"Hiyah!" Yang shouted as she sank Ember Celica into the gut of an Ursa. "Alright!" She looked around to see the rest of team RWBY and CRDL sheathing their weapons. "Once more, Vale Hunters save the day!"
Russel Thrush rolled his eyes at Yang, but everyone had gotten used to Yang's exuberance, despite everything that had happened in the last few weeks. Cardin muttered something about Yang being an immature little girl, but kept his comments to himself. Three weeks of intense searching and constant attacks on Grimm had made him rethink his priorities. He was now willing to accept, among other things, that Faunuses made just as good Hunters as humans did.
Blake saving Sky Lark from a Deathstalker also helped.
"Let's go." Cardin muttered, and the eight of them trudged back to their temporary camp. Yang leapt over a boulder covered in red moss, crunching on small black leaves. She hated how they always returned in silence, especially after beating off a horde of Ursa like today. But even her own team just gave unresponsive shrugs whenever she cracked a joke, or tried to make conversation.
"We're just not in the mood." Blake would say. Weiss had gotten so used to living rough that she had even stopped complaining about what seemed like the most pointless mission since Vacuo had tried to repopulate the desert almost two decades ago.
But that wasn't going to stop Yang. She trotted up to Ruby and said, "Nice job with those Ursa. They aren't going to stand a chance against us."
"They're not what we need to worry about." Ruby mumbled.
That was more than Yang had gotten out of Ruby in the entire trip. Her eyes widened as she leaned in close. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing!" Ruby said quickly. "I was just talking about the stuff Ozpin said to us the day before he sent us here."
"Right now, a crisis looms before us," Ozpin had said. It was the day after the alarms in Beacon had been triggered. He stood with his back straight and both hands resting on his cane as usual, but his calm demeanour did nothing to relieve the tension and fear in the atmosphere.
"The Faunus Rights Revolution, the Raider Rebellions, the Great War, Remnant has never been in as much danger as it is now." Rwby gripped the hem of Yang's jacket in apprehension while Blake and Weiss both stared intently at Ozpin. The headmaster waved his hand and an image of the woman everyone had thought was called Ember flickered behind him.
"This woman is known as Cinder. She is an ex-hunter, and, until recently, was thought to be dead along with the rest of her team." Images of three other people flickered on the wall behind Ozpin, each with their names on the bottom.
C. Cinder Fall. The picture was outdated, but her amber eyes and curled black hair undoubtedly belonged to the person Yang had thought was called Ember.
N. Neopolitan Torte. Yang's jaw dropped as she and the rest of her team stared silently at each other. So that was where Torchwick had gotten such a strong henchwoman. Her fists clenched as she imagined punching Neo in her smug face.
D. Douglas Ember. A boy with a square jaw and cropped orange hair stared back sullenly at Yang. Luckily, this one hadn't beaten her up before.
R. Ronald Ember. This boy was clearly Douglas' brother. They shared the same orange hair, although Ronald's hair was shoulder length and he was grinning at the camera.
"Students from Mistral, Atlas and Vacuo will return to their respective schools." Ozpin said, "Your headmasters will brief you in your missions once you arrive. Students from Beacon will attempt to find any of these four individuals. If you have any further information, please come to my office."
"Wait, what happened to the festival?" Yang had asked.
As if Ozpin had heard her, he had said, "The headmasters offer their profuse apologies, but in light of the severe situation we have been put in, the Vytal Festival this year will be cancelled."
Tumult reigned as students started yelling at Ozpin. Yang remembered asking loudly, "Why don't you tell us what's going on?" Beside her, Nora had yelled, "Boooo! Oobleck for new headmaster!"
As Ren had wrestled with Nora to stop her from charging to the stage, the hundreds of Hunters seemed to be on the verge of a full protest. He and the other headmasters had then stepped forward and emitted their Auras. They hadn't aimed it at the Hunters, but simply let their collective power disperse into the air like fog.
Yang hadn't felt the full effects, as she and her team had been standing at the back of the main hall. But even she felt a weight rest down on her body, and the will to protest drained out of her.
"Once again, we offer our apologies." Ozpin had continued once silence had been enforced. "I told you all when you first came here that you were to be warriors. When you first came, you had energy that needed to be directed, ambitions not thought out. But now, in the face of danger, I believe every one of you will rise to the challenge. No longer are you children. As you leave this hall, know that I believe you all have the potential to be true Hunters, defenders of Remnant. Do not let me down."
With that, Ozpin had left, leaving the other teachers to usher students out of the hallways. The day after, all teams had received orders to scour the wilderness for team CNDR.
"Hey, blondie, we're almost here." Cardin's voice brought Yang out of her memories. "Why don't you and the rest of your team quit zoning out?"
