***PLEASE READ***
(A/N) Ah yes! The traditional, unwanted but much needed author's note! This is the fourth and final installment of Act 1 of War of OA! First thing I need to tell you is that since this is a finale, I won't be putting a word limit on this one like I normally do, (Yang calls bullcrap on that), so this one is going to be much longer than the others just for the sake of having worthwhile content. There's a lot of stuff that needs to be said, and it all needs to be said, a lot of questions you need to have answered, and a lot of things that need to happen before I can start Act 2, and considering how the story is structured, it all needs to happen NOW in this chapter. Keep in mind that even though this chapter basically serves the same purpose as a season finale of any TV show, or anime, or drama, THIS IS A BOOK. I'm not going to be the jerk who arbitrarily decides to finish off one single portion of the story and take a long break like I'm in some poorly organized roleplay. What, are you kidding? Why would I do that? How would taking a break after this make sense? What purpose would it serve? The answer is nothing. There is no good reason for me to do something like that since the only effect it would have would be that it would piss you off tremendously and screw you over.
Basically, what I'm trying to say here is that the updates will still come out on something resembling a regular schedule. I know I've been updating somewhere around once a month, or at least that's what I've been trying to go for since I still have work and school to deal with, and that update schedule is not going to change. If this isn't making sense to you, I wouldn't blame you since I can't explain things properly outside of character, so I'm going to try to simplify it as best I can: The Act 1 finale comes out somewhere around a month after Chapter 3? Great. Chapter 1 of Act 2 comes around after the exact same amount of time? Even better. Wait for it, though. It gets even better. You ready? Are you ready for this? ARE YOU READY, BEAUTIFUL HUNTERS?! Drum roll, please! No? OK, then, fine! Jerks…
The best part about this is that, while some of you may have been worried that I was going to put the next 4 Acts in their own individual places on my profile and make them their own story, don't worry. Just like putting my update schedule on hiatus to simulate the release of the show, making Acts 2-5 their own stories would, again, make no sense, therefore, I'm not going to do it. Acts 2-5 will still be part of this story. I'm not going to create a whole new story just to continue this one. Instead, what I'm going to do is carry on like normal, and update this story regularly by making Chapter 1 of Act 2 the next update and labeling it as such so you can differentiate between each part of the story, and because I'm a flashy S.O.B., I'm going to create a cover page at the start of each Act with fireworks and sparks and stars and ~ohh say can you see!~ 'Murican glory! Why? Just because I feel like it and because starting an entirely new portion of the story without making it clear that way doesn't really work for me.
Now that that important bits are out of the way, grab a drink, prop your feet up, and enjoy the finale Beautiful Hunters.
***IF YOU DIDN'T READ IT, GO BACK AND READ IT***
Chapter 4
Grey couldn't waste any time. The same as Ruby had done earlier, he jumped to the of the nearest tree and attempted to get the best view he could of the surrounding area, and saw the group running towards the cliff. Using a scope on Albatross, his right arm, he could see a stone bridge connecting to a tower that completely eclipsed the surrounding area. The tower itself, however, looked completely run down, almost destroyed, having no noticeable entrance and covered in moss and lichen as if it had been there for several hundred years. It might have just been a plateau if not for some exposed metal reflecting the sunlight, From this angle, he could see the nevermore closing in on them, but cursed his luck when he looked at the ground. Beowolves. Dozens of them.
"Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, Weiss Schnee, and Blake Belladonna," Ozpin said into the microphone, standing at the podium in front of a large audience made of friends and family as the teams were now being announced, the test finally over, "You all picked the white knight pieces. Your teamwork in the face of an unbeatable foe was beyond exemplary, showing every trait of the hunters and huntresses that Beacon strives to create. You will be known as Team RWBY and your leader will be Ruby Rose."
The roar of the crowd was deafening. The teams had learned just before the ceremony that the entry exam had been broadcast on Vale's network television, and this gave a few of the new students a trivial number of fans and followers. Beacon Academy had pretty much been turned into a school for local celebrities instead of elite warriors, many of the first years gaining the admiration of the citizens of Vale for one reason or another. After showing a highlight reel of the test's greatest moments at the beginning of the induction ceremony, all of the students were either suffocating in embarrassment or drowning in pride after seeing their biggest blunders as well as their greatest triumphs on the big screen. Some of the students like Blake and Yang were convinced they were going to be viewed as Grade-A action heroes with their performances. Not that they cared, of course. Others, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to runaway to the woods or the desert and become a hermit, living off of roadkill and mushrooms, after seeing how the crowd responded to their screw ups, laughing so hard they fell out of their seats, and probably viewing them as nothing more than the cast of a failed sitcom. Weiss was one of the few who hung her head in shame. She actually wanted to cry. However, when the audience jumped out of their seats, going ballistic for Team RWBY as they worked together to defeat the Giant Nevermore as the clip's closing scene, Weiss could only straighten up with renewed confidence. Turns out, though, thanks to her ability to think on her feet and come up with the most outrageous and yet successful plans, in addition to her demonic fighting ability on the battlefield, but at the same time being a cute and quirky individual, Ruby had quickly become a fan favorite, blowing up message boards with descriptions and fanart of how adorable but powerful she was. "Cute but dangerous" were the common ideas. The child becoming the leader of Team RWBY made everyone's day.
There was one thing that just didn't make sense to everyone. Grey had played a major part helping everyone survive, making Weiss and Ruby become friends, and allowing everyone to finish the test, so where exactly was he?
(...)
Grey had a technique in his repertoire that he hadn't yet used, mostly because he had avoided it. It required a lot of energy that he had lost during his time in the Emerald Forest, and an even greater amount of dexterity and skill to pull off that he didn't have, but now, he didn't have a choice. If he didn't use it, the beowolves would reach his friends before he did. Even with just two of them focusing on the pack and the rest on the nevermore, a few beowolves wouldn't normally be an issue, except this time it seemed like the smaller group that Weiss and Ruby had run into had spread the word and gathered all of their friends for one major assault, raising their numbers from one dozen to one hundred. The biggest problem was that Grey was one man. His help wouldn't make much of a difference. It wouldn't make much of one, but even the smallest advantage for his friends was an advantage, and Grey wasn't going to waste any time delivering it. Grey jumped from his perch.
This plan could go one of two ways, and Grey had to swallow his fear to face that fact. He could either triple his travel speed and arrive at the battlefield before the enemy did, assuming he could do this correctly, or he could screw up horribly and end up with a such a horribly disfigured form that he could only communicate with other humans through a mechanical straw and an elaborate series of pulleys. He felt crazy, and really was crazy, but if it meant his friends could survive a bit longer then it would be worth it. Right? Mass paralysis and loss of all situational awareness? Perfect outcome; definitely the ideal. As Grey fell from the top of the tree, he threw his hands towards his feet, and landed on a horizontal shield that he summoned underneath him, landing on a knee that sunk the safety a net a few feet, and the lack of resistance cushioned the fall enough to save him from breaking his ankles. Although, a light sprain was the least of his issues. He saw this kind of thing once in an anime, and after ending up in the hospital after attempting it the first time, his grandad had scolded him so harshly he never tried it again until now when he had no other alternative. Just like then, the real issue wasn't creating the vehicle or using it. The real issue, the true danger to trying to copy one of his favorite tropes in fiction, was balancing on it long enough to where he wouldn't fall off of it and die.
Grey was lucky he had a strong core or this wouldn't have worked. Once the volatile equilibrium of the board had been achieved and he could stand on it normally, he leaned forward, launching himself towards the enemy. They weren't too far and it was just one direction he had to travel in, so this shouldn't end too badly. If he just subdued his aura to try to keep out of the sight of the nevermore, there shouldn't be any problems and he would be able to sneak up on the beowolves on the ground.
