Chapter Nine: Sigh of the Moon

Pale moonlight poured into the room of Team ZERO, creating a light among the darkness in the room. The four students were trying their best to rest up for tomorrow: assessment day. Tomorrow, teams from all over campus would have their skills put to the test to rank the teams. Though everybody in the team needed the rest, Ella's attempts to fall asleep were fruitless. She tossed and turned in her bed, groaning at the inability to drift into dreamland. Another hour of unrest and she had finally given up, rising up from her bed and stretching her arms out.

"Great...", she sighed, reaching under her bed.

From under her bed, she pulled out a few dust canisters, a sewing kit and the dress she planned to wear tomorrow. With the extra time, she decided to sew some more dust into her clothes. As she was about to start, she heard a strange sound on the other side of the room.

"Mmmnn...n-no..."

Ella looked towards the disturbance, and gasped at the sight. Rizu was tossing and turning in his sleep, his mechanical arm clutching his bed frame, starting to break and crack the wood. Small, disgruntled whimpers could be heard from him as his nightmare plagued him. Cautiously, the she approached her comrade and sat on the edge of his bed, reaching out for his shoulder. As her hand barely brushed his bare skin, Rizu woke with a start and gripped her wrist with his right hand, panting.

"W-Who's here?!", he asked, out of breath.

"It's me Ella!", she whispered, yanking her arm away.

"Oh...sorry. You startled me is all", he sighed, catching his breath.

The teenager sat up in his bed, his chest glistening in a cold sweat from the gentle light of the moon. After he had calmed down, Rizu looked in Ella's general direction and began to speak.

"Sorry if I woke you", he muttered.

"No it's okay. I was already awake. I couldn't fall asleep to save my life", she whispered, awkwardly giggling.

"What's the matter?", he asked.

"Just...I'm nervous for tomorrow. I don't want to lose control like I did at the sparring match", she dreaded.

Ella began to remember that horrible day. The day she almost lost control and scorched the entire arena. She didn't want to hurt people, especially not her team. She sighed softly and sat cross-legged on Rizu's bed, looking at him. Ella was shocked to see his right hand find hers.

"With the past few days of training...I'm sure you will do just fine", he says in a strangely encouraging tone.

She looked up at him, the silver light brightening his dim, empty eyes. Though she had not know him for too long, she noticed a drastic change in him, as minimal as it seemed. He had gone from hating everything to...hating less than everything. She knew he wouldn't show it, but he did care about his team. Though in her mind she still pondered why it was he hated so much. Ella smiled softly at him, though he couldn't tell.

"Rizu...can I ask you something?", she prodded carefully.

He was silent at first,"...uh...yeah sure"

She took a deep breath,"Why do you hate?"

"...heh...you know...I always hoped the day someone asked me that question would never come", he sighed, a small chuckle in his voice.

"You don't have to answer"

"No...I do. It's okay"

He pulled his hand away from her, resting it on his leg and sighing. Rizu stayed silent for a few moments, as if coming up with a good way to explain it. The room fell silent, save for some of the gears in Rizu's arm whirring. Before long, he spoke.

"I wasn't always this way. Hating was just...an easier road for me. When I was orphaned...I was too young to understand why and to this day still don't know why. Whether it's because of my weak aura or because I was a mistake or whatever. I'll never know. I didn't know my parents so I didn't have anyone to hate. I was just quiet for most of my childhood. When I got adopted...I was actually happy. I had a place to call home. But then...all of a sudden everything I knew was taken away from me when Ironwood and his cursed soldiers came knocking"

She listened intently, absorbing every bit of his pained explanation.

"I had lost everything I cared about. My family, my friends, and my even part of myself. Sometimes as I wandered around blind and crippled, I wondered why I kept going. What good could I do society in my state? I was about ready to give up...until..."