"Yeah, if we weren't around, you guys might've gotten ambushed." Lark added.
"Don't worry about us." Yang said, although she couldn't deny that team RWBY hadn't been paying attention. She looked at Ruby's distracted expression, and decided to deal with it another time.
The two teams walked between dull and colorless tree trunks, and team CRDL's armored boots stepped on tree roots that were as pale as Weiss' clothes.
A faint rustling made all eight of them draw their weapons, but then Nora jumped out of a tree. "Hey, strangers! How's the perimeter doing?"
"Only a few Grimm around here." Ruby said, "And we took care of them."
"What are you doing out here?" Cardin asked, a little too aggressively for Yang's taste.
"Watch duty!" Nora crowed, "You see, we had gotten most of the immediate perimeter secure, it's easy when you've got me and Pyrrha to do all the heavy work, and then Ren decided to start cooking, since it was getting late, but Jaune still wanted to stay alert, so me and her are on watch duty, making sure-"
"Yeah, yeah, I didn't need to hear your entire life story." Cardin grunted. "Don't know what Jaune's thinking, letting you and Pyrrha out on your own." He muttered something about fake transcripts, but gulped and flinched when Nora hefted Magnhild in her hand.
"Just shout if something comes up, okay?" Yang said. The rest of team RWBY walked beside her towards the river where they had set up camp.
"Yup That's my job!" Nora said, "And just for Ren, I'll make a sound like a sloth, you know? Because I finally figured out what a sloth-"
"Look, girlie," Cardin said, "Just do your job and don't die, got it?"
Nora nodded and he followed team RWBY, grumbling insults under his breath at team JNPR in general.
The odd thing was, Yang could almost believe Cardin meant what he had said to Nora. They weren't friends, but Yang had stopped looking over her shoulder whenever they fought together.
The two teams emerged into the clearing, where Ren and Jaune were squatting in front of a large pot of stew simmering over a fire. Three tents stood erect behind them. "Hey, you're just in time." Jaune waved them over. "I'm just going to put some aside for Pyrrha and Nora."
"How was camp duty?" Yang asked. "Had a nice nap while we were out clearing Grimm in the area?"
"Hey, I'll have you know that setting up camp is an essential task, just as important as fighting Grimm." Jaune said.
"It was fine, although getting Nora to stop using Magnhild to hammer tent pegs in was taxing." Ren added, spooning out some of the soup that had been boiling and handing it out. Jaune gave them some hard jerky and harder bread to go with it.
"Great, another delicious meal." Dove grumbled, but took his share and sat down with Cardin anyways.
"Thanks for doing this." Ruby smiled at Jaune.
"JNPR got camp duty anyways. It's what I was supposed to do as well."
"It's also the only thing you can do." Lark muttered.
Yang sprang to her feet. "Hey, if you have a problem with Jaune, maybe you should just come out and say it."
"It's a pity that it's Jaune's team who wants to keep it a secret." Lark retorted.
Yang's vision became tinted with red, and she took a step forward when Cardin stepped between them. "Look, just let it go. It's not worth fighting over." He turned to Lark and said, "And I'll thank you not to start anything. This mission sucks enough already"
Lark grunted and flopped back down and the ground, slowly spooning the stew into his mouth. Ruby had been tugging at Yang's leather jacket, and Yang sat down as well. "I guess we're all just stressed from being out in the field for three weeks."
"Yeah, if you ask me, Ozpin's crazy." Cardin said.
"Hey, if you think you can do a better job at headmaster, why don't you volunteer?" Weiss asked scathingly, "I'm sure you'd do so much better."
"Cardin's got a point, actually." Jaune spoke up from beside the pot of stew, causing everyone to stare at him incredulously. "What? I'm not allowed to agree with Cardin once in a while just because he bullied and blackmailed me, then almost got us killed by an Ursa afterwards?"
He paused. "Okay, that sounded a lot better in my head." He smiled tentatively at Cardin, who was glaring at him. "But Cardin's right about Ozpin. If we really wanted to find members of team CNDR, why did he send us out here to look for her? Why would any of them run out into the wilderness?"
"Well, that's because we've cut off all of their options." Weiss said, "Ozpin's enforced border controls, meaning nobody travels in or out of the city without permits. Every single airship is being inspected by the Atlasian soldiers Ironwood left behind. That means the only other option is for these fugitives to come out here."
"But don't you think he's been acting a bit strange?" Jaune asked, "It's a huge risk sending us out here. And remember mobilization orders? We work in individual teams for five days, scanning the wilderness, then meet up with two other teams only for a bit to recover. He'd never send first years out on their own before."
"Ozpin's just under stress." Weiss said, "You would be too if the fate of Remnant hangs in the balance."
