Man, I am so glad that part of my life is over. Now that the exams are done, I can finally start uploading again at the usual pace! Thank you all for bearing with me, and I hope I haven't kept you all waiting for too long!

Things are finally starting to come to a head here. I'll say no more, just, well, okay fine, one more thing.

Let's get to it!

Ruby relaxed on one of the many public benches at Beacon, resting her aching leg muscles.

It had been several days since she'd had her time with Weiss, and made up with her. It had been easier than she thought. Now only the one-on-ones in the tournament were left. If what Weiss said about the doubles matches were true, then that meant the finals were going to be tough. Still, her big sis was no pushover either, much stronger than any of the rest of their team, and that meant Ruby as well.

It wasn't like she was angry at Yang for that. Really, there was no way she'd be stronger or better than Yang right now. Maybe later, when they'd passed Beacon, then she'd beat her and get her crown.

She looked up at the clear blue skies above her head, something she honestly didn't do that much. There were clouds up there, few and far inbetween, but they were up there. A calm, serene sense washed over her as she picked out different shapes in the clouds. There was one shaped like Zwei, another like a moon, there was a bullhead over there, and back up closer to her was a curl of Weiss' hair.

Wait, what?

She tilted her head back very slightly, finding that the strands of alabaster hair did in fact grow to a crown of lengthy hair flowing around the head of its owner, like a small waterfall parted by a pale stone. A pale forehead, its surface smoother than polished glass. Then, two eyes which stared straight back into her own, light blue in colour, eyes which calmed her racing heart.

"Greetings, Ruby Rose."

Ruby's heart missed a beat.

That wasn't Weiss' voice.

Frantically raising her head and turning around, she saw Winter Schnee before her, and not Weiss, who she'd thought it was. Her eyes looked up momentarily, though for what reason Ruby couldn't work out, before she focused on Ruby once again. The piercing gaze was making it really difficult for Ruby to sit up straight, like it was sapping her strength.

"May I join you?" she asked. Ruby said nothing, still having lost control of her tongue, she nevertheless slid along the bench so that Winter could sit with her. Taking the hint, Winter circled the bench and sat on Ruby's left side, her movements robotic, as if there was a protocol to such a simple action. Clasping her arms in her lap, her back straighter than a classroom ruler, she seemed almost out of place in such a relaxed setting. Ruby hastened to copy her movements, even as she commented "Wonderful weather for Vale, is it not?"

"Yeah." Ruby confirmed awkwardly, not sure why the weather of all things was being talked about. Another moment of silence passed, before Winter spoke again.

"Something is bothering me." she intoned. "May I have your opinion on the matter?"

"What is it?" Ruby asked, thoughts of Weiss still at the forefront of her mind. Now that she stopped and looked, Winter and Weiss might have been twins if Winter wasn't a bit older than her girlfriend. Winter's eyes left her own for a moment, darting to the left before fixing upon her again.

"Tell me, how do you think Weiss is performing thus far?" she asked.

She wanted to talk about Weiss? Okay then.

"I think she's doing fine." Ruby replied honestly. "She's doing well in her classes, she helped our team get to the one-on-ones in the tournament, and she's doing all that while not missing any homework or anything. Yeah..." Ruby trailed off there. The gaze on her hardened a little before it returned to its previous intensity, and Ruby had the distinct feeling that that was not the stuff Winter wanted to hear.

"Academically, yes, Weiss is performing as expected." Winter remarked. "But it is not the issue. I am referring to her emotional states. How she feels." Her mouth was still a straight line. Gosh, would it kill to smile every once in a while?

"Well, I don't think there's anything bothering her." Ruby said, uncertainly. When they'd seen each other, nothing had been wrong, right?

"I see." Winter responded, before treating Ruby to an uncomfortable moment of silence. "I have." Without waiting for Ruby to react, she elaborated. "She's been increasingly distracted recently, which has made it harder for her to concentrate on developing her semblance. Her main source of mental strength has changed, as well. Do you follow me so far?"

"Yep." Ruby replied. "Yes." she said, at Winter's raised eyebrows, before their owner rolled her eyes. What was that supposed to mean?

"She claims she's found something stronger, something new to hope for. And while I agree that she has needed a greater drive to succeed, this new source is the source of the distractions as well. It is more difficult for her to use her glyphs in new ways. Do you understand?" Winter continued. "I am pleased for her, but I must also ask that you make sure she isn't distracted. Can you do this for me?"

"Sure." Ruby replied, squirming a little under her sharp gaze. Was she talking about the love between them?

"Perfect. Now-" Winter responded, but her next words were cut off by a call from Ruby's other side.

"Heya, Ruby." Ruby turned her head, thankful of a reason to look away from the piercing eyes of Weiss' sister, to see Vade slowly walking towards her. His red eyes weren't covered by contact lenses this time, and Ruby just watched as the man strode towards the bench. His eyes met Winter's, both exchanging an implicit, icy stare. "Whoops. Did I interrupt something?"

"Nothing of importance. Are you a friend of Ruby's?" Winter asked, Ruby glancing between them. Vade cracked one of his classic knowing smiles, the kind that made Ruby uncomfortable, though she had made him promise to stop doing that to her. It seemed as though his word didn't prevent him from doing it to other people.

