The worst part of waking up is knowing you have to do things.
Her silver eyes flickered open, and the first thing the petite girl noticed was the stark white walls. The artificial light from the fluorescent tubes was glaringly bright. Her head pounded. She had a dry throat. And there were people staring at her, two girls slightly older than she was. Slowly, her memories drifted back to her as the blonde threw her arms up and around her slim body. Surprisingly, she couldn't feel her left arm underneath the blonde's weight. She glanced at it, and was unsurprised at the plaster cast covering it.
"I'm so glad you're awake!" the blonde cheered. Ruby grimaced at her sister's high-pitched voice – it wasn't doing her headache any favours.
"You gave us quite a scare, Ruby. How are you feeling?" Blake asked. She watched the girl over the top of her book.
"I-I'm fine." Ruby couldn't believe the sound of her voice. It was husky, and it hurt as much to speak as it did to think. "What's the big deal? So I slept in, so what? And why am I back in hospital?" Yang blinked, and the joyful look on her face faded into a sadder one.
"Ruby… you've been unconscious for two days." The redhead's eyes widened. Her headache cleared, and the memory of the fight slammed into her with the force of a truck. Yang reached over and pressed a straw against her sister's mouth. Thirstily, the girl gulped away at the contents of the glass, the water easing the pain from her dry throat.
"T-two days?" she squeaked. Her voice sounded slightly closer to normal, although it was still a little bit raspy.
Blake nodded. "Two days. Noir was keeping an eye on you when you snuck out, but he was distracted. By the time he reached you, you were unconscious." Ruby blushed. She could faintly remember being carried, and his reassurances.
"I remember what happened," she said, and she felt Yang pull away. A shadow fell over the doorway, and as Yang's hair cleared her vision, Ruby found herself looking at Professor Ozpin, Noir standing close behind.
"Well, I think we'll be interested in hearing about it," the professor stated, his mug of coffee still in-hand. Blake slid from the chair across from the girl's bed for the elder man, while Noir stood with his back to the wall, notepad in hand. Ruby gulped slightly, and sipped at the water through the straw.
"I went to Summer's memorial, to get some of the things that were haunting me off my chest. But, while I was there, four members of the White Fang approached me. They taunted me, and told me they would spare me if I went with them. Then they…" Ruby turned her glance down towards her hands, and studied them. Despite being clean, she could almost see the blood dripping down the blade of Crescent Rose and coating her hands, just like her dream. "They attacked me, and I fought back like they were Grimm, not like they were faunus. I threw them off the cliff." Yang's eyes widened and Blake seemed paler than usual, Ruby noticed. Strangely, Noir and the Professor didn't seem fazed by the revelation. "But that wasn't the worst part. The last one called himself Crucible, whatever that means. Then he said his real name was Cain. He was a wolf faunus, a big one, and he had a rifle-sword. He was the one who cut me, and that was the start of our fight. And then he…" Ruby's voice choked away, as the memory of the misshapen blade rose to her mind's eye. "He melted Crescent Rose's blade with a single touch. After that, it's just a blur." Ozpin nodded sagely. Noir's head was lowered as he scrawled information on the pad of paper.
"I see. Well, you've given us a good starting point. There will be resources tracking down this 'Cain', starting immediately. Good luck in your recovery, Miss Rose." Ozpin stood again, and took a sip of his coffee as he walked out. Noir looked up after him, but made no immediate attempt to leave. Instead, he looked at Ruby. His sunglasses made guessing what he was thinking a chore.
"How are you holding up?" he asked. Ruby blushed; the attention was getting to her.
"F-fine," she stammered. The feline faunus smiled and slid a hand up to his sunglasses. In a single pull, he slid them free. His slit pupils bored into the girl, and she shivered even with the smiling sparkle there.
"Glad to hear it. You gave me a bit of a fright when I found you." He looked down, and she could feel his shame. Yang blinked. This was unlike Noir, at least in her experience with him. "I'm sorry that I didn't notice you needed the help." He stood back up, and nodded to Blake. "You might want to head to the docking bays; apparently Weiss is arriving in a minute." The young man slid his glasses back on, and gave the girls one last smile. "Found out a surprise is arriving soon, so I'd look forward for the next few days if I was you, Ruby." With that, he was out the door. Blake silently took her leave as well. She knew just what Weiss would be like if she wasn't greeted. This left the sisters together again. Yang sighed, and rustled her younger sister's hair into a mess.
"Get some rest, Ruby. Weiss will want to see you, and we all know what that'll end up like." The younger girl giggled, despite her pout at the messed hair.
"Yeah, I know. See you later, Yang," she replied, and settled back into the bed to watch cartoons on the little TV hanging from the roof. Yang smiled and slid the door shut behind her. She had an idea on how to keep Ruby's spirits up, and now all she needed was the others to agree to it.
