Hello again, everyone. I'm back with another chapter fresh from editing! The last one ended with a cliffhanger, so I'll keep my own section brief.
51 follows. 26 Favorites. 11 Reviews. And a whopping 2,582 views. Those are the latest stats for this fanfic as I write these words, looking at the tab to make sure of its accuracy. And you all have no idea how happy those numbers make me. How much they inspire me to continue to write and post this fic. Because it feels amazing to know that other people like my story. And I will do my best to make sure the enjoyment continues. :)
And with that, let's continue from where we left off, shall we?
Chapter 5: Unwanted Break
Ragged, labored pants are what passed for Weiss' breathing, her head swimming from panic and blood loss as she looked down at Ruby, who was sprawled along the first row of seats. Ruby's clothes were red. No, that wasn't right. They were supposed to be a different color. What color...she couldn't remember. She was dizzy, she couldn't think straight. She looked down at the stage beneath her, only to see smears of red streaking across it. Was that hers? Her eyes slowly slid shut before snapping back open. No. She had to stay awake. She couldn't pass out. Not yet.
Ruby.
That one thought solidified in her mind and her hand released Myrtenaster, letting it clatter against the stage as she started to shakily get up. She had to go to her. Had to make sure that she was okay. Was this normal? For her to be so worried? Was this what people felt toward their partners, or did she genuinely care about Ruby?
Her legs shook as she stood up, body shuddering with every breath. She took one step forward, then another, concentrating on that as her vision faded to near black and back to a clouded view. There were people around Ruby, and she could see Blake lifting her up. Wait, now there were men coming toward her. They had a stretcher. Were they taking Ruby? Panic filled her as Blake set Ruby onto it and the men wheeled her off. No, bring her back! She took another step, stumbling and falling forward, only to be caught by stronger arms as her mind slipped into a blissful, black state.
Yang had caught her and gently picked her up into her arms. She climbed down off of the stage and looked over at Blake before she nodded her head to the door. Blake said nothing, only giving a short nod of her own. There was no need for words right now. Right now two of their teammates were injured. They had to get to the medical wing where Ruby was. Yang took off running, not caring for her own aches and pains. She would never forgive herself if she let Weiss die. A second medical team tried to take her but she rushed past them. It would take too long to put her on the stretcher. So she ran, and ran, and refused to stop until she barged through a pair of double doors and handed Weiss off directly to a doctor, even as Ruby was being treated right down the hall.
xXxXx
The darkness began to fade in Weiss' mind and she slowly regained consciousness. Her breathing was steady, and she felt warm. She could feel something draped over her, and it was soft. Blankets? And did she hear...beeping? Confused, her eyes slowly cracked open, only to squeeze shut at the bright light above her. A few seconds passed before she slowly, cautiously opened her eyes again. This time the light wasn't as blinding and she blinked drowsily. Where was she? She looked down to see that a heavy blanket had been thrown over her. Ahead of her was a wall with tacky blue wallpaper and a white board hanging from it along with a large TV.
"Mmn...wha-?" She murmured, trying to sit up. A rush of dizziness hit her and she fell back again, eyes closing once more.
"Easy there, princess." A familiar voice said beside her. She cracked an eye open and glanced over to her left at Yang, who sat in a cushiony chair beside her bed. No, not just a bed, she realized. A hospital bed. The beeping sound was a heartbeat monitor nearby. Yang grinned, "'Bout time you woke up. We were worried you were comatose."
"...We?" Weiss asked. Yang pointed over to the wall and Weiss followed the direction to find Blake sleeping in a second chair in the corner of the room. "Oh..." Her eye closed again and she leaned her head back against her pillow, "What...happened?" She asked.
"You don't remember?"
Weiss slowly shook her head, cringing as the motion cause her to feel nauseous. Suddenly a glass of water was held in front of her. Her eyes opened and saw it and she gave a small, grateful smile, working an arm out from beneath the covers and taking it, drinking from it slowly. It was ice cold and she quickly realized how thirsty she was.
"After our match you had to fight a Boarbatusk." Yang said. Weiss nodded, she remembered that much. "You were tired though, and your aura was really low...you were in no shape to fight. The Boarbatusk hit you, making you run into your weapon and cut your arm wide open. When you nearly passed out Ruby dove in an-"
Weiss' eyes snapped open and she shot up in her bed, gritting her teeth against the dizzy spell that threatened to make her sick, "R-Ruby, she...where..." She said, a hand coming up to hold her face, feeling a cold sweat forming over it.
Yang pointed behind herself, Weiss' gaze following it again to see a curtain drawn around a second bed in the room. "Is she...okay?" She asked.
