Chapter 10 - - - Tolerance
Sweat dripped off of Ruby's brow as she ducked, dodging a fierce palm strike thrown to her face as she crouched to the floor and swept a leg out to trip Pyrrha who merely jumped into the air to avoid it.
"Wow! That was awesome Pyrrha! You're doing great!" Jaune called from the sidelines.
Pyrrha gave a small smile in gratitude, reluctantly glancing over to her team leader to show that she heard him before refocusing back to the fight simulation she was participating in, keeping her hands up and steady in front of her.
The small break in her attention though, allowed Ruby to suddenly fly toward her with a spinning roundhouse kick and send her to the wall close to Jaune.
"I think we're now... 3 to 1." Ruby grinned as she landed back onto the floor, happy to procure the first victory of their bi-weekly spars.
Pyrrha lightly groaned, getting back to her feet. "As splendid as your display was - if you feel as I do now every time I throw you, then I'm really sorry." she apologized.
"You get used to it after a while." Ruby shrugged as she walked over to Pyrrha.
Pyrrha paused, inclining her head with skepticism. "I don't believe that it's something one should get used to."
"Wait! I-I think you should have a do-over." Jaune insisted. "I distracted her, she wasn't paying attention!"
Ruby shrugged. "Her mistake, my gain. It's not my problem."
"But-" Jaune tried.
Pyrrha nodded, "She's right Jaune. It was my fault for allowing myself to divert my attention. Besides, a single loss isn't too damaging to the current score." she said with a teasing glint to Ruby.
Ruby attempted to resist making a face at the other, but couldn't help but to at least stick her tongue out as she plopped down to the floor and grabbed her water, causing Pyrrha to lightly laugh.
"Now, was there something you needed Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, lowering herself to the bench as she dug out some snacks for her and Ruby out of the bag.
He had been in the room for the past quarter of an hour, waiting for the two to finish sparring because he wanted to talk about something.
Now that the two were and taking a break to build their aura back up, he had the chance to do so.
"Well- The dance is this weekend right?" Jaune began, though quickly realized he shouldn't have started that way as Ruby suddenly narrowed her eyes down at him and tense.
"You better not be thinking about asking Weiss again because-" Ruby nearly growled, feeling personally offended by the idea as if she were the one he was attempting to continuously ask.
"No! No not at all! I stopped thinking about it since last time!" Jaune frantically placated, casting a quick glance over to Pyrrha for help.
"Ruby, let's hear what Jaune has to say." Pyrrha said with an easing tone and smile, handing Ruby a bag of sliced apples as if it were a bribe.
She stared at the offering with slight skepticism, lured by the fruit to be eaten as she casted a quick glance up to Pyrrha who merely smiled a little wider, gesturing to the bag with a nod of assurance.
It seemed to have worked, as Ruby merely grumbled, settling back down and accepting the sliced apples.
She was never one to turn down food.
Pyrrha smiled a little wider, pleased to find that her bribe seemed to have worked rather easily and noted to herself to bring more food for their next spar.
Jaune breathed a sigh of relief before continuing on. "L-Like I was saying, the dance is coming up and I don't know what to do for it. S-So I was wondering if you two could maybe… help?"
Ruby frowned around an apple slice in confusion. "What do you mean you don't know what to do for it? Just show up and have fun." She retorted with a bit of irritation, still feeling guarded over the idea that he might have wished to ask Weiss again.
"What Ruby means to say-" Pyrrha began, pausing in eating her celery sticks as she lightly nudged Ruby with a knee to calm down, "-is that you don't need to have a date. Going with friends can still easily make a memorable night."
Jaune looked at Ruby quizzically, "Is that what you're doing?"
Ruby froze, and hesitantly nodded.
Though, she wouldn't exactly use the word "friends" to describe her teammates as she's certain that their relationships were a little more… complicated, but for the sake of the conversation… "At first, yeah… But I'm probably going to spend most of it with my…" She paused, remembering what Cinder and everyone else told her. "Um… friends… from Haven" she finished awkwardly.
Jaune hummed in thought, before turning to Pyrrha. "Well, what about you Pyrrha?"
"Me? Well- I was hoping to go with you, Nora, and Ren together" Pyrrha explained with uncertainty.
"Wha- B-But. You don't have a date?" Jaune asked baffled.
Pyrrha shuffled uncomfortably before shaking her head. "No."
"But, you- Why not? You should have a whole line of people waiting to ask you to the dance." Jaune exclaimed.
"Well.. I-" Pyrrha awkwardly fidgeted.
Ruby furrowed her brows in slight annoyance and felt herself once again getting a little offended. "That's weird. They wouldn't even know Pyrrha when they ask her to the dance. How is that any fun?" She exasperated.
"Well… It could be fun." Jaune suggested
"Take a chance at a possibility of fun with someone you don't know but an equal chance of the worst time ever, or go with people who you know and have a guaranteed time of fun?" Ruby quirked an eyebrow up. "I don't know. I'd rather stick with the people I know."
"Oh. I guess that's true too." Jaune nodded in agreement. "But I still think someone like Pyrrha will be able to get a date with no problem at all." He laughed easily, standing up to leave.
"Thanks for the advice you guys! It really helped me." Jaune smiled as he left.
As he exited the area, Ruby couldn't help but grumble a little more around a slice of apple. Jaune seemed like a nice guy, but Ruby had a lot of questions about where he got a lot of his ideas from.
"Thank you." Pyrrha said with a strained smile.
Ruby arched a brow up at her spar partner
"For helping me. With Jaune I mean." Pyrrha clarified, shuffling awkwardly again.
"Oh it's fine." Ruby waved off, munching on another slice of her fruit. It wasn't that big of a deal. "It kind of sucks that he distracted you during the spar though."
Pyrrha let out an amused laugh, "You did not seem too guilty about taking advantage of it at the time."
"Nope." Ruby popped her word with a grin, "But still, I almost feel bad about. Almost."
Pyrrha smiled as she took out a sandwich, holding it out to offer for Ruby who happily reached for it before Pyrrha swung it away and took a bite. "I almost feel bad about that." Pyrrha teased with a mischievous glint, "Almost"
Ruby's face nearly fell, the temptation of whining, pouting, or throwing a tantrum like when she's with Cinder trying to overcome her, but she held firm.
