As the black haired pair made their way to the cafeteria in relative silence, Zen contemplated the new addition to his training.
This can't be happening, Blake is going to help me…
Should I feel guilty about it?
It's not that I lied to her, I kept myself as honest as I could, and well, she was able to figure out what I meant-
No, you need to stop thinking that you are taking advantage of her, she wants to help me, I'll let her help me.
But then comes the new problem. Right now, Blake is content to train me, though she did say she'll be there to act when time gets closer to the Vytal Festival.
What's more worrisome is she might press me further about the attack, about Cinder and her lackeys and what they plan to do and how best she can help to stop them.
I can only hope she forgets by then or else I need to find a way to keep her safe from the immediate threats, including Adam.
He shook his head, realising that this was Blake he was talking about, and she was definitely not going to forget. Therefore, the only way he could ensure she didn't get into immediate danger would be to position her somewhere where she'd run the least risk to herself, perhaps if she were paired up with Yang, Weiss or even…
"Hey Blake?" He glanced over to the taller girl walking beside him.
"Yes Zen?" Blake asked politely.
"What's it like to have Ruby as a leader?"
She hummed to herself as she thought for a while before answering.
"Overall, short answer, Ruby is a good leader.
The long answer is more complicated, Ruby strives to be the best leader she can be, and while admirable and something I could never diminish from her, she does have a long way to go…"
Blake went awfully quiet, her face losing the glimmer of hope as she looked down and the carpeted floor they walked along.
Before Zen had a chance to wonder what she meant, she continued.
"So far, with nearly every engagement we have had, we've come out on top, a few times we've been battered or bruised, but we've always walked away victorious in the end.
That's not going to last forever, one day, it could happen next mission, it could happen before the Vytal festival, or while we try to stop- it could happen after the Vytal festival… there is going to be a day when we go through a mission, and we might not all make it out in one piece.
One thing Ruby will have to endure as a leader will be knowing when either choose between two outcomes when the needs of the greater will out number the few, to make sacrifices that will cost the lives of those who may not be openly willing to be sacrificed.
I know it is a cruel thing to think of, but it is a reality I am familiar with.
And let me tell you it never gets easy when you have to watch someone you care about, someone call a friend, have to make those decisions and be there when that decision proves to be the wrong one, even when you yourself would have done the same thing had you been in that position.
The problem with what I say isn't that I wish this to happen to Ruby, I really wish, of all people, she would be the one to never ever have to experience that as a leader.
But, I am reminded of who I worked with and what he had to do as a leader while I served under him… He- he is nothing like Ruby, or at the very least, he used to be like Ruby…
That was until what I wish would never happen to Ruby, happened to him.
Ruby started out nervous as a leader, with Weiss being annoyed at being placed second she made Ruby's life as a leader miserable, honestly I would have been nervous too, but she kept going.
When she confronted Cardin and was made to fight against him with everyone spectating, she almost broke down out of fear, yet she kept going.
Ruby found her strength to persevere in those two moments and there are others I could think of, but the point I'm trying to make is she can be strong, and when-
if what you say happens, I know she'll be strong then."
It was Zen's turn to become wordless for a minute or so, Blake was right, even at the height of the fall, Ruby did in fact stay strong; her resolve was what kept her going.
Her team would be proud of her if I told them that.
He thought to himself before finally answering her.
"What Ruby may lack in experience compared to the person you're telling me about, she makes up for by being the girl we've both come to know.
If you are worried about what is to come, maybe, the best thing you can do is be by her side."
Blake simply nodded before a smile formed as she thought about his words of advice.
The pair continued on in silence until they could see their end destination in sight.
As they both pushed the doors to the cafeteria open, their minds turned to more important matters, after all- an army marches on its stomach.
"Looks like there's some variety here including… tuna sandwiches."
Zen pointed out once they got in line with a plate each.
Blake eyed the sandwiches behind the glass and happily murmured to Zen.
"Ah yes, a classic.
The dreaded tuna torture, I have battled with it before."
"Not that good?" He asked, glancing over to her.
"NO, quite the opposite. They're that good, I can't get enough of them." Blake mused as she remembered when the first time they had served the toasted delicacies, she had stacked up a plate so high that even Nora looked at it with widened eyes.
"Pretty sure I was in a food coma for three hours afterwards".
To Zen's surprise, Blake had loaded up her plate with six of the medium sized sandwiches while he merely grabbed two, he admitted to himself he was hungry, after all fighting for your life, even in a simulated environment will work up an appetite.
But was Blake really that hungry?
He simply shook his head and decided not to dwell on it and chose instead to seek out the rest of his friends, luckily it wasn't too crowded and so once they spotted the pair and sat down, they began tucking into the sandwiches.
While the pair ate, Ruby and Penny as well as Blake, who joined in once she was finished eating, began to talk about various movies they'd seen, what funny or interesting things happened during certain classes and even what weapons they'd observed other students used and whether or not they were decent.
Meanwhile Zen simply sat, content to just listen to the three girls as he had never seen all three of them interact in such a casual manner.
Eventually, time caught up with them and they were ready to call it a night.
"Goodnight guys, see you again same time tomorrow." Ruby said with a wave, appearing as though her mind was swimming with the various ideas and plans for the upcoming training session.
"Of course, same time tomorrow it is. Catchya then." Zen answered whilst giving a quick two finger salute.
As Blake and Ruby watched Zen and Penny turn in the direction of their dorm, the faunus girl began to speak her mind.
"Well all I can say is I now can fathom why you want to-" Blake was cut off as she felt her chest slightly tighten as a pair of arms clasped around them.
She looked down to see that her leader had enveloped her in a hug, and wasn't about to let go.
"Thank you for coming to spar with us." Ruby muffled through Blake's clothing.
"It's okay Ruby, you don't need to thank me. I enjoyed this and I cannot wait for the next.
Just think of it as my way of looking out for Zen.