"Yep." Vade replied. "Just wondered if she would be out here at close to ten in the morning."

Ruby turned just in time to see Winter check her watch, and her eyes registered a moment of shock, something eerily similar to Weiss' or maybe that was because they were sisters. She stood up immediately.

"Ruby, I am afraid my time is short. Goodbye." Winter said, shortly, before departing swiftly, not even giving Ruby a chance to say bye back. She watched her go, hearing a chuckle beside her as Vade walked around her, sitting in the exact same spot Winter had sat in. He was a lot more relaxed about it, and Ruby silently thanked him for his casualness, as it meant she could mirror him. She relaxed into the bench in turn, and stared up at him.

"I don't know about you," he said, eyes not on Ruby, "but that one looked important. What did she want, just out of curiosity?"

"She's just Weiss' sister." Ruby replied, as he withdrew an apple from a pocket and took a bite, leaving a decent-sized crater in the crisp, red surface. Gosh it had been a long time since she'd had one. "She was just checking up on Weiss." Ruby continued, trying to take her eyes off the sweet treat currently in Vade's left hand.

"So that was why." Vade muttered to himself. "How's the tournament going?" he asked, turning to face Ruby, the crimson gaze soft, not nearly as strong as she was used to from him. Almost like a normal person's, if that person had crimson instead of whites for eyes.

"It's fine. We're up in the final rounds." Ruby said.

"Who's going in?" Vade queried.

"Yang." Ruby answered.

"The fiery one? Your sister?" Vade asked, taking another bite as Ruby nodded. "That'll be interesting." He threw the half finished apple in a high arc behind him, and Ruby watched it as it soared over the path in-between them and the bin, before bouncing off the rim and landing in the grass. "Did I get it?"

"Nope." Ruby replied, as he turned and saw where it had landed. Vade then pointed at the apple, and a book appeared from out of nowhere, lifted up the apple and deposited it in the bin, before vanishing again. Curiosity getting the better of her, Ruby asked "What are those books anyway?"

"Ever heard the expression the pen is mightier than the sword, and the book mightier than the shield?" Vade asked. "Well, I said that they were all worlds like ours, and you've seen for yourself how strong they are. What else is there really to know?"

"Like why I can't slice them in half." Ruby listed. "Why do you use them as weapons? How do they appear from anywhere? Y'know, there's more to them than what you're saying." It was all true.

"Welp, they're all questions I can't answer." Vade responded coyly, tilting his head in an almost playful way. "The same goes for how I beat you when we fought, before you ask. But I can tell you this." He leaned towards Ruby, putting an arm on the bench behind her, so that he was barely a foot away. "Not all of my power is my own. And before you ask, no, I won't tell you if my finishing move came from me."

Had he read her mind again? She was going to ask him about the implosion attack he'd used. Darn his semblance!

"Where's Aya?" Ruby asked, remembering his seven-year old daughter, the cute, silver haired girl who'd got her the leaf that was now on her desk. Vade's expression calmed a little, almost serene in his appearance now, shifting so that he was further away.

"She's down with a cold." Vade explained. "And having a body as weak as hers, that can be really bad."

"Why aren't you with her then?" Ruby asked him. It felt weird that a father like him was not there for her, helping her.

"She's resting. I'd only be making more noise than help." Vade replied, glancing behind him. Ruby followed his gaze to see Mercury walking past them with Cinder, and while the latter looked fine, Mercury was noticeably more... down. "Poor souls." she heard Vade mutter.

"Why?" Ruby inquired, watching as they left.

"Didn't you hear?" Vade said, also watching. "They lost one of their team."

Wait, what? Lost one? What did he-

"Emerald was found dead in Vale." Vade continued, meeting her eyes with a serious expression, his right eye glowing a little. "Murdered."

"She... she's dead?!" Ruby exclaimed, shock flooding through her system. That girl with the green hair, the one who'd been nice to her, she was gone?

"Yeah." Vade replied. "I've already had someone from the police come and see me, paid a good sum for any information I had." He sighed, resting his hand on his forehead. "I had the quote-unquote pleasure of seeing the body when they took me to the scene of the crime, and it wasn't pretty. Looked to me like we have a brutal one out there, whoever they might be. What I want to really find out is how someone managed it. She was another huntress in training, right?"

"Yeah." Ruby said, feeling a little sick inside. She'd completely forgotten about what it could be like out in the city. All sorts of things happened at night, that was why Mom always tucked her into bed when the darkness flared in the sky.

"Do me a favor, Ruby." Vade requested calmly, the harshness in his voice suddenly gone like a stack of cards in a storm. He turned back to meet her eyes, smiling softly, completely at odds with how he was like the first time they'd met. "If anything happens to anyone here, the next time you see me, let me know. Doesn't matter to me how small; if you think something's threatening anyone here, tell me. I want to make sure no other tragedies happen here. Can you do that for me?"

Without waiting for Ruby's reply, he stood up and looked up at the tower where Ozpin's office was.

"Oh, and I saw you looking earlier." he added, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a second apple, tossing it behind him, Ruby gingerly catching the precious fruit, not expecting his throw to be so accurate after his last attempt. "Stay safe."

With that, he vanished into thin air, leaving Ruby alone with her thoughts once again.

And that apple.

Crunch.

It really was as sweet as she thought!