The room was quiet, save the sobbing of a little girl. Even Zwei, the little bundle of energy and source of joy and laughter, could not do anything besides whine pitifully at the sight of his owner.
Ruby was curled into a ball on her bed, trying valiantly to stop her tears from trickling down her face. Luckily for her, the dorm room was empty at the moment, so even when she failed, no one but Zwei would notice. As long as the little glutton did not betray her and tell on her to Yang, Ruby's crying would remain a secr-
"Ruby?"
Flinching as though she had just received an electric shock, Ruby instantly bit back her tears and pretended to be asleep. It had not worked on Weiss before, but she did not stop trying.
"Ruby," Weiss said, sounding unnaturally gentle. "Why are you sulking?"
"I-I'm not sulking," Ruby lied.
"Is it because we failed the mission?" Weiss asked. Ruby's shoulders drooped at that, in the way they always did whenever Weiss saw through her lie (which meant every time). Weiss was either so good at detecting lies that she was able to familiarize herself with this subtle movement, or Ruby was the world's worst liar. Or both.
"Where're Yang and Blake?" Ruby asked, still not turning to look at Weiss. Whenever her lying failed, her backup plan – change the topic – was activated. Whether or not it would work on Weiss was another matter altogether, though.
"In the cafeteria. Now answer my question," Weiss switched to her trademark 'The Schnee' tone, causing Ruby to whine sadly. "Copying Zwei won't get you anywhere, Ruby Rose."
"… Yeah," Ruby replied reluctantly. "I was."
"The headmaster wasn't mad, you know?" Weiss asked, her voice losing its harsh edge. "A little disappointed, sure, but everyone messes up from time to time, don't they? Don't beat yourself up over a little blunder."
Ruby did not reply. Sighing heavily, Weiss climbed onto the safety hazard that was Ruby's bunk bed. She put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, making the younger girl jump in the process. Even though she had found it amusing the first few times, Ruby's excessively frightened reactions were starting to annoy Weiss. As a matter of fact, they were even starting to hurt her feelings.
"Why did we fail the mission, Ruby?" Weiss asked, trying to keep her tone as light as possible. "I'm not blaming you; just answer me truthfully."
"B-because I didn't pay attention to my surroundings…" Ruby mumbled.
"Why weren't you paying attention?"
"Because I was distracted…" Ruby admitted.
"What distracted you?" Weiss asked. She knew very well what the answer was, but she had to make Ruby say it.
"… Weiss…" Ruby replied, forcing that one simple word out of her mouth.
"We failed the mission because you saved me," Weiss finished for her. "So if someone has to take the blame, it'll be me. Or would you prefer to just let me die?"
"N-no!" Ruby instantly shouted, spinning around to face her partner with a mortified expression on her face. The tear tracks were faint, but they were still visible on her cheeks as she made eye contact with Weiss for the first time since the mission ended. "I-I wouldn't-"
"Then there's no need to mope," Weiss patted her dolt of a leader's head gently. "You did what was right. I'm the one who needs to get stronger so I don't get in your way next time. It's not your fault, Ruby, so don't harp on it, okay?"
"T-that's not-" Ruby said, not knowing what to say. Weiss had never been the kind of person to call herself weak, especially not in front of Ruby; she had expected the heiress to tell her that she did not need help, and that she could have handled herself perfectly without Ruby getting in her way. What the young leader had ended up hearing, however, was the exact opposite.
"Someday, I'll protect you instead," Weiss said, offering Ruby a gentle smile. "I won't make you look out for me all the time; I'll become stronger for you, okay?"
"W-Weiss?" Ruby asked timidly, unsure of anything at this point.
"So don't worry about everything by yourself," Weiss said, unfazed. "You're the one and only leader of this team, but it doesn't mean you're the only person who can bear the burden and responsibilities. We'll always be here for you, so rely on us from time to time, alright?"
"… You promise?" Ruby asked shyly, looking at Weiss with her pitiful puppy-dog eyes.
Weiss's heart skipped a beat. Someday, she was going to learn how to resist those eyes. And that face. And her leader's cuteness.
"I promise," she replied. "That's what the best teammate and partner ever would do, isn't it?"
A soft, gentle crackling crept into her ears, accompanied by a scent she had become familiar with after so long. She could feel a nostalgic sense of warmth crawling across her fingertips, proceeding to cloak the rest of her body with its comfortable yet overbearing presence.
The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was the dimly lit, rocky ceiling. Then, a very familiar face swam into view.
"Blake?" Yang said, coughing dryly; just talking seemed to take so much effort right now.