From what you've briefly said about how he fights, it sounded like he needed my help.
Also, this way I can get to know him as well as spend time with you and Penny too, I haven't really had the chance to talk to her since we started back with lessons."
"But… it's not just that." The hood wearer replied as she looked up at Blake before slowly releasing her hold, taking a step back and fiddling with the end of her cape.
Her voice sounded so small as she continued, almost as if she were going to start sobbing, not even looking at Blake directly.
"For a while, something has been off.
You were hiding your emotions for my sake since the day you came back from our dorm after going to talk with Zen-"
"Wait, you knew?" Blake asked as shock riddled her entire being.
'Ruby, I don't want you to hang out with him anymore...
Have you seen Blake recently?
She's become quieter than usual, on edge and has sometimes shut herself out when we ask her if she's okay.'
"Yang told me the day after you spoke to him.
Because it was something you wanted to help her with, 'a favour' is what she called it and used what happened between you and Zen as part of the reason to justify why I shouldn't spend my time sparring with him.
I- I never asked what troubled you that first day as I didn't want to push you away and make things worse.
If she had never told me, I hoped when the time was right; you'd confide in me and we could work through whatever troubled you together.
I also never asked Zen what he said to you once Yang told me what made you act differently after that day as I didn't have the chance to.
But I know Zen and I know you, that whatever he said really affected you must have been serious."
"I- well the thing was… " Blake bit her lip as she looked away.
I guess trying to put on a brave face for Ruby wasn't as effective as I thought it'd be.
This is what she gets for not opening up to her friend…
A guilt stricken girl who only wanted to see the world in its best light, all the while the same girl wished for Blake to be unburdened by what bothered her.
Now here she was standing, dumbfounded without so much of a simple explanation, excuse or even a white lie to bandage the situation.
Blake was then pulled away from her thoughts as Ruby went on, this time however, optimism had once again rightfully found its way back into the girl opposite her, a warmth washed over the raven haired girl.
"Then yesterday, you were by yourself all day. That night I felt you were a little better, though you had something on your mind.
But now, after sparring, I feel like you're you again… if that makes any sense."
Ruby explained, scratching the back of her head nervously, mentally cursing herself for bringing to light what she had observed of her teammate over the past week or so.
She then went on.
"For what it's worth, I won't ask you or Zen what words you exchanged, it was between you two and you two only.
From the looks of it, whatever you had on your mind in relation to that day, whatever it was that was said, what was worrying you; you've resolved those issues by putting them behind you."
Blake stood there, lost for words, the more she gave it thought, Ruby was right.
All this time, she had been essentially an unstable nervous mess around her team since talking with Zen that very first time, there was no doubt about it.
Trying her best to keep up a brave face all the while in the back of her mind she fretted over her past, initially.
Blake was being honest to Zen when she said she had given thought to what he had said and that wasn't something she was holding against him, his apology also provided some solace knowing this was part of the good that Ruby could see in him.
But when Ruby spelled out how she felt after sparring with Zen… her leader was correct.
Though Zen's implications of a possible terrorist attack were something that her mind would dwell on until she was certain the crisis had been averted.
Overall, the fact that she now was comfortable to talk to Zen, engage him in combat and ultimately pass on some insights in how to fight…
she felt relief more than anything.
Zen wasn't a foe….
He was…
he is…
Blake's friend?
Would I say we're close friends like he is with Ruby?
Not really, it's going to take a while before we get to that point… but, I won't correct someone if they did call us friends.
"Blake?" She heard Ruby ask.
"Sorry, I guess I zoned out.
And as to what you were saying, I think having some time to work with Zen, you and Penny, it's brought my focus back as to why we are here as huntresses."
After which, Blake then proceeded to hug Ruby in return.
"I'm sorry I lied when I said I was okay that day and then never came to you with my problems…
I know you'd try to help me as best as you possibly can, but it was something that just needed to be taken care of by myself… Thank you for always looking out for me all the same."
"I'm just glad I can finally see you smile and know you are really smiling this time." Ruby whispered loud enough for just Blake to hear.
As they pulled away, Blake looked in the direction of their own dorm before looking to Ruby.
"Can I ask you one important request you could do for me?"
"Of course." She answered happily.
"Promise me , when we get back to the dorm, don't mention to Weiss or Yang I was helping Zen. Instead, I was at the library and then I saw you at the cafeteria."
"I promise. But why wouldn't I mention it to Weiss or Yang?
I know it's one thing for Yang not to want me to spar with him, but why would she have a problem with you, and Weiss for that matter?"
''Why? Well, because…"
Blake went quiet, shuffling her feet in place as she couldn't think how else to ask her leader not to mention their training session.
"I just don't think they should get worked up by me."
Was the only explanation she could say, but without a proper reason, she couldn't bring herself to say it aloud.
"I won't say a word." Ruby replied along with both a quick nod and reassuring smile as she read Blake's features.
And with that, the red and black duo made their way back to the dorm.
"Hey guys I'm back, and look who I ran into as I went to the cafeteria." Ruby announced as she walked through the door with Blake following close behind.
Blake could see Yang sat atop her bunk with one half of Ember Celica in her lap while she fiddled with the mechanism housed inside, Weiss for an unusual change, lay in her bed reading.
"Where have you been?" Said blonde asked as she looked up from her work.
"Same place as I always do if I'm not here or with you guys, I was at the library." Blake stated.
A wide grin came over Yang's face before she responded.
"You sure that you didn't want to talk with Ozpin and the library staff about setting up a bed there… hey while they're at it might see if ice queen can bunk with ya, considering she's just as much there as you are.
Ain't that right Weiss."
"Well I did ask if you wanted to come and study with me, but you insisted on doing your work here, my guess is you slacked off and did something else entirely." Weiss scowled at Yang as she looked up from her book.
"Hey, there are times when I do take school work seriously, and this just happened to be not one of those times." Yang argued confidently.
