The next few weeks were quiet enough. Mayumi had taken Vira's advice, begrudgingly, and avoided Clover as much as possible. Pixie calmed down, and, looking at her team leader now, Mayumi tries to convince herself that Pixie's grin is worth losing the comfort that came with talking to Clover. Even if she had only known him for a short amount of time, it stung to have him taken away.

Whenever she tried to even look at a textbook she'd think of him, and how much easier it would be with him helping. That's not even taking into account the pang in her chest whenever she passed him in the hallway, or saw him in the library. She couldn't even bear to look at him, not when he had such a pitiful expression on his face. He looked after her, his eyes wide with confusion. There was no way for him to know what had happened, and why Mayumi had suddenly cut him off. The thought of it now cuts deep, and stings more than the cold air around her.

"I love the snow," Pixie murmurs, closing her eyes and allowing the snowflakes to catch on her eyelashes. "Don't you?"

Mayumi twitches her tail, wrapping it over her midriff. She'd like it more if it wasn't so cold. Judging by the shuffling of her teammates around her, she figures they're having similar thoughts.

"Yes, I do," Mayumi responds. She extends a hand and lets the snow settle there. The cool sensation starts in her palm and tickles her skin, quickly dissipating as she rubs her hands together.

"Good! Then I'm sure you'll love sparring in it," Pixie starts. Gabriel folds his arms, his brows furrowing.

"Really? But there's a gym we can spar in. I don't really think there's any reason to be out here in the-"

"Aren't you supposed to like the cold? You should be used to it, being from Atlas," Pixie snaps snidely. Gabriel falls silent, though his amber gaze simmers, making up for his lack of a comeback. Pixie takes his silence as victory, and continues.

"Anyways, we're training out here because there will be no time off, not even during bad weather. It's good to get the practice in," Pixie says, placing a hand on her hip. "Besides, school grounds are safe from Grimm. The only thing you guys need to worry about is the cold, and your sparring partner. Perfectly safe."

Pixie pauses, glancing over the three of them, her forehead knitted with contemplation. After a few minutes of silence, she points to Gabriel, and then Mayumi.

"You two start off. Whoever wins fights Randy, whoever loses fights me. Randy, pay attention," she says, snapping her fingers to signal her impatience.

Mayumi takes a few steps into the snow, shaking the white flakes from her head and her tail. Pulling out her swords, she squares up against Gabriel. He's got his eyes on her, watching her closely. He's waiting for the perfect moment to strike, trying to find a weak spot in her defenses.

Unfortunately for him, she's doing the same thing, only better. As he pushes forward, he pulls back his cybernetic arm and thrusts it forward. Fleet-footed, she leaps back and his attack strikes air.

She knows his style. Lacking a long range attack, it's best for her to keep her distance, and since she's faster, he'll never be able to close that distance. In fact, she wonders why Pixie even put them against each other in a one-on-one match. He's sure to lose.

And sure enough, he does. Mayumi moves much too quickly for his attacks, and stays out of the range between strikes. Soon, he's on his back in the snow, his dark hair covered in frost.

"And over! Good job Yu-Yu," Pixie purrs. Mayumi nods to Pixie, and, ignoring her partner's look of irritation, turns to help Gabriel up. Snow falls from his hair as he shakes his head, nodding in thanks to Mayumi.

"You're getting better!" Mayumi encourages him, and he shakes his head.

"Not fast enough," he says, glancing at Pixie. Mayumi blinks. He's been awfully distracted with Pixie lately, always staring at her. Mayumi reaches up and brushes snow from his hair, patting his frosted, rose-toned, cheek.

"You're going at a great pace!"

"Mayumi!"

"Sorry!" Mayumi chirps, turning towards Pixie and hurrying over.

"I want you to watch mine and Gabriel's fight," Pixie says, pausing and placing a hand on Mayumi's shoulder. Mayumi's stomach drops. There's hunger in Pixie's tone. As Pixie walks towards Gabriel, Mayumi reaches out and grabs her companion's wrist.