"There's Grey!" Sneaking up on the enemy? Apparently, that wasn't an option while Jaune was looking over his shoulder to see if Grey was following him, making him gather the nevermore's attention.
"I am so going to kill him later…" Grey grumbled and prepared to face the biggest player in the game.
(...)
Grey watched from the corner of the room, a small smile on his face as he watched his friends revel in their victory and the praise of the crowd. Although, his smile was a sad one. Ozpin himself had approached Grey after the test was over and explained to him a situation that broke Grey's heart. Calmly, Ozpin detailed how the teams were decided, being chosen based on the specific chess pieces the first years had picked up and the the dynamic of how the partners and the other students interacted with one another playing a more psychological role to find the team's weaknesses and work on them during the year. What stuck in his mind were the chess pieces, and that his was the only unique one. Team RWBY had all picked the white knight pieces, Team JNPR the white rooks, and Team CRDL the black bishops, leaving only one other option for the odd man out. Grey had been the one who had been dealt that unfortunate hand and was the only one who picked up a piece that didn't have a counterpart- the Black Pawn. Ozpin let his monologue hang in the air once he said that Grey's piece was the only one of its kind. That wasn't good for him. Grey wasn't necessarily a pessimist, but he did have a habit of focusing on the negative aspects of most situations, and this created an issue that Grey couldn't find a solution for. Grey wasn't going to be put on a team. Grey had to make a decision, and in his panicked and depressed state, all he could think of to do was leave Beacon for good. There was no point in staying.
Grey grabbed his bags and started to walk out of the building, making a conscious effort to avoid any of the friends he made in the past few days, including Pyrrha, and especially Weiss and Ruby. His escape wasn't supposed to be very difficult since the majority of Beacon's students and faculty were still in the assembly and filing out to the after party, but the academy's security guards seemed to be working over time for the ceremony. He doubted they would have been looking for him, or that they would stop any of the students, but he couldn't help but be on edge. As nothing more than a precaution, he decided to find another way out than the service entrance. It was unfortunate, though, that the only exit he could think of besides the back and front doors was the emergency exit by the headmaster's office, the door where he ran into none other than the school's resident sadist, Glynda Goodwitch. She was blocking the door in a rather dominant position, her feet put tightly together and slapping her riding crop in her palm with a look of pure fury on her face. Well… Grey thought, crap.
Boom, the blast resonated through the hills. The nevermore had become aware of Grey's presence after Jaune made the foolish, amateurish mistake of pointing out his sneak attack, something that could have gotten him killed in a more difficult mission, and the beast turned on its airborne heel with a screech. The flying huntsman rolled his eyes as best he could without falling off his mount, then focused on his enemy. There was already a plan forming in his mind. Of all the no-good, dirty rotten plans he could have come up with, after all the worries about falling off and reminding himself not to do that, as soon as the nevermore was in range, Grey leaned forward on his transport just a bit more and began to fall off, but just before he lost the momentum, he sprung forward. He used the shield as a springboard, launching from it like a catapult, and pulled his fist back. The nevermore didn't have time to react and open its mouth to devour its prey, but the launch had pushed Grey hard enough for him to catch it off guard and punch the colossal bird with a single, semblance laced strike. Boom, and the blast knocked the bird out of the sky.
That was a bad idea, Grey realized, but far too late after the grimm had landed unconsciously in the center of the bridge, shattering it enormous pieces of debris and separating the two teams, but putting them at risk for falling into the abyss. Grey watched in horror as the ground gave out beneath their feet and the began to plummet. He was frozen in place, praying that something would save them until he saw each of them finding their own ways back up onto solid ground like Yang and Ruby using concussive gunfire, Blake using her elastic grappling hook to launch herself upwards, and Weiss using a series of glyphs as stairs. As for the others, Pyrrha used her shield Akuo like a snowboard while using Milo's gunfire to propel herself forward, and Ren showing off his agility by using the debris itself to make his way up. Jaune, though, didn't have the skill to save himself. If he could still take care of Pyrrha like he thought could, Grey didn't care, and he only realized that after the fact, but Nora having to use her hammer to catapult him forward using the only in tact part of the bridge wasn't that pretty of a sight, but Nora using her grenade launcher to join up with her friends, cutely holding onto it like the mast of a sailboat, made up for it. The maniac was funny. Grey, however, was still filled with so much guilt by the time they saved themselves that he had forgotten to put up another barrier to break his own hundred meter fall until the last minute, making him create a giant crater that may have slain a dozen beowolves, but still knocked him out cold from the fierce impact.
"Lupo!" Pyrrha called out to her cousin, kicking herself for letting slip the endearing term she had used for him growing up, but she couldn't help it as he fell into the very center of the pack. She was starting to panic. Even though she was a world champion, an S-Class fighter that didn't back down from any challenge or show fear in the face of any foe, seeing her best and only childhood friend come so close to death was making her lose it, panic rising into her throat. She started to charge after him, but a yank on her sash stopped her.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune ordered, getting her attention to make her see an incredibly commanding face that caught her off guard, "Don't worry about him. I have a plan to get him, but you have to trust me." Pyrrha glanced back to their enemy, biting her lip as she watched the beowolves howl in victory at cornering their prey and circling in on Grey's unconscious form, but when she turned back to Jaune, she made a decision. It went against every aspect of her nature, but she trusted Jaune. Instinctively, she knew he would make the right decision, and even though he wasn't the best fighter, Pyrrha could see in his eyes that he knew what he was doing, and would follow his lead no matter what.
"Alright, just tell me what to do," the world champion told the farm boy, making him grin heavenly as if being blessed by the gods above with those words.
"Nora and I are going to run through the pack," he started, Ren firing in the mob as they began to close in and Nora knocking away anything that came close, "I need you to stay here and run interference for Ren while he covers our backs. Nora! You ready?" Jaune took his shield off his arm and held it over his head like a platform. Nora turned to him with a big, toothy smile that spoke of a psychotic love of battle, and flexed her muscles with the power of a thousand men.
"Ready!" Confirmed the girl but before Pyrrha could second guess Jaune or his plan, thinking the novice didn't have the strength to lift someone over his shoulders that way, Nora switched her hammer to its grenade launcher form and jumped on the platform. Jaune didn't even flinch.
Pyrrha grinned and started slashing at everything that came her way, making a mental note that farm work must be more physically demanding than she previously thought.
(...)
"And just where do you think you're going, Mr. Arsen?" Glynda Goodwitch demanded. Grey tried to answer nonchalantly, trying to play this off, but with that sharp stare of hers, all of his confidence wavered and his knees buckled, his voice releasing a sharp crack from the nerves.
"I was just going for a midnight stroll, Prof," he lied. She was having none of it.
"Do your bags need to be taken for walks?" She raised her eyebrow humorously.
"Yeah, it's good exercise, you know?" Grey continued to lie badly, "Good for the glutes."
"I'm not an idiot, Grey," Glynda spat, sticking her riding crop in his face, "Don't treat me like one. Now come with me. There's something you need to hear." With that, the witch began walking to the elevator leading up to Ozpin's office, but turning around for a second to say one final thing. "Oh, and just so you know. We did have the entire security staff searching for you, in case you were wondering."
I freaking knew it! Grey thought to himself, then decided to follow the lioness with a huge sigh. He shifted awkwardly more than once on the ride up to the headmaster's office, Glynda being silent the entire way up, standing behind him with her eyes digging into his back and making feel more self conscious than a huntsman should have. He felt like a field mouse being eyed up by a falcon. Like she was going to strike at him and make him her dinner at any moment. He was surprised to find himself questioning if he was actually going to make it to the top of the headmaster's office alive, even though she was a teacher and wasn't likely to maim any of her students. She might have possibly harmed them, but she wasn't going to injure them. It wasn't until Grey made it to the top that things became clear.