Wait… Weiss… was… at… the… library?
Weiss was at the library!
Blake felt herself becoming pale as the gears in her head turned.
How could she have known that Weiss was planning on being in the library the one time she wasn't?
Of course she didn't, she was too focused on obtaining clarity on the White Fang.
Then there was also her predictable nature, as she said, if she wasn't with the others, she'd be reading, studying, or training.
She didn't really have any other hobbies, so naturally the obvious place she would turn to would be the library.
That and the fact that no one else would go there would mean the perfect alibi to fall back on….
Not this time however.
"I'm sorry that I may have seemed like I didn't want to go with you Blake when you were done, but I just had to finish my work." Weiss then said as she looked over to the faunus girl.
"That's… fine Weiss." Blake shook her head after gaining some semblance of awareness, afterwich she looked over to Ruby who remained stoic but could tell her leader knew what was running through her mind.
"You can shower before me if you want." Ruby then piped up.
"If you're sure?" Blake asked although her legs were already taking her in the direction of the bathroom.
Once she had felt refreshed, she sat down at her desk and began to go over the homework problems for Professor Peach's class.
Their dorm remained peaceful for another hour or so, Blake continued to work on class notes until she heard Yang announce she was going to bed in her usual fashion by loudly snoring.
"I guess I should turn in for the night too." Ruby said as she looked over to her scroll before going to the bathroom to change.
"Goodnight guys."
She said while climbing up to her bed and throwing a cover over her.
"Night Ruby." Blake smiled over to her before turning back to her work.
Another fifteen minutes passed, she sensed Weiss, who still had yet to change into her sleep attire, get up from her bed and walk over, placing a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.
"Blake, before you go to bed, there was something I wanted to discuss with you." The heiress paused, glancing back at their two sleeping teammates, whispering as she went on.
"But not here."
"We can do that now." Blake nodded before getting up and following her teammate out of their dorm.
Without even so much as having a second thought, Blake could already tell what Weiss was going to discuss with her. The heiress said nothing, not even bothering to look back to see if Blake was actually tagging behind her as they walked the hallway.
And Blake was well aware enough to know, whenever Weiss had this type of tunnel vision, if she didn't follow her, things would only get worse.
Before she could work out how best to explain herself, Weiss opened one of the doors and walked in, Blake then found herself being pulled into a vacant lecture room, after which the heiress then proceeded to check both left and right before closing and locking it behind them.
"Okay, now that we're alone, did you want to tell me where you actually were before meeting up with Ruby at the cafeteria since you definitely weren't in the library."
Weiss questioned Blake with a stern yet calm tone.
"So after we finished classes I- I went to the sparring rooms… and joined Ruby, Penny and Zen." Blake sighed as she leaned against the desk, not maintaining eye contact with Weiss at first but lifting her head up slowly as she tried her best to show she wasn't going to back down.
Weiss huffed as she began to pace back and forth in front of Blake, choosing her next words carefully. What seemed like hours to the faunus girl as she waited for her teammate to answer her, until finally the white haired girl spun to face her.
"You mean to tell me you got up today, went through the daily routine of classes as normal and then once they were done, decided to then go to the sparring rooms and spar… with Zen?"
"Yes." Blake merely answered.
"And that seemed perfectly fine to you despite three days ago, we were debating whether or not we can trust him based on whatever comes out of his mouth."
The heiress returned to pacing back and forth, but only for a minute or so as she glared at Blake, brow furrowed when she realised something.
"You were acting somewhat strange last night after Ruby and I came back from our day out as well. Where were you for most of yesterday?"
"As I said, I was in the library doing school work and reading mostly." She answered, although a slight shift from direct eye contact was enough for Weiss to pick up on.
"Blaaake?"
"Fine, yesterday I was reading as I normally would do, alone. Around midday, Zen was also in the library, he saw me, we talked for a bit and then we decided to talk some more and did so outside."
Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose as sighed loudly, before looking up and addressing Blake.
"Okay so you talked to Zen… and because you had what I can only assume were pleasantries, you then took it upon yourself to then go and train with him today… is that it?"
"Weiss, there's something else I should tell you.
While talking, I mentioned that the three of us had examined what our separate interactions with him were like."
"YOU DID WHAT!" Weiss shouted in abject horror, nearly deafening Blake at the same time.
"He has the right to know."
"Oh he has the right to know, then if that's the case, shouldn't we have the right to know what he's been telling us."
"Look, if he knew what he was doing, he knew we'd be smart enough to piece it together and if that's true, he's smart enough to work out we'd come together as a team."
Weiss went silent, crossing her arms and looking away, unsure if the girl in front of her really was the same Blake she had been working with for almost an entire year.
They stood like that for several minutes, until Blake closed her eyes and sighed before answering.
"What he said to me… though he hasn't fully confirmed anything, I can understand where he is coming from.
Weiss, what we've been able to cobble together, we're on the right track."
"You mean about the attack on Bea-"
Blake's hand instantly clasped over a now indignant Weiss and Blake then looked over to the door. She only released her hold on Weiss after she rolled her eyes and nodded that she wasn't going to say it out loud.
"Just so I'm clear, did Zen specifically tell you what I think he told you?"
Blake shook her head.
"Then how can you be sure?" Weiss' brow furrowed, yet she could have sworn Blake's eye's began to lightly water.
"I basically told him what I thought based on what we all talked about, he- he reacted, in that instant I knew I was right. I then questioned him further as to why he didn't just tell us up front."
She then went quiet, looking away as a single tear visibly slid down her cheek.
"Blake?" Weiss' voice softened, she unfolded her arms as concern replaced frustration.
"I- I had several friends in the White Fang, one of them was one of the kindest souls that I had the pleasure of working with, he was like me, fought for the cause, but never wanted things to go too far.
When my mentor started shifting our approach to more aggressive tactics, that was when my friend had enough and was luckily able to abandon all ties with the Fang and fled to Vale.