"Pixie, be careful with him-" Mayumi starts, only for Pixie to rip herself free. Randy glances over, his blue eyes wide.

"What was that?" he asks, but at a glance from Pixie, Mayumi shuts her mouth.

"I was just telling her to fight carefully." Mayumi hides her shaking hands behind her back and smiles at Randy, smiling wider as he approaches. He glances over at Gabriel, then reaches out and takes Mayumi's hand, pulling it from behind her back.

"No you didn't," he whispers in a quivering voice.

Mayumi doesn't speak, her eyes locked on Pixie as she walks away. Pixie pulls out her weapons in one fluid moment, and without waiting for Gabriel to prepare, she jumps into the fight.

Pixie's attacks are relaxed. Each strike is perfectly placed, fast and accurate, keeping Gabriel at bay. She doesn't worry about his attacks, which soon become desperate, and sloppy. Instead she pushes against him, a force of nature that's just as biting as the wind whipping around the sparring partners.

A crack of her whip bears down on Gabriel, crashing towards his face. He holds up his glowing arm, shielding his face as his eyes squeeze shut.

"I concede!" he yelps, though Pixie doesn't seem to hear him. Instead, she pulls her arm back and goes in for another attack, shattering his aura.

"Pixie, what are you doing?" Randy rushes forward, and Mayumi grabs his wrist, shaking. She couldn't let him intervene. If he did that, she'd have to watch both of her friends get hurt and she couldn't bear that. Randy tugs against her, but she refuses to relent.

"I'll talk to her, you stay back," Mayumi murmurs. She dashes to Pixie and grabs her arm, holding her back. Pixie grunts and whirls to face Mayumi, her blue eyes burning.

"What are you doing?"

"H-his aura broke, you'll hurt him," Mayumi responds, her grip tightening fearfully. Pixie, glancing between Mayumi and Randy, and then back to Gabriel, lowers her weapons and cracks a grin.

"Oh come on, I wasn't really going to hurt him. That's silly, you know, I just like teasing Gabriel," she says with a shrug. The sharp anger in her eyes fades and she sheaths her Urumi and continues: "Mayumi, Randy, you two are next. Give me your best!"

The rapid beating of Mayumi's heart subsides and she glances at Randy, noticing that he's still shaking.

~Scene Break~

Vira scratches down the day's events in her notebook. Not too much had happened, but sometimes the tiniest details were her favorites. For example, Mayumi had delivered cupcakes to Vira, the kind with the blue frosting. Vira's favorite. Well, it isn't the blue frosting that's her favorite, it's Mayumi's baking. She can bake a mean cupcake.

Breaking her thoughts, the door to her dorm room swings open and Clover walks in, followed by Cerna's hulking figure. Just seeing Clover strikes Vira with guilt, though she can't remember what she had done.

"I don't get girls! Like, at first, she's acting like she really wants to hang out, but now it's been weeks and she hasn't talked to me. At all. I see her in the library, and I swear, you can call me crazy, but she runs away from me. Did I scare her? Do you think I did something wrong?"

"Well, you are pretty dense." Cerna responds to Clover, taping his partner on the back of the head.

"Whatever… I still think it's weird."

Vira flips back a few pages in her notebook, searching for notes of a conversation with Mayumi that would explain why she's been avoiding Clover. Finally, she stops at a page covered in deep scribbles.

Mayumi was punished because of Clover. She needs to stay away from him. Keep her away!

She looks up at Clover and bites her lip, remembering scraps of the conversation with Mayumi. Clover can't know, and her heart goes out to him because of it. It can't be helped, though. She still has to keep Clover away from Mayumi, according to her notes.

"I'm sure she'll come around when she's ready, you don't actually know that she's upset with you-"

"Actually she's really mad!" Vira blurts, wanting to keep even the thought of trying to mend things out of Clover's head. Clover looks over at Vira in shock, squinting at her.

"She is? Why didn't you tell me?" he shoots back, his words tinged with anger.