"Ah, hello Mr. Arsen," Ozpin greeted him, "I hope you are enjoying yourself after everything that has transpired today." Grey sat in the seat across from the older gentleman and crossed his arms.
"How could I?" he asked venomously, "You told me I wouldn't be placed on a team. I came to this school to become a huntsman, and after hearing that I wouldn't be able to do it with my friends? Or at all? There's nothing for me here anymore."
"Are you sure about that?" Ozpin asked coyly, sipping his coffee, "I only explained to you how the teams were formed. I never told you that you wouldn't be placed on one." Grey raised his eyebrow at this, but decided to remain silent. "Do you still have the chess piece you picked up in the forest?" Arching his brow fully at the question, Grey slowly pulled the black pawn out of his pocket and placed it on the desk in front of the headmaster, where Ozpin picked it up and examined it, noticing all of the scratches and chinks in the metal that had most likely appeared during the end of the exam. "Do you know anything about chess, Grey?"
"I mean, I'm not great at it," he said hesitantly, "But I know how to use all of the pieces and the basic rules behind them. Knights move in the shape of an L and are allowed to jump over other pieces, rooks can only move vertically or horizontally, and bishops can only move diagonally, for instance." Grey traced the shapes of the piece's limitations in the air with his finger when he described them.
"What about pawns?" Ozpin asked with a slight undertone that he was hinting at something important.
"Pawns are… the sacrificial pieces. They can only move forward, line up in the front of the group when the game starts, can move two spaces on their first turn and one space every subsequent turn, but can only attack diagonally… What's your point, Sir? I'm confused." Ozpin went mute as he took a moment to enjoy his tea or coffee, whatever was in the mug, driving Grey insane. The boy knew better than to snap at him again, but this was unbearable.
"What happens when a pawn reaches your opponent's side of the board?" he asked seriously, his smile disappearing. Grey recoiled at the expression, never seeing something so dark on him before, but managed to find some kind of answer.
"They can be promoted to any other piece in the game. Even queens."
"But not kings, correct?" Ozpin set his mug down at that question, feeling as if this conversation was finally going somewhere.
"Correct," Grey affirmed, "That would change the boundaries of the game entirely."
"You picked the black pawn piece," Ozpin reiterated, "Obviously, whether you realize it or not, the piece stuck out to you. It was the only one of its kind. Whether you meant to pick it up or not, you decided that you would be unique, the one who would stand out or stand alone, and I find that it was appropriate for you, as well. In the forest, you decided to stay back and fend off the deathstalker that was attacking your friends while they made their escape, knowing you were outmatched, then risking your life with an incredibly advanced technique to reach them again and saved them one more time. Also, in the forest, when you were alone with Weiss and Ruby, you managed to urge them towards peace and kept them focused on the objective long enough to complete it. You are the one on the front lines, just like the pawn's original purpose, but at the same time, you are the one who does what needs to be done, no matter what it takes to do it, just like when a pawn is promoted. In other words, we believe you could be a very powerful huntsman with the proper training."
"What are you getting at, Sir?" Grey asked, finding that the conclusion to this conversation was about to hit him like Nora's hammer.
"We would like you to be the... utility player, if you will," Ozpin said with a smile, a bead of sweat forming at his temple, "You will answer directly to myself and the other teachers, and anyone else we give authority, but you will have more privileges than the other students. You will be allowed to go where you want and where you are needed, to fill whatever role you have to, with proper license and allowances that the other students do not possess. Although, I think what you're more worried about is that you won't be placed on a team, so I'd like to point out that if you take the title of Black Pawn, you will unofficially be considered a member of every team in the school, and will be able to switch between them as you deem it necessary." Ozpin picked up his mug again and looked at Grey over his glasses before taking a sip. "Does this sound like something you would want?"
Grey was upset. He was happy. He was ecstatic even but he was also angry and felt betrayed. He felt like he had been taken advantage of by this manipulative man that was soon to become his headmaster, since he had been cornered into only having one valid answer to this question. However, the strongest emotion he felt was excitement. He would be answering only to the people who were in charge, no one else. It was almost as if he was already a professional huntsman only after his first day at Beacon Academy. The best part, however, was that doing this would enact some kind of executive order to still stay with his friends instead of forcing his expulsion, with Ruby and Weiss, with Yang and Blake, and he would be able to watch Pyrrha and Jaune's inevitable romantic relationship blossom. He would be able to grow with those he cared about. He would eventually become the man he was destined to be, and he would be able to do so with all of the people he cared about, particularly Ruby, who had quickly become his best friend, and Weiss whom he wanted to see where that attitude would take her. All he had to do was look this complete jagoff of a headmaster in the eye, as kind and generous yet unexpectedly deceptive as he was, and say one thing.
"I'll do it," Grey decided, "I'll be your… pawn." He smiled up at his headmaster, a smile that told him he was ready for whatever was going to come at him, no matter what.
(...)
The battlefield on top of the cliffs quickly became covered in the blood of the fallen. The term "bloodbath" had never before been so literal to Pyrrha as she started slipping in the fluids after slaying only a few Grimm and could only continue defending against the assault, drenching herself even more and blinding her vision once or twice. A few times, she saw an opening to kneel in front of Ren and use her Akuo as a bracer to help Ren cover Jaune's and Nora's charge. Jaune's plan was working perfectly as well. Even though he only described the bare minimum of how it was supposed to work, his team had filled in the blanks of how his plan was supposed to work, and he guided the team almost entirely on unspoken signals that they understood without any context. It was like he was the source of the group's flawless chemistry. He didn't need to tell Pyrrha nor Ren that they were meant to take out from afar any of the beowolves that went after himself and Nora, while the tank above him used her hammer to knock away anything that got too close. She even used her heart shaped grenades to blow away the beowolves that centered around Grey.
"Grey! Wake up!" Jaune called to him. He slid down the crater and pounded his fist on the barrier that was surrounding his friend's unconscious form, trying to get through to him but the man couldn't hear a word. He was already out cold, but the subconscious barrier was soundproof. Any kind of sound that came from outside its protected area would never make it through, but Jaune was still trying. "If you don't wake up, we're all going to die! We need your help! Ruby and Weiss are fighting that nevermore by themselves and we're surrounded by grimm on every side! Pyrrha's fighting for her life to protect you! Do you want her sacrifice to be in vain?! Wake up!" Suddenly, a strong arm pulled the impromptu leader out of the crater.
"Jaune! You need to get away from him!" Pyrrha yelled at him. Jaune looked more offended than a soccer mom with bad customer service. Was she serious?
"Pyrrha, how could you leave your cousin like that?! He's going to die if we don't do something!" Jaune slapped her arm off of him, trying to talk sense in her as Ren and Nora tried to cover them from the beowolves that were now beginning to overwhelm them with their numbers. The group had to have killed at least thirty, but they just kept coming. Jaune could only imagine the girls on the other side of the chasm were handling the giant nevermore. His group may have been fighting a hundred weak enemies, but they were fighting a single, greatly powerful enemy that required more focused attacks and singular attention. Then, there was Grey, cold and unmoving in the dirt, with Pyrrha pointing at him threateningly.
"Jaune, look at him. His aura is spiking up to a dangerous level, and his semblance is becoming so unstable that we can't even see him through his barrier anymore! You may not have seen him fight normally, but his shields are almost entirely transparent with only an outline to let you know they're even there! His barrier is so distorted now that you can tell something's wrong! Does this make sense to you?!" Jaune stammered for a second.