His real name was Tukson, but he went by the name Beltza… probably because he knew one day having an alias would keep him out of trouble and return to a normal life."
"Tukson?
As in Tukson's Book Trade?
The bookshop you used to go to?"
"Do you remember that day when I-"
"Went to the bookstore?"
How could I forget, you had trouble eating and sleeping for a week and you cried that entire night when you got back….
"I remember."
"Zen told me he knew who had killed Tuckson the first time we talked… I never mentioned it to you because… well it wasn't the first thing I would bring up.
But when we spoke yesterday…
Those that killed Tuckson weren't just some random killers, these people were connected with Roman, and what's worse, he may have implied they were connected with the breach too.
And while Zen told me, I could tell he was scared.
Scared of talking about them, about telling me and whether or not they could hear us."
She explained, eyes darting back to the door while she uttered the last statement.
"Hear you?" The heiress followed her teammate's gaze.
"Yes Weiss, these people Zen is referring to are here in some capacity, they are a dangerous threat, not only because of what they've already done, but what they might do if we interfere.
And before you ask what do I mean by interfere; according to him they're that dangerous that he wants to ensure no one else other than himself is in harm's way.
If you want to know more, you're going have to ask him yourself as that's all he told me and that's all I want to say at this point.
Maybe give it a week or two if you decide to talk to him about this, and do so when we're away from the school."
Weiss for her part stayed neutral as she went over what Blake had just told her, whether or not she would give credit to Zen for what he did in the past… at least the information coming from Blake was slightly more coherent compared to what the three of them had worked out. With that being said, the heiress then remembered why she brought Blake to the lecture room in the first place.
"I'll give it a week's time then.
Now, I thought we agreed that if ever one of us had a problem, we would work through it together as a team."
"Weiss-"
"I'm not finished, now be as it may, I'm not angry that you kept this from me, if I hadn't been at the library myself I would have believed you, and if I found out, I would have been frustrated.
The thing I'm trying to understand is how you're going to explain yourself if Yang ever finds out, especially since you're going to be joining Ruby with Zen's training I presume."
"I know, it's going to be tough, but I will face the consequences when they come. I have been in situations where I needed to remain covert, this won't be any different."
"Well for everyone's sanity, I hope you're right."
Weiss murmured.
"I think we should get back, just in case Yang happens to fall out of bed like last time and wonder where we are."
Why do we do the things that we do?
Is it for a purpose?
Is it destiny?
Or is it for the sheer reason we do anything is merely a result of our existence, for if not we would cease all comprehension of reality and merely be a part of the landscape that coincides with us?
These words Blake read to herself as she sat in her bed, Ruby and Weiss were nowhere to be seen.
And as for Yang?
She couldn't really remember where the last time she was.
Blake looked up from her book and pondered, then went back to reading, only to find her wrist wrapped in her black ribbon as she would when she threw Gambol Shroud.
"You gonna eat that?" She heard Yang ask.
"What?"
Blake looked up in confusion, only to realise she was now standing in the emerald forest during initiation, her weapon impaled in the back of an Ursa which lay a metre or so away from her.
"I said are you gonna eat it?" Yang repeated herself as Blake could see Yang standing next to the Ursa.
"Eh, no." Blake found herself answering.
She blinked, unsure of what was going on and why her teammate would ask that.
But as she opened her eyes, she now stood on the roof she and Sun had at the docks when Roman and the White Fang were attempting to steal a shipping container's worth of dust.
"What are you doing?" She heard Sun call out as she leapt from the building, clearing the distance to Roman within less than twenty seconds.
"What's your little operation you have going on here?" Blake asked, her sword pressed against the smooth talking crime boss' neck.
"Well I wouldn't call it little." He answered, but unlike her memory of their interaction, Roman looked across from where they stood rather than up at the sky.
"And if I were you, I'd be more worried about what's going on over there."
When she followed where he stared, her eyes widened as they rested on the sight of Vale, several plumes of smoke pouring out of several smouldering buildings, some already collapsing as their supports gave way.
She felt her heart race faster as in the distance she could make out two distinct figures fighting on the steps of the CCT, their weapons clashing, one figure shorter than the other.
The conflict between them was stacked greatly against the shorter of the two, experience being the advantage of the taller fighter, she had learned from him… Adam.
He lunged for the smaller opponent who tried his best to block the swift attack, ultimately ending in failure as Wilt pierced through the armour with little resistance, emerging out the other side.
"ZEN!" Blake screamed in terror once Adam had pulled Wilt out, letting the body of his opponent lifelessly slump to the side.
"Hey Blake." Zen's voice came from behind her.
Blake then turned around, the world for a second became an inky void only for it to change to the sparring room immediately after.
She found herself paralysed as Zen stood there, his hood up with half his face concealed, his chest plate visibly damaged with dried blood around the edges.
"Why did you have to face him?" She found herself asking him aloud, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks.
"I should have been the one who took the blow."
"I told you, I couldn't let you do this, so I did it."
"But you didn't… you… that's-"
"Why I'm dead." He smirked as he gave his full attention to her, for a brief moment she felt relief seeing the other half of his face hadn't been mutilated from the fight.
"Which is why you decided to help me with training. Now let's get back to it so I don't die AGAIN!"
He emphasised as he drew his swords and got into his combat stance.
Blake sighed as she reached for Gambol Shroud and got into a similar stance.
"You're doing what?!" Yang's voice bellowed from behind Blake.
As she turned she caught a glimpse of Yang's red eye's before her fist collided with Blake's cheek. In an instant, Blake felt her partner's fist connect which sent her flying.
"You've gone and done the unthinkable. How could you? I thought we were teammates? I thought we were friends." Yang asked with a softer voice as Blake looked up from the sparring floor as she came to.
"I-" Blake was about to respond until Zen cut her off.
"There are more important things at stake here."