Yang and Blake exchanged knowing glances, remembering what had happened when they told Ozpin about Neo. Yang didn't know if Ozpin had been stressed or just determined to bring Cinder to justice.
"Why did you not tell us this before?" Ozpin had said in a deliberate voice. His quiet tone couldn't hide the intensity behind his voice. Yang and Blake had shrank back in their chairs as Ozpin got up from his and walked to the window by his office. Ironwood and Glynda flanked him, and were also looking at Yang and Blake carefully.
"I guess we thought Torchwick was more important." Yang said, "Neo looked like his assistant."
"From now on, any contact with anyone suspicious comes through me." Ozpin said. He swung his cane back and forth in time with his footsteps. "Ironwood was right. I've been too passive. First I let Cinder appear under my very nose, then they send Neopolitan after my students."
"You haven't been too passive." Glynda said, "You're overreacting."
"I should have known team CNDR would escape. Especially after Raven left Qrow on his own." Ozpin was now muttering to himself now, completely ignoring his students. He turned to Ironwood and asked, "Is Qrow's allegiance assured?"
"I have heard nothing to the contrary." Ironwood said. He turned to Yang and Blake and said, "I apologize for this. The recent theft was very… personal to Ozpin. You may leave."
"Yeah, Ozpin will be back to normal by the time we get back." Yang said, more to herself than to Cardin. "It'll all work out."
"Yeah, and maybe we can all ride unicorns into the sunset." Cardin retorted.
"Look, we have to trust Ozpin." Weiss said, "He's never let us down before. Just because his orders are a little weird doesn't mean they're bad."
"Right." Yang said, "Maybe there's just something he's not telling us. Besides, Glynda's around too. She hasn't gone all cuckoo over this mess."
"Great, we're all saved." Cardin grumbled. But he didn't put up any protest, and he and his team went into their own tents. "Wake us up when it's our turn for watch." He kept the door open because the temperatures inside the tent made everyone sweat. The thick canvases didn't give much ventilation.
"Well, that was another fun-filled evening." Weiss muttered.
"Well, let's look on the bright side." Yang said, "The longer we're out here, the better we get at killing Grimm. Maybe they'll give us extra credit when this is all over."
"There was a break-in at Beacon that unnerved someone like Ozpin, and you're thinking about extra credit?" Blake asked incredulously. "School doesn't really matter in the long run."
"Well, it's better than thinking about how we might all die tomorrow." Yang said, "Remember that herd of Ganeshi we had to run past?"
"I think we'll all remember running from huge elephant Grimm for a while." Blake said.
Yang rolled her eyes. "You guys always have to look on the downside! It'll be a great story to tell the next students at Beacon." Yang looked over at Ruby, who had been silent the whole time. She would spend most nights staring into the fire and zoning out. Yang missed seeing Ruby smile, or just hearing her call out her name. "Hey, Ruby? What's up?"
"Oh, nothing. I'm just tired."
"That's what you said the last time, and I know you were thinking about something then."
"It was nothing."
"Ruby, come on." Yang smiled despite the feeling of indignation welling up inside her and tried tugging on Ruby's arm playfully.
"I'm fine, Yang. Really." Ruby refused to look at Yang, and it was that, more than anything, that made Yang stand up.
"No." Yang said forcefully. Ruby was many things, but never dishonest. It seemed… wrong. She was too innocent for it, too young for it. She never lied or kept secrets. Until now.
"What?" Ruby swiveled sharply to face Yang.
"No." Yang felt her aura churning with her feelings as she felt blood rising to her face. "I'm sick of this."
"What are you talking about?" Ruby's voice rose even higher as she raised her hands in front of her to placate Yang.
"You used to tell me what was going on!" Yang said, "I used to protect you! But now you're not even telling your entire team what's going on."
Images of Ruby growing up flashed through Yang's mind. Yang daring an eight year old Ruby to climb a tree, then running with tears in her eyes to get dad when Ruby fell and twisted her ankle. Ruby crouching behind a rotten tree trying not to giggle as they played hide-and-seek. Ruby tottering on high heels as she staggered into the school dance at Beacon. Ruby's features hadn't changed since then, but a frown now replaced eyes widened in comical discomfort, and she looked like she was carrying a burden far heavier than their camping gear.
"I'm not a kid anymore, Yang." Ruby said. She hesitated, then said, "I turned sixteen a few days ago. And you guys are almost eighteen, right? Legally adults and all that."
"I'm so sorry we missed your birthday!" Yang said. She tried to give Ruby a hug, but Ruby shrugged her off. "Yang! I'm just trying to say that I'm not a kid anymore, and you shouldn't be treating me like one."