She strode down the stairs of the Mantis with purpose. Her head was held high, and her stride was driven, even with suitcase in hand. This was a façade. Just as she had been since the phone call about Ruby, Weiss's heart ached. She was trying to figure out where she stood towards the girl, if it was just friendship or a crush, and then she finds out the girl had been comatose for two days. She wanted to scream in Yang's face for keeping it a secret from her. As she had guessed, Blake was standing there waiting for her, although she was surprised to find Tira there as well.
"I heard that you were arriving with wounded," the healer explained, her read on the heiress's confused expression clearly correct. Weiss sighed, but she nodded. Blake looked at her, and raised an eyebrow. She remained silent.
"I think I'll head back to the dormitories, freshen up a little bit. Then I'll visit Ruby." Weiss looked at Blake, and she hoped that the catgirl would disagree and take her straight to the medical centre, but instead the faunus just shrugged.
"Whatever you say," she murmured, and settled into the same pace as the heiress as the two walked back to the dormitories in silence. Weiss was glad for it, she had to admit. Finally, the catgirl broke the silence. "Sorry we didn't tell you sooner about Ruby, but it's been a busy few days. Yang didn't leave her sister's side until she made the phone call, and I was distracted-"
"By taking care of Yang. I understand." Weiss sighed, and listened to the crunch of the ground under Blake's boots. "I don't exactly like being left out of the lurch, but I understand." The girls walked into the dormitories, and were surprised to see Jaune standing in the kitchen holding a bottle of sports drink, shirtless and covered in sweat.
"Do we even want to know?" the heiress asked, prompting the exhausted-looking hunter to smile.
"I was released from hospital today, and Pyrrha decided I needed to catch up on our training sessions. She really worked me harder than normal." Jaune paused, and swallowed a long swig of the drink. Weiss wasn't entirely impressed at his physique, but at least he wasn't like Langford, all bulk. Jaune had some definition, which counted for, well, something. "I probably should go back there, before she drags me back." Weiss nodded as he headed back out towards the gym.
"Is there something you haven't told us, Weiss?" The girl froze. She looked back at the catgirl, and she could feel something catch in her throat.
"I'm sorry?" she stammered. She couldn't tell what this question was getting at. "Why are you asking me this?" Blake had a faint smile across her face.
"It was two days, and you weren't in any danger. How did Langford end up breaking his nose?" Weiss relaxed slightly. Blake wasn't suspicious of anything.
"He was being stupid at the top of a flight of stairs and slipped, so he ended up slamming his nose into the wall." Weiss rolled her eyes, although in her mind, she smiled at the believable excuse. Blake just raised an eyebrow.
"You mean he wasn't being a pervert? That's a first." Weiss laughed, and strode into her room to dump down her suitcase.
"Tell me about it."
Jaune gulped as he walked into the gym. He could see Pyrrha standing in the middle of the sparring mats, stretching. His eyes tracked down her body, absorbing all of her sweat-drenched beauty. After all, it wasn't every day he got to spend time with his girlfriend when she was dressed in just a sports bra and leggings. She smiled at him, and he felt self-conscious at the lack of shirt on his back.
"Are you ready, Jaune?" she asked, a teasing note in her voice. "Just because you've been in hospital for a few days doesn't get you out of this." He made a point to stick out his chest.
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," he replied. He stood in front of her, and shifted into the stance the two of them had drilled for the past two years – left leg forward, right arm back. Left arm held up as if covered by his shield, right arm lowered to the side with a clenched fist. Pyrrha just smiled and shifted into a more traditional boxing stance. He gestured, and the fight began.
She advanced, and launched two quick jabs, but he swung his left arm into their path to block. He followed with a rapid right hook that Pyrrha easily deflected with an open palm. He rolled with the deflection to follow with a left jab, but she caught it with her right hand. Annoyed, he swung with his right again, but her left gripped it. The two were locked like that for a moment, motionless. Then with a sudden knee lift, it was over.
Jaune found himself staring up at the woman he cared about. Just the fear of taking a knee to the crotch had made him flinch, and her grapple had knocked him down with ease after that.
"You need to focus, Jaune." Pyrrha's hand wrapped around his wrist, and the strong girl hauled him to his feet. He grimaced, and returned to his ready stance. She just smiled as she shifted into a kickboxing ready position.
She swung her left foot into the air, but he parried the high kick with his defending arm. She spun with the block, to attack with a right-handed roundhouse. Jaune leant to the side, and the punch sailed past. He could feel it again, the rhythm of the fight. Pyrrha pulled her fist back, and swung her left hand in a hook for his jaw. He blocked with his left, and countered with a right jab towards her chest. She stepped backwards, caught her breath, then darted forwards with an open palmed thrust to his chest. He let it strike, but used his aura to absorb the attack, his feet still firmly planted into the ground. She nodded, a smile flitting across her face.