To her, it just seemed weird to act that way around her school peers. There was no need for her to be well… childish like she was with Cinder. Being a spoiled, smart brat was fine, as that was Ruby's go to mood since she spent a lot of time with Emerald. Or quiet and easy going like when she spent time with Neo and Roman. Or mischievous and filled with amusement like with Mercury.
… but never openly childish where all her guards were down and she was free to act as if she were spoiled. As if she were on top of the world where nothing could touch her and she would be safe.
It was the type of attention and air that Pyrrha seemed more than happy to provide to anyone in her presence as Ruby noticed during the past few weeks.
Whenever they sparred, or talked during their break after, Pyrrha would give Ruby her undivided attention, always asking about how Ruby was, or if there was anything troubling her, or how her sleep was; they would talk about anything related to Ruby. Meanwhile, Pyrrha refused to talk about herself unless prompted to.
Not just with Ruby though, anytime she found herself with other people, Pyrrha would focus her attention on everyone else, making it rather easy for others to talk over her or for her to retreat quietly behind a smile as she simply watched.
Like during their; joint teams study session, lunches, and those occasional bouts where their teams sit next to each other in sparring class, Pyrrha seemed content to be in the background. Ruby found that, she couldn't help but give Pyrrha that attention when possible out of habit.
Growing up with people whose voices are rarely heard and had lacked the attention given to them when needed, made the face of providing it for them second nature to Ruby.
She did that for the members of the organization, she did that for her family, she did that for her sister and in return, she was made to feel like she mattered, that everything she did mattered.
In return, she made everyone else surrounding her matter, she gave them the attention they sought for.
Was it compassion? She couldn't tell, because there wasn't anyone else for her to relate to, to help her, to show her how to work with it.
Or maybe it was empathy, or maybe sympathy, but still… she couldn't tell because there wasn't anyone to help her understand what it was that she was feeling.
From an early age, growing up with Cinder, Roman, and Neo, Ruby could tell that they had a certain lack of feeling when it came to sharing another person's emotions. She could tell, that when they were in front of other people, their own emotions seemed suppressed, but at the same time - it was all that mattered to them. Everyone else was below them, as it should be.
And while her family relished the fact that she wasn't like them, they also feared that it would hurt her one day and they wouldn't know what to do. They feared that it was what would make her one day leave them and if that happened, they wouldn't know what to do.
They needed her.
And so long as they were willing to let her stay, they were all she needed.
She didn't need her school peers. She didn't need anyone else.
So she overcame her temptation of whining, and simply frowned instead, staring longfully for the snack that would have been hers.
Pyrrha chuckled joyfully as she tore the PB&J sandwich in half to the best of her ability, and handed over the unbitten side to Ruby.
Ruby eyed the torn sandwich skeptically, warily glancing over to Pyrrha with suspicion as she hesitantly reached out for the food and prepared herself for it being taken away again.
Pyrrha merely continued giving an encouraging smile as she continued holding it out until Ruby finally took it.
"Thanks…" Ruby mumbled before taking a small bite.
"How are your after school classes with Professor Goodwitch?" Pyrrha asked.
Ruby's eyes suddenly lit up as she snapped her body toward Pyrrha and extolled the lessons and all that she has learned, wildly gesturing with her hands and a full mouth filled with the sandwich she had forgotten to swallow.
Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh as she placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "Ruby, swallow first, then breath."
Ruby froze, completely unprepared for the gesture. So she turned her body more, in a subtle disengage to get Pyrrha's hand off and did just what was suggested, continuing on as if uninterrupted, "-but then Glynda told me that for us to be able to complete the blueprints, I need to purchase some materials. But a few of them aren't even available in school stock or in the town." She finished with a contemplative frown, biting into her sandwich once again.
She would most likely have to ask Roman for a favor… again. He would probably have her take up his dry cleaning in return.
"Oh," Pyrrha frowned in sympathy, "Perhaps you may be able to purchase them when you have free time during your mission?" She tried optimistically.
Ruby looked up in thought, her sandwich nearly finished. The idea was quite possible, but she didn't even know where her mission would be or what options she had. "Maybe…" She wistfully said.
She would have to ask her sister about it before contacting Roman then.
She turned back to Pyrrha, both halfs of the sandwich completely finished, "Thanks for the food by the way!" She smiled, always grateful for being fed freely instead of having to steal it. (no matter how amusing it could be)
"Oh no, I just hope it was enough after our spar." Pyrrha smiled politely.
Ruby jumped to her feet, swiveling on her feet to face Pyrrha as she danced backwards and gave a firm nod and smile. "Any bit of food is enough." she assured, "Is there any part of the spar you wanted to go over or work on?"
Pyrrha hummed, standing up as she dusted herself off of any crumbs that may have landed on her from eating, "Well, there was one particular area…"
Ruby nodded, grabbing a scroll from the side of the room and inputting some commands, causing a video of their spar be projected onto the wall as Pyrrha hovered a little from beside her.
"I believe it was after your magnificent display of evasion via use of your dust crystals…" Pyrrha noted.
"Oh yeah, and then you charged in after me." Ruby laughed, fast forwarding the video to the mentioned action. "That power slide was awesome by the way!"
Pyrrha smiled, in pride at the compliment. "Thank you." She said before continuing on, "You could have engaged me in another combat, but instead, you began to stick with evasive maneuvers, and only began attacking me with your fists when you could. I was wondering if you could grant me some insight on your strategy." Pyrrha asked.
Ruby nodded, pressing some more buttons to have the scene be played on loop and slowed down. She led the two toward the center of the room once more to help reenact the aforementioned setting as she began explaining her thought process during the time, step by step.
Pyrrha would alway nod in acknowledgment, asking questions here and there about what she could have done to counter.
Ruby would hesitate for a moment, before answering fluidly with a handful of tactics that could have hurt her, or caused her to back off.
In return, Pyrrha would mention how she noticed that Ruby had difficulty in certain situations, and offer her own advice and assistance while using the projector to continue to display their movements.
Very frequently, when one or the other displayed a particularly splendid move, they would compliment each other on it. Feeding each other words of encouragement.