"She asked me not to, b-but you seemed so sad, so I figured...oh I don't know," Vira sputters back. Cerna steps between the two and places a hand on Clover's shoulder, glancing over at Vira.

"Easy now, Vira and Mayumi are good friends and I'm sure Vira only wanted to respect Mayumi's wishes. Let's not start yelling at each other," Cerna says, his gaze flickering between the two. Clover shakes his head, plopping himself down on his bed.

"Can you at least tell me what I did?" Clover asks, burying his face in his hands. Vira shakes her head.

"No. She told me not to, and I already said way too much," Vira says quietly. The group sits in silence for a moment before Clover hops up out of his bed.

"I'll go visit her! I'll go to her dorm to apologize to her, and offer to go buy her some paint or something," Clover says brightly. Vira's eyes widen in horror.

"Oh, I don't know about that…" she starts, only to be cut off by Clover's rambling.

"It'll be great! You guys were great help, but I'm going to head there now!"

He's gone before Vira can utter another word. Vira grips her bed frame to steady herself.

"Vira, are you okay? Can you tell me what's going on?" Cerna asks, sitting down next to her. She shakes her head, staring at a spot on the dorm room floor.

"Can I say no?" Vira asks, glancing over at Cerna. Cerna's face twists, concern flashing in his eyes. He tentatively reaches out and places a hand on her shoulder, squeezing her.

"Vira, I've been very patient with you. I understand that whatever is going on with you, it's a lot, and that you aren't ready to talk about it. But I know that something is wrong, and I know that something must be wrong with Mayumi, too. I will never force you to do something you do not want to do, but I think it would be best if you told me what was happening," Cerna explains. Vira shakes her head, pushing her face into Cerna's chest. She can feel his stomach rise with a deep, shaking breath.

"I will be here to talk to you when you are ready," he says, patting her back. Vira feels tears start to form and shakes her head, gripping the cloth of his shirt.

"Y-you don't understand, I can't ever tell you." Vira quivers, biting down on her inner cheek. How would she even begin? She can't even remember most of it. And if she did tell Cerna any of it… well she was sure that something terrible would happen to the both of them. It feels as though she's drowning, with the final waves crashing over her head as the water sucks her deeper. The warmth and heaviness of his arms pull around her, squeezing her closer. His fingers run over her hair, patting the black curls. He can't find the words to respond.

~Scene Break~

No one talked about the incident with Gabriel on the way back to the PMGR dorm room. By now, everyone had learned to ignore incidents with Pixie and move on, because if someone brought it up, everyone suffered. The team's happiness relies on Pixie's, and Mayumi is thankful that everyone has learned the very rule that she's had to live by for so long. It made managing Pixie so much easier.

Once in the dorm, Pixie throws open the door and gestures inside.

"Great work today guys! I'm going to go visit with a friend of mine, I'm sure you all have plenty of studying to do," she says, and Mayumi can feel Pixie's eyes on her.

"We sure do," Mayumi responds quietly, grabbing a textbook off of her bed and sitting down. Pixie looks over the rest of her team, which are doing the same, and nods approvingly before turning towards the door. As she opens it, the fur on Mayumi's tail bristles as a familiar scent wafts into the room.

"Hey! Is Mayumi in here? I need to talk to her." Clover's voice rings clearly in the room, sending shiver's down Mayumi's spine. Her nails dig into the cover of her book, clutching it so tightly that her knuckles turn white.

"She is, but she's busy. Come back later," Pixie snarls in reply. Mayumi can't even look up to see what's happening. Instead, she watches as her own sweat drips onto the pages of her textbook and tears blur her vision.

"Oh, like, how much later?" Clover asks. She can hear him shuffling, probably trying to get past Pixie and into the room.

"She doesn't want to talk to you. Okay? And I don't want you talking to her. Stay the fuck away," Pixie snaps. Clover laughs nervously, and the confusion in his voice is a vice around Mayumi's heart, squeezing it.

