that…it was hurting her so much…"
Blake gulped; she didn't dare to ask further.
"I told her..." The heiress continued anyway, "That…I'm not into girls…"
What?
Blake almost screamed.
Everything clicked and she knew why Yang had left Weiss.
"I didn't know she liked me…If I knew…I wouldn't have…no…she…I pushed her. She was hiding her feelings and I pushed her…I slapped her when she kissed me. I chased her away and…I have no right to ask for her forgiveness Blake…"
Her heart sank like Yang's too.
Yang and she both had no chance since the very beginning.
Blake suppressed her pain and proceeded to hug the heiress.
"It's fine, Weiss. Yang will understand. Like you, she just needs time."
The heiress returned the embrace as the overflowing tears finally spilled, sobbing lightly into Blake's chest.
Even if you don't love me back, I still love you, Weiss.
#
Blake had introduced Weiss to Ren and Nora after that. They also introduced the monochrome pair to their other roommates, Jaune Arc and Prryha Nikos. Prryha was from Mistral, but under certain circumstances had moved to Vale.
They became friends quickly after spending a week together.
However, Blake was closer with them since all of them were taking the huntsmen courses and that left the heiress alone most of the time. Nevertheless, they still had lunch and dinner together if it was possible.
Another week had passed and there was still no news from a certain blonde brawler.
Weiss was in her way to the class when her scroll rang.
She quickly answered it, because she recognized that ringtone.
It was specifically set to identify this particular caller from the other.
"Summer?"
"Hi Weiss baby." Summer Rose's voice came from the other side of the scroll.
"Hello."
"I'm sorry to call at a time like this but…I must tell you this now."
"Wha- Is there anything happened to Ruby? Is she-" Weiss dropped her textbooks as she yelled with anxiety.
"No! Calm down Weiss, it's nothing bad." Summer quickly explained.
"Oh…" The heiress breathed out a sigh of relief, "What is it?"
"The insurance company just called. They're paying us the liens so we have enough money to move in to a better hospital."
"They finally agreed to pay?" Weiss asked.
The insurance company wouldn't agree to pay because according to them, Ruby dashed out and got hit by a car. If she didn't do that, the drunk driver wouldn't have hit her so technically it was Ruby's own responsibility.
That made of course made all of them really angry, especially the heiress. She had hired a lawyer to fight for the insurance on the court but Ruby's parents said it was fine. They even declined Weiss' offer to use the Schnee fortune to move Ruby to a better hospital in Atlas.
At first she didn't understand, but Summer reassured her that they had their ways.
"Yes." Summer answered, "Qrow and I used the power of the Huntsmen Union to apply pressure on the company. They can't just get away with it like that honey. You understand why we don't want to accept your offer now?"
"Yeah." Weiss whispered. They didn't want to trouble her – that was the very main reason.
"We'll be moving to Atlas tomorrow. Do you want to…come visit her?"
"Of course!" Weiss half yelled, "I'll be there now. Like, immediately."
"It's fine honey. You can wait till your classes are over."
"No! I must…I must see her now. Don't worry about classes Summer."
"Alright then."
After putting the fancy scroll in her pocket, she picked up her textbooks and ran to the training field.
Blake was sparring with Nora. As the heiress arrived, she just took a full blast in her stomach as the buzz rang, signaling the ginger's victory.
"Miss Fall." Weiss approached the teacher.
"Yes Miss Schnee?" Cinder Fall turned to the heiress.
She flinched a bit, but came to her sense shortly.
Of course she knows me.
"I'm sorry, but I have an emergency. Blake and I have to rush back to Vale now."
Cinder raised her eyebrow.
"Our friend had been rushed to a hospital. We need to see her now." Weiss half lied.
"Of course." The woman nodded, then motioned her hand to call Blake.
"What is it, Miss Fall?"
"Your friend has something to tell you. I will let the headmaster know about this, you girls can go now."
"Thank you." Weiss held Blake's hand and dashed out of the training area.
"Weiss?"
"I'll explain it later."
#
As they were in the private Schnee airship, Weiss explained the whole thing to Blake. The Faunus thanked her for preparing the transportation because they had to wait another hour before the next flight if they were to take public transport.
The airship landed just near to the hospital as both dashed out to see Ruby.
If their friend was moved to Atlas, then they wouldn't be able to see her that often already.
Qrow and Summer greeted them as they arrived.
The Rose-Branwen family would move to Atlas too as it was easier for them to visit their daughter. They had let the Belladonnas take care of their house here in Vale as they planned to rent them out to people.
The monochrome pair then helped the couple to pack things up in their house. They knew how tired Qrow and Summer were, but they could only do so much to help them out.
After finishing the dinner prepared by the skilled huntress, Weiss and Blake had gone to pay Secret Base a visit.
The route was still the same as they had remembered it.
They were greeted by a blast of red and gold as they reached Secret Base as it was fall at the moment. First they talked to Topaz a bit, then cleaned his grave and lastly they sat on those huge rocks beside the lake, gazing at the galaxy of stars in the dark sky.
Blake sensed the uneasiness emitted by the girl beside her.
"Weiss, what is it?"
"What is what?"
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Are you thinking about Yang again?"
Weiss jumped slightly upon listening to the tone the Faunus used.
She recognized it.
"I was just thinking about moving to Atlas too."
"I see…"
Both didn't say anything for a while.
"Weiss."
"Yes?"
"I uh…wherever you go…I'll be with you." Blake avoided looking at her.
Blue orbs widened.
Weiss understood the true meaning.
"Blake, I…"
"I know." Blake answered in a low voice, "I don't mind. I'll make peace just by being around you."
"Blake, don't…"
"It's okay Weiss. I won't run away. And you didn't hurt me so you shouldn't blame yourself."
Weiss honestly didn't expect Blake to feel that way about her too.
So it wasn't just Yang?
"I knew about Yang's feelings for you." Blake said as a breeze brushed through her hair, making it danced in the dark, "Since a long time ago."
All this time, it wasn't just Yang who was hiding her own feelings.
Blake was too, and the hurt could be just as much as Yang's.
Weiss didn't understand why two of her best friends fell for her, and she thought they shouldn't.
Because the heiress didn't deserve their love.
She was always on the receiving end, watching people getting hurt because of her and she was tired of this. She wanted to just disappear and perhaps it would make them feel better.
"Blake, I don't want to hurt you."
"I just told you you didn't."
"Even if I didn't, I will."
"No Weiss. I've been through all these difficult things because you're supporting me. You didn't hurt me; you helped me."
Unable to argue anymore the heiress just hugged her knees close to her chest, hiding her expression while silently blaming herself.
I'm really sorry, Yang and Blake.
#
I haven't really had the mood to write this, but I don't wanna keep you guys waiting.
I'm pretty stressed now so the quality of this might not be good. Nevertheless, thank you for reading my story.
Please support me on Pa-treon as 'The Tanker' if you like my stories.
I do not own RWBY.