As they continued walking each other through their match, a regular pattern began to show to Pyrrha, and she couldn't help but to mention it.
"I noticed during our spars that you have a pageant for sending me off ground then executing aerial moves, and that is usually where I start to falter."
Ruby nodded. It was hard to notice that one of Pyrrha's greatest strengths was where she had a controlled, firm stance and environment, but the moment she was airborne, she had very little room to maneuver. Ruby assumed that people usually don't have the time to realize that when in the heat of battle, or had no way of following Pyrrha into the air when that happened. Due to the fact that Ruby's fighting heavily relied on her being able to maneuver around and into the air, it was something fairly easy for her to see.
Pyrrha was very reliant on being grounded, and had no means to hasten gravity to take hold of her unlike other people.
Ruby's team had their own ways, Yang with her shotgun gauntlets, Weiss with her glyphs, Blake with her clones, and Ruby had her hook swords to help her ride a manufactured wind. While only half of Pyrrha's team seemed to do fine when in the air; Ren seemed very flexible (how, Ruby had no idea) and Nora had her… hammer.
Her family seemed to be an even mix of being unusual; Mercury had his shotgun boots, and (like Ruby), Emerald was very flexible to maneuver in the air. (Although, it would be more exact to say that Ruby was like Emerald in that regards, seeing as she did help teach Ruby how to ride the wind.) Roman had his grappling chain on his cane, allowing him to pull him toward the earth or somewhere else that he could grab, while Neo had her own means of distracting her opponent to buy her time to get to ground. Cinder, Ruby's dear sister who also taught her how to maneuver around in the air, thought it would be more ominous to use fire to help her move around from her dust infused clothing.
It was definitely something Ruby never failed to point out to her sister whenever Cinder did so.
"Do you happen to have any ideas as to how I could improve in such an area?" Pyrrha asked.
Ruby frowned in thought before shrugging, "Don't go airborne."
Pyrrha laughed in amusement, "That's hardly advice."
Ruby smiled, "No, I'm serious! If you know your weakness, you should probably avoid it. I mean, you could find a way to improve it, sure, but that doesn't change the fact that it is your weakness. You might be able to overcome it if you change your fighting style, but that takes a lot of work and time to incorporate something new. Avoiding the problem is just a lot easier."
"Is that why you always take my shield away?" Pyrrha asked with a small glint from her eyes.
Ruby sheepishly ducked her head, "Maybe."
Pyrrha hummed, "I suppose that there is merit to your strategy, but what happens in the event that you can't avoid it?"
"Then you brace yourself and endure a few seconds of pain." Ruby proclaimed with a nod.
"When you put it that way, then there simply is no other option." the other laughed
Ruby scratched her head, "Well, I mean. There could be a way, but it's something you have to figure out for yourself. I take your shield away because I can, and while you could say I am avoiding the problem, it doesn't change the fact that I removed it for a moment before it could become one… Even if that moment is getting shorter since you decided to use your polarity more freely."
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha said with a smile, indicating that she actually was not. "But, I do recall you insisting that it would prove most entertaining. I was simply happy to oblige."
Ruby stuck her tongue out in retort. "As if I had to beg for it."
Pyrrha tilted her head with an amused look on her face, causing Ruby to shuffle uncomfortably under the attention, but before Pyrrha could say anything, Ruby's scroll rang.
With a contemplative frown, Ruby went over to her bag and fished her device out, relieved upon noticing that Weiss was calling her and giving her a reason to calm herself.
Unlike before, there was no reason for Ruby to think that she was going to be chewed out, because there were no pranks she set up against her teammate. So she answered with a confident, "Yo."
A sigh was heard from the line, "Good afternoon Ruby, the least you could do is answer the phone properly." She lightly complained, though from her tone, it was easy to tell she didn't really care for it.
Ruby playfully rolled her eyes. Ever since the fight with the Paladin, the two seemed to get along a little better, no longer being annoyed with one another, and instead, seemed to enable one another for humor. "Hello, Ruby Fall speaking. How can I help you on this fine day Miss Schnee?"
Weiss hummed pleasantly, "Better. Now, if you could help me with the school dance by-"
"Whoa. I thought I said I didn't want anything to do with preparations." Ruby quickly said, "That's why I did you guys a favor and convinced team CRDL to help with the muscle work."
"Which I'm truly grateful for, and with Blake's help, we have been making tremendous progress. However, allow me to finish my previous statement." Weiss easily began, "I'm not asking that you come to the ballroom to help us set up, I'm asking if you would be so kind to accompany Yang to town to obtain some supplies."
Ruby frowned, "Um… what?" She asked in disbelief.
A sigh, "We made an arrangement of sorts. For every item I want, she is allowed an item of her choosing"
A pause.
"Um… Okay?"
"So please take her out into town and help her get some supplies, even if they are improper for formal events. " Weiss finished.
"...But…" Ruby began with uncertainty, shifting on her feet to show her discomfort.
There was a sound of rustling and low talking from the scroll line, "Excuse me for a moment, Blake wishes to speak to you."
"Is everything alright?" Pyrrha asked in concern, now standing a few steps behind Ruby.
"I don't know…" Ruby confessed with confusion.
Pyrrha shifted a bit, causing Ruby to reflexively glance over to her and notice the deep frown and furrowed brows of concern still held on the other's face.
Ruby put her scroll on speaker to help ease Pyrrha, and include her into the conversation.
It would probably be easier if the both of them were listening to decipher… whatever Weiss was trying to pull Ruby into.
Some free static rang through before it became clear once again, and Blake's voice came through.
"Ruby?"
"Hiya Blake."
"Please accompany Yang out into town." Blake began in a low tone, "There's… a lot of supplies that are needed"
"Um… Okay?"
"We're hoping that some new company and fresh air into town is just what she needs."
Ruby frowned, finding something incredibly off about both Weiss and Blake. "Blake… What's going on?" she asked suspiciously
Silence
"If you don't mind," Pyrrha started softly, causing Ruby to give her attention. "I do believe that what Weiss and Blake are trying to say is that something has happened with Yang, and they simply wish for you to check in on her."
