Wow, was this a bitch to write! I legitimately stayed up for a few nights, shirked SO many responsibilities in order to get this done, but I still enjoyed it up until the end. That being said, I hope you take notes because we've got a +17k word chapter ahead! Not much else I can say on it, as it's left me mentally drained, but hopefully the story will speak for itself.

Enjoy!

Everyone began to glance around at each other, some covered rather unmentionable parts with towels or quickly got changed, but others like Yang didn't really care, and intently listened to the announcement. "The school will be initiating Lockdown Protocols effective immediately until further notice."

Those words made students either panic slightly, or at the very least begin conversing with each other. Ruby physically stiffened before locking eyes with Yang, then Blake, who had honestly no idea what was going on. "I wonder what this is about." One girl huffed nearby, which was honestly something Blake wanted to know as well. Still, above the voices of her classmates and through the bow atop her head, she was still able to make out a few words from her headmaster, her bow inadvertently twitching as she did so.

"Though we believe the school is not in any direct threat, the police department of Vale of ordered us to initiate these methods just in case. When we have more information, the teachers will pass it on to the students. This will be the last communication made over the intercoms until further notice." With that, the man cut the comms out, which sparked a mass amount of conversations to take place within the enclosed space.

At least until Goodwitch and her trusty whistle intervened, silencing all present and hurting the ears of those closer to the instructor. Even though Blake was one whole unit of lockers over from it, the ringing still pierced her ears harshly. "Listen up!" The blonde instructor declared, gaining the attention of her students, "What we have is a police situation taking place down the road with a barricaded gunman. We are not evacuating for multiple safety reasons, so until the police can de-escalate the situation and render everything safe, we will not be moving anywhere or doing anything, so get comfortable and try to keep quiet."

"Wait," Yang began her honest inquiry, "Not trying to justify rowdy play or anything, but if the situation is down the road, why do we have to be quiet now?" A few other students agreed with the question, honest as it was, and Glynda took it to heart before answering.

"Because, Miss Xiao Long, we are in an enclosed space and it can be very, very loud in here. I'd like to have my hearing intact by the end of today, thank you." Yang accepted the answer and stepped back, "And please put a shirt on."

"What? I've got something on over it!"

"Not nearly enough." Ruby quipped behind Yang's back, causing the blonde nurse-in-training to turn back with a fury in her eyes so fast she should have whiplash, forcing the red-head to jump in cover behind the taller red-head beside her, who couldn't help but chuckle at the response of Yang.

"If there aren't any other questions, then get comfy. If you want to speak to me at any point I'll be making the occasional rounds."

Blake noticed how easily Glynda ignored the play-fight of Yang and Ruby prior as well as the one taking place now, Pyrrha offering no protection for her friend. Was this kind of thing really so common? A nudge on her shoulder brought the black-themed teen out of her stupor, glancing to her left she noticed that it was Nora that made contact initially, having now changed out of her gym attire and into her proper school uniform. "Wanna stop this?" The short chef asked, noting Blake's intent viewing of the party before them.

Yang had just gotten her hands on Ruby's gym shirt, yanking the younger teen back into a familiar headlock, only this time she was raised into the air by Yang, with an arm around her small abdomen to avoid serious harm, making it more like a constricting hug. "Think I'm showing off too much, huh?"

"Y-yeah! I do!"

Blake leaned in to whisper into Nora's ear, "I'm not getting involved, I'd like to live a little longer." The shorter teen giggled as they joined Pyrrha on the sidelines, who had just began to change into her school clothes. Meanwhile, Yang finally brought Ruby to a seated position, the shorter teen being forced to sit beside the still shirtless wonder that was her busty friend. Still, someone had to back Ruby right, right? "I think Ruby has a point, Yang." She admonished, earning a glare from two lilac orbs.

"I like you Blake, and I don't want to hurt you. Just ask Ruby how this is?"

"Her headlocks are like iron and her pits are like pure garlic!"

"That is not fair!"

"It is." Pyrrha quickly defended. "If you don't want to be insulted like that, don't participate in the rough housing until you've washed up."

"I agree." Nora called, Blake offering a quick nod as Yang dejectedly released her captive yet again, who quickly scurried away from the nurse in training to avoid another vice-grip.

"You'll all take her side over this!?"

"Easily." Pyrrha nodded, the rest of the group agreeing, causing the blonde to drop her shoulders dejectedly and sigh, giving Ruby the proper space to change out finally. The silver-eyed teen went right to work on her lock, finding far easier to break into it than her school-appointed one. In one go, she unlocked the chain and removed it from the handle, allowing her to open her locker quickly as Yang finally began to change out and went into her class uniform, much to her friend's thanks. Ruby generally didn't care for her friend's constant sub-nudity, actually quite used to it from Yang. The blonde always had an open personality, which made this more usual than not for her. Still, she understood if her friends weren't all that comfortable with her doing what she does, and if Ruby was complaining about it than other people would probably take offense.

Finally reaching into her locker, Ruby went right for the pocket of her school uniform and checked her phone for any messages as she drifted away from the conversation, the world around her growing more and more silent as she paid less and less attention. There were two messages for her, one from Neo and one from Velvet, both of whom knew that she was in gym class and probably couldn't answer right away, but the notification said that these two were fairly recent.

Neo's text came up first, being the second one received. 'Are you okay? The news said you were put on lockdown?'

A small smile grew on the young flowers face as she began to respond, "Fine, no threat, just precaution." Short and sweet, staying well within the text limit. She hit send and moved onto her friend's text, honestly pondering just what is what the faunus could want.

Velvet's message came up after a moment of loading on the old flip phone: 'You ok?'

Ruby quickly went to work sending the next message. 'Yes, y? How r u?'

She hated using text speak, but had no other choice due to the one-hundred-sixty letter limit per each message. Luckily, she was on Junior and Neo's unlimited plan, which meant that she could send and receive as many messages as she wanted.

Two messages quickly came back, the same two people as before. She decided to read Neo's message first, now having the option to, at least. "Okay, stay safe. Call when you're coming home."

The red-themed teen tabbed over to the next message, though as she waited for it to load up, she felt a nudge on her right shoulder. Turning her gaze towards a familiar blonde on her right, "Did you hear anything that I said?" Yang asked in a mildly accusing tone.

"Huh? Oh, no, sorry."

Lilac eyes closed as the blonde sighed, causing Ruby to mildly blush in embarrassment. "Jeez, gotta pay attention, Ru."

"Knock it off, Yang." Nora easily chided, coming to her friend's rescue. "We weren't talking about anything important, anyway."

Pyrrha's emerald orbs glanced sarcastically at the nurse across from her, "Yeah, Yang. What did she ever do to you?"

"Ignored me, that's what she did."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Yang." Ruby sarcastically quipped, "But I can't help it when someone wants to talk to me."

"Pft, kids and their technology."

"Wow, you're starting to sound like my parents." Nora quipped, moving her backpack to behind her and using it as a pillow, almost.

"I'm just saying she's gotta pay attention to her surroundings."

"I'm not driving, Yang!" Ruby defended, "Neo wants to know what's going on. Apparently, this situation made the news."

"That doesn't surprise me." Pyrrha commented, "The best academy in the capital goes into lockdown is gonna raise some attention. Has she said anything about this?" Ruby shook her head, still on her phone and texting something to someone. "Oh well. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out." She pulled out her scroll and lit the screen up, "I'll see if I can get updates from home."

"Geez, Pyrrha! Not you, too! See what you did, Ru!"

"Oh no, I started a technology craze." The young teen quipped sarcastically, "Because this wasn't already a thing before! So scary!"

Yang, clearly taking offense at her friend's tone of voice, pulled her into a headlock while she sat comfortably in the corner, propping her legs and sitting sideways to the rest of the group, her left side pointing towards the group. Ruby was caught under Yang's powerful left arm and, instead of trying to fight it, decided to go along for the ride and propped her legs on the middle bench, putting her back towards the blonde and using her as a pillow of sorts. Yang kept her arm around the red-themed teen as she peered around the group. Pyrrha and Nora, being used to these antics out of the blonde, were just thankful that it wasn't them in her grip. However, one that stood out was Blake, who wasn't sure just what to make of the sight before her.

"What's up, Blake?" Yang inquired honestly, "Wanna join?" The bow-wearing teen blushed as she peered away awkwardly, only to be met by Yang's giggles. "I'm just kidding, I've got my hands full with this one right now."

"Which you don't have to be, you know?"

"Yeah? Then how will I teach you a lesson in manners?"

Pyrrha decided now is the best time to interrupt, "Yang, you've been teaching Ruby the complete opposite of manners since you first met her. Going back on your own words?"

"Yes, I am."

"I know right from wrong, Yang."

"And yet you still run your mouth?"

"Two reasons." Ruby closed her phone, holding it in her left hand while using her free right hand to give numbers. Her index finger stood out, marking her first point. "One is that you always seemed to enjoy it when I 'run my mouth'."" Her middle finger joined her index finger, "And two is I know I can get away with it."

"Is that so?" The question held a more… Sinister tone to it, causing silver eyes to go wide with concern. The trio across the box eyed Yang, then Ruby, then back to Yang, almost as if they knew something was going to go down.

"Y-Yang?" Ruby called, slowly looking upward at the stoic expression of her friend, "You okay?"

"I am. Can't say that you will be, though."

"… Eep."

Blake carefully watched as the stare down between the duo before her began, waiting for something to happen, for a reason to intervene. That is, if her friends would let her. She had to keep reminding herself that this group is far different than what she's used to, and that Ruby has found a group of individuals who were either easy to conform to, or were already her type of people. Even Pyrrha surprised her, given what she had been told Blake expected more of a sharp tongue out of the athletic teen. She seemed annoyed during the game earlier, but the black-haired girl was willing to give her the pass on that.

The stare down quickly ended with nothing happening, Ruby opting to look away while Yang just let it slide. Despite everything that was said earlier, it was nice to see everything end without the need for violence for once, even a playful sense. Still, Yang kept the younger teen by her side, her left arm firmly around Ruby's abdomen, as if she were protecting the young girl from something, stopping her from moving for some reason. Was it just her protecting nature, or was there something else that Yang was worried about that Blake couldn't see. Either way, Blake was in no position to question it, as Nora confirmed through whisper that something like this happened all the time, only sometimes it wasn't Ruby that was the only victim.

Just like she mentioned to herself in her earlier assessment, Blake put another mental note by Yang: Touchy-feely, clearly open about herself in more than one way, doesn't care for other people's thoughts… Man, this entire group found new ways to surprise her.

A buzzing in her pocket alerted the bow-wearing teen to her scroll, quickly pulling it out to see an unknown number had texted her. 'We should probably talk, soon.'

Blake, dumbfounded, quickly texted back, 'Who is this?'

'Nobody important. I know you and that's all that matters.' Was the quick response, only to be met by a second, even faster text to come in, 'I'm in the school too, I'm a friend of your neighbors. You have questions, so do we. When this event is over, I'll tell you where to meet and we'll discuss a few things.'

'Velvet?'

'Wrong :)'. This person was really getting on her nerves, but Blake almost instantly knew who it was and just what this was about.

'I agree, but we'll need to make it fast for reasons, if we want to do it without her knowing.' Her in this case being Ruby.

'You won't need to worry, I'm sure Yang or Pyrrha will have something in mind after the lockdown ends. I'll explain more later, meet at the spot where Ruby wrecked up Emerald.'

Blake gave an affirming text back and pocketed her phone, going back to the discussion at hand. At least, she tried to, but listening to Pyrrha try to reason with Ruby- Instead, she tried to wonder just how Coco got her phone number in the first place? She had Velvet hadn't exchanged numbers, and she never really got to talk to Coco the day before anyway… Could Ruby have given her number out? She's the only other person who would have it, so it makes sense…

What could they want to talk about?

"So," Emerald began, "What are you going to do to get payback?"

Cinder raised her right eyebrow as she removed the melting ice pack. The swelling had gone down, but a red mark still remained. "What are you talking about?"

"You know! Getting back at them for what they did to you!"

Weiss and the black-haired young woman locked eyes, the former shrugging before taking over for her friend. "I thought it was a clean hit."

"I actually agree, Weiss." Cinder easily added, "You could see she was affect by tunnel vision, I don't think it was malicious at all. Just the look in her eye, there was no way she was aiming." Emerald went wide eyed in surprise. Cinder, of all people, giving them of all people a pass after this physical attack?! What!? "Now, if this was Yang or Pyrrha, I'd agree with you, Em. But I watched Ruby throughout that entire play. She did nothing wrong."

The red-eyed girl couldn't believe her ears. Of all the people to defend their sworn enemies, Cinder would be the one to do it!? What was happening today? "So... We're just going to let this slide?"

"Yes we are. I'm able to recognize an accident, Emerald, I'd suggest you should too." The red-eyed teen pouted with a huff, glancing away from the duo beside her, causing Weiss to shrug. "I'm just disappointed that the poor girls wrapped up in the wrong group. I fear that Yang alone is a bad influence, but adding Pyrrha and that Nora girl into the mix?" Cinder whistled as she sat back into the cold metal locker, "Those aren't the best role models."

"Like we are?" The heiress to her right inquired with a smirk, only to receive a curious gaze from both of her friends. "I'm just saying that, considering her overall attitude, maybe it's best that she has the group that she has. She wouldn't do too well with us in high society."

"I think if we had a chance to mold her, we could not only make her a prim and proper young lady- like you, for instance, Weiss- but also set her up for the success that we're destined for."

Emerald, in severe annoyance, rolled her eyes and leaned forward, "Good luck with that." She huffed under her annoyed breath, only to receive a slap to the back of her head from Cinder. She quickly turned her head to face the offending attacker, only to meet sharp golden eyes piercing her soul.

"If you have something to say then you can very well say it to my face, Emerald. But if you don't have the guts to do it, then keep your mouth shut." With a sly look of inspiration, she turned her gaze to the alabaster heiress on her right and raised an eyebrow, "Actually," She began, quietly, "I think she may be right. Ruby would be a tough cookie to handle, unless..."

Both Emerald and Weiss eyed each other, shrugging after a glance. "Unless?" Weiss inquired, "Want to finish that?"

"How about we make this interesting?"

Over an hour had passed and most of the locker room had calmed down greatly, though had grown more and more uncomfortable as the temperature rose. Information over the unfolding story had found its way to the news and reports were that it was two individuals being involved in a domestic incident. One suspect pulled a knife and the other pulled a gun. A neighbor working outside heard the confrontation and called police, and now both individuals are busy being locked in their own house and working against the SWAT team. Amazing how quickly people can get along when they're in trouble.

Of course, them being locked in, armed and possibly dangerous, meant that these students would have to stay locked in, as well. Fine by them, no class, no work. Easy day... Save for the smell of a locker room, of course.

Over the course of the past hour both Ruby and Yang had passed out, the former going first and using Yang's left should as a pillow, per the blonde girl's instruction. Ruby tried her best to take up as little space as possible, curling up into a tight ball and moving her body so that most of her weight was leaning back into the nurse behind her. However, the small bench wasn't enough for her, and she almost slipped off a few times; luckily Yang kept her arm around her friend's abdomen. Instead of falling away, Pyrrha, who was still sitting comfortably in the corner, assured her friend that, though the room would be nice, it wasn't needed and that she was comfortable where she sat, so Ruby ended up sitting back into Yang's shoulder, her legs propped up like before on the bench.

Once she was situated, it only took a few minutes for Ruby to fall asleep. Luckily, the warm locker room (which had been gradually heating up over the course of the hour) and the unusual silence gave some much needed help. Yang herself had been reading something off of her scroll with her free right hand, her left being occupied by the red-themed teen. The blonde worried that the teen would be sore after sleeping in a seated position like that, but thought that a quick power nap wouldn't cause too much concern. In fact, Ruby may have the right idea, as Yang could feel a sense of drowsiness wash over her. She closed her device, the screen going black, and tucked it away in her pocket as she tilted her head back into the locker behind her, finding an embrace of sleep rather quickly.

Blake and Nora watched how easily it was for both of their friends to find sleep. Normally Ruby would be the last one to be tired, per her usual energetic self, but it gave Nora time to think that maybe she's only so hyper because she is well-rested? Blake knew, she had done a lot of research into the human mind and psychology, but Nora and Pyrrha could only think and admire the sight before them. To the athletic, emerald eyed teen, she considered that perhaps this was what Yang's approach was: Love and a caring attitude to bring out the best in Ruby, rather than trying to force her out of her shell.

As she considered her options, Pyrrha turned to her new friend simply with a single inquiry. "How're you doing, Blake?" The question caught the bow-wearing teen off guard, but she snapped into it quickly to see emerald green eyes curiously staring at her. "I know it's been a weird second day for you and all..."

The amber-eyed teen shook her head easily, "Trust me, I've had weirder."

"I'd get used to the abnormality if I were you, Miss Belladonna." The group peered around to face the owner of the new voice in the conversation, Professor Goodwitch, who stayed standing in the middle of the aisle. "With this group that's all you'll get."

"And what's that supposed to mean, Miss Goodwitch?" Nora cried in mock hurt, though the instructor was unfazed.

"I think you know exactly what I mean by that, Miss Valkyrie." The student turned away in a playful huff as the woman turned to Pyrrha, who raised an eyebrow. "I was hoping to talk to you and Miss Rose over there, but I can see that she is... Preoccupied, at the moment."

Pyrrha raised her hand, "In her defense, Yang literally pulled her into that."

"I'd believe it." Glynda affirmed with a nod, leaning into the side of the lockers beside Blake, "Yang likes to be very close with people, and something like that doesn't surprise me. The fact that Ruby allowed it is shocking to me, though. She doesn't strike me as the touchy-feely person."

Blake shook her head, trying to clear her mind that cried out that neither of the group members knew what they were talking about, but instead chose to keep the conversation on point. "I don't think she really had a choice." She simply said, "Besides, they look rather comfortable."

"Who am I to judge?" Goodwitch asked to nobody in particular, shrugging as she stood upright. "Can't blame anyone for getting some sleep when they can, right?" The group nodded slightly as their instructor peered back to the conscious red-head before her. "Miss Nikos, sometime between whenever Miss Rose wakes up and whenever we leave, could you bring her to me? There's something I wish to discuss with you two."

"If it's about her using me as a trampoline, I honestly don't care about that!"

Glynda held up her hand with a smirk, "No need to worry, she's not in any trouble for that. Cinder already waived her rights to take any action. Though what we're going to discuss is related to that in a way... It's no big deal now, just let me see you two before you leave, okay?"

The emerald eyed teen nodded to her instructor, allowing the older woman to depart. Once sure that Goodwitch was gone, Pyrrha began to ponder just what the discussion could be about. If her friend wasn't in trouble, then why was she needed? Could it be… Well, Ruby did show athletic prowess out there. Perhaps… It could be an option.

She glanced around the space at her clearly uncomfortable friends, Nora having been sitting in patient silence for so long that it was almost scary to see. Blake, on the other hand, was reading a book she pulled out of her backpack, a small story with a blank cover, though every now and again glanced up to look at Yang and Ruby.

Something was clearly bothering her, and it was just how Yang was acting. It's easy to understand if someone was just really friendly, but this seemed a tad too far. For the last half-hour Blake had carefully watched, ensuring that Yang didn't try any funny business, but was surprised when she realized that both of them were out like lights. The silence in the locker room grew to low whispers and some chuckles between friends, but this particular group had been silent since Ruby dozed off. Pyrrha had been eyeing an app on her scroll that was receiving news updates to the situation outside, but she put it away when she realized her battery life was suffering. When her emerald eyes glanced up at her new friend, she chuckled lightly, causing Blake and Nora to turn to her.

"Like what you see down there, Blake?" The bow-wearing teen rolled her eyes at the familiar quip, shaking her head silently. "You've been watching them for a while now, something wrong?"

The topic of the conversation shook her head simply, "No, it's fine."

"Keeping a watchful eye over your neighbor?" The comment was said in a teasing tone, but Pyrrha wasn't going to end it there. Neither would she push the teasing envelope anymore either, since Ruby didn't like it too much and Blake didn't seem like the kind of person who would willingly take anyone else's crap. "It's okay, Yang's doing the same."

Amber eyes glanced towards the slim athletic teen in the corner seat before their owner raised a quizzical brow. "How do you figure?" Maybe there was some truth to it, but if there was then she couldn't see it. All Blake saw now was two of her friends asleep, side by side.

"Yang's always been a very protectful person." The emerald-eyed athlete easily explained, "She would literally go out of her way to keep somebody else happy and safe and comfortable, regardless of how she feels." Blake turned her gaze back to the slumbering blonde, whose light snoring was carefully getting louder, "In terms of Ruby, she's a totally different person. Couldn't explain it, but she just turns into an older sister, you know?"

"Or a guard dog." Nora quipped quickly, only to be lightly kicked by Pyrrha.

"That's Coco's job. No, Yang wants to be more than that. She wants to be a nurse, so hospitality must be her thing. I guess having Ruby for a friend helps with that training."

"You make it sound like she's just this helpless little kid, though."

"Yeah, and that's the problem sometimes. We just see her as just that: A kid, someone who's younger than us. We don't see until it's too late that she's probably the smartest of us all and can handle herself, we just see her as a kid in a private, college prep academy. And before you say it, I know, it's not fair." Pyrrha shrugged with a careful sigh, "That's kinda why I say what I say to Ru, I want to treat her like I would anyone else, but I guess that wasn't well received."

Blake was about to speak up, but a certain orange haired chef took offense to her friend's tone, quickly turning her head with a spiteful look in her eyes. "Hold on a second." She began with slight malice, "You weren't treating her like everyone else, Pyr, some of the things you were saying were pretty rude and harsh. A few times you insulted her landlords, the people she's working for daily to reduce her rent." The bow on top of Blake's head twitched at those words, noting a small inconsistency with the story she knew. "Another time you full on insulted Ruby's mother, who you never even met. You made her cry with that!"

"And she wonders why we treat her like a kid sometimes…"

"Pyrrha! You can't possibly justify that! You can't sit here and say you want to treat her like everyone else when you clearly don't! You're the biggest offender in belittling your own friend!" Both Yang and Ruby started to stir as Nora's nearly quiet-enough rant went into full force. The chef noticed this and turned her attention towards the earlier point, just so Ruby wouldn't concern herself with the groups issues. "Besides, Blake, this wouldn't be the first time this scene happened, you know." Nora said easily, throwing her arms back behind her head as she tried to regain her composure. The black-haired teen beside her paid close attention, noting just how and questioning why they changed the subject back, instead of getting the others involved. If there's an issue, shouldn't the confront the problem? Or is that what they're doing now? "Remember that one day during the summer that Yang gave Ruby food poisoning?"

"Wait, what!?"

"It wasn't food poisoning, Nora." Pyrrha admonished, "But it was very close to it."

The blonde in question began to stir further, having heard her name be mentioned, but Blake didn't care. She wanted answers and luckily both of her conscious friends were more than ready to give some. Nora started first as she noticed a raised eyebrow from the amber-eyed girl. "Okay, so one day we were at Yang's house spending the night, right? It's a usual habit of ours, every two or three weeks it happens. Well, instead of going out or letting me cook, Yang decided she would take her chance at it."

Yang's eyes opened and she turned her head towards her friends curiously, listening in on the story being told and sighing loudly when she realized just what it was. "She either undercooked the food or burned it to a crisp."

"That's not entirely true..."

"Ruby bit the bullet and took the undercooked food, and... Well, let's just say she spent the better half of the night in occupying the bathroom, offering the contents of all of her internal organs."

Mouth agape, Blake began to eye Yang, who then received the gazes of all of her friends while she tightly wrapped her arms around Ruby, keeping the slumbering girl in a hug. "I'm... Not a good cook."

"I can tell." Blake quipped with a smirk, "So what happened next?"

"Luckily Ruby has a strong stomach, so after she threw up the first time she just stayed in immense pain for the rest of the night."

"Luckily?"

"Lesser of two evils, really." Yang reasoned, "I felt so bad that I never let her out of my sight once that night. I didn't even sleep; I was so afraid that something would happen that she stayed by my side all night."

"Like the mother she is."

Yang threw a sock from her open locker at Pyrrha, firing back for her insolence while Nora took over before anyone could bring in any more input, "After that we determined that Yang is no longer allowed to cook. I think she was afraid to call Ruby, too, for a couple of days."

"Oh my god, it was so embarrassing!"

Silver eyes cracked open at the commotion- really, it was her pillow's rapid and sudden movement that caused her to wake up- and rubbed her eyes in annoyance. "What was so embarrassing, Yang?"

The blonde refused to comment, instead opting to just pat her friend on the cheek, while Ruby tried to move her stiff body, but failed to under Yang's grip. "Just go back to sleep, Ru, it's fine."

"No, no, I insist." The red-themed teen declared, her bangs hanging in front of her eyes, barely covering her vision. "I heard my name a few times, I want to know what I did that could humiliate the so-called 'un-embarrass-able'." Yang's head tilted back, her lilac eyes closed as she took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. "Oh, the time you tried to cook and wouldn't call me for like, a week?"

"Yes! Yes, the time I tried to cook! Yes, there, happy?"

"Very."

"God damnit, get off me." The blonde began to forcibly push Ruby off of her, the still drowsy girl rubbing her eyes as she stumbled from her seat. Luckily, Pyrrha offered the corner seat she once occupied, moving down to the middle of the bench, giving her young friend a place to regain her bearings. "You overstayed your welcome."

"Wait, you pulled me into that?"

"Yeah, and you disrespected the hostess, so…"

"I didn't hear any disrespect." Ruby shrugged as Pyrrha slid down, giving her young friend a place to sit now that there was room, "Did you, Blake?" The bow-wearing teen shook her head and shrugged, causing Ruby to giggle, "How 'bout you, Pyr?"

"Nah."

"Oh, come on! You guys are all traitors!" Yang declared, jumping from her seat with fresh energy and walking away in a huff, "I don't have to take this!"

"Where else will you go?" Pyrrha questioned, but received no response as the blonde walked down towards the center of the locker rooms where the instructor's office was, leaving the group in a curious state. However, seeing the lights on from the office space that was just passed a divider wall caused a memory to be jogged in Pyrrha's head. "Oh, crap, Ruby, come with me." She took her friend by the hand and before anyone could say anything began pulling the young teen towards Goodwitch's office, feeling the rush of cool air escape the vent as they passed. Both teens were thankful as the enclosed space was really starting to heat up in the last few minutes alone.

"Pyr, what's this about?!"

"Goodwitch wants to talk to you." The athletic teen said matter-of-factly, nearly tossing her friend into the office space. "Now get going."

The room was a small box, just enough for a safe and a file-cabinet with a desk at the end, a window was on the same wall that the door was on, leaving whoever was within a way to observe so that nothing nefarious could happen. Glynda sat at the desk, on the phone with somebody as Ruby stumbled in, able to regain her balance while Pyrrha leaned against the threshold of the door. Their instructor gave them the index finger, telling them to be patient with her.

"Well, how long are they saying? Uh-huh… Okay, and? I-I need something else, you can't just expect me to keep all of these kids in this room, the air barely circulates in here, it's going to suck, to put it simply." She reasoned with annoyance, "I-I, listen, hey, I know you're trying your best, but if we're going to be stuck on lockdown for another… However long we've got, then I owe it to these kids to get them to an area where they won't suffer a damn heat stroke!" Her tone was now one of anger and fury, startling both of the students in her presence, "And when can they get down here? Good." She slammed the phone down and sighed deeply, "Raging jackass." She slowly turned towards Pyrrha, a lone eyebrow raised.

"Everything okay, Professor?" The emerald-eyed teen inquired, facing the stone gaze of the blonde instructor.

"You tell me." Glynda simply replied. "Didn't think I saw you push Miss Rose in here, did you?"

"O-oh… Oh, yeah, uh…"

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Sorry, Ruby." The taller teen said, rubbing her arm as she broke her at-attention stance awkwardly.

The silver eyed teen shook her head furiously, "No, no it's okay, we were just playing, it's fine."

Glynda rolled her eyes calmly, knowing the student couldn't be angry if she tried. "Whatever, Pyrrha close the door." The student did as she was told as the instructor nodded towards a folding chair behind Ruby, who got the memo and pulled up the seat quickly as Pyrrha went back to leaning against the closed door, keeping people out who didn't need to be involved. "Well, this seems all too familiar, now doesn't it?"

A small smile rose on Ruby's face, causing her to turn away to regain her composure as a sense of déjà vu washed over her. "Yeah, it does, almost." She eyed Pyrrha, then her professor before carefully speaking her next words. "Am… Am I in trouble, or… Something?" Her voice failed towards the end of her question, causing Glynda to smirk as she turned back towards her computer, shaking the mouse and bringing up a black and white video. The screen showed several people on either side of a net, and it didn't take her long to realize that it was video from their last game of volleyball. Yang had just sent the ball back, Pyrrha was on her knees and the ball had just been sent back over the net towards her team. Ruby watched as a short member from the back corner use the grounded teammate as a step-stool almost, as she leapt into the air and spiked the ball hard into the face of some poor girl on the opposite side.

Ruby was stunned as she watched the event unfold, but she never got a chance to see it end as Goodwitch paused the video before turning back to her student's stunned expression. "Did… Did I do that? Was that me?"

The blonde instructor nodded slowly, her face stoic and careful. "Yes, you did, and it was very impressive to watch, wasn't it?"

"When did I-? I'm so confused."

Pyrrha and Glynda both locked eyes before glancing back towards the girl before them. "You mean to tell me that you don't remember doing any of that?" Ruby shook her head as Goodwitch pondered further, "Interesting. Your body must have taken over and committed to the play instead of thinking about it. That's muscle memory, young lady, and not many people have it so well ingrained with themselves without prior training or practice. You're a natural."

Now, Ruby was even more confused, and her face showed it. Pyrrha decided this was the best place to step in. "Ruby, what you did out there was nothing short of amazing. More so, I think you were in control, I just don't think you realized it. If we can hone that, then you might be the best player in the kingdom, let alone the school."

"What?"

Professor Goodwitch, having enough of the game of semantics, reached out and took Ruby's hand, her wheeled chair sliding closer to the younger student. "Ruby, we have a proposition for you."

Yang walked out of the stall and into the locker room again, her freshly washed hands still wet due to a lack of paper towels or air dryer, but she didn't really care. She had a small cloth towel in her locker, just in case she had a hard-days' work in gym. As she passed by the instructor's office, noting that the light was on, but the door was closed. In the window, she saw Pyrrha's hair, kept out of a ponytail since the lockdown began, blocking a view. Before she walked away, the blonde could see a familiar figure seated on a folding chair in the middle of the small space, a busty blonde woman in front of this person. Was that Ruby? Why was Goodwitch talking to her with Pyrrha in the room? Was Ruby in trouble for earlier?

There was no way for her to find out right now, as the door was closed. Plus, it wouldn't be her place to just barge in like that. Actually, it really wasn't her place to be concerned about this, but she was a naturally curious person, hence how she knew so much about the human body, both insides and out. Her father always said it was better to be well educated than too curious to tell.

Yang shook her mind free of her thoughts and walked back towards her friends, passing a few groups of people that had been whispering amongst themselves about nothing in-particular. She did hear somebody talk about the heat in the room getting to be rather unbearable, even with the vents now working, which Yang could agree to. The room had slowly heated up, when she started her power nap it couldn't have been more than eighty degrees. Now, it was starting to break one-hundred, easy. Still, she walked on and back to her space, finding two quiet, occupied friends of hers.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" She accused as she stood with her hands on her hips, her tone in a playful chastise. Blake was reading a book she pulled from lord knows where and Nora was reading a text off of her scroll, neither paying too much attention to her. "I leave for two minutes and already the party dies and two people are in trouble?"

The orange-haired teen peered up from her scroll, a curious expression written in her eyes. "What are you talking about, Yang?"

"Why are Ruby and Pyrrha in Goodwitch's office with the door closed?"

"Oh… Oh~, that. While you and Ruby were napping Goodwitch came by and said she wanted to talk to those two about something, but wouldn't say what. She did say that nobody was in trouble."

"That's a relief." Yang sighed in relief, having a seat on the bench across from both of her friends as a new wave of heat washed over her, "I'm glad Cinder and her crew aren't causing a fit over this, either. I am not in the mood to deal with them right now."

Nora raised an eyebrow as she pocketed her device. "Tell me, Yang, what would you have done had you been there during Emerald's little confrontation yesterday?"

"Torn her damn head off, why?"

The response was so easy and quick that it made the black-haired teen peer up from her tome, now paying full attention to the conversation at hand. "Even with Ruby handling it very well? Like, to the point where not even Coco was needed?"

"Nora, Coco is a guard dog more than anything. If Ruby called off the hounds, that's fine, but she doesn't have a leash on me."

"Yet."

Both Yang and Nora turned towards their new friend, who simply turned the page. Lilac eyes blinked as their owner glared daggers, wanting to push this even further. "I'm sorry, Blake, what was that?"

Amber eyes quickly peered up, then back to the words on the page, then back up. "Give it time, you're already at her mercy right now." Nora and Yang locked eyes, both shrugging in confusion. Blake felt this and sighed, having to explain further. "I can tell just how you treat Ruby, and I can also tell that- at a moment's notice- if she calls, you'll be there."

"And is there anything wrong with that?"

"No, not at all. But it does mean that you are a guard dog, just better trained." Blake replied with ease as she turned another page. "I've only spent one day with you and I've only met Coco once, already I can tell that your interests aren't to smother her completely. To keep it with the analogy that we have already, you're a housebroken mutt where she's not."

Wide-eyed, Nora watched as she was sure that an equally stunned Yang would erupt on the new girl with a force unmatched before. Nobody disrespect… Actually, was this disrespect? Yang was just called a mutt, but at the same time she was also called more reserved and probably thoughtful, if the chef heard that right. Still, with her mouth agape, Yang sat in silence, trying to comprehend what she just heard.

"So, let me get this right." The nurse-in-training began, calling the bow-wearing teen to attention, "I'm a better dog than Coco?"

"You have the eyes of a pug."

What happened next shocked Nora completely: Yang broke down, a smile on her face that went from ear to ear, as she nearly fell from the bench in laughter. She sat upright, clapping a few times as Nora and Blake made eye contact, the former allowing a small smile to break her shocked expression as the new girl stayed as stoic as could be.

"Now that is an insult!" Yang said through fits of giggles, "Or was it a compliment?"

Blake shrugged, "Take it how you will."

"Yes! Yes, I love it!" The blonde applauded, finally regaining her composure. "Oh, man, Blake, I underestimated you, ya know that? Really, well done." The bow-wearing teen bowed her head in respect, setting her book on her lap with her thumb protected her spot. "You're a lot funnier than I thought you would be. It's just the deadpanned tone of your voice that makes it so good!"

"Thank you, Yang."

"How would you like to come over for the weekend?" Amber eyes went wide as an eyebrow was raised in confusion, Nora also meeting Yang's face in oddity. "The girls and I are getting together at my house and we're going to do whatever's the first thing that comes to mind. Want in? Ruby can show you where to go."

"O-oh, really? You mean it?" The bow-wearing teen asked in stunned surprise, only to be met by a confident nod by her blonde friend.

"Sure! You earned my favor just now, and Ruby seems to like you, so why not? It's only fair to ask all of our friends, right?" Nora nodded, trying to be cheerful for her friends, but unable to shake a feeling in the pit of her stomach. Was Yang acting so rash inviting Blake along, while only knowing her for less than two days? Or could she just be overthinking this and making it a bigger deal than it was? Questions for later.

"I'd be happy to accept your invitation. And I'd be happy to take Ruby with me."

Off the corner of her lilac eyes, Yang was able to spot Ruby, being led by Pyrrha, coming back from their little conference with the instructor, the form holding a packet of paper. "Great! You can get the information from Ruby on Saturday!" She turned to face her returning friends with a smile, "And speak of the devil!" Pyrrha stayed stone-faced while Ruby smirked lightly, going past her blonde friend and right to her locker. "So, why the interrogation?"

"It was nothing Yang." Ruby fired off simply, hiding the packet under her arms from her friends- despite Yang's attempts to read it- and opening the door, shoving the papers neatly into her backpack and closing the door again, though this time not opting to lock it. "Nothing that needs to be talked about anyway." Her expression was stoic and her tone was slightly harsh, indicating that she was miffed about something, though the group knew it was probably best to not push.

Ruby sat down next to Yang in the corner where the left bench and the middle bench met, where Pyrrha sat in the middle of the middle bench, Nora sitting at the far end of the right bench and Blake having enough room beside the chef, Yang sitting directly across from the new girl. She nudged the young teen beside her, lilac eyes trying to pick up a story to be told with her friend.

"You good?"

"Yeah." Ruby nodded, assuredly, "I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"You just seem upset?" The silver-eyed teen shook her head after making a face. "Alright, just making sure."

The red-themed teen folded her arms and stretched her legs out, breaking eye contact with the blonde beside her. "Yup, I'm all fine." She confirmed, "Goodwitch was on the phone talking to someone about the heat situation, she hung up to talk to us and then let us go early when her phone rang again."

"I'm almost positive it's the same person." Pyrrha inputted, "She didn't seem too thrilled to be talking with them."

"Well?" Nora asked, "What's the word, then? Come on, I'm dying over here!"

Blake continued to read her book, seemingly ignoring her friends' discussion as Pyrrha shrugged, "The word is confusion, Nora. She didn't tell us what was going on."

"Boy, aren't lockdowns great?"

Neo kept her gaze glued to the newscast as the coverage continued. The clock had just ticked past eleven, and she had gotten almost nothing done, her concern nearly overtaking her. She knew, of course, that Beacon was in no danger, or relatively no danger, but Ruby hasn't texted back in almost twenty minutes. Where could she be? Could the reception at the school be that bad?

From what she could gather, the police had to evacuate the entire neighborhood, just as a safety precaution. However, there has been no word on whether or not Beacon, which was on the other side of the block from the incident, will be evacuated. She hoped that her assistant was safe, beyond all things, but couldn't help but worry, and that worry drove her lack of work ethic for today.

She was sitting at the table in the break room, the small TV on a nearby counter kept her informed while Ruby couldn't… Not like she would have any additional information, anyway. While Neo sat, a heavy pair of footsteps walked in, stopped at the door, then turned towards the counter behind the seated woman. Instantly, Neo knew who this was, based in the sound of the footsteps.

"Hey, Junior." She greeted, taking a sip from a mug she had in front of her. The man grunted as he walked towards the coffee machine, placed on the counter across from the one occupied by the television. "How's the place going?"

"Nothing's breaking and everyone's rent is on time, so far." He said as he lifted the pot of the freshly made warm beverage. "Oh, damnit, who took all of the sugar?!"

Neo smirked, knowing the answer to that. She also knew that there was a new box of sugar below in the cabinet, but didn't want to spoil any possible fun to be had. Plus, this was her way of enacting revenge for being such an ass towards Ruby… And it was also the aforementioned teen's way of inadvertently getting payback, as well. Double bonus. "I dunno, maybe someone finished it this morning." She excused for her assistant, blaming the crew, "I'll ask around."

"Ah, to hell with it." Junior excused waving his wife off as he leaned against the countertop, mug in hand. "How's it going there?"

The di-chromatic eyed woman shrugged, "I dunno. I can't get Ruby to text me back and they won't say whether or not they'll evacuate Beacon, yet…" Her shoulders slumped as she sat back in her chair, "So far, nothing's happened in almost two hours… Sorry, just over two hours."

"Ah, she'll be fine." The large man waved off easily, "She's probably ducking for cover right now with everyone else."

"Jesus, Junior, it's not a tornado or a warzone!"

"Meh, all the same."

She rolled her eyes and scoffed, shaking her head as she turned back towards the TV, watching as the news had a helicopter over the scene. The sun had broken through the stormy morning weather earlier than anticipated, which made things much more cheery, and also easier for the police as multiple SWAT officers and vehicles surrounding this two-story building, all of the windows seemed to be covered, with people in armor on rooftops pointing scoped weapons at the home. Across the ticker at the bottom of the screen, an update came in: Negotiators working with barricaded couple to end situation, say peaceful resolution could be met within the hour. Seriously? Why not just charge in and end it? What's the worst that could…

'On second thought, let's not find out.'

"Oh my god!" Yang groaned loudly, bashing her head into the locker behind her, "This is bullshit!"

"I know, right?!" A girl from another group called out amongst a wave of cheers and giggles. The time was eleven-forty, and with the increasingly boring and depressingly bland day that was currently spent under lockdown, the students were starting to get antsy. Some stood up and started moving around, others were sitting, just like Yang and her friends. Luckily, Goodwitch was able to negotiate her way into a few fans that could circulate the air, each of which were placed at every strategic corner and had cooled down the room nicely. However, that only added more noise to an already easily irritable bunch.

"Calm down, Yang." Ruby soothed, placing the pencil on her ear and rubbing her friend's arm. She had a notebook- her sketchbook- in her lap, her eyes glued to the paper in front of her as she sketched the sight across from her: Pyrrha in the corner, on her scroll with her knees pulled up to her chest, Nora at the other end, her legs stretched as she too was on her mobile device, only she was texting someone, still. Blake, on the other hand, was reading the book she's had all morning, nearly at the end. The trio seemingly hadn't noticed their "volunteering" to be used by their friend, but at the same time Ruby didn't really care. She was bored and didn't have the ability, nor the data, to be on her phone all day. Plus, the battery on the device sucked.

Yang had commented here and there, watching over Ruby's shoulder as the younger girl drew the sight out, both criticizing and complimenting, as needed for any artist to improve. The blonde noticed Ruby's increased skill with structural detail, not only for the lockers surrounding the aforementioned trio, but also for the girls themselves. She was getting better at faces, and that's what mattered… At least, to Yang. As of now, between the silence growing in her group and the rising boredom, as mentioned before, Yang was aggravated, to say the least. Still, she took her friend's advice and took a deep breath to calm down.

"So," Ruby started, picking up her pencil and returning to her work, "Who's doing what after all of this?"

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, not taking her eyes off of her screen for a moment, though still inquiring: "What do you mean, Ru?"

"Well, I mean… It's been a few hours; it's almost noon and half of the day is gone. Would they really send us back to class?" Various members of her group bounced their heads or nodded in thought over her logic as she continued, "I think it's safe to assume we'd be getting out early."

"So sure about that, huh?" Yang nudged playfully, only to receive a glare from the nudged. "Oh, fine, killjoy."

Almost out of nowhere (at least to Yang and Ruby) a familiar busty instructor came around the corner and leaned against the locker wall with a smirk, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "I think she might be on point, Yang." Both students jumped out of surprise as their instructor quickly startled them, causing a chuckle out of their group. "Because- and I'm not sure if everyone else has seen this yet, but," Glynda's voice rose above the fan's and the various students voices, "-I've received confirmation that the police negotiators have gotten both of the barricaded individuals to end this thing peacefully, so our lockdown will be lifted within the next twenty, maybe thirty minutes." A wave of cheers rose throughout the locker room as the relieved students had their prayers answered. The blonde instructor smiled until the class calmed down, allowing her to finish speaking. "Alright, students, I am also allowed to confirm that Headmaster Ozpin has cancelled classes for the rest of the day, so-" Another short burst of energy throughout the room that was quickly quenched once the students realized that she wasn't done. "So what you should all do is arrange for rides out of the campus. At twelve thirty this school will be closed. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here. The weather has cleared up, so if I don't get a chance to say goodbye then have a wonderful rest of your day."

"Hey, my dad says that." Nora revealed as her instructor finished. "He always tells my coworkers that when we close."

Pyrrha nodded as a memory came back to her from earlier in the year, "He told Jaune and I that after our date."

"Well, you two did stay about ten minutes after we closed, so…"

"Not saying we didn't deserve it, Nora." Pyrrha admonished, "Speaking of your restaurant, how about we go there for lunch? I don't know about you girls but I'm kinda hungry!"

Yang and Ruby nodded in approval as Blake also agreed, feeling a quick vibration in her right pocket. It was her scroll, and she had a feeling that she knew who it was. Pulling out her device, she saw a new text notification, saying 'We have until 12:30. Make it count' and nothing more. As much as she wanted to go with her friends, she needed to stay, she needed to find out more about her neighbor- her friend. She didn't have to miss out, but she was going to be late, and they deserved to know.

Blake raised her hand halfway, silently calling attention to herself as she closed her book. "I'm actually going to be late" She said, cautiously. "I have something that I need to do first, but I'd love to come along."

"You sure, Blake?" Yang asked, but the black-haired teen quickly nodded, "You know where you're going?"

"I've been in Vale enough times to know where the Nordic Lotus is, Yang."

"Just making sure. What do you need to do, go to the bank or something?"

"Y-yeah, yeah that's right, I need some more money is all." Blake carefully lied as the students around them began to gather their belongings, the noise level beginning to rise. In reality, she had enough money to last her a week, if not longer. But they didn't need to know that, they didn't need to know her real reasons for being late.

She, and her friends, grabbed their bags out of their lockers, Ruby noting that she would have to return to her locker for her jacket. The group acknowledged, all agreeing to meet at the restaurant whenever they could, and Yang volunteering to take Ruby there, so she wouldn't have to wait on Blake. It took about ten minutes before the locker room was finally freed, a stampede of students pouring out into the school, most of them never thought they'd be happy to see the halls of the building again.

The group scattered, Pyrrha and Nora going to find their respective significant others and seeing the boys wanted to join them on their excursion for lunch, while Yang and Ruby departed for their lockers… Really, more for Ruby's, as the nurse-in-training didn't need anything else. Blake, instead of heading for the door, maneuvering through the growing throng of fellow students and towards a familiar part of the school, the café. This is where Velvet and Coco wanted to meet, and all she had to do was wait for them, curious as to what they were going to discuss and hopeful that she already knew the answer to that.

She sat at a table at the end of the room, close to the hallway with her back to the wall as the noise of talking heads and multiple pairs of feet meandered through the hall, all of which distracting the teen for a moment, allowing her mind to drift. Memories of past adventures with the familiar rabbit faunus, and even the silver-eyed chi—

… No, not child anymore.

Still, happy times pooled into her mind as anxiety grew, hopeful to get much needed information. Though, she knew that she would have to give information as well, which included some of the more… Not-so good times after Velvet was adopted…

"Blake?" A familiar, accented voice rose above the crowd, causing the amber-eyed teen's bow to wiggle. Blake looked up and saw two young women, one rabbit faunus, smiling at her, and a brown-haired woman with a black beret atop her head. "You're going to have to get better control of that, you know." Velvet said with a giggle, pointing to Blake's bow.

"Force of habit."

Once sure that her passenger was buckled in, Yang began to slow process of backing out and joining the long queue to exit the school, taking a deep breath as she saw the police guiding people out. At least now traffic will move steadily. Her car was quite a few places back, which gave her some much-needed time to discuss something with her young friend.

Lilac eyes glanced towards Ruby, who was slouching in her seat as she stared out the window. "Hey," She called attention from the passenger, who quickly turned back to her, "How're you holding up?"

"Oh, fine, thanks." Silver eyes blinked as their owner lightly smiled, "How are you?"

"Doing good. Sun's out, school's out, day's getting better."

"Heh, yup."

"Hey, got a question for ya."

"Yeah?"

"How well do you like Blake?" The inquiry took Ruby by surprise, causing her to raise an eyebrow towards her friend, who quickly moved to defend her point. "Don't get me wrong, she seems like a good person and all, it's just… You haven't known her for more than a week and you're already really good friends with her. I mean, it took us, like, a month for you to warm up to us…"

Ruby's face lit up with understanding as she slowly nodded, "Oh, I get it. You're jealous of her, aren't you?"

"What!? No!"

"Ah! You're blushing! Got you!" Yang slammed on the breaks, causing her passenger to lurch forward before getting thrown back into her seat by the grace of her safety belt. "Ow!"

"No, I'm not jealous. I'm just concerned." Ruby quickly gained her composure at the honest, though mildly harsh, words, "I know she's your neighbor and all, but it just seems like she's getting really close really fast. I just want to make sure that you're safe."

A small smile rose on her friend's face as Ruby's tone held a more chiding height to it. "Yang," She started, "You don't have to stay over my shoulder every day, you know. I've got Coco and Velvet for that."

"Then what am I good for?"

"Being a friend?" Lilac orbs blinked as the passenger continued, her tone lightheaded and honest, "Listen, I'm happy to know that you're there for me, but I don't need another 'older sibling', I need someone to just be a friend, you know? I want someone to be there and not say that they're here for my well-being, but to be here because they want to be. Besides… There's just… I feel like I know Blake, you know? I feel like we've met before but I can't tell where. Maybe it was when I was living on Patch, but I feel like I've known her for a while and I want to try and see if she is the person who I think she is."

"And who do you think she is?"

"An old friend."

Blake sat patiently, waiting for Coco and Velvet to begin as the wonder twins sat in front of her. She chuckled lightly as Yang's nickname ran throughout her mind, only to have her giggle to be interrupted by a beret wearing young woman. "And just what's so funny?" Coco asked harshly.

"You're face." Velvet responded, her tone equally as harsh as she turned back to the black-haired teen across the table. "Sorry about her, she gets… Testy, sometimes."

"I can understand why, especially after today." Blake nodded, "But I am curious as to why we have to meet like this? I mean, we could be anywhere… why stay?"

"Because we knew that Yang would have something in mind for an after-school special." Coco explained, "And given what Velvet's told me about you, and the shared past that the three of you have, we feel that we should talk about some things, catch up a little bit."

"Blake, I left that place when I was almost thirteen," Velvet took over, her eyes held a serious look, but the rest of her face was more anxious, eager even. "Ruby refuses to talk about the time between when I left and when she arrived here in Vale. I was hoping that maybe you could shed some light as to why?"

The black-haired teen before them stiffened slightly before interlocking her fingers on top of the table, breaking eye contact with both young women before her. Coco and Velvet watched as Blake clearly tried to gather her thoughts, looking around the room, then at her hands before deeply sighing.

"What happened… After you left… Phew." She sat back in the chair and closed her eyes, trying to stay composed. "We don't know what happened, but she just… Went out of control… The bitch got worse."

"How so?"

"She was so testy… Worse than Coco, here." Both the faunus and the beret wearing woman locked eyes, concern riddled on the former's face. "She dished out punishment left and right for even the slightest bit of hesitation. If you didn't eat everything on your plate in ten minutes, then she'd make sure you'd miss the next meal. Didn't help clean up? Thrown in the closet and locked the door."

"Oh my god…"

"Ruby, though, really took charge after you left."

Velvet raised a lone eyebrow as a few students walked by, moving out of the school. "How so?"

"After you left, we had four, maybe five kids go out, getting moved to a place for older kids and so we had about six kids come in. Ruby stepped up and started to look after them just like you did when she came in." Amber eyes stayed locked on her old friend as she continued, "Whenever one of the kids screwed up she took responsibility for them… So, she was punished for it… Constantly."

Coco jumped in, trying to keep her cool as she lightly grabbed Blake's arm, the speaker not moving her gaze at all. "So what did you do?"

"What I could." Was the easy reply, but there was more to come. "I did what I could and also what Ruby would let me, as well as what I could do with that bitch over my shoulder all the time. But, it didn't matter what I could do, because three months after you were adopted, Vel… I was next."

The rabbit faunus went wide-eyed, with multiple expressions of joy, confusion, happiness and fear. "R-really? That's great, Blake!"

"Well… Yeah, kinda. Listen, it's a really long story about what happened with me, but that's not why we're here, is it? I told you what you wanted to hear, now you can live up to your end of the bargain."

"Hang on, Blake." Coco declared, slamming her fists into the table, "We still have a lot more to talk about, here!" Just as she was about to elaborate, Coco felt a hand on her shoulder, one she instantly knew to be her adoptive sister's.

"We have little time before someone comes to kick us out, Coco, it's already twelve-fifteen." Velvet affirmed, "Besides, Blake's late enough to meet her friends as is, so we have to make this as fast as possible. One day soon we'll all sit down and talk this out. All of us, Ruby included. She'll want to know." Both Blake and Coco nodded in agreement as the brown eyes of the rabbit faunus locked eyes with the amber orbs of her old friend. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything that's happened since you two were reunited. I need to know what I'm going to deal with, and anything else that we need we can get from Ruby herself later."

Yang checked her scroll, her little patience starting to wear thin as she and Ruby sat in the parking lot of the Nordic Lotus. It was just passed twelve-ten and nobody else from the group had arrived yet, which worried her to an extent. They knew that Blake would be late, they didn't expect her for another twenty minutes at the most, but as for Pyrrha and Nora, the duo wondered just what happened?

Ruby had kept a look out, keeping her gaze staying locked on the ramp that led into the parking lot from the main road, as Yang stayed with her eyes to the clock. They sat in her small, two-door car, a golden Grand Prix that was older then Yang was with black racing strips on the hood. The car used to belong to her grandfather, who fixed up old cars for a living. The old man repainted the car after adding new parts to it, rebuilding an old, worn out engine and also going as far to reline the seats to a leather finish. Yang took very good care of her car, even though she didn't drive it so much in the colder months- that was reserved for her motorcycle, which was the same color as her car.

The sun was starting to reach its peak in the sky as more and more cars pooled into the parking lot of the restaurant, the lunch rush having finally arrived. The Nordic Lotus was a two-story building that nearly spanned the entire block. Both floors were used for the restaurant, while only a small portion of the building was used for the kitchen. The outside of the building had a nice wooden finish, having been remodeled this past summer, there was even a very sturdy wooden deck that overlooked the main road below. The deck had a wooden roof overhead for days like today where the rain refused to stop… Except now, the rain had gone away, much to Yang's joy. The inside of the restaurant had an Eastern theme to it, though the food is very much Atlasian. The inside was very cozy, even having a basement which they used as a speakeasy for sporting events. Ren and Nora's parents spared no expense to make their clientele happy, and they were greatly rewarded for it.

"Come on, guys." Yang groaned, her passenger not looking up from her window, "We'll give them five more minutes and then we'll go inside and get a seat, I'm getting tired of waiting."

"Sounds good to me." Ruby nodded as she pulled out her own phone, "Can you take over the watch for me? I should call Neo while I have a moment." Yang nodded, agreeing to her new task and craning her neck over her friend's head as Ruby pressed the speed dial button for Neo. She put the old device to her ear as it began to ring.

"Remind me to get you a new phone for Christmas."

"Do so and I'll rip your hair out." The response was so quick and easy that it caused Yang to hold a stunned look, her mouth agape in awe over her friend's words, and deep down a sense of pride over Ruby's quick wit. The young girl had learned much these last few months, and she had grown to take less crap from her friends, for the most part.

A click and a voice was heard over the phone, bringing Ruby's full attention to a new conversation. "There you are!" Neo exclaimed, "You haven't returned any of my texts!"

"Wait, you texted me?"

"Yes! Seven times!"

Ruby began to blush as Yang could hear the short woman on the other end, a smile growing on her face as she peered down at her passenger. "I'm sorry, I haven't gotten them."

"Obviously."

"Well, if you're done giving me crap for something I have no control over," Ruby began with a sigh, knowing Neo wouldn't take too kindly to the attitude brought forth. "We're out of class, finally and I'm going out to lunch with Yang and the others, so I won't be back for like, another hour."

"Okay, yeah, take your time."

"Thanks, I'll see you soon." The phone clicked and the line went dead before she finished, causing her to stutter before closing her device. "She must be busy."

"Did she hang up on you or something?" Ruby nodded in confirmation, "Maybe she just thought the conversation was done or something? She probably didn't mean to do it." The young teen sat back in her seat as she pocketed her flip phone, peering back out the window. Maybe Yang was right, maybe Neo didn't mean to? She was probably thinking too far into it and decided that she shouldn't worry as Yang stepped out of the car. "I'm tired of waiting. Come on, we'll grab a seat and wait on them."

Ruby agreed, jumping out of the front seat and closing the door, ensuring that her school bag was safely hidden in the small back seat that could only be reached by moving the front seats. She caught up with Yang quickly and walked into building, a few drops of water barely missing the duo from the overhang above. There was a line of business men and women waiting to be seated, but the duo knew that they wouldn't have to wait long as they stood in line, Yang noticing her friend standing a little closer to her than usual. She wondered why, but told herself that it was a very cramped space as they walked through the heavy wooden front doors and into a spacious, luxurious room with multiple paintings and pictures along the wood-lined wall. With two floors, two kitchens and enough workers within, the Nordic Lotus was like a factory line, everyone working hand in hand with each other. Three groups ahead of them were quickly seated, leaving Yang and Ruby to almost next in line. In the far back, near a staircase to the upper story, Ruby locked eyes with a familiar short woman, an older one with short, curly orange hair and a black apron on, hugging her larger body. Instantly, she knew that this was Nora's mother, Kari.

Kari was the spitting image of Nora… Or vice versa. The only difference was that Kari was a healthier sized woman, being barely two inches taller than her daughter. Another big difference is that Kari was more adept in her native tongue, where Nora could only speak a few words of the Nordic language. Once the final group of suits were taken to be seated, Kari quickly rushed to the front, declaring that she would handle the next two.

"I'll take them!" She said, rushing her older body to the front of the store, "I've been waiting for you two!" She quickly grabbed the two of them in a crushing hug, giving Yang a piece of her own medicine for a change while Ruby, fairly accustomed to this, just let it happen. "You two should be ashamed for not seeing your aunt Kari as often!" The accented woman released the two and grabbed menus before turning on a heel and marching forward, not giving either teen a chance to excuse themselves or speak, "Come! Come! We sit now!"

"Aunt Kari?" Yang shrugged, "The hell did that come from?"

Ruby shook her head as she began to follow the woman down to a corner table, "Don't mess with her, Yang, remember where Nora gets her energy from."

"Right." The group came to a complete stop at a small booth, but Yang raised her hand and shook her head. "We're actually expecting more than four, so…"

"Say no more! Take end booth, there!" Kari said, snapping her fingers at the corner booth that could seat eight people easily. Ruby went in first as Yang sat in next, taking the right side of the large booth around the octagonal table. Yang sat at the end as Ruby stayed close to her friend, trying to take any room, even though there was only two of them. The orange haired woman set down the menus at the appropriate spots before pulling out a pad and paper, "What kind of drinks can I get you?"

"Can I just get an orange pop?"

"Of course, Yang, and for Ruby?"

"Uh, coffee, I guess?" She received a glare from the waitress, causing her to shrink in her seat. "Guess not."

"Don't you think you're a little young to be drinking coffee?"

"Nope."

Kari rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smirk. "Cream and five sugars?"

"Please."

"Moment, please." She departed, leaving both teens to themselves for a moment longer and finally allowing Ruby to take a deep, relaxing breath.

"And this is why I hope she's in the kitchen every time I come here." She said with a defeated tone. "She always chastises any of my choices and makes me feel bad about what I get."

"She can get pretty bad, sometimes. But she has good intentions in mind."

"I get it, she's looking out for me, too. But come on! Too young to drink coffee, geez."

"I know, I know." Yang admonished, "She's nothing like Ren's mom."

"Ren's mom won't force food down my throat, Yang."

"I know, Ru, I know."

Kari returned with a clear glass with orange liquid and a white mug, setting it down in front of the respective patrons and stood by, "I'm kinda busy, so I can't stay long." She excused, "But I do know that both Ren and Nora will be here in a few minutes, and she said something about Pyrrha being here alone, so…" Both teens nodded, allowing their "Aunt" to leave. "I'll come and take your orders when they get here, alright?"

The blonde gave a thumb up and nodded, "Sounds good." The woman finally left the two and went back to work, allowing them to return to their conversation. "I don't have an issue with her, but sometimes she can be over-imposing. We need to talk to Nora about that."

"Thank you. I didn't know how to bring that up."

"I got ya, baby, I got ya." Yang admonished, playfully patting her friend on the back, who craned her head around to glare at the blonde. "Nope, not gonna work this time."

"Just be careful with who you call 'baby'."

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"Geez, I don't know? I never think these threats through, Yang, you know this." The duo shared a chuckle as the patiently awaited the arrival of their friends, whom they wished would be just a tad faster. "I wonder why Jaune didn't want to come."

"Does it matter?"

The noise level in the building seemed to increase to a louder state, maybe because neither of the teens noticed until now. "Yes, Yang, it totally matters."

"To who?"

"Pyrrha!"

"And you care?"

"Yes!"

"Okay."

"Geez, you're insufferable."

"Wow," Yang cooed, "Where'd you hear that one?"

"I've eavesdropped on Weiss once or twice, she used that quite a few times."

"I don't know what's worse, the fact that you were so bored that you spied on Weiss, or the fact that you're learning from your spying on Weiss…"

"She's not so bad, Yang." Ruby finally admonished, despite the memory of the earlier morning's incident fresh in her mind. "At least I don't think she is."

Out of the corner of Yang's eyes, she saw Nora and Ren jumping out of the latter's jeep, with Pyrrha's car close behind, searching for a parking spot. "I'd be careful with that form of thinking, if I were you." She warned her younger friend, "You might get burned by it, especially when it comes to them…"

Ruby watched her friends walk up towards the door, knowing that she didn't have long to ask something that has been bothering her for as long as she has known the nurse-in-training. "Yang?" Her meek voice rose above the crowd, calling the soft lilac eyes of her friend towards her as Yang took a sip from her soda. "Can I ask something?"

"Of course, Bu, what's up?"

"Why do you hate those kids so much?"

"U-uh, oh, well, you see…" The blonde stuttered as she tried her best to stall while her friends walked in, Nora and Ren opting to not wait for their athletic friend as she searched for a parking spot in the packed lot. Worse comes to worse she'll have to go down the block and pay a few cents to park in the street. Luckily, Yang's stall paid off as Nora quickly approached the bench, scooting in as far as she could go in order to take up as little room as possible. "Well hey there!" Yang greeted, only to have daggers be glared at her by familiar and angry silver eyes. She wasn't going to hear the end of this, but for now had gotten away from it. "Look whose skipping work for today!"

"Oh, please, they don't need our help. This is nothing compared to the weekend crowd." Nora easily waved off, "Besides, we're not on shift for another three or four hours, so it's all fine!"

Ren finally arrived and took his seat beside his partner and leaving the other end open as Nora sat beside Ruby. "Yang, Ruby." He politely greeted. "Nice to see you, again."

"Likewise." Ruby bowed her head as Pyrrha could be seen running through the parking lot, "Well, better late than never, I suppose." She felt a quick vibration in the pocket of her skirt, something that she had been very thankful for. Beacon's female uniform was the uniform shirt with the school crest above the left breast, and a black skirt, while the boys was the same for the uniform shirt, just black pants. Though in the winter time the school allowed for black pants or sweats to be worn, and this rule was for both boys and girls uniforms. Thankfully, the skirts weren't loose, like a sundress, which allowed for pockets on each side. It was in Ruby's left pocket where she tucked her phone away.

Quickly pulling out the device, she noticed a text from her neighbor, confirming that she was on her way. As she was about to speak, she noticed the conversation her friends were having and decided against interrupting it for anything. Blake would show up in a few minutes, the time just passed twelve-twenty, and the group would enjoy each other's company again, laughing and joking like they should have been doing during class and getting yelled at by the instructors for their screwing around. Who cares if they got in trouble? It was still fun! Only now, they can have fun with each other without the worry or the fear of getting yelled at… Except maybe Nora and Ren, whose parents were already keeping an eye on them.

Pyrrha walked in and sat down in silence as Yang began her playful beratement of the emerald-eyed teen sat down with a grin, taking the wind out of Yang's sails as the blonde made comment about the tardiness of the others, boasting about how on time Ruby and herself were, even though the red-themed teen beside her insulted her driver, calling her the "Licensed Maniac."

Now the games could begin.

"Whew, wow." Yang sat back, her breathes labored and careful as she allowed her body to recover from the war-crime she committed on her food. "That was some good eats!" She had ordered the Ren's specialty: A slab of ribs that are cooked so well they fall off the bone before it's even served.

Ruby nodded in agreement as she finished her meal, having ordered the restaurants famous salmon meal, slow cooked in a wood fire oven with a teriyaki glaze, served with a fresh side of one's choice of potatoes or vegetables. Ruby chose the potatoes and did not regret it, having scarfed down her meal quickly (since she skipped breakfast). However, her speed went unmatched compared to Yang, a rare moment indeed. While the red and yellow themed duos finished their meals, the rest of the group had just gotten halfway.

Nora and Ren both ordered the breakfast special and decided to share it, considering it was four massive pancakes with either hashbrowns or sausage, and quite a bit of it. Pyrrha ordered the Speakeasy Special, which was chicken wings and fries. To her, she had busted her butt the last few days, so she earned a little something-something. Blake had duplicated Ruby's order, saying that the fish meal sounded nice.

For a coastal city like Vale, fish was a commodity of sorts; few could make it as well as others. However, The Nordic Lotus seemed to do everything right, and it wasn't just the bias of the group going on.

The bow-wearing teen also nodded in approval before turning her gaze towards the red and yellow themed teens across from her, "This was a good idea." She said in-between bites, "Thanks for talking me into this." Ruby easily held a thumbs up as she sat back, allowing her body to relax and digest her meal. As she did, Kari returned from her duties and leaned against the side of the booth that Blake and Pyrrha were seated on, her gaze strictly on Blake.

"I haven't seen you around, lovely." She said with a smirk, "New to the group?"

"Try more the city, mom." Nora jumped in quickly, "She was that new student I told you about."

"Oh, the really quiet and mysterious one?" Of course, Kari's big mouth sabotaged her daughter, making the teen close her hand in a fist as she bit her lip, hiding away a nervous smile as a blush rose to her cheeks. The group stayed silent, save for a small 'Ohh' to be emanated from Pyrrha, most of the teens scratching their heads awkwardly. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, mother, no you didn't." Nora deadpanned, instantly thinking that the two of them would have a long talk about private speak later. However, Blake's amber eyes looked up from her plate and casually glanced to both Nordic women with a smirk.

"Think I'm mysterious, huh?" Nora, once again, blushed and looked away awkwardly. However, the bow-wearing teen shrugged simply and returned to her food. "I could see where you'd get that idea."

The blonde across from her raised an eyebrow and leaned into the table with interest, "You don't have an issue with that, Blake?"

"Nah." She shook her head as casually as she could, "I'm the new kid who doesn't say much and just follows you all around while I try to get an understanding of the school, I could see why you would say that. Being honest, I expected much worse."

"Why would you expect that?" Pyrrha nudged curiously. However, Blake shrugged again, moving to her last few bites.

"New kid on the block? High school? All the stigma, all of those movies, you know how it goes." The group nodded as she continued, "But I'm glad it didn't go that way and I've been very happily proven wrong. Thank you for doing that." She kept a collective nod going to the group as she turned her head around towards Kari, "This food was very nice. My compliments to the chef."

"I'll let them know, love." The accented woman said as she turned her head towards Ruby, "You, however, aren't done young lady."

Craaaaaaaaaaaap. This