As if to answer a familiar voice whined behind the curtain, "Yaaaaaaang! My arm itches!" At the sound of her voice Weiss slumped, unable to help the smile that made its way across her lips. Ruby was okay. She was alive and she was okay.
Yang rolled her eyes, "Use the pencil, sis." She said.
"It doesn't reach!" Ruby's bed squeaked as she squirmed in it. "Who are you talking to? I can't hear very well behind this thing..."
"Weiss is awake." Yang said, standing up and walking over to the curtain, drawing it back to clear their line of sight. At the sight Weiss gasped. Ruby wasn't okay. She was far from okay. Her right arm was completely encased in a large cast. Her shirt was gone, replaced by thick bandages wrapping her entire torso and hugging her tightly, and her right eye was covered in a large cloth patch and even more bandages wrapping around her head. Her legs were fine, covered by a pair of white, baggy sweats. Weiss' heart ached in her chest at the sight. Ruby had gotten hurt because of her. She wasn't able to fight the Boarbatusk alone and Ruby had had to jump in.
"Weiss!" Ruby's excited voice snapped Weiss out of her brooding and she looked up to see the same smiling, cheerful girl as usual. The bandages didn't change anything. Ruby's left eyes held just as much life, just as much excitement as she looked at her girlfriend with the biggest smile she had ever worn. One that Weiss couldn't help but return with one of her own. "How are you feeling?"
The question made Weiss shake her head, "Like hell..." She muttered, slowly, gingerly unwrapping herself from the blankets. That's when she noticed the bandages on her arm. Her clothes had been removed, too, replaced by thin pajama pants and a soft blue shirt. She sighed, slowly standing up off of the bed and stumbling just a bit, grateful when Yang caught her. "But compared to you...I'm just fine."
Ruby's smiled turned sheepish and her left hand came up to scratch her cheek, "Well, I...uh...can't exactly argue that..." She said. At a word of assurance from Weiss Yang let her go, looking over at a now-awake Blake, who yawned before looking at all of them. Apparently she had stayed up all night, watching over Ruby and Weiss while Yang slept. 'How long have I been out...?' Weiss wondered as Yang walked over to Blake and tapped her shoulder to get her attention, pointing to the door. Blake nodded, standing and walking with Yang outside, shutting the door behind her.
Weiss walked over to Ruby's bed, standing beside it and staring at her girlfriend. She looked at her arm, her chest, her stomach and her eye. All of them were injured, all of them were bandaged and bound. Her hands clenched into tight fists and her entire body shook, "You..."
Ruby blinked, "Weiss...?" She asked, looking up at her.
"YOU DUNCE!" Weiss shouted, making Yang and Blake wince down the hall and walk faster, "IDIOT! MORON! WHY? Why would you do something so...so STUPID?!" She demanded, staring down at Ruby and feeling tears flowing down her cheeks. This girl, her leader, one of the few people who she genuinely cared about, had hurt herself protecting her. What made it worse was the way Ruby still had that smile. That smile that made her want to see it again and again. That smile that only Ruby could have. One that seemed so full of hope and innocence. One that right now irritated Weiss so much because of how much pain this girl in front of her had went through because of her.
"I..." Ruby said, playing with a corner of her blanket between two fingers. She looked up at Weiss, "Well...I couldn't help myself. You were in trouble. I couldn't just sit and watch..."
"That doesn't..." Weiss continued to stare down into Ruby's good eye, the tears still flowing as she barely managed to keep herself from breaking down. Why were her emotions so out of control? Did Ruby mean that much to her? The answer was obvious, even to her. Her body slacked, shoulders slumped and fingers uncurled, "You threw yourself in front of a Boarbatusk, Ruby..." She said quietly, her shoulders shaking with barely repressed sobs, "You are so...so lucky you didn't...you could have..." She couldn't bring herself to say it.
Ruby reached up with her left hand, gently tugging on the hem of Weiss' shirt, "But I'm not. My aura absorbed most of the attack...alot more than yours would have." She said, "Besides, the damage isn't that much...See? I'm fine!" She said, letting go of Weiss's arm and patting her stomach, squeaking and going rigid for a moment before she grimaced, "Just...peachy..." she said through gritted teeth.
Weiss couldn't understand this girl. She was badly hurt, but she still tried to make her feel better. And what made it worse was that, in its own way, it was working. This stupid, innocent, childish girl was making her feel like they would be alright. But she wasn't just any girl anymore. She was her girl. And she would protect her from being hurt like this again. A small smile slowly crept onto her lips, "You dunce..." She whispered, her hand reaching up so that her fingertips barely touched Ruby's bandaged cheek. Ruby looked up at her, a bit confused, "Weiss?" She asked.