"What am I supposed to do then?!" He demanded. Just then, Pyrrha saw another trait in Jaune that made him a good leader. Jaune didn't know anything about Grey or his semblance, but he knew Pyrrha did, so instead of stubbornly holding his ground and not changing his decision, he let someone more knowledgeable take the lead and advise him on what to do. Pyrrha just nodded at him and pulled him aside, directing the others to follow her. It took a bit of effort and some combat to get away from Grey safely, the group slaying a few beowolves to open a path and slipping on blood a few times, but they managed to get away just in time to escape the atomic blast that chased after them. With Grey at the epicenter, a large wave of chaotic energy exploded from his motionless form that killed everything it touched, tearing the beowolves to shreds, incinerating them, blowing them up, or simply just removing their life force by pushing it out of them. There was such a negative feeling behind that every grimm chasing the group turned back to watch the scene, giving the humans time to do the same.
"What… what is that?" Ren asked, either amazed or afraid, not that anyone other than Nora could tell.
"It's a laser light show!~" Nora responded, singing in a cheery voice at the beautiful sight of death and carnage.
"Nora, I don't think that's a lightshow," Ren calmly explained, more or less undisturbed by Nora's excitement or what she was excited for.
"You're right…" Pyrrha declared, not really paying attention to either of them as Grey appeared from the crater, "It's much worse…"
The four of them could only watch in terror as Grey's aura had taken a physical form wrapping around his body like a wild flame that burned anything that touched him, and even if something got close, his fists would lash out and destroy it. His black hair was rising above his head from the energy, flowing freely. Every step he took made his long and wavy hair flutter in the breeze vertically above him, and there were traces of his aura laced in his hair like highlights, or perhaps that was blood that had seeped into the strands. Every step he took through the mob of enemies struck the ground hard, creating cracks in the earth. His aura had so much power behind it that any loose object around him such as pebbles or bones were lifted into the air and began swirling around him in a vortex, occasionally flying off to strike an enemy, not to mention it had such a blazing heat that the group watching him felt their faces heating up uncomfortably which made them have to turn away. The worst part were his eyes. Any color that was in them had been completely removed. Before, his eyes had been the famed and rare silver like in the legends, but now, they were entirely black, sclera and all.
"Pyrrha…" Jaune asked hesitantly, "What's going on with him?"
"It's…" Pyrrha tried to answer him, but she had to push down her fear as best she could before she found the strength, "It's his true semblance. His shields are only a tool he uses to keep this side of him at bay, hidden so far beneath the surface that you would never think it was there in the first place. We call it… Black Steele, the Berserk Semblance."
"Die…" Black Steele muttered. His voice deep and sharp, making the beowolves surrounding bow down in fear, but then he broke out into a giant, mindless cackle as the atomic fire power of his aura exploded once more and destroyed everything in its path, "DIE!"
(...)
"No lady stilts~!" Ruby cheered. Over the loud, pumping music of the dance floor, the screams, the laughter, the dancing, the sheer intensity of the after party from the induction ceremony, no one heard what she said, or knew or cared that she was praising not having to dress up for the party, but they didn't care. Everyone could feel the energy in the room, and when the aura of someone else overpowered the rest of the room and that person ushered a toast, they could only agree with them scream, no matter what the toast was. Everyone was happy and they had good reason to be.
Everyone except for the obvious contenders, that is. Pyrrha was in the process of dealing with the obligated fan worship she knew she was going to receive and failing to politely get away from it, Jaune was doing his best to keep his new Team JNPR's attention since he was the kind of person at the party who wouldn't stray too far from his friends, and Ruby, although gleeful that she didn't have to dress up in heels and a fruity cocktail dress, was still trying to process everything, suffering from sensory overload. Ruby was the kind of person at the party, who either hung out at the tables or refreshment table just to hang out. There was really nothing wrong with that, but it was a little surprising that dancing wasn't really Ruby's cup of tea, given her energy and quickly spiked adrenaline, but she was still having fun talking to the others students. Back at Signal, she always kind of kept to herself. She was also the kind of person who made friends very easily, quantity over quality, everyone loving her, and simply enjoying her ambiverted presence. She just simply didn't care what kind of person you were as long as long as you smiled at her and treated people kindly. Granted, she was already guaranteed to have a friend in Grey. Maybe Blake would open up to her a bit more as the year progressed, and since Yang was her older sister, there were no worries there, but perhaps, with a bit of luck and proper effort on his part, Grey could get her and Weiss to become friends. They should get along well at the very least.
Speaking of the other three, Yang had acquired the same kind of attitude that Grey had seen on Nora, and was jumping from one side of the room to the next in the blink of an eye, unable to sit still and partying so hard that she kept the scene alive. The minute Grey took his eyes off of her, which given the size and intensity of the crowd, was easy to do, he would lose her. If he wanted to see her from his seat, he would just have to take a sip of his drink and focus on which part of the crowd had broken out into a mosh pit, the naturally blonde super saiyan right in the center of it all, her hair never losing its burning glow. Grey could hear her screaming in joy no matter where she was in the room. Knowing that she was a true party girl that had hung around the popular crowd at Signal, having both been to and thrown a few herself, Grey wouldn't have put it past her to be drunk right then. Actually, that was how he met her back then, being pretty popular himself. She was the life of the party, that was for sure.
Blake on the other hand, Grey wasn't sure where she was. The room was dark, so with her gothic sense of fashion, she had the best camouflage, and besides that, she was always quiet and discreet. Even if she had been in the same room with you all day, you wouldn't know it. Not unless she spoke up. If you saw her sit at your table the minute she joined your group for lunch, you would forget that she was even there in a matter of minutes. She had that kind of unassuming, stealthy aura that concealed her presence without even meaning to. Most often, if anyone ever noticed that Blake was there, it would be because she wanted to be noticed, not because you were observant enough to find her. Grey didn't even think she was in the same building until she saw her sitting with Weiss at a table in the corner, both of them looking as miserable as ever, but the graceful noir looking as if she was fearing for her life because of the noise and discord. Blake's eyes were bugging out of her head and she was twitching as if she were on really hardcore drugs. The only reason Grey was able to pick Blake out of the crowd, though, was because she was sitting next to the Ice Queen who's snowy glow had given enough contrast to Blake's darker apparel that it was easy for Grey to spot her.
Speaking of Weiss, she kept Grey's attention. Just like him to a large degree, she seemed depressed, as if this wasn't potentially one of the best nights of her life or as if she had gotten some really bad news that had ruined the night for her beforehand. Sure, the induction ceremony didn't start well for her, but it turned around. The message boards loved her. Sitting in silence with Blake, she rested her chin in her hands as she watched the crowd in front of her flip their lids, and only gave brief answers to Blake's panicky questions. "Fine," "I don't know," "Whatever." It was like she was bored or lost in thought, and not really paying attention to her surroundings. Whatever was going through her head was clearly bugging her. From the perch that he was sitting on, a tall speaker in the back corner that would have made the greatest of rock concerts proud, he caught Ruby's eyes and nodded over to Weiss, the younger girl glancing at her partner and then nodding back in understanding. At least, Grey thought she understood. It was kind of hard to tell with the strobe lights, the sweat, and Ruby's excited mania as she met the other students.
Grey grunted painfully as he hit the floor hard ten feet below, stooping to a crouched position as he let the pain pass through his legs and knees, sore from earlier that day. Letting out a tense breath to help aid that, he stood up slowly.