"Thanks Pyrrha." Blake sighed with relief
Ruby frowned up at Pyrrha, "But…"
"You should go." She suggested with a gentle smile, "Being there for your teammate is important after all."
"... right." Ruby agreed with a hesitant smile.
Another breath of relief was heard through the scroll. "Thanks, Yang will be waiting for you at the front of the school in about 15 minutes."
"Wait! I didn't say-"
It was too late though, as Blake had cut off the connection.
"...- that I was ready… yet…" Ruby finished. Once more she casted a glance to Pyrrha with a look of disbelief and confusion.
Pyrrha could only give a small, sympathetic smile, reaching up to gently place her hand on Ruby's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll have fun."
Like always, Ruby tensed upon contact, all too aware of Pyrrha's hand, but was quickly relieved as Pyrrha released her shoulder and relaxed once again. "Hopefully there won't be any trouble this time." Ruby mused, hoping that her team's habit of interfering with the organization would not be coming up this time.
"I was under the impression that you enjoyed creating trouble." Pyrrha said with amusement.
"Only when I know I won't get in trouble." Ruby snorted.
Pyrrha shook her head with a light chuckle, causing Ruby to beam. "Might I accompany you out to the front of the school then?"
Ruby shrugged, "Sure." She agreed easily, turning the projector off as they returned to the side of the room to gather their bags.
On their way out, Pyrrha had noticed Ruby eyeing her weapons every so often, and had offered to allow her dorm neighbor to examine them, causing Ruby's eyes and expression to light up eagerly as she accepted the weapons as though she had obtained new presents.
Ruby rapidly began firing off questions one after another in regards to them; what were their names? Why did Pyrrha choose these weapons out of everything else? What materials are they made out of? Etc.
Pyrrha patiently answered each and every single question directed her way with a smile on her face, which only seemed to enable Ruby more as she came up with more questions.
At one point, Ruby had begun facing Pyrrha, walking backwards and making it apparent that Ruby had gotten off tangent and expound the possibilities of how she might be able to use Pyrrha's weapons as she wildly gestured with the xiphos, leaving Pyrrha no choice but to use her polarity to help Ruby avoid cutting up the walls and other students with amusement, while apologizing on Ruby's behalf. She even had to subtly gesture to the young leader the direction of where to go.
Until finally, Pyrrha had to reach out and grab Ruby by her shoulders to prevent her from bumping into someone who had stopped in the middle of the hallway.
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologized to Ruby first before glancing behind her. "I'm sorry." She hastily apologized again.
Ruby tensed once again upon contact with the taller woman, frowning as she leaned and turned her head back to get a better look behind her, only to catch sight of familiar gold eyes. "Cinder!" She exclaimed joyously, swiveling around her feet, causing Pyrrha's hands to let go of her, and immediately crashing into her sister with a hug.
The sight astonished Pyrrha, as she had not seen Ruby ever react to another in such a way. She could not recall a moment during their time at Beacon when Ruby would willingly initiate body contact with another besides during her few sparring matches.
"Hello Ruby." Cinder chuckled in amusement as she returned the hug. "What do you have here?" She asked as they separated, eyeing the new weapon in Ruby's hand.
"Oh." Ruby remembered as red lightly dusted her cheeks in embarrassment for forgetting about the weapon and the company she had.
Mercury, Emerald, and Neo all looked at Ruby in amusement and curiosity.
Attempting to regain her dignity, Ruby straightened her back and took a step away from Cinder as she gestured to Pyrrha, allowing the taller person to take her weapon back. "Guys, this is Pyrrha. She and I have been sparring together. Pyrrha this is my si- I mean! Uhhhh... These are my… friends! Cinder, Emerald, Neo, and Mercury." Ruby said, pointing to the respecting owners of each name. "From Haven." She quickly added, glancing over to the other three out of habit for help, but was distracted by the Neo's new appearance of black hair and green eyes.
She slightly inclined her head in question as Neo smiled with a shrug.
Emerald casted a look of utter disbelief in Ruby's direction, mentally face palming at how helpless Ruby was.
"...A pleasure." Cinder retorted, taking the reins from her sister while pleased to finally meet one of the very few candidates that Ruby had placed on their list.
"Likewise." Pyrrha nodded with a pleasant, and polite smile, placing her hand out for a shake.
Cinder hummed, taking the offered gesture to give a firm shake to.
Pyrrha certainly looked like the type of project Ozpin would be interested in, and if her past tournament records were any indication, then Pyrrha had the highest potential of becoming the product Ozpin intended.
"So… How did… you all meet?" Pyrrha asked, attempting to start a small talk.
"We met at a village just outside Mistral." Cinder easily lied, critically eyeing Pyrrha. "Her family… encouraged us to assist her with work." she ominously stated, leaving plenty of room for imagination.
At that, Pyrrha shuffled uncomfortably, which caused Cinder to smirk.
Of course she would have a lawful mind.
Cinder sighed, deciding to continue with the fabricated story in hopes that it would make Pyrrha even more uncomfortable to at least stay out of their way. "After we helped her, she seemed to take a liking toward us, and we were asked to watch over her. Her… family left us little choice in the matter." She paused, casting and amused glance toward Ruby. "It was absolutely needed as she found herself in trouble more often than I would like, especially with authority figures."
Ruby guiltily lowered her head at the last statement, as Emerald gave her a pointed look while Mercury and Neo smirked in amusement.
"She does find herself in trouble rather frequently." Pyrrha said in an attempt to stay polite and engaging.
Cinder lightly hummed in Ruby's direction. "Indeed. Which begs the question, what kind of trouble are you heading towards now little-" she paused, just catching herself in time before she spilt their relations out. "-one?" She finished.
"To town." Ruby pouted, her eyes fixed on the floor, not at all happy with the accusation and stigma being placed on her. "My uh, teammates wanted me to help Yang out with something."
The four immediately tensed, Cinder's smile dropping as her lips thinned as her eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second before Ruby could catch it.
Pyrrha did however, and took a guarded step forward, just a few inches ahead of Ruby as her arm twitched out to cover her.
But she froze upon noticing, Cinder's features schooling back and Pyrrha briefly wondered if she even saw it.