"You, keep out of this. This has nothing to do with you." Yang said, staring daggers across from Zen.
"It has everything to do with me, more importantly it has everything to do with her." He emphasised by pointing with his weapon towards Blake.
That instance, Blake could sense someone else in the room, as if he materialised behind her.
"You can't run forever and let other people take the hit, you'll have to face me one day."
"SHUT UP ADAM!" Zen and Yang shouted simultaneously as they looked in his direction, Blake in turn followed and watched as the bull faunus dematerialised into an inky black mass which began to dissolve into the floor, leaving the blonde and the green hood wearer to continue their bickering.
"Okay, someone really needs to silence you because quite frankly, I'm kind of sick of you, first Ruby, and now Blake."
"Yang-"
"I'm not done with you either." Yang scowled as she pointed a finger at Blake.
"Just leave her alone, she's only doing the right thing. You wanna deal with someone, I'm standing here, let's go, right here, right now."
"Zen-" Blake reached out a hand when she called out, only to find she made contact with an invisible wall, all she could do was lay on the floor and watch what would unfold.
"Oh it's on." She replied as she cracked her neck before taking a step forward, ready to advance.
The two sprinted towards each other, Yang's fists pulled back for a swing and Zen's swords poised to impale-
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
Blake stirred as her arm lazily landed on her scroll to silence the alarm.
Five more minutes.
She thought to herself while turning over, but as she tried to reconnect with sleep again…
and found only darkness.
What even was that dream?
"Good morning Blake."
When Blake eventually pushed herself to get up, she looked over to Ruby who happily smiled at her whilst collecting her things for the bathroom.
"Good morning." Blake answered in return, feeling herself smile before looking away, it never got old for the raven haired girl on the odd occasion Ruby would, in her Ruby fashion, politely coax her teammates to get up for the day.
For Blake, all it took was a simple 'good morning' or 'rise and shine' by her leader to do the job, similarly Weiss had to be either poked on the cheek or a whisper in her ear.
Yang on the other hand, would need a more heavy handed approach, sometimes it was a case of Ruby grabbing one of her legs that dangled off the side and pulling her right off the bed or by throwing a pillow over her head.
Can't really forget the one time she accidentally got a few strands of Yang's hair caught in her fingers while waking her up.
With that, Blake finally climbed out her bed and proceeded to collect her notebooks needed for the day as well as her supplies for the bathroom once Ruby had finished, all the while that moment between Zen and Adam in her dream lingered on.
When in the shower, the whole conversation with Weiss then played on her mind;
What would happen if Yang found out I was going with Ruby to train Zen?
Who'd be the first one she'd be upset with, me for being fooled?
Or Zen for playing me and getting what he wants?
She shut her eyes and allowed the soothing warmth of the shower flow over her as contemplated the nature of what it meant to be a huntsman, from the talk with Zen a day ago, to what Oobleck had asked during mountain Glenn and lastly, Ruby's perspective.
"I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people."
"That's very ambitious for a child.
Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as in those books." Was something along those lines she had said to Ruby.
"Well, that's why we're here! To make it better."
"Make it better indeed." Blake whispered to herself while shutting off the faucet and stepping out of the shower.
She caught her reflection in the mirror out of the corner of her eye before turning to face it. With a free hand, she wiped the fog that had formed and stared back at herself, amber irises staring back at her.
"You are Blake, you always have been Blake and always will be, nothing is going to change that.
In a weird way, the Adam in my dream was right, I shouldn't keep running from my problems.
If or rather when Yang finds out what I'm doing, if she tries to stop me I won't let her, I'll- I'll have to find a way to prove to her what I'm doing is for the best… to make it better."
She smiled back at the reflection and in a soft voice reassured her that things would in fact be okay.
"Blake! Hurry up in there, you can't hog the bathroom forever" Yang's voice emanated from behind the bathroom door as the brawler hammered a fist on the wood at the same time.
"You're one to talk." Weiss could be heard arguing shortly after.
"Whatever happens with Zen's training that will be done by you, it's going to be for all the right reasons." Blake finally said to herself before donning the Beacon uniform.
Classes came and went as normal, and for Blake, she knew Ruby was the type of person who enjoyed school, and at Beacon, it was obvious she liked most if not all of her lessons.
However when she started going spar with Zen and Penny, Blake picked up on Ruby's eagerness for the last class of the day.
And now that she herself had joined in, it was more telling in Ruby's eyes the excitement for that last call for the class to be dismissed.
Blake kept her cool around the others, and without fail, Weiss was impassive despite noticing her teammates' demeanour around Yang.
Finally, Port gave the all encompassing dismissal of his class and with it everyone began to file out, Blake signalled for Ruby to hold back for a second or two as Yang and Weiss left their seats without turning back.
"Wait for me in the hallway a few corridors down."
She whispered to Ruby before hastily following behind Yang and Weiss.
"So what's the plan this time Ice queen?"
"I'm going to go to the library to finish up some homework problems."
"How could I have not seen that coming." Yang rolled her eyes as she kept walking.
"What I'm also planning to do is go to Vale to purchase a few items for maintenance on Myrtenaster and some other things while there." Weiss countered.
"You should skip the library and come with me to the gym instead, you too Blake."
"Getting back into it I see." Blake said whilst keeping a straight face.
"Been thinking about it for a while, and now seems like the best time. So are you in?" Yang asked in a casual yet hopeful manner.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm going to go back to the dorm, maybe see what JNPR or CFVY are up to."
She answered without trying to seem suspicious.
"Suit yourself, but one day I'll get you to come to the gym with me, trust me I'm a great spotter, and I'm curious as to how much you could actually deadlift."
"If lifting to the point of death is the goal of that exercise, then count me out." Weiss said in disgust.
"And that's why you need to join me, so you don't say something dumb like that." Yang said with a groan, only to be met with silence.
"On that note, I'll see you two later."