That might have been a bad idea… he thought to himself, then caught a closer look at Weiss from ground level and saw the shiny glimmer her eyes, full of emotion and potentially getting closer and closer to crying. Nah, I have a responsibility… or something… He tried to rationalize his decision to go over to her. It wasn't any secret that Grey had a small crush on her, and that was still true in a physical sense, but after spending half a day with her behind enemy lines, it wasn't too much of a stretch to say he hated her. Weiss may have had a tenuous peace with Ruby, but she couldn't say the same for him. The way she treated Ruby, the way she made the girl tear up in the middle of the battlefield and almost break down completely, it had set Grey off and filled him with an unbridled rage. Ruby was a bean child that had quickly become like a little sister to him, and Grey wanted to protect her with his life, so when he saw that amount of sadness and pain in someone so adorably innocent, his mind had been made up at what kind of person Weiss was. Later on in the final fight of the exam, it was probably what brought Black Steele forth. If it wasn't for Weiss being such a horrible person to the people he cared about, he never would've gotten Ozpin's direct attention.
Well, perhaps the Black Pawn piece had more to do with that, but still. His ability to create a brief, tenuous peace between her and Ruby was something that stuck out to his new mentor- whom he was still mad at, by the way -and only further implanted in the headmaster's mind to make Grey his apprentice. Still, if Ozpin was going to trick him that way, Grey was going to make sure he got his comeuppance. Grey had to think about his revenge for only a second before he sassily glued the handle to Ozpin's coffee mug when he wasn't looking so it would get stuck against his palm.
Still, Weiss was his unofficial teammate, and if Grey was being honest, he wanted the best for her. As much as he hated it sometimes, he was a good person at heart, and not only did he still care about Weiss despite how abrasive her personality was, if she was going to be on the same team as three people that he liked a lot more than her, he should probably try to be nice to her. If anything, he should make sure that she didn't end up trying to wear the other three's skin as a festive hat. Perhaps he was jumping the gun with that kind of judgement, but with what kind of temper she'd shown him previously, potentially killing the R, B, and Y of Team RWBY didn't seem like that much of an exaggerated assumption. OK, he was being unfair. He was going to try to comfort right? Right. That's what he was doing. Not to break her neck. She needed to be happy, not dead. Not sad either, and she obviously sad.
Growing up, Weiss never really had a real friend other than her sister Winter, and her butler Keinz, the latter of whom having been required to be friends with her so he could earn a regular paycheck. Keinz did go above and beyond, however, and even though Weiss didn't give him the best first impression, and was often kind of mean to him, he did make the effort to form a bond with the youngest member of the Schnee Clan. He was definitely a beloved confidant to Weiss, but that didn't changed the fact that that was his job. She wanted something real, something that didn't originally have to be forced. Looking back on the past two days, Grey's and Weiss's first meeting in the courtyard, their conversation during the orientation speech, the following night when he- she blushed at this thought -commented on her nightgown and her hair… he was definitely making a really good effort to try to earn her friendship, but she realized that only too late when she had already turned him away. It wasn't until he caught her from falling off of the colossal nevermore, that she realized what he had been trying to do with her and that she wanted him to be her first real friend. However, she rebuked him and his friends the whole time she knew him. She knew she wasn't really the most pleasant person to be around, having been raised by her father to be cold and distant to those beneath her, but he wasn't beneath her, and she was sure she never treated him that way, yet by the way she had berated his friends every time they spoke, she was convinced that she had destroyed any chance of a friendship she may have had.
Weiss wasn't familiar with the kind of wanting feeling that the realization stirred in her. The warmth, the lump in her throat, the burning tears of loss threatening to spill over, and a twisting in her stomach… is that what losing a friend felt like? She couldn't really decipher the emotion since it was so foreign to her, but all she really knew was that she wanted to be as close to Grey as she could, wanting to be with him 24/7. She wanted to be near him, to talk to him, and judging the way she felt when he held her at the shrine, she wanted that to happen again. It was even like she wanted to just… melt into him, is how she thought about it. Friendship, right? It's not the kind of friendship that she felt with Winter of Keinz, but they didn't count.
Regardless, she screwed everything up. Badly. She couldn't get that one argument with Ruby out of her head, the one where she thought that the girl was about to strike her just before Weiss told her "I'm still leagues better than you." It echoed in her mind like a knife digging its way through her chest. If any part of their time together had made Grey reject Weiss, it would've been that one. As she walked away from that argument, she could feel just how heartbroken Ruby had become, all because of that one phrase, but he would forgive her, right? She wasn't thinking clearly. She was fighting, arguing. She didn't mean what she said, and she really did want to apologize to Ruby, but how? The damage was already done. She needed to accept it, but that didn't make losing Grey, someone she wanted but never really had in the first place, any easier.
"Hey, Weiss," she heard none other than the voice of her ideal friend just above her. She was hallucinating, definitely, but it did seem weird how Blake scrambled to get away from the table as if the hallucination had spooked her. Everything about that girl screamed that she was a cat in human form. "Hello~. Remnant to Weiss Schnee. Calling Weiss Schnee. You have a call for you right in front of you. Come in… Yo! Ice Queen!" She wasn't hallucinating? It took a moment for her eyes to focus beyond the tears that had settled in her eyes, but that was the real Grey Arsen, waving his hand directly in her face.
"Oh!" she yelped, "Hi, Grey!" Weiss quickly but nonchalantly fixed her hair and skirt on a reflex, trying to make a good impression on someone she desperately wanted to impress. He sat down next to her, but turned his chair to face her as he leaned over the back, legs spread open around it, his chin resting on his crossed arms, and it wasn't the motion that created an unrestrainable smile from breaking out onto Weiss's face, but the fact that he had decided to come over and talk to her. It took her a second, but she managed to gather her regal persona once more, but then she saw his raised eyebrow before she could say anything else. "What?"
"I…" Grey started, then thought against pointing out how much happier she looked all of a sudden, "I came over here because you seemed a upset, but seeing that smile a second ago-" Weiss's lips parted in just the most minute form of surprise, and she felt her face flush "-I think I was wrong." Weiss couldn't stop it from happening. It was too reflexive, too impulsive for her to even see it happening, but she reached across the distance between them and wrapped her fingers around Grey's arm. He sounded like he was about to leave, so she had to stop him.
"No!" she squeaked, then looked down and realized exactly what she was doing and what she sounded like, then recomposing herself as best she could, "You don't have to leave. I actually wanted to talk to you."
"OK…?" Grey said at length, very confused at this point because of how nice she was being, and yet not sensing any kind of malice in her in that moment, "What about?" Weiss blinked in confusion.
"I…" Did she need a reason to talk to him? "I just…" Grey palmed his face and laughed at her, making a blush creep up to her face and burning a hole in her chest.
"You want to talk to me, but you don't even have anything to talk to me about? That is that the complete opposite of what I expected of you, darlin'!" Grey couldn't stop laughing at her, and this only made Weiss angry, crossing her arms and legs defiantly and making a huff of discontent. Sure, he didn't like her, but she was still really adorable.
"Oh, come one! It's not funny." This only made Grey laugh harder, making Weiss whine.
"It's hilarious, actually! You always have something to say, but the one time you actually want to talk to someone instead of just remind them that they're beneath you, you can't think of anything? What's the problem? Ursa got your tongue?" He leaned in and grinned coyly, flicking her forehead, and Weiss uncharacteristically squeaked and started swiping at his fingers, realizing just a second too late how childish that must have looked and growling at him, making him double over at her expense, her cuteness only increasing in his mind. He folded his hands behind his head and propped his feet on the table after turning his seat around, smiling tiredly. Acting so calm and relaxed, and speaking lightly as if just chatting with a friend over coffee, he didn't act like he was mad, but his words still formed a tornado of fear in her stomach. "Well, you've got my attention, Princess. You wanted to talk, so entertain me."