"Is that so?" Cinder asked
Ruby nodded, looking back up with a small thoughtful frown. "Honestly, I think Weiss just wanted me to go out and help carry the supplies back for the school dance. Even if Yang went by herself, I don't think she'd be able to carry everything back."
The four tensed again, though this time, Pyrrha didn't notice as she frowned and turned toward Ruby.
"That may be so…" Pyrrha tentatively began, "However, Blake sounded rather nervous approaching the subject, so I don't think it's something you should completely disregard."
Ruby pried her lips to the side in contemplation, before she puffed out a sigh in resignation.
Pyrrha could only give a sympathetic smile, "We should get going if you wish to catch the next ship into town on time."
"Okay," Ruby sullenly agreed, turning back to Cinder and everyone else who had been able to smooth over their expressions. "I'll see you guys later."
Cinder mentally scowled, not at all happy with having to watch her sister leave to accompany Yang out into town. She wanted to tell her, to ask Ruby not to leave or to go anywhere with Yang, but held herself back.
It wasn't something Ruby would want to know.
So, Cinder opened her arms slightly, queuing Ruby to rush forward with a wide smile and throw her arms around Cinder.
Cinder took the opportunity to wrap her arms around Ruby just a little tighter than usual, lightly burying her face into Ruby's head and press a discreet kiss to her crown. "Don't get in any trouble." She whispered, reluctantly letting go.
Ruby frowned up at her sister, sensing something off about her, but nodded regardless. "I'll try not to." She turned to the others, cheerfully waving goodbye to them, all returning the gesture as she and Pyrrha walked away.
The moment they turned at a corner though, the four tensed once again.
Emerald, Mercury, and Neo all glanced to each other in question, silently communicating to each other as they wondered if Cinder already knew who Yang was.
Emerald and Neo had been most certain that Cinder knew, as she had always read the reports on what their investigators learned of Ruby, and of those sent to find and follow her.
And since Ruby always told Cinder about her school life whenever she got the chance, there was no doubt that Cinder knew that Yang was the same person that they all dreaded.
"Neo." Cinder calmly called, causing said girl to look up at the back of Cinder's head in question.
"Go follow the girl, and determine whether or not she knows." She ordered, "And make sure Ruby doesn't catch you. As you know, she gets upset when we involve ourselves in such matters."
Neo nodded, eager to keep a close eye on them as she quickly trailed after Ruby. Leaving Mercury and Emerald to Cinder's quiet frustration.
"Thanks for walking me out." Ruby said with a small smile, stopping to face Pyrrha the moment they reached outside.
"It was my pleasure." Pyrrha reassured. She stared down at Ruby with a thoughtful expression, causing Ruby to hesitate in her departure.
She stood uncomfortably before Pyrrha, wondering what more Pyrrha had wished to say and hoping that she wouldn't begin asking questions about Cinder, Mercury, Neo, and Emerald.
Like Pyrrha thought, Ruby seemed less candid away from the boarding team, and was a little disappointed.
Though initially surprised at Ruby's sudden enthusiasm, Pyrrha would have found it rather endearing like all the other times when Ruby talked about weaponry - were it not for the fact that Cinder made her feel uncomfortable for some reason.
Now that they were away, Pyrrha had hoped that some of Ruby's earlier animation would have carried over for Pyrrha to observe at ease, but unfortunately was unable to.
If anything though, Ruby seemed more open to portray her own discomfort as she shuffled nervously before Pyrrha.
"Umm…" Ruby tried with a nervous smile.
"Ruby!" Yang called, coming up from behind where they just came. "I didn't think you'd get here before me."
"Oh, hey Pyrrha. Are you coming with us?" She asked
Pyrrha shook her head, "I was merely accompanying Ruby out here to wait."
"Aw, that's so sweet." Yang smiled, turning to Ruby and nudging her.
"What?" Ruby asked
Yang nodded over to Pyrrha, gesturing with her eyes.
Ruby didn't seem to understand, her expression showing completely befuddlement and causing Pyrrha to giggle.
"You're welcome." Pyrrha prompted with amusement.
"Oh! Thanks." Ruby said with a small grin.
Yang nodded in approval as the ship going into town touched down on the landing platform, "C'mon! We need to go." She said, tugging on Ruby's shoulder. "See you later Pyrrha!"
"Bye!" Ruby waved, walking backwards as she allowed Yang to pull her.
A passing thought came through Pyrrha's mind, idly wondering what it would be like to be on the receiving end of one of Ruby's joyful hugs instead of being waved goodbye, but shook it off, not knowing where that came from. "I hope you two have fun" Pyrrha said instead, waving her hand before mouthing, "Good luck"
Ruby nervously smiled at the reminder of being asked to cheer Yang up, giving a nod before she turned around to walk properly. "So…" She tried to begin, "How has… your day been?" She awkwardly asked.
Yang breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief as they boarded the airship, "Fine. I'm just happy to get a break away from Weiss. She's been bossing me around all day and turning down all my ideas," Yang mentioned before changing her tone of voice to be higher pitched.
"Yang, no, we can't have a stereo system. No Yang, we can not have fireworks. No Yang, we can't have strobe lights. No Yang, this is a formal dance. No Yang, I can't find-" She paused, and let out a shout of frustration. "In the end, we had to compromise and make a trade off. For every item I get, she gets something."
"It's just been so annoying." Yang finished with slight aggravation
Ruby frowned in contemplation. It wasn't like Yang to not get along with Weiss. In fact, it wasn't like Yang to be so… disagreeable, or cranky.
Of course, It was possible that Weiss was being rather difficult. However, when Weiss had attempted to conscript Ruby into assisting them set up for the school dance, it was fairly painless to convince her otherwise. Although, Ruby did end up offering CRDL in her stead.
"Um…" Ruby hummed, not knowing what to say.
Yang huffed in annoyance, shaking her head, "Nevermind that. So? What have you and Pyrrha been up to?"
For the rest of their ride into town, Ruby summarized what she and Pyrrha had been working on while Yang stayed in relative silence, making it a lot more awkward for Ruby as she didn't know what to do. Upon arrival, the two immediately started shopping around for the supplies Weiss and Yang wrote down with mostly silence between them.
Weiss had allowed Yang a portion of the budget for the dance, and instructed that a few items were a must, hiring; a photographer, a DJ, and caterers, while everything else was up to Yang.