"R-really? Ok. Well, I'd like to talk to her. Are you sure I can't just, talk to her for a couple minutes? I'd like to apologize for whatever it is I did…"

The door slams and Mayumi shuts her textbook, finally able to pull her gaze up. She hears Pixie's voice, muffled, shouting from the other side.

"I told you to stay away, didn't I? That means stop asking questions and listen. If I see you so much as look at Mayumi again, we're gone. We can leave at any moment, you don't believe me? Try me. I dare you to!"

"I'm sorry, why are you-"

"What did I say about questions? Go back to your team and stay away from mine," Pixie snarls. Quiet footsteps shuffle away, and then Pixie's clicking heels go down the hall in the opposite direction.

"Mayumi, are you okay?" Gabriel asks. Mayumi hugs her knees to her chest, shaking her head. She didn't know how to answer. A hand gently touches her shoulder, and she flinches.

"I've gotten everyone in trouble," she murmurs.

"Mayumi, you realize this isn't your fault, right? Pixie is acting horribly, and that's not something you-"

"I should have stopped it! If I had just acted how I was supposed to, Pixie wouldn't be doing any of this. I was selfish. I like Clover, I really like him, but now Pixie's angry at him and he doesn't even know why," Mayumi snaps, hugging herself tighter. Her tail curls up around her, and she finds some comfort in its warmth.

"Mayumi…"

"I just need some quiet time to think," Mayumi whispers. The hand leaves her shoulder.

"I'm here if you need me, I'm not sure how to help," Gabriel says. Randy stands up and throws his hands in the air.

"That's it, we need to go to Ozpin. Come on, I can't watch you live like this. I can't keep living like this! Pixie needs to be reprimanded, and Ozpin can do that!"

"No!" Mayumi shouts, her head jerking towards Randy. She feels her chest tighten. If there's even a risk of them being found out, they go back home to Chaos. They go back home to Ivan. She wouldn't be able to handle his disappointment, there would be no way he let her remember the people she met at Beacon. Vira… she stood even less of a chance.

"Why not?" Randy snaps.

"B-because, then we leave. Pixie will take me away, Narcissa will take Vira away. I-I'm not ready for that," Mayumi pleads.

"What if we take you with us? You can explain everything to Ozpin-" Mayumi interrupts him, shaking her head.

"What if that doesn't work? I-I can't risk that. I can't let you tell Ozpin!" Mayumi wails, her voice a piercing screech.

"It's ok, I understand," Gabriel says quietly, pulling Mayumi into a hug. She shakes her head.

"You can't understand, but I appreciate that you are trying," she murmurs, still trembling despite his support. Randy inhales sharply, but sits back down on his bed.

"If things aren't different by finals, we're going to Ozpin. I can't sit here and watch you go through this," Randy explains. Mayumi doesn't respond, only nods quietly. She'll have to go to Narcissa, Narcissa will put Pixie in her place. She always does.

~Scene Break~

Pixie grips the USB in her hand, squeezing it. She tries to ground herself with the mission, looking down at what Narcissa had given her. Today was the day, she's going to find the blueprints, and, additionally, Narcissa had requested that she download whatever is on the USB onto the janitor's computer while she's there.

As much as she wants to keep her mind on her goal, she can't shake her anger. Her thoughts are jumbled, a mixture of Gabriel and Clover. She can't figure out which one she's angrier at. On one hand, Gabriel, that atlesian rat, has clearly been inserting himself into Pixie's relationship with Mayumi. What kind of thoughts is he putting in her head, perhaps right now… she has to stop. Leaning against a wall, she grips her chest and her head suddenly feels much too light. Her vision swims.

And then there's Clover. What did he think he was doing, showing up at her doorstep, in her domain, and requesting Mayumi? Her fingers find her pigtails and she tugs, shaking her head. The USB tumbles to the ground and she jerks her head to stare at it.

Right. The mission. With trembling fingers, she reaches down and picks up the USB. Running her fingers over it, she exhales, her lips quivering.