Weiss slowly shook her head, "It's nothing." She brought her hand away and reached up, wiping the tears away. "Just...glad to see you're alright, that's all."
"Indeed." Came a male voice and both girls looked over to see none other but Professor Ozpin standing in the doorway with his usual mug of coffee in his hand and a cane in the other, though he never seemed to rely on it. Neither of them had even heard the door open. "May I come in?" He asked. Ruby nodded, "Sure." She said, confused that he asked permission. Weiss started to move away from Ruby's bed but Ozpin held a hand up, making her stop as he walked into the room, "No need to move on my account, Miss Schnee, I'm only here to check on you two." He brought his mug up to take a sip from it. Weiss nodded, placing a hand on Ruby's cast, though she did not realize that she did it. Ozpin saw, but made no indication that he did. "You two look well, all things considered. How are you feeling?"
"Good, sir." Ruby said, putting on a smile and trying to hide her discomfort. Ozpin raised a brow and Ruby laughed nervously, "Maybe...a bit less than okay?"
Ozpin set his cane down to rest against the wall, using the now free hand to fix his glasses, "Miss Rose. Miss Schnee. I...apologize. It is my fault that you are here, and I cannot describe how much it pains me to see how severe your injuries were...and still are." His voice was a bit quieter than his usual tone.
Weiss quickly shook her head, "No, professor, if anything it's my fault. I wasn't strong enough to fight the grimm, so Ruby had to rush in and save me..."
"Right!" Ruby said, sitting up all the way, "So it's not your fault, or Weiss', it's mine. I went against orders, sir, and will accept any punishment that may come from it."
Ozpin's gaze went to her good eye, "You mean that?" He asked, seeing the resolve behind Ruby's silver gaze and he let a small smile show, "You do...but there is no need. You will not be punished."
Ruby was about to say something, but was silenced at a gesture from Ozpin, "You will not be punished...because this was the intention of the extra portion of the lesson."
Weiss glared at the headmaster of the school, "The intention was to have us both hospitalized?" She asked, annoyance showing clearly in her voice.
A small chuckle escaped the man, "Miss Schnee, you and I both know that if that were truly my intent, both of you would be far worse off than you are. No...the intention was for Ruby to defy orders." Needless to say, this only made the two girls more confused, "Allow me to explain. Students of Beacon are grouped into teams of four, each divided in half into two partnerships. Their careers as Hunters and Huntresses continue within these teams and partnerships for as long as they serve. The leaders take orders from the chain of command, but when it all comes down to it, their teams safety must come first before anything else and they need to know that they have the final say, for good or ill. Had Ruby not interfered, you would have sustained far more grievous, if not fatal injuries, miss Schnee. And because she took it into her own hands to protect you, I know that I can trust her judgement." He took a sip from his coffee, taking a moment to collect his thoughts before he continued, "Therefore, even though you are all first year students, you will now be eligible to take on small missions that I deem suitable for your respective level of skill."
Ruby's jaw went slack and Weiss was completely speechless. Missions, already? Were they ready for them? Ozpin took another sip, "Not right away, of course. It'll take quite some time for you both to heal properly. And even then it may take a while for a mission to come up, but rest assured that I am confident you can handle any that I give you." He reached over to pick his cane back up, "I'll come for a visit sometime. You two rest well, you will certainly need it. Think of this as an...unwanted break." He said before walking back to the door and out of the room.
Weiss looked down at Ruby, who had leaned back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Ruby...?" She asked. She leaned in a bit closer. Was Ruby...crying? There were definitely tears in her eye. Suddenly Ruby grinned and raised her left fist in victory, "YES! Missions! In the first year! Oh wait until I tell mom and dad! And Yang's gonna be thrilled!" She said excitedly, starting to talk about upgrades she's been thinking of for Crescent Rose and what she thought the missions might be like. Weiss rolled her eyes, sitting down on the bed beside Ruby and listening to her talk on and on, not minding in the slightest at how excited her girlfriend was.
After a few minutes her eyelids began to feel heavy and she yawned. Maybe she should lay down...but her bed was across the room, and she wasn't in the mood to try walking over to it. Ruby wouldn't mind if she just rested in her bed, would she? Even if she did, the temptation was too much and Weiss gently lay down on her side, careful not to hurt her arm. Within seconds she was out like a light.
Ruby continued to talk for a good minute before she noticed something was different and looked over, only to see Weiss laying down. She puffed up her cheeks in her frustration, 'Am I that boring to talk to?' She thought, letting out the pent up air slowly before she gave a soft sigh. "Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." She said softly, laying down along with her. Her arm felt bulky in its cast, so she rolled over onto her good side to lay back to back with Weiss, eyes closing as she relaxed, slowly falling into a restful sleep.