"Now you've got it. Again, with more leg movement." Pyrrha's commands entered Jaune's mind, but he didn't reset his stance. Instead, he closed his eyes for a moment. He listened. Ren's old lessons at the dances of the Festival payed off – he could hear the rhythm of her heartbeat. The pattern of her breath. And he could hear the little twitches from his own body. He smiled as his eyes flew open. He flicked his fingers in the honoured "bring it on" motion, and she came.
Pyrrha didn't hold back. She could see Jaune could feel the pace now, and so she made sure he would. Right hand jab, he blocked. Left hook, he side-stepped. Left side kick. Right uppercut. Jaune stepped backwards and both missed. She brought her foot back, but he struck. One punch caught her on the right shoulder, knocking her backwards a step. The second bounced off her hard abs. She continued moving back, rendering the rest of his assault fruitless. She charged, two steps followed by a snap-kick, but Jaune deflected with an aura-enhanced tap. She spun with the touch, shifting into a roundhouse. He side-stepped to the right and towards her. Momentarily, she was suspended in balance around her kick. He reached forward and placed a light shove on her shoulder, and she fell. As she dropped, her leg hooked around the back of his, and brought him down with her.
"You've learned well, Jaune." Pyrrha murmured, a smile across her face. He just shrugged in response.
"Had a good teacher." She laughed at that, and the two just lay there, staring at the ceiling. Finally, Pyrrha sighed and lifted herself back up.
"We better get moving if we want to get in a shower before dinner. I don't think Weiss would be happy if we ate like this," she explained. Jaune checked the time, and sure enough, there was only ten minutes before the normal dinner time, and tonight, Ren was cooking. Pyrrha offered him a hand, and with a single pull, he was back on his feet. With the barest hint of a wink between them, the two ran back for the dorms.
Yang waited until everyone was eating. It was a simple dinner, a stir-fry with bits of leftover meat scattered through it. Nora was talking about some birds she'd chased during the day while out with Ren. Pyrrha and Jaune both had drenched hair from late showers, and were pretty quiet as they listened to Nora. Tira was talking in hushed tones to Weiss, and the heiress's face burned from the things the medic was saying. Blake was reading, already finished her dinner, while Sun and Noir simply relaxed, sipping at their colas.
"Guys, I have an idea." Yang stood in her spot, and slowly the gazes of the others turned to her. "Jaune was hurt. Ruby's been in and out of hospital. Langford's nose was broken on a trip away." The girl could have sworn Weiss's face was pink at the mention of the pervert's accident. "We're all stressed out, and I think a day as a group might help."
"And what would you suggest?" Sun countered, leaning back on his chair as far as he could. "We all go shopping together? Or maybe you just to go tear up another night club, which we couldn't take Ruby to in the first place." Blake's eyes widened at his sarcastic tone, and she opened her mouth to scold him, but Yang was faster. To her teammate's surprise, she smiled at Sun's sarcasm.
"I was actually thinking a picnic in Forever Fall tomorrow. Take out a portable grill, whatever kinds of food you want, some blankets, maybe folding chairs and possibly a tent or cover. Ruby's only under overnight observation, as far as I know. As long as she's back in her room by night-time, and Tira keeps an eye on her, there's no reason why she can't come too." She smiled at the looks the others gave at the idea, mostly supportive.
"Ooh, we could have fresh sap!" Nora cheered, leaving Ren with an annoyed smile.
"If we find Grimm, it'll give you a better workout than I could, Jaune." Pyrrha remarked, although she wondered why he blushed at the comment.
"So, it's settled then. We go to Forever Fall, and we celebrate living. And beat up any Grimm we come across." Yang remarked, and the cheers sealed the deal.
A/N: Well, THAT took long enough to write. Writers block is a pain in the ass, and to make it even worse, I actually have ideas for chapters after this one. Ugh. Anyway, got a job, got a car, blah blah blah. Enough about me. Let's talk about this fanfic.
Got a poll up, both on the RWBY fanon wiki (under The Rose General, of course), and on my userpage here. Basically, vote for the character/s you want to see in combat for Chapter Ten, because as you can see, I've left it open. As to what will attack them... you'll have to wait and find out. I'll be stopping the voting when I write up to the start of the fighting, so you have until the 10th or 11th of December to get 'em in, possibly later depending on how distracted I get. Since nobody here has wanted to give ideas for plot, and only a few people have provided OCs... this has been required.
Anywho, see you all on the flip side. Flare out.