Grey smirked threateningly at her at the last few words, sprinkling a thinly veiled challenge in his tone and leveling his eyes on her. After that kind of provocation, there was no way Weiss was going to back down. With a deadly glare in his direction, making him smile wider like he was amused at her irritation with him, she had an idea that probably wasn't going to end well, but that would definitely keep his attention, and pulled out Myrtenaster, chuckling sadistically when she saw Grey jump a little at the sight of her weapon like she was going to stab him. Humorously, she waved him down and set the rapier on the table. Expertly, she flipped a switch and pulled out a canister of blue dust as if she had done so hundreds of times, then placed it in the center of the table. Grey was honestly curious where she was going with this, if she was going to ask him for his thoughts on dust, giving him the opportunity to blind her with his brilliance on the subject and being a topic he knew she was likely to ask him about, but a sense of dread overwhelmed him at the fiendish smile she flashed him. He had heard tales of the famed Schnee grin, filled with so much malice it seemed almost demonic, but the rumors would have never prepared him for this. Even then, he still wouldn't have expected her to pull out the boot knife.
"Two questions, Princess?" He noted, holding up two fingers, and she gave him another dirty look at the nickname, "First of all, I have no idea where you're going with this, and I am extremely curious about how many edged weapons you have on you right now." Weiss leaned her elbow against the table with her chin resting on the top of her wrist. Without breaking eye contact with him, she balanced the tip of the knife she was wielding on the table with the very tip of a single finger on her other hand, grazing its pommel, absentmindedly spinning it around as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"You didn't phrase any of those as questions, Cub," she said but her tone was more teasing than reproachful, the friendly nickname throwing Grey off guard more than her peculiar behavior, "But just so you know, I always have at least three knives on me no matter what, to answer, and we're about to play a little game." Once again, Weiss gave him that cruel grin and held the knife firmly in her hand with a reverse grip. Digging the tip into the wood, she busied herself with using her other hand to twist a small screw on the dispenser that, after working in a dust shop for years, Grey was aware would make the canister heavily unstable if loosened too much. He ran his hands through his hair nervously.
"Really Weiss? You want to play chicken?" His lips were creased in a frown.
"What's the matter? You scared of a little fun?" She laced her words with a pouty baby voice, teasing him innocently, tricking him into taking her on for no reason other than to defend his pride, and he took the knife with a scowl.
"Hey, I didn't say I was against the idea," he said grinning, tapping the container once with the tip of the blade and turning it face his opponent with a confident grin, "Your turn, Doll."
"Thought you'd take the bait," Weiss smirked, tapping the device in the same manner after taking the knife, then flipping it around again.
"Actually, it had more to do with seeing you covered in ice than anything else," once his next turn was done, he flipped the knife over to her with a wink, and she pouted frustratedly.
"Oh, so now you're confident? Where was that a second ago?" With this next tap, the disturbance of the dust made its container roll to one side, making both the combatants bite their lips nervously. Grey took the knife and rolled it in his fingers before choosing to hit the actual release valve, making Weiss jump. She thought striking that part directly would make it explode for sure, but when all it did was let out a blast of cold air on the table beneath it, she blushed, feeling her face heat up at Grey smiling dubiously at her and handing her her knife back ceremoniously.
"You don't deal with the mechanics of dust yourself a lot do you?" He asked playfully. Weiss huffed and stabbed the dust container a bit harder, making Grey wince.
"Are you kidding? I have to work with dust everyday to make sure Myrtenaster is functioning properly. My entire fighting style relies more on dust than even my glyphs. Of course, I know the mechanics of dust."
"Maybe," he said perceptively, twirling the knife in his hands and using the flat of the blade to turn the dust container over, "But what about the machines that contain dust? The transportation? The weaponization? Do you know anything about the crafting process?" Weiss was starting to get a really bad feeling. When he grinned devilishly at her, she realized that maybe choosing Grey as an opponent to play chicken with was a mistake. "More importantly, did you really think you could challenge someone who has worked in a dust shop half his life and still win?"
Yeah, this was a bad idea. She noticed that he turned the knife sideways in a grip that wouldn't have been useful in combat, then thrust it at an angel where the fiberglass met the metal, making the container shake. It was a slight comfort knowing he guaranteed the explosion just then. However, what was going through her mind was still a great amount of discomfort when, just before the dispenser blew up in his face, he tapped his finger on the table, summoning one of his shields just beneath the object and flipping one end up like a power jack, making the volatile equipment face her, then crack. Weiss only had time to think, crap, before she was covered in ice.
(...)
"So, tell me again what happened?" Glynda turned towards Grey and the leader of Team RWBY with one of the sharpest looks the pair had seen on her, but they had learned when they had brought an unconscious Weiss into the infirmary earlier that it wasn't one of contempt, but concern. Everyone had heard the explosion when it happened, and Grey already knew that lying to Glynda was a bad idea since she was going to find out the truth eventually and since he would be working with her later in the year, but he figured it would be best to keep up appearances with the pair right now and wait until later to clear up the confusion with his mentor. He just hoped she would understand his reasoning for his deception. His plan was to lie to Glynda now and make Weiss and Ruby, who had followed them to the hospital as the dust victim's team leader, think that he was willing to do anything to protect them, even poorly try to trick the teacher to avoid getting them in trouble. He would confess that he was trying to hide his position as the Black Pawn from them later.
That would work, right? Wait, did he even need to hide his position from them? It wasn't a secret was it?
"Like I said, Professor Goodwitch," Grey announced, "I caught Weiss trying to modify and upgrade her weapon, and considering I've worked directly with that equipment for the past 5 years, I thought I would give her some advice, which she took, but that I described badly and made her mess up. Naturally, there was a conflict between the dispenser and distribution limiter when the pivot screw became too tight. This made it snap, and the ice exploded. It's really as simple as that." The only part of that story that was truly a lie was the idea that Weiss was trying to improve her combat capabilities, instead of that they were doing something stupid, but everything else when it came to how the dispenser exploded was spot on. Glynda wasn't convinced that the scenario was entirely truthful, but she didn't have Grey's expertise on the mechanics of how dust must be stored and transfused, so without any other option available to her, she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms casually.
"Alright, I'll accept your story for now," she said, "but just so you're aware, I will be checking the video feed to see exactly what you're not telling me." Grey nodded seriously.
"I'm aware, Professor Goodwitch." His voice had a layer of intent behind it, making Glynda knit her eyebrows together and saunter away. When she was out of earshot, having walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, Grey let out a nervous breath he was holding in and reheated Weiss's bedpan before sinking into his chair. After being covered in weaponized ice, Weiss was quickly transported to the school's personal hospital in a shivering mess, suffering from the very dangerous consequence of playing dust chicken and risking hypothermia. She was wrapped in a number of blankets, coals smoldering under her mattress and a fire blazing next to her. Her face was red, and she had begun sneezing a few minutes ago during the professor's interrogation, her nose beginning to drip as a symptom of a cold setting in. It didn't take long for the parts of her body that were frozen to thaw out, so now she was dressed in fuzzy pajamas to retain internal body heat.
Fortunately, the worst symptoms had passed so she didn't have to worry about freezing to death anymore, but the most unbearable thing about this whole situation was Grey's relentless teasing over her loss of the game she had challenged him to. He made it aware that he felt remorse over hospitalizing her, but that she earned the playful jabs.