She interrupted,"Until Sirena found you"

He nodded,"Yeah. She could have killed me, taken my weapon, or anything she wanted...but she chose to take me in. To this day I will never know why. At first I didn't talk. I stayed silent for days. I didn't want to let her in like I did with all the people I knew from the club. I couldn't bear to lose anyone...so that's when my hate began. When she asked me to teach her to fight...everything changed. Maybe I could help her...redeem myself for not being able to help the people back at my old home. Of course...that didn't last long either. My hate grew as I stayed in Atlas custody. Over time...I began to hate everything. I hated my 'father' for doing something illegal...the military for taking my friends and family away...and most of all...I hate myself. I hate that with all my training, I could save nobody but myself...and I dread the day that I can't protect any of you"

As he finished talking, he lowered his head, his eyes half lidded and weary. Ella didn't know what to make of this. Of all the things that he hated, she couldn't believe the one thing Rizu hated more than anything was himself. She put a hand on his cheek slowly, his face jerking up to look to her. He wore the face of a frightened child, not the cold facade he normally projected.

"You don't have to worry about us. We are a team. You won't lose us, I promise", she assured, smiling softly.

For the first time since she had met him, she saw him smile. Not a cocky smirk, or some toothy grin, but a genuine smile.

"Thanks Ella...it means a lot to have you say that actually. Hey uh...this might seem...odd, but I have a favor to ask you", he said awkwardly.

"Sure thing. What is it?", she replied.

"Can I...uh...touch your face?", he asked sheepishly.

She blinked,"I'm sorry what?"

He sighed,"Look, just close your eyes okay?"

There's the Rizu she knew. With a soft sigh, she did was she was told, closing her eyes, waiting for his next move. Rizu reached his human hand out, slowly lifting it to cup her cheek. Carefully, he began to trace out every curve and outline of her face. To Ella, it was strange, yet she understood this was his only way to 'see' what she looked like. Over time, she grew accustomed to it and much unlike his cold demeanor, his hand gave off a gentle warmth. Near the end of it, Ella began to close her eyes and lean into his hand, and was slightly disappointed when he stopped. She was thankful he couldn't see her cheeks start to redden.

"Sorry...if that was weird", he said sheepishly.

"N-No it's fine", she replied, her cheeks getting hotter.

"I...I guess we should try to rest then. Tomorrow is a pretty big day", he yawned.

"Yeah. Well then...goodnight", she got up from his bed and headed to her own.

As she put away her clothes and sewing equipment, she slid back under her covers, actually feeling sleep begin to take over her. After a few minutes, she finally drifted off to a peaceful slumber.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Zane groggily sat up and turned off his alarm clock, yawning loudly as he began to wake up. Seeing what time it was, he began to panic.

"Oh man! Guys get your lazy asses up we're gonna be late!", he shouted, jumping up from bed and starting to get dressed.

Soon enough everyone was awake and tripping over each other to get their clothes on and equipment ready. By the time they had finished getting prepared, they had barely ten minutes to book it to the arena. They tried sneaking in, only for Ozpin himself to catch them.

"And what might you four be doing sneaking into the arena today?", he accused, a playful tone audible.

"We were on our way to take your assessment sir", Orion replied timidly.

"Oh? Well I guess you all weren't awake to hear my announcement. I had moved the assessment from the arena to the forest of Forever Fall", he explained, much to the students' shame.

"I...I guess we failed didn't we?", Ella asked in a saddened tone.

Ozpin sipped from his mug and smiled,"Not necessarily. As it happens...I have an assignment that will well enough compensate for the test"

Zane raised an eyebrow,"An assignment? What kind?"

"Some of my faculty have been assigned to investigate some kind of criminal activity in Atlas, so I can't bother them with this. I need you four to calm down a riot here in the city. The White Fang are getting...a little restless. Would you do this for me?"

The four teens simply nodded without batting an eye.

"Great. I'll send the coordinates to your scrolls. Good luck", the headmaster chimes before walking away.

The team looked at each other, not sure what to make of this mission. Nonetheless, the four made their way to the city, ready to confront whatever they may encounter.

A/N: And there we go! Sorry for the longer than usual delay, but I will be starting to pace myself when it comes to writing these chapters. Also been kinda lazy because of Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Smash 3DS...but yeah. Anyway for those of you who have given me character ideas and are wondering why they aren't in yet, worry not, I will implement them soon. Anyway R&R and look forward to the next chapter! Thanks a ton for your support!