She can take care of Clover, she has to take care of Clover. Gabriel too… but Clover is the one being bold. She needs to take care of him first. Her heart steadies and she begins to breathe evenly again. Clover won't be an issue for long, but for now, she needs to do what Narcissa asks of her.

When she gets to the janitor's room, she opens the door and glances inside. He's gone for his smoke break, and he'll be back in twenty minutes. No. Fifteen, since she had wasted time sputtering in the hallway.

She walks over to his desk and flips over his computer, glancing up at the door. In her head, she's already flipping through excuses.

I was downloading this new program, it'll help your computer run faster.

He'd believe her. She starts up his computer and inserts the chip, her heart racing for more than one reason. Now's also the time to find his blueprints. Maybe after her efforts, even Narcissa would finally see why Ivan sent her on this stupid mission. Pixie snorts. That's beyond doubtful. Narcissa had never seen Pixie's worth, and she doubts the snake of a woman ever will.

Where would the janitor keep the blueprints?

She scours the room, finding her way to the room's closet. The door isn't even all the way shut, and she easily slips inside.

The closet is a complete mess, full of crumpled papers and bottles with faded, unreadable labels. Surely, the blueprints were one of the balled-up wads lying about the floor? As she starts sifting through the mess, she snarls with frustration. Couldn't this man keep anything orderly? She supposes that he won't notice the missing blueprints, or, in the very least, no one will suspect they were stolen. Everyone, including himself, will simply believe that he lost them himself.

"Where the fuck is it," she snarls, only to be met with familiar laughter from behind.

"Where the fuck is what?"

She turns around to meet him, smiling sweetly.

"Oh, I'm looking for… uh, floor plans for the school. I need them for a project and I figured that since we're such good friends, you wouldn't mind if I borrow them?" she ventures.

"You mean, if you stole them? You don't seem to be asking for them," he responds with a haggard cough. Her face flushes with rage, and she's barely able to quiet her temper.

"I would've put them back," she shoots back with a hand on her jutted hip. He squints, then shakes his head.

"What class is this for?"

"History," she snaps back. He approaches her, a look of sickening concern in his eyes. What was he so worried about? She swallows the urge to rip that look of pity off his face.

"I see. Here, why don't you take a picture of the blueprints? Will that work?"

Pixie nods, following him with her eyes. He moves to his desk and pulls open a drawer, his eyes landing on the computer.

"What's this USB?" he asks, slowly pulling the blueprints out of the drawer.

"Well, Narcissa made a program that she said would help my computer run faster… so I was going to download it on yours in exchange for the blueprints," she says quickly. He glances up at her, his brows cocked.

"Rather than just… taking them. Now that doesn't seem like you," he says with a chuckle. When she sees him relax, her own posture does as well.

"Well, get on over here and take the pictures. What project is it?"

"I just have to write about the architecture of Beacon, and I figured the blueprints would be helpful," she says, making up the rest of her lie on the spot. She pulls out her scroll and starts taking pictures of the blueprints.

"How long will this take to download?" he asks as she takes the pictures. Glancing over at the computer, she smiles, though her hands are shaking.

"It's almost done," she snaps.

"Is something alright? Every time you come here, you seem more-"

"I'm fine!" she snaps, turning her sharp gaze towards him, her upper lip twitching.

"Alright...alright." He lifts his hands in surrender, waiting until she's finished to take them. He moves around her as though she's a wild animal, one that could launch for his jugular at any second.

When the program was downloaded, Pixie took the USB and tucked it into her cleavage. She feels a hand on her shoulder and in seconds, she's got the janitor's fingers in a vice-like grip.

"Pixie, no-now I know I'm not much, but somethings wrong with you. I can tell," he starts. Pixie throws his hand away with disgust, unable to hide her anger.

"Fuck off, stop asking me shit. I give you cigarettes, and you let me get away with smoking them in here. That's it. You don't need to know anything about me, or my life," she snaps. Without letting him get another word in, she storms out of the room. Just another man trying to interfere with her plans, her life. She just wants, needs, them all to leave her alone.