Though, taking into consideration the amount left for Yang had, she wouldn't be able to obtain much
She managed to obtain bass stereos, and supplied corsages and boutonnieres, but did not enough for her fog machine or her strobe lights.
"I guess we'll have to return Weiss's doilies." Yang grumbled as they walked out of the store. "She's not going to be happy about this… She really wanted them and her red carpet entrance."
Ruby glanced over to Yang, noting the other's disappointment at not being able to gain her fog machine, and glanced down to the bag of doilies that she had suffered through to obtain, having to send pictures to Weiss for approval.
The pain of going through that was not going to waste if she could help it.
Ruby looked around the plaza, noting all the shops and found a rather familiar bookstore a little further down the way.
"Hey, can you wait up for me for a moment? I'll be back." Ruby asked.
Confused Yang couldn't help but ask, "Where are you going?"
She was met with a mischievous smile as Ruby made a shooing motion toward Yang, "Don't worry about it and just give me about 15 minutes."
"Uh. Okay. Sure." Yang agreed, "I'll just wait over there on the stairs at the plaza." She said, pointing over to the location.
"Sounds good! I'll see you there." Ruby nodded before running off and turning into an alleyway.
Yang leaned over to the side, attempting to follow Ruby with her line of sight while curious as to what her leader was doing, but shook her head. Instead, she walked over to the stairs she said she would wait, and set her bags down.
To kill some time, she took out her scroll to play some games.
Maybe she'll be able to advance to the next stage before Ruby got back.
Unfortunately, Yang had only managed to progress through 3 fights, when she felt someone peering over her shoulder.
"Oooh!" Ruby voiced in interest, "Semblance Fighter? How far are you?"
"I just need to get passed this to get to the boss on the second stage." Yang answered, right as her character died. She sighed in frustration before pocketing her scroll again, standing up to turn and face Ruby. Upon doing so, she arched a brow once she noticed the large, paper bag in Ruby's hands. "What did you get?"
"Oh, this?" Ruby asked, lifting the bag up slightly. "This is for you." she said, handing it over.
Curious, Yang accepted the item, peeking inside to find 2 large fog machines that were supplied. She snapped her head back up with wide eyes, "How did you-?"
"I convinced the owner to let us borrow it for the school dance." Ruby smiled, glancing over to Tungsten Bookstore, where she managed to acquire help.
The owner of the bookstore, Tukson, was one of the few White Fang members working undercover with the store as a front. (Due to his latent traits, he was able to do so easily without anyone suspecting him simply because he was a faunus.) His purpose, along with 5 other members, was to observe other shop owners around him and hand information back to the organization and to help recruit for potential suppliers. Which was just what Ruby needed to borrow the fog machines without a cost.
"He doesn't mind that we have them, so long as we return the machines after the dance." Ruby finished.
Yang stared in slight awe, "This is amazing! I didn't actually think I'd be able to get something I actually wanted." She laughed.
Ruby stared at Yang in slight confusion, though the latter seemed to catch herself.
"Nevermind." Yang said, hoping to completely drop the subject.
Ruby seemed skeptical, but did not wish to prod Yang when she obviously did not want to talk about it. "Do you want to go get the strobe lights?" Ruby asked instead.
Yang lightly laughed, shaking her head. "I don't think I can. We don't have enough money for Weiss's red carpet entrance."
Ruby smirked, "I'm sure I can talk my way to get that."
Yang nearly choked in surprise, "I didn't know you had a silver tongue."
Ruby panicked slightly, frowning in concern, "My tongue isn't silver…" She said, though stuck her tongue out and crossed her eyes to check just in case.
At that, Yang couldn't help but to laugh, hard. "I meant that you were charismatic."
"Oh! I-I knew that." Ruby stated, trying to cover up her embarrassment.
"Sure you did." Yang playfully said with a roll of her eyes. "C'mon! Let's wrap this up and get some ice cream after, my treat!"
Ruby perked up at the promise of a snack, feeling more motivated to finish as she nodded eagerly, eliciting another laugh from Yang as the two hurried along.
The leader was relieved to find that Yang had cheered up quite considerably making it less awkward to wander around with her.
It made it fairly easier to finish their errands, and like Yang promised, treated Ruby to ice cream once they finished.
Of course, Ruby didn't forget to note that Yang didn't exactly specify the amount of ice cream she would be willing to buy, so Ruby ordered the deluxe size with extra strawberry toppings.
"I kind of feel like I've been tricked." Yang drawled, eating her meager, single scoop ice cream.
"You never said how much you'd treat me to." Ruby pointed out in a singsong voice, taking a large scoop of her ice cream with a large, happy smile.
Yang couldn't help but give a rather affectionate look to her leader, unable to muster the strength to get annoyed.
Ruby glanced up for a moment before returning her focus on her ice cream, "You look better." She said.
Yang stared at the other dumbfounded, "What?"
Ruby lightly huffed, "You've been cranky nearly all day. Blake and Weiss were worried."
Immediately, Yang scowled at the name of the latter. "What does she care?" She growled
Ruby froze at the sudden annoyance emitting from Yang, her mouth still open and ready to engulf the scoop of ice cream in front of her as she stared blankly at the other.
Yang seemed to have noticed, and had the decency to look a little embarrassed at being caught.
Ruby slowly brought the frozen snack to her mouth, unsure of what to do besides staring at the other.
Seemingly, that was all that was needed from her as Yang wilted with a heavy sigh. "Have you ever searched for something, and when you thought you found it, it wasn't enough?" Yang asked.
Ruby frowned, having absolutely no idea what Yang was talking about. "No." she said with an inclined voice, uncertain as to how to answer.
Yang fiddled with her cone, her ice cream starting to melt as it slowly dripped from the sides. She wanted to tell Ruby everything, from her missing sister, her search, to her initial suspicion of Ruby being her Ruby. But she knew she couldn't, it wouldn't be fair to make her leader, who was already bearing so much work, bear Yang's problems.
"It's just, I have a missing sister. And I've been trying to find her, but I'm coming up with nothing. Weiss helped a little, but it wasn't enough." Yang explained with desperation, "If she could just dig a little further, I could get more information about my sister but-!"