"How're you feeling?" Blake asked, feeling Yang's forehead with her hand. "Don't move too much; I was only able to give you basic first-aid, so you need as much rest as you can get if you want to recover."
"My boobs hurt," Yang joked, grimacing at the pain in her chest. Her ribcage was not doing very well, but it at least felt less painful than before. "Guess that's what happens to women with large breasts, huh?"
She chuckled weakly, but seeing as Blake did not join in Yang eventually gave up. She looked around, trying to find something else to talk about, only to fail miserably and succumb to the dreadful silence.
"Jaune and Pyrrha are out gathering information," Blake informed her. "Their mission was a success, but Ren and Nora disappeared somewhere, and they haven't been able to reach them since. They're trying to figure out where they might have gone or who could've taken them."
"I see…" Yang replied, staring at the ceiling for a few more minutes. "Say, Blake, I had this weird dream just now. I dreamt that we were on a mission together, and Weiss sacrificed herself to protect us from some giant suits of armor. We actually went with her orders and left her behind. Crazy, isn't it?"
Blake stayed silent, her fists tightening on her lap. Yang did not look at her, but the smile on her face was fading bit by bit.
"Hey, Blake," Yang said, the cheeriness draining out of her voice. "Aren't you going to tell me 'that's just a stupid dream'?"
"Would you believe me if I did?" Blake retorted gravely.
"Guess not," Yang conceded. "But if you said it, I'd believe anything," she added with a playful wink. "Weiss is… gone, isn't she."
Blake nodded, her body trembling as she uttered not a single word.
"Blakey?" Yang called out, worry etched clearly across her face.
"I left her behind," Blake said, her voice stricken with grief and remorse. "I left Weiss to die… She was my friend, and I left her to die…"
"What choice did you have?" Yang asked. "If we stayed behind, we would all have died. You made the right decision, Blake; it's what Weiss wanted, wasn't it?"
"She was a close friend," Blake buried her face in her hands, fighting back the urge to cry. "She was someone close to me, but I just let her die… Someone important is dead because of me… again…"
Ignoring her body's screams, Yang got up and put her hands firmly on Blake's shoulders, holding her tightly. Blake did not meet her eyes, but her trembling did lessen a little.
"It's not your fault," Yang said. She knew of Blake's secret – the dark secret of her past that no one else on her team knew – and how it still haunted her, particularly after the night the White Fang attacked Beacon. Now that she believed herself to be responsible for Weiss's death, Blake's mind was sure to wander to dark places. Places that Yang would never let her sink into. Places she did not even want to think about. "Don't blame yourself. If you hadn't stopped me and brought me out of there, we'd all have died. You saved us, Blakey. Don't forget that."
Pulling Blake close, Yang embraced her partner, ignoring the fire that erupted in her ribcage as she did so. Blake was sobbing, but she was steadily regaining control over her tears; in that aspect, she was the strongest amongst her teammates, who wore their hearts on their sleeves. However, she was not capable of turning her heart to stone – a fact proven by the blazing hot trails across her cheeks.
"It's not the same as back then," Yang insisted. "You're not the same person as back then, either. Keep telling yourself that."
Blake nodded, but did not stop her sobbing immediately. Listening to her partner's shaky breathing as the Faunus desperately tried to regain control, Yang unconsciously clenched her fists.
She felt despicable; without any experience remotely similar to what Blake went through, there was no way she could understand Blake's feelings. Despite that, she spoke as if she knew, with words of comfort that surely held no meaning. Despite being the big sister figure, she was unable to alleviate the worries of her own partner.
"You know…" Blake muttered, not moving from her place in Yang's arms. "I expected this conversation to go the other way, with you throwing a fit because I left Weiss behind and me trying to calm you down."
"Sorry, but you don't get to be the big sis," Yang replied, forcing out a smile. "That's my job. Besides, you can't expect me to get angry at my little kitty cat, can you?"
"Way to ruin the mood, Yang," Blake sighed, but she was smiling as well. Her smile, however, was far more genuine than Yang's had been.
"I don't think so," Yang replied, the grin slowly sliding off her face. "Say, Blake…"
"What is it?" Blake asked. From that tone, she could guess what Yang was going to say, but she pretended not to know; she did not want to answer that question after all.
"How's Ruby doing?"
Sorry for the short chapter!
The flashback in the front was supposed to be an extra chapter, and then it was supposed to be tied in with a chapter about Ruby, but I figured these two needed some time in the spotlight. Besides, after the last two, I figured you guys needed a breather chapter here.
Next chapter will answer Yang's question, and will show a bit more of the consequences of losing Weiss. I'll try to get it done as soon as I can. Till then!