With that the three parted ways, Weiss slightly glanced back at Blake without her noticing though continued to the library.
Blake kept walking in the direction of the dorms for a few more minutes until she was certain she was alone. Then checking behind her, she proceeded to retrace her steps back to Port's classroom and then follow the hallway to find Ruby patiently waiting for her.
After going back to their dorm and getting changed into their combat attire, the pair headed for the sparring rooms.
"So what does training with Zen entail?" Blake asked while beginning to formulate her own teaching methods of what she had in mind for him.
"Well for the most part, a lot of practical training, either Penny spars off against Zen or I do, then once we think he's fought enough against us or he calls for us to stop we then go over what happened.
Usually, if not most of the time, Penny will be able to properly critique him since she is better at observing any faults that Zen may have displayed and thereby work on."
"Really? I would have imagined that you'd give more of your input at the same time, considering you're able to see what we need to work on as a team."
"That's true, and I do give him feedback as well, it's just, since they've worked together for a lot longer than I have, they understand each other better."
"And how well does he perform against the both of you?"
"We… we haven't had the chance to spar with two opponents, it's still too early for him to fight two combatants at once."
"I see… "
"Is everything alright?" Ruby asked with slight concern.
"When I sparred with Zen yesterday, I knew what I was up against and I planned my fighting style to accommodate for that reason… what I guess I'm trying to get are two things.
One, how much have you had to restrict yourself when sparring in order to fight Zen without him getting too badly injured?
And two, how long are you going to keep at it before moving up to a more natural combat style where there is greater risk to him?"
"Well, it's just something that Penny and I have never really thought about. For the time being we've relied on simply working our way up through more and more challenging exercises and combat manoeuvres." She replied sheepishly.
"I wouldn't call that a disservice, but sooner or later, especially when the Vytal Tournament comes around, he will have to deal with more risky opponents, even in missions he's probably already been presented with danger.
I'm not being critical of what you've been doing, but it's something we should keep in mind." Blake answered.
"I understand." Ruby replied as she began to think the matter over.
Arriving at the sparring room, the pair found Penny and Zen already in the midst of what Blake observed to be basic techniques used by dual sword wielders. Penny going through one motion with her blades, and Zen countering with his own.
"Hey guys." Ruby declared as she walked over to the duo, while Blake slowly followed further behind after closing the door behind her.
"Hello Ruby, Blake. Zen and I were just finishing up with a warm up, so we're ready to move on to the next phase." Penny welcomed the two.
"Cool. So what I was thinking is, since Blake sparred with Zen yesterday, we can continue from there."
Ruby suggested.
But when she glanced over to Blake, she noted her taller teammate appeared to distance herself slightly from the three of them.
"You okay with that Blake? You don't have to if you don't want to." Zen piped up as Ruby was about to ask the same question.
"I- I'm alright to continue from yesterday, I have thought out a plan… although, I don't know if it's a good one or not." She answered nervously, rubbing the back of her neck and looking to the side.
"If you're the one to come up with it, I am certain it will be perfectly fine." Blake looked up to see Penny standing in front of her before placing a set of reassuring hands on her shoulders.
Blake smiled and nodded in affirmation before Penny returned to Ruby and Zen's side, Blake approached all three, taking a deep breath before exhaling and began to go over her thoughts.
"Okay, yesterday, some things I drew from our fight, but one thing stuck out the most.
You are quick to adapt, there is no doubt about it, however, this adaptiveness only comes as a result of a learned experience; when I attacked you with Gambol Shroud a second time, you reacted as a result of having to endure my move the first time I used it.
Very fine that you allow yourself to take a hit in order to prepare your next move in a supervised arena when the rules of engagement have been put in place for your safety, but it's not a luxury you'll have when out in the field.
For you, this becomes more challenging when factoring your lack of aura.
If you begin an engagement and you are unprepared when knowing what or who you face off against, yes your armour will protect you to a degree, but it will mean nothing against unpredictability.
What I want you to try to do is think on your feet, now how you think on your feet all comes down to a key aspect… timing.
Knowing when you need to observe your opponent and act immediately, and know when to draw out a fight longer, keep them at bay so you can ascertain as much as you can before you make the next decision.
There is a balance between striking early and holding off, for the longer you may draw out a fight, your opponent will be able to assess your abilities as much as you are theirs.
One way you'll get an upper hand on your opponent can be done by playing into their psychology, make them think you've left yourself open and draw them in, for example I've used one of my shadow clones to make it appear I'm standing in the open, making my enemy think I'm unaware they are present.
The other is by bluffing to your opponent your fighting style, make it out them you fight defensively when in reality you are more offensive, if you are good with a rifle, make it seem as if you can never land a shot, and when the moment arises, you aim true and land a hit.
At the end of the day this will all become second nature if you get enough training to recognise how to hold off and when to act."
"You've been thinking about this for a while since yesterday, haven't you?" Ruby said in surprise.
Although she recalled one or two training sessions where they had taught Zen something along those lines, it was clear to her he needed to keep practising the skill.
Well that's what happens after being in the White Fang for- wait, don't say that out loud…
Blake panicked for a second longer than she'd hoped for but played it off.
"In all honesty, I was fixated on our fight, since I know you can do even better.
I'd say the best way to tell you what I mean is by contending with you again."
"Well that's the point of sparring, aye." Zen joked happily as he began to walk over to his side of the sparring room floor, meanwhile Blake backed up to take her own position, while Ruby and Penny took their place on the sidelines.
"Are you two ready?" The hood wearer asked aloud.
"Yes." Blake and Zen answered.
"Three, two-"
Ruby ceased the countdown as they all turned their attention to the door to the sparring room. The sound of a scroll activating the lock could be heard, followed by it opening as Nora stepped through, greeting the four with a mock surprised expression.