She threw her cone away from the table with a shout of frustration. "She says she can't! And I don't get it! She said she had the resources! So why can't she do it?" Yang growled once again, her eyes flashing red, but just like a burnt out candle, she quickly snuffed out and wilted. "I just… I need to find her."
Ruby finally understood the problem, and her heart ached for Yang, unable to stand seeing her like this. Ruby stared down at her ice cream, trying to sort out her own feelings as she contemplated on what to say.
"You're like my sister." She said before she even realized it.
Yang looked up in shocked silence and confusion.
Ruby fiddled with her spoon, not comfortable with the attention placed on her, but persisted through. "My sister is always worried about me. So much so, that when something happens to me, she gets angry at everyone else around her even when they're trying to help, and kind of forgets to take care of herself." She said with a light laugh, thinking about Roman, Neo, Emerald, and Mercury. "I know it just means that she loves me a ton, but sometimes I wish she didn't do that."
"What do you mean?" Yang asked
Ruby fiddled with her spoon, "I think my sister forgets that I'm not just her sister, but she's my sister too." Ruby began, "So while she's always worried about me, I'm worried about her too. I don't like her losing sleep over me, or to forget to eat. I don't want her to always be angry because she can't do anything to help me. And I wish she didn't get angry at everyone else, because even though she doesn't know it, but they care about her too."
Ruby paused, looking up at Yang for a moment, "and I think, if your sister knew how much pain you were going through, how you weren't able to build any relationships because of her, I don't know if she'd be happy about the sacrifices you made because of her." She said become casting her eyes back to her spoon. "I mean, that's what I think. It's just, if it was me, and my sister was doing something for me, but was never happy about it, then what's the point? She might be fine with it, but I wouldn't be."
Yang frowned, staring at her folded hands in silence as she thought about what Ruby said. "I…. never thought about it like that before."
Ruby smiled, a little relieved that she managed to get her thoughts across to Yang.
Yang rubbed her neck nervously, "I'll try harder to look after myself."
"I know you will. You said so last time." Ruby mentioned, taking another bite of her ice cream
Yang winced at that, laughing humorlessly. "I guess I forgot about that when I thought about how close I was."
"That's okay. It happens." Ruby shrugged, "But I don't think it hurts to mention it to Blake and Weiss."
Yang looked a little ashamed at the mention of the there two teammates, "I need to apologize to them. I was acting like such a bitch."
"They'll understand," Ruby reassured, standing up once her bowl was empty and grabbing a few bags. "Ready to go?"
Breathing a small sigh of relief, Yang couldn't help but to smile at Ruby as she got up herself, picking up the rest of their items.
As the two walked back to the airship, Yang nudged Ruby to gain her attention, "Hey Ruby?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad that I have a friend like you." Yang earnestly whispered.
The confession gripped at Ruby's heart for a brief moment, constricted it tightly like when she tried to reassure Blake after their fight. Like when she helped her team at the underpass when they all thanked her for being there for them.
And she gave a nervous smile, "M-me too."
Yang laughed, throwing an arm around Ruby's shoulder for a half hug.
Ruby couldn't help but think about how heavy Yang's arm felt at that time.
Their trip back to school was spent with relative ease as Ruby had quickly changed the subject to Semblance Fighter, a topic the two quickly got engrossed and engaged in.
By the time they entered the ballroom, the two were debating about certain characters and whether or not a few were overpowered or too weak, but stopped when met with the peculiar sight of Weiss standing at the top of a ladder to pin up some decorations with Blake holding it steady at the bottom.
"Weiss, please be careful." Blake called in concern.
"I'm… fine." Weiss tried to reassure in a strained voice as she tried reaching up much higher than she could. "Almost… got it… Ha!" With a small hop, she managed to pin the decoration up and in her excitement, swiveled on her heel.
"You see that Cardin Winchester? I can manage just fi-Ah!" Evidently, she failed to realized that she was on a ladder and fell over with a startled scream.
Thankfully, Blake seemed ready for such, and quickly sprang up to catch Weiss. Due to the awkward angle of how she had to jump though, Blake had to use her semblance to help her move away from the ladder, but inevitably threw herself back onto the ground and on her back.
Weiss slightly groaned, turning to Blake in concern as she got back up. "Are you okay?" She asked, offering her hand for assistance.
"I think that counts for your battle plan of me catching you to prevent your crash." Blake said with a slight wince, taking the offered hand.
Weiss playfully rolled her eyes, "My free roaming knight, only helping me when convenient."
The comment made Blake laugh, "If I was more confident that I could protect you free of injury, then I might be inclined to do so more often." She humored."I wonder if it would have been safer if I actually had a solid clone to brace the ladder so I could hold onto it and catch you…" she mused aloud to herself.
Weiss exaggerated a sigh, as if disappointed while continuing on from Blake's first comment. "Well, I suppose I have no choice but to fire you and hire someone new to do your job."
Blake arched a brow with slight amusement, "I think you're hanging out with Ruby too much."
"I must admit, improvising scenarios for banter is rather entertaining." Weiss confessed.
"I knew she liked it." Ruby stage whispered to Yang.
"Oh, I didn't realize the two of you were here." Weiss exclaimed with slight shock, as she walked up to them in a hurried pace with Blake following after.
"Yup!" Ruby smiled, "We got everything you wanted." She said, placing all her bags down.
Weiss's eyes flickered wide in surprise, "Really?" She asked in disbelief, "I didn't think there'd be enough money."
"We managed." Ruby shrugged. "Right Yang?"
Yang nodded, a little nervous to be back in front of Blake and Weiss as she placed her own bags down. "Right."
"Yang…" Blake began hesitantly, "Are you… feeling better?"
Yang nodded, rubbing her left shoulder as she tried to straighten up. "Yeah, thanks for asking." She said, "And… i'm sorry I was acting like such a bitch to you guys. I was just frustrated, and ended up taking it out on you two."
Weiss was once again surprised, casting a quick glance over to Blake as if wondering if they both heard the same thing. A glance that was confirmed upon meeting Blake's eyes before focusing their attention back to Yang. "It's fine Yang, we understand."