Ruby, on the other hand, was more concerned than anything else. She was on her scroll that the Academy had issued each of the new students, talking with Yang and Blake and letting the pair know what was happening with their new teammate. Grey typed into his own what had really happened, showed it to Ruby, and even though the team leader knew that communication with the absent members was one of the most important things she had to be aware of that moment, she paused just so she could slap Grey's arm a few times and scold him for being so careless. Weiss was touched at how protective the girl was, but could only be confused at the unremorseful way Grey responded. She knew he wasn't the kind of person who would hurt their friend and not feel bad about it, and he had expressed much earlier, but Weiss' condition really didn't seem to matter to him when Ruby verbally abused him. If he hadn't bothered to make sure she was comfortable, Weiss would have thought that he really didn't care that he put Weiss in the hospital, so when he sat down and took her hand, a connection which sent a jolt up her arm and dazed her for a second, she made sure to pay attention to what he was about to say.
"OK, darlin.' You've earned my trust, and my forgiveness for the way you acted in the woods," he said lightly. Weiss wanted to cut in when he said he forgave her, not feeling like she did anything worth forgiving her for, but then she remembered that she did treat Ruby like a worthless villain during the test. "You're actually lucky that I was the one who covered you in dust because I know how to treat the injuries from it. Working in a store that sells the most dangerous item known to mankind, first aid for dust-based accidents is pretty much the first half of the employee handbook. You'd actually be surprised how often it really happens."
"Is that why you're so calm about this?!" Ruby yelled, hanging up her scroll.
"Yes, actually!" Grey screamed back, more to match her tone as a calming gesture than a challenge, "Do you also freak out every time a black cat crosses your path?!"
Weiss thought Ruby was going to chew him out again for showing her such disrespect, but the way he matched her volume and giving a comparison of the situation to a pointless event seemed to calm the girl down. Groaning loudly, the girl sunk to her knees, whining childishly.
"I've only been team leader for a few hours and my own partner is already in the hospital!" she cried.
"I'm fine, Ruby…" her partner claimed, her voice croaking from the ammunition's earlier impact. Ruby looked up and leaned over her bedside.
"You sure?" she asked importantly. Her partner recoiled shyly from the proximity, but then smiled lightly and made the awkward gesture to pat the girl's head affectionately, trying to give some kind of show of friendship.
"Yeah, I'm in good hands." Her confirmation was followed by squeezing Grey's hand. With how tightly she had been gripping him a second ago, her knuckles turning white at the effort and Grey's glowing purple at the lost circulation, he didn't think that she could hold him any tighter, but that belief was quickly dashed with the extra pinch. He actually winced in pain. It made sense for her hands to be so strong though, considering she was a practiced swordswoman. What didn't make sense was the lack of callouses. Her hand was so soft and silky to the touch, that he just wanted to hold it as long as he could, maybe take the time later to run his fingers across the skin, play with her fingers, and maybe massage it a bit.
"Hey, Weiss," Grey spoke up, beginning his ruminations of her palm, making her muscles loosen in heavenly bliss as a wave of warm pleasure was sent up her arm, "What did you actually want to talk to me about? I'm pretty sure you didn't just want to threaten to blow me up, but I think I may have distracted you from it when I started… making fun of you…" He blushed, rubbing his neck bashfully and smiling apologetically. "So, whatever you need, I'm here. OK? If you still wanted to talk me about what you wanted to earlier, I'll listen this time. Promise."
For once, Grey didn't look so unafraid anymore. He was normally very apathetic and unabashed of anything that came his way and no matter who or what he was dealing with, but now, he seemed almost wimpy. No, not wimpy. Maybe before she met him, Weiss might have taken the inability to meet her eyes and the nervous look as a sign of weakness, but now, she could see it in him that he was actually showing her kindness. Maybe it had to do with their conflict from earlier, but she saw Grey's deference to her, allowing her to say whatever she wanted to in that moment without interruption, as nothing more than strength. So, maybe this was what a friend would do? Even though she treated him horribly earlier, he was giving her the high ground? How did that make sense? She could easily have taken advantage of the situation and made him regret his decision to trust her, because that's how everyone Weiss had ever known behaved, but she realized that after spending as long as he did with him and even with Ruby, that that wasn't how everyone acted. Perhaps, it was just unique to her social class. Weiss actually didn't know how to respond. She had only ever seen her butler Keinz treat her with this kind of respect, but after having so much conflict with them in the past, she didn't know how they would respond to what she really wanted to say. She felt that saying anything would open her up to an attack.
Suddenly, she remembered how things had worked with Keinz growing up in the Schnee household. Even though he was paid to be nice to her and her family, Weiss thought back to how much effort he had spent trying to gain Weiss's trust, and when he had finally done so, how Weiss had been so open to talking to him about her struggles with her siblings and her parents, and how much that would reward her later. After opening up to her only friend, he had treated her with compassion. The only problem with Grey and Ruby, however, was that these were normal people who weren't being paid to put up with her ruthless attitude, so she had to face the very loaded question on if she really wanted to open herself up to these two, and if the risk of being hurt by them sometime in the future was worth the small chance that they would be her friends. True friends, not just paid help. The question… hit her pretty hard. She didn't realize that breaking through this barrier for the first time in her life, stepping out of her comfort zone as Keinz had called it, would be so difficult and heart wrenching, that after turning people away her whole life that even considering letting someone in would have this kind of emotional backlash. As she considered it, she bit her lip so hard it might have bled. She had to close her eyes so tightly in an effort to drown out the rest of the world just so she wouldn't let another tear slip, and this was just in consideration of how unclear the future would be. Would the risk of pain be worth letting them in?
After thinking about it, she decided it would be. Taking a shaky breath, she spoke in her most regal and high class voice, choosing that if she was going to commit to this path, the first thing she would need to do was right some wrongs.
"Ruby," she announced rather formally, "I don't know if you will accept this, but I offer an... apology to you for my… less than friendly behavior." Weiss bit her lip, and Grey wasn't sure where she was going with this, having been more stunned than if she would have said this to him, but then her shoulders relaxed to a more casual and less business like manner, and Grey knew she was serious. She was showing genuine remorse for her behavior by switching from her usual princess mode to an almost pleasant demeanor. Grey could even tell from the next few words that she was going against a lifetime of upper crust social conditioning by altering her normal speech patterns to a more informal pattern, going from official phrasing to a loose banter. "I'm really sorry, Ruby. It isn't easy for me to say this, but I was a real bitch to you, and I don't want you to be my enemy. I don't make promises like this lightly, but if we're going to be on a team together, then I…" she faltered and had to force herself to say the next line, but it was clear she meant it, "Promise to treat you like an equal. I hope you can forgive meeEEE!"
"I forgive you Weiiiiss!" Ruby shouted excitedly like squirrels on caffeine while she jumped into Weiss's lap and hugged her tightly, kind of shaking the poor princess a bit, "It's fine! I'm so glad we finally made up and now we can be friends for real without having to force it and now I don't have to worry about you making my eyeballs into finger puppets in my sleep when we share a room together! This is perfect! Now we really can do all that stuff you said earlier in the auditorium about painting our nails and trying on clothes and talking about cute boys!"
"Like tall, buff and mysterious over here, I know!" Weiss admonished, trying to push the puppy of a teenager off of her lap, but not being able to both from being in a weakened, half frozen state, and the younger girl just being outright stronger than her.
"I know, right?!" Ruby confirmed. Grey laughed at the pair, but then noticed something and grinned again.