"Aw, you'll always be my baby sister!" Yang ruffled Ruby's hair. "And it doesn't matter how old you get, I'll always look out for you, 'kay?"
"Yeah, I guess." Ruby rewarded Yang's efforts with a small smile. Yang tried to give Ruby a hug again, but Ruby squirmed away.
"Can we finally get some sleep now that the family drama's over?" Lark yelled from inside his tent.
"Sorry!" Ruby replied. "I think we should all get some rest."
"Agreed." Weiss said whole-heartedly.
Team RWBY got to their feet while Ren and Jaune got busy cleaning out the cooking equipment in the nearby stream. Blake silently scampered into the tent, and Weiss followed. Yang looked at Ruby questioningly, but Jaune cut in, "Actually, I was wondering if I could talk to Ruby for a second?"
"Um, sure." Ruby said, "Does it have anything to do with cleaning up?"
"No, it's not that." Jaune said, "It's, uh, something I kind of want to say in private."
"Is this something I should be hearing?" Ren asked.
"I'd sort of prefer not, but only if that's okay with you and Ruby."
Both Hunters shrugged and nodded. Yang looked suspiciously after Jaune, but decided to let him go. If he didn't have such an obvious and large crush on Pyrrha, Yang would have loaded Ember Celica and given him a talking to that made her previous outbursts look as tame as the dying coals in the campfire.
Jaune lugged the pot that he had cooked stew in with the metal plates clanking inside. Ruby walked behind him with her hand on Crescent Rose, ears on the alert for sounds of oncoming Grimm. The chances that she would hear anything over the clanking sound of the pots were low, but it was better than nothing.
When they reached the stream several metres away from the campsite, Jaune said, "You don't need to wash the dishes. Just keep a lookout."
"So why did you call me here?" Ruby asked. "I didn't take you for the type to keep secrets."
"Well, here's the thing." Jaune said, "I'm sort of, well, scared."
Ruby blinked and said, "Yeah, we're all on edge."
"No, you guys are on edge." Jaune said, "But the thing is, there are times when I'm a little, well, terrified." He looked away and concentrated on scrubbing the pots, looking determinedly into their black depths. "You're not the only one who hasn't gotten much sleep." Jaune gave Ruby a weak smile and nodded at the wrinkles around Ruby's eyes. "It's just that I worry about my team. I mean, I'm supposed to be their leader, but I can barely fight. It's pretty much Pyrrha, Nora and Ren doing everything."
"You guys have been fine so far, right? It can't be that bad." Ruby said, though she knew the weight of responsibility that sometimes settled in her stomach like a cold stone.
"It's not like this is too hard for them normally." Jaune said, "But it's just the "what if," you know? Like, what if they get careless just once, or what if we get ambushed by huge Grimm even Pyrrha can't take down? Or what if-"
"I don't know, okay?" Ruby said, "It's like we're supposed to act like graduates already. And I just don't get what's going on? We don't even know what was stolen."
Jaune had finished scrubbing the pot and moved onto the dishes. "Sorry for doing this. I guess I didn't really know what to expect. Do you remember when we first got to Beacon, and you said that if we fail as leaders, we'll be bringing them down with us?"
Ruby had actually forgotten, but now the memory came back to her. "Yeah. I also said that your team deserved a good leader, and I thought you were it."
"Do you still think that now?"
"Yeah." The answer came without hesitation, and it replaced Jaune's morose frown with a look of surprise.
"You still think so?"
Ruby grinned and abruptly pulled Crescent Rose from its place on her waist and fired at Jaune. He yelped and rolled out of the way, raising his shield to deflect another volley of bullets. "What was that for?"
"Nice reflexes." Ruby grinned. "And your shield isn't even dented. You've gotten better at using Aura."
"You did it just to show me that I can deflect bullets?" Jaune asked, "Ruby, that's not what I'm worried about."
"But you're getting better." Ruby said, "When you first came, you wouldn't even have touched your shield in time. In another year, who knows?"
"But-"
"Look, you're already a leader." Ruby put Crescent Rose back where it belonged. "You've already got what it takes. You're the only one that doesn't realize that."
She sat down on a boulder a few metres away. "Clean up and let's get out of here."
Jaune did so and they went back into their respective tents. Ruby flopped down on her mat, feeling better after talking with Jaune. She knew Yang was still lying awake, because she snored slightly when she was actually asleep. But luckily Yang didn't want to continue their argument instead of getting some good sleep.
Ruby wouldn't say she slept well, but she slept. And so did the rest of her team, the day's arguments buried behind them.
Okay, so that's the next chapter. Again, please tell me what you think. Is it easy to read? Am I going to slow or too fast? Any feedback at all would help me. Thanks!
And I hope you enjoyed it as well!