Yang smiled in relief, "Now c'mon! We have some systems to set up." She grinned, gesturing to the bags in hand.
She and Blake went off, with Yang handing Blake some bags as she began talking about where she would like to put some items. Ruby was about to turn to leave, but was stopped with a hand on her shoulder.
"Might I ask you to borrow a bit of your time?" Weiss asked
Ruby paused, hesitantly nodding in agreement and allowed Weiss to pull her, leading her out of the ballroom, just right by the door.
"Why Weiss, if I had known you just wanted to be alone with me, I wouldn't have so easily agreed." Ruby joked.
The comment didn't elicit a reaction from Weiss as usual, instead, she seemed to adopt a rather serious expression as her fingers fidgeted against one another.
Ruby suddenly became nervous, her chest growing heavier as she realized the seriousness of the situation.
A number of scenarios ran through her head, fearing the worst as she briefly wondered if her cover had been compromised or if Weiss disapproved something about Ruby's behavior. Her fears caused her to rethink of every possible action that could have been considered a mistake or offensive toward the heiress.
"I was wondering if, you could help me train." Weiss began
Everything in Ruby's head froze, her inner turmoil coming to a halt as she breathed a mental sigh of relief. Regardless, the request still made her confused. "Um… What?"
Weiss shuffled a bit, before taking a deep breath and straightening her back. "I've been thinking about the fight against the Paladin, and I realized… I couldn't help Blake and Yang. There were countless mistakes I made, all of which put the other two in danger and when it mattered… I-" She took a shaky breath, notifying Ruby just how harshly this had been plaguing Weiss. "I couldn't protect them."
Ruby shuffled uncomfortably, "That wasn't your fault though, you were just trying your best."
"My best wasn't enough." Weiss snapped, causing Ruby to recoil away. Weiss looked apologetic, "I'm sorry. It's just -" She sighed.
"As you are no doubt aware, Pyrrha is a four time consecutive tournament champion. For a while, I didn't think she had any more room for improvement, I simply thought her to be as she is. Just someone who was made to win no matter what." Weiss began, "Were it not for the match she had against you, I would not have thought that she had any flaws when it came to fighting. I would not have thought that she had more room for improvement. But then, she asked you for help, and now, when I watch her fight, I'm amazed to find how much she had improved in what little time she had with you."
"That's why, I wondered if you could help me." Weiss said with near desperation.
Ruby shifted on her feet, unsure of what to make of the situation and feeling conflicted as she remembered what laid in store for the future, the plan always near the forefront of her mind. She wasn't supposed to make it any more difficult, something she was already doing by helping Pyrrha, one of the few people that the organization was supposed to keep wary of and who was on the list. Helping Weiss, someone Ruby thought to already be rather capable and could prove a hinderance, could possibly make it more difficult.
"Please Ruby. I know you already have some difficulties right now, but if you could do this for me, then I would be more happy to assist you with your academics." Weiss nearly begged, "I just, I want to be stronger. So when it matters, I can protect people." She said, glancing inside the ballroom.
Ruby followed her eyesight, looking right at Yang and Blake who were glancing over to them in concern, and felt her heart tighten. She turned back to Weiss, her silver eyes bearing holes into the floor as she suddenly felt a sense of obligation and duty overcome her, not unlike the few times she led her own small team for heists.
"Okay…" Ruby agreed.
Weiss breathed an audible sigh of relief, "Thank you Ruby, you have no idea how much this means for me."
Ruby strained a smile, "No problem. Just doing my duty as team leader."
Cinder hummed, her fingers effortlessly and carefully sewing together an article of clothing in her lap as Emerald sat at the desk, swiping through a scroll pad and reading through the few students on the list while Mercury lounged on the floor.
Emerald had just finished reading about a Coco Adel, swiping over to the next student only to frown in concern. "Ma'm… About Pyrrha Nikos."
"Yes. What about her?" Cinder asked, noticing the other's tone.
"Nothing." Emerald said, "It's just, I couldn't help but noticed how Ruby didn't feel comfortable with her."
Mercury perked up, though made no move to shift from his position on the floor. "I'm sure it's no big deal. The squirt is probably just feeling awkward because she's hanging around someone on the list and doesn't know how to act."
Cinder hummed, recalling the slight tension in her dear sister when they were together. "Yes." She nodded in agreement, "Being around someone she has to keep an eye on would unfortunately make my sister stay on her toes." She said, her fingers lightly tapping on the side of the pad in worry.
"I do hate to make her feel this way, but it is unfortunately necessary if we wish to be certain as to who Ozpin would wish to be his Beacon. And the girl Ruby is keeping an eye on, most certainly possesses almost all the qualities that Ozpin so adores." Cinder sighed, "But… It's just for a little while longer. Soon, Ruby will have no reason to worry or to stress." She finished with a small smile, looking forward to the end of their current plan where the two sisters could be with each other more often.
Just then, she heard their window open as Neo swung in, her disguise washing off to be replaced with her school cover of black hair and green eyes.
"Neo," Cinder acknowledged, glancing up from her work. "What did you find?"
Neo dusted herself off of imaginary dirt, pulling out her scroll while doing so. Quickly, she swiped around and opened up her notes, handing it over to Cinder to read over with a small smile.
At this, Emerald and Mercury sat up rigidly, holding their breath as they turned to Cinder for answers and waited.
It didn't take long for Cinder to finish, a sigh of relief escaping her mouth. "She doesn't know." She summarized, referring to their worries about Yang and causing the other two to relax.
Neo nodded happily, before seemingly remembered something, and frowned.
"What is it?" Cinder asked
Quickly, Neo typed on her scroll, turning it to show Cinder the message.
"Ruby is worried about you."
Cinder couldn't help but to smile, warmed at her sister's concern as she contently returned to sewing her work. "Is that so? I suppose I'll simply have to call her in so we can talk about it before the dance." She said, causing everyone else to smile in humor.
AN: I'm sorry I was a late in posting this, I hope you all understand as there were some family matters I had to attend to at the beginning of this month. Unfortunately, it had been difficult for me to bear so I wanted to take a break from writing. Everything seems fine now, however I don't think I'll be posting as quickly as before for a while. ^^; Anyway! Thanks for reading, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!