"You guys think I'm cute?" he teased with no small amount of sass, but they turned on him like ravenous wolves defending their freshly made kill. The pillows slamming into his face easily told him to shut up. As the pair bickered back and forth, mostly about Ruby trying to get Weiss to take a chance by doing something like pumpkin smashing in the courtyard tomorrow night, Weiss's only major objection being that she didn't want to get dirty after admitting that doing something like that could be fun, Grey laughed again, but this time to himself. Turns out he was right. All that these two needed to do was to get everything out in the open. Sure, it took longer for Weiss whereas Ruby had already forgiven her partner, but now that all their grievances had been voiced and their hatred for one another diminished, they could finally be friends.
Taking the pillow off of his face, he watched them as Ruby had somehow managed to take a place behind Weiss to braid her hair, the paler girl seeming as if she finally realized just what kind of turmoil she had agreed to judging by the distraught look on her face. She was letting out the most pitiful whines, and Ruby was even laughing at her.
"Maybe this isn't going to be so bad…" Grey said to himself.
And with that he prepared himself for the rest of the year with a socially awkward pixie on one side of him, and an fabulously upperclass debutante on the other. One loud and one calm. One fun and one proper. One rambunctious and one reserved. They were two completely opposing personalities, but if he could manage to balance them out with his own mix of the two, he could manage to keep them from blowing up the school… probably. There was just one and only one problem that stuck out in his mind.
How was he going to handle Ruby's kiss?
(...)
Yang was pissed. It wasn't the kind of anger that would have activated her semblance, but it was the kind of anger one feels when realizing that some jerk got the last hors-devors at a party and you were still hungry. When Blake had told her that Weiss was in the hospital and showed her the message from their team leader, Ruby, Yang could only laugh at their other teammate's misfortune, but still sprinted towards the safe zone without any hesitation to make sure the girl was OK. She wasn't expecting this scene, though.
"Do you see the way she looks at him?" Yang asked, grinning coyly at how Ruby couldn't keep her hands off of the guy that she had wanted to bring into her bed only a few days ago, and her disappointment burning its way through her chest violently.
"You mean Wiess? Yes, I do," Blake said happily, smiling widely and placing her hand on her hip in amazement at the development, "Even with Ruby there, they look so cute together." Yang stared at her partner incredulously.
"You're joking right? I meant Ruby. He and Ruby look cute together." There was a look of defiance in her eyes. Blake rose her eyebrow.
"Wait, you mean the girl he treats like his little sister? No way they'd ever get together. I doubt she even likes him that way."
"Oh, come on!" Yang argued, "You saw her kiss him on the highlight reel!"
"Yeah, only because she wanted to keep him from killing her."
"You don't think she could have done that with that huge scythe of hers?"
"Not with the nevermore stalking them. As soon as she put her weapon against him, it would have made his adrenaline spike so hard that the grimm would have zeroed in on them almost immediately and sentenced them to death. The kiss was the only way to prevent that."
"Look, I know my sister, and I can tell she likes him."
"And it took you how long to realize that? Look at them." Blake wrapped her arm around Yang's shoulder and pointed at the group in the infirmary where Weiss was now wrapping her hands around Grey's to teach him how to juggle a knife properly. "Look at how she leans into him like he's the only thing that gives her life meaning. Look at how she smiles at him everytime he looks at her. That's not forced. That smile just appears every time he gives her any attention. They're going to end up together, I can just tell." Yang scoffed and slapped Blake's arm off of her.
"No way! With Ruby going after him, there's no way Weiss is going to get that fine hunk of meat first."
"Yang, you're drooling," Blake giggled, watching her friend ogle the object of her sister's affection, and admittedly, she was right. Grey definitely was attractive.
"I'm not going to steal him from her though. I'm not a horrible sister."
"Even if you did jump in, he's still going to end up with Weiss."
"Nuh-uh! He's going to end up with Ruby!"
"Weiss!"
"Ruby!"
The girls had to take a minute and separate. They were arguing so hard that a fight fight between them seemed almost inevitable, and they were worried for a second that the others would have heard them debating their future relationships, but after checking on them, the pair realized that the target of discussion was too busy flirting to realize they were being spied on. Yang had decided to watch them a bit more carefully. Blake was busy taking notes in a kind of journal that she had pulled from a secret compartment in her weapon, Gambol Shroud, so she didn't notice when Yang smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile either. Instead of being one of any kind of kindness or friendship, Yang cracked her knuckles and went over to her partner. An idea was forming in her head, and true to her nature, she was going to make this competition between her sister and Weiss and add a bit more risk to it for her and the other half of the audience to this romantic comedy.
"I have a proposition," she proclaimed to goth, rubbing her shoulders in preparation for the upcoming challenge. Blake was in mid sentence, but as soon as she heard that Yang had an offer for her, she stopped writing, and closed the book with the pencil being used as a place marker, looking up with fiercely combative eyes.
"Let's hear it," Blake replied calmly. Yang held up one finger as if to get her opponent's attention.
"Let's make a bet. If Weiss ends up with Grey, you win, and if Ruby ends up with Grey, I win." Blake crossed her legs sassily, crossing her arms.
"That sounds fine to me. What are the stakes?" Yang began pacing in thought.
"If you win, I'll… Let you borrow my motorcycle, any time you want?" Blake deadpanned and yawned to show her disapproval of the offer, making Yang sneer. "Fine, then. What do you want if you win?" Blake smiled dangerously, remembering the moment she met the flirtatious girl in the Emerald Forest during the exam, first seeing her just before she lost it at the Ursa she was previously messing with.
"If Weiss and Grey end up dating, I want you to shave your head. Or at least cut it short." Blake added the last bit quickly, knowing right after she said it that it was too much and amending the offer. Yang, her hair being her most prized possession, was understandably addled. She began shaking, her golden aura rising around her like flame and her eyes turning their dark shade of crimson, but with her jaw set in determination, she agreed. Blake grinned darkly but coquettishly. "Now it's your turn. What do you want if you win?"
"Oh, after that, I am so not making this easy on you. If Ruby and Grey end up together," she emphasized Ruby's name, "Then… you have to go on a date with me!" Blake jumped at the offer. She had no doubts that Yang was a very outlandish and flirty person, but she had no idea that the much more seductive girl would make that kind of condition. She didn't even get the impression that Yang swung that way. Still, if she were to back out of the deal now, it would be showing a level of inferiority that Blake just wasn't capable of committing to, and out of stubbornness more than anything else, she dug in her heels and refused to back down, glaring at her partner's sly grin.
"You've got yourself a deal," Blake agreed, growling lowly. With a fire in both of their eyes, the two shook hands as a final pact that this competition had begun, and turned their eyes back to the trio in the hospital, all three of them somehow ending up in the bed together, napping peacefully with Weiss leaning against Grey's shoulder with her back turned to him but her head turning into the crook of his neck, and Ruby hanging off of him heavily with her arms wrapped around his neck and her head on his chest. Grey, being the center of it all, had one arm wrapped around both of them, seeming almost protective of his new, unofficial teammates. Staring at the group, Blake and Yang couldn't help but feel uneasy. As each of them caught a glimpse of what their opponent had been saying about their preferred match up, both of the girl's observing the sleeping arrangement could only think of one thing simultaneously.
I am so screwed.
I did say I removed the word limit, didn't I? Did you think I was joking? Believe me, when I say that I had a lot to talk about, I HAD A LOT TO TALK ABOUT. Sure, I could have just broken this up into two separate chapters, but it just didn't seem right considering how this chapter was supposed to be timed with the end of Beacon's entry exam. Please note, other acts will not work that way. Acts 2-5 will end when and how I say.
Now that that's done and the crew is officially enrolled in Beacon, and everyone is set up for their future roles and character arcs, (remember that this is only chapter 4 so that means that what is set up now is not all there will be), I will bring this to a close. See you in the next Act, my Beautiful Hunters!