"Oh, hey guys, didn't expect to find you here, I guess Jaune just made a mistake with the scheduling, and we're supposed to be in another room-"
"Sorry if we were interrupting your training session, but Nora here was wondering, or rather wanting a friendly rematch between Jaune and Zen." Pyrrha politely interjected as she walked through the door and placed a hand on Nora's shoulder, with Jaune and Ren following behind.
The hammer wielder tried to glare back at her teammate, however failed as it was obvious to everyone in the room that she could, in fact, never get mad at Pyrrha.
"So as I was about to say, it's been a while since you two have squared each other off and well, much like Jaune and Pyrrha, Zen and Ruby have had some-"
Nora immediately went quiet as she felt Manghild jerk her back, losing her balance and ending up on the floor.
Though Ruby and Blake appeared confused, Zen had a feeling as to how and why Manghild began to have a mind of its own, catching sight of Pyrrha's right hand returning to her side, putting two and two as what Nora might have said next.
"What Nora is trying to say is that since the last time Jaune and Zen have sparred together they have been tutored by Pyrrha and Ruby respectively.
What she's curious about is how much have the two improved since their last engagement." Ren clarified, helping Nora get back on her feet while making sure she didn't end back up on the floor again.
Penny then stepped forward looking back at both Zen and Blake before addressing the new arrivals. "We were currently about to start a sparring match between Blake and Zen, but if both are fine to spar against each other another time, then we'd be happy for a sporting rematch. If that's okay with you two that is?"
Penny added with slight apprehension.
"I don't mind, plus watching the two spar may help give me ideas on what to do for the next sparring session." Blake answered.
All eyes then looked to Zen who stayed quiet, head down, not in shame, but rather in deep thought.
"Zen?" Penny asked worryingly.
"Hold on, don't we have a sparring class tomorrow? Why not just do it then?" Zen questioned as he went over the schedule in his head.
"Hoo no, you won't be sparring with Jaune tomorrow, that's when I'm going to take you on." The redhead happily declared whilst pointing at him.
"Nora, we've been over this. You might be just a little too rough with him, look at us, we all have auras and when we went through your little training exercises, it took a lot out of us and it nearly killed Jaune." Ren sighed, clearly exhausted by how many times this conversation had been brought up already.
"Don't forget Zen won the fight with Cardin, so that in itself shows he can handle a fight with someone who fights with a heavy weapon." Ruby added, garnering a wink of thanks from the red head.
"True, but Cardin's just reckless, Nora is at least aware of both where she swings her hammer and how much force she'll put behind it, but that does not change the fact she isn't ready to take on Zen." Ren answered, sternly looking at Nora.
"Okay Ren, depending on how this fight goes… I'll go easy on him, I promise." Nora begged with both fingers crossed as well as giving her teammate puppy dog eyes.
"Alight, see how this match goes and then we'll think about tomorrow." The green ninja conceded in defeat.
"Yes."
Nora cheered to herself.
"So that means you're fine to spar with Jaune?"
Zen looked back over to Blake before returning to Nora.
"If Blake's okay with stepping aside to let Jaune spar with me, then I'm fine with it."
Another 'quiet' celebration from Nora followed up with predictions.
"Now as for this fight, my money's on Jaune…
no offence Zen, just going off your track record is all."
"No offence taken." Zen replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Hey, Zen may have lost that first match, but with Penny and me training him, I'm betting he's improved way more and he'll break even or beat Jaune this time. No offence Jaune."
Ruby countered the hammer wielder, though being apologetic to the blonde boy.
"I don't mind either." Jaune answered similarly as Zen did.
"Talk about no pressure." Zen heard Blake whisper beside him, to which he subtly nodded in agreement before taking his position for the fight.
Pyrrha turned to everyone who sat on the sideline.
"So, same rules as sparring in Professor Goodwitch's class?"
"Timed fight, the winner either beats the opponent by draining their aura into the red or until one of them yields, if not whoever is still standing when the timer runs out." Ren outlined in confirmation.
"Then it's settled, now Jaune are you ready to go double or nothing?"
Nora emphasised while clenching her fists.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Jaune answered with slight enthusiasm.
"And Zen, ready to put him in his place and even out the score." Ruby yelled in equal volume as Nora did to Zen.
"Let's do it." Zen replied, he was becoming motivated by the energy of his hood wearing mentor.
"On my mark."
Ruby announced.
Meanwhile Jaune and Zen eyed each other as they both got into a fighting stance.
"Three, two, one, mark!"
Zen was nearly about to sprint towards Jaune, but then elected to hold back as he remembered their last fight all too well, Jaune had raised his shield up while Crosea Mors was poised as if ready to impale its target, though he knew that wasn't his intent.
Okay, what are my options here?
For me, head, torso legs; I have free reign as to where I can place my attacks on Jaune. He on the other hand, can't attack vital exposed areas, but will be able to target my chest directly, the only option else will be purely to immobilise me-
"Are you two going to fight? Or are you happy just to continue posing for weapons weekly?"
Zen's train of thought was interrupted as Nora cupped her hands and jokingly yelled at them.
"Nah."
Zen sarcastically yelled to the Valkyrie.
"I'm gonna stand here and practise my warface until the timer runs out."
When turning back to face Jaune, he noticed the blonde had cleared the distance between them and brought his sword across as it clashed against Spirit, knocking it to the right, which was enough for Zen to take a step back as his heart felt like it had stopped for a second by being caught off guard.
The next thing he knew, as Zen quickly adjusted his left arm so Opportunity could try to cover the opening Jaune had made, he found himself being shoved backwards as his opponent thrusted his shield against him.
Jaune's whole weight was enough to catch Zen off balance, leaving himself exposed while attempting to stay standing.
With his opponent momentarily defenceless, Jaune took advantage and slashed at Zen's chest, his armour soaking up the damage.
He prepared another swinging strike to Zen's chest, but was met with resistance as Zen had raised Opportunity to deflect the attack, with both swords locked for a few seconds.
Jaune failed to notice the quick movement of Zen's other hand, and when he did, he noted that it wasn't his other sword he held onto, but rather the sword morphed into something completely different, then it hit him, Zen's sword, it's also a gun.
By the time Jaune went to try to block where Zen was pointing his 'gun' with his shield, it was too late.
With a single squeeze of the trigger, Zen fired at Jaune's right leg, his aura flaring slightly, but the force was enough to displace the blonde, given the freedom of Opportunity to move away from Crosea Mors before flicking his left wrist to convert it into a gun also.
With both his weapons in their secondary form, Zen wasted no time firing several shots at Jaune wherever he saw an opening.
Jaune meanwhile was on the back foot, stepping back with each shot Zen landed on him, most were targeted at his vulnerable legs as his shield was being used to protect both his face and his midsection.
Another quick hand movement by Zen, converting his weapon into tertiary mode, he then lined up the rifle and once again fired at Jaune's legs.
To his surprise, Zen only fired one accurate shot before panicking as Jaune began to advance towards him until his larger opponent was within range to move with a sliding kick, knocking Zen's legs out from under him, sending him face first onto the floor.
Zen quickly turned over and looked up to see Jaune was bearing Crosea Mors for a downward strike,
Zen instantly lifted up his rifle to block the strike, then angling the weapon, Crosea Mors simply slid off, allowing him to then tuck his legs before pushing off his opponent followed by getting back up into a fighting stance, the rifle being converted back into swords.
Jaune steadied himself and was ready for whatever came next, a quick glance of his scroll told him his aura held in the yellow, he could take a few more hits before it would even begin to fall into the red.
With that, he moved forward, shield up and Crocea Mors raised to either deflect any incoming attack or to strike if presented with a chance to do so.
Zen on the other hand, held back for a second, recalling what techniques worked in their last encounter and what didn't.
Unfortunately, Jaune once again moved forward, sword raised for what Zen could speculate as being a diagonal slash, that's when he had an idea.
Zen met Jaune's attack in similar fashion, striking at his shield, which the taller boy then lowered and brought down his own sword, Zen then quickly sidestepped the slash, before raising Spirit to cut at his back, Jaune was caught by surprise, but shifted his position to swing his arm as he turned to face Zen.
Zen seeing this coming, backed away as Crocea Mors sliced at the air where Zen had stood moments ago.
With Jaune fully reorientated to face Zen again, he watched the shorter boy began walking backwards, keeping both Spirit and Opportunity up in defence as he made sure to put as much distance between them as possible.
Everyone watching had been giving their support to both combatants, this strategy however left them confused to say the least.
"What's Zen doing?" Blake whispered to Penny as she leaned in, unsure if perhaps Zen was trying to repeat the same strategy he used with Cardin.
"I don't want to say for certain, but I think I have an idea as to what he's planning."
Penny answered, smiling to herself.
Jaune can't cover every angle, one angle in particular.
Zen, feeling as he had widened the gap considerably, inhaled, thought for a second, then turned around, bringing Spirit down with a diagonal slash, cutting through the air.
From where Jaune stood, he kept his guard up as he moved towards Zen, despite appearing vulnerable, Jaune knew well enough not to be fooled by what could be an obvious trap.
What he didn't expect however was a second after Zen faced away from him was to see Zen swinging his sword and then proceed to walk forward, only for him to then feel a sword clash against his back.
The sudden attack from behind was enough for Jaune to falter, sending him face first onto the floor.
While scrambling to get back up to fight, as if on cue, the buzzer went off, ending the match.
Still on the floor, as he looked up, he saw an oval rim of orange which formed an opening that on the other side was Zen's back.
He created a portal to get behind me, not a bad move.
Jaune silently applauded while getting back up.
"Nice work."
He said as he turned to Zen with an outstretched hand.
Zen accepted the handshake in return.
"Thanks, but put it this way, without my semblance or secondary and tertiary modes on my swords, you would have gone two and zero in that match, you're still a better hand to hand fighter between us."
"Well since I didn't want a repeat of our last spar, I just kept my strikes for Crocea Mors and not my shield."
Meanwhile as Jaune and Zen congratulated each other in their duel, those spectating were a different story, half were cheering loudly in celebration, while the other half, though also praised the winner, a certain redhead folded her arms and huffed slightly.
"Well Ruby, looks like you won the bet, I owe you." Nora finally conceded as she turned to face the hood wearer.
Ruby appeared puzzled, but nevertheless asked.
"Wait, we never made a proper bet, what were we betting on?"
"It was mainly bragging rights, but if Jaune had won, I would have tried to sneak in some form of materialistic earning-"
"You mean food- " Ruby cut her off.
"I mean food." Nora answered with a sly grin.
"We'll discuss payment later." Ruby said while everyone around the pair got up, following the others as they went to speak to the two combatants.
To all those in the Northern Hemisphere (and South) still celebrating Easter, Happy Easter.
This chapter had been in the works for a while, but I finally have it finished.
So as far as references go there are quite a few,
For one, 'an army marches on its stomach' is a quote that i heard in the tutorial to Age of Empires 2, but is actually a quote originally from Napoleon in regards to the need to keep ones military stocked with food in order to be combat effective.
Another reference is 'the dreaded tuna torture', a reference from stargate SG 1, which is a funny scene which i recommend you look up on YT, season 3- Rules of engament tuna torture.
Then there's the line in Blake's dream where Yang asks Blake if she's 'gonna eat that', this is from the RWBY Abridged by ZehOverseer, if you know, then you know, if you don't know, I also recommend you look up his Abridged series.
With the story I just also want to stress that the sandwiches are 6 foot long and similar to subway in that they're toasted.
The story took time to write as it was an on and off situation, but I'm glad it's done and we can move to the next one.
If I've forgotten anything I'll mention it in the next chapter.
Until then, thank you for reading and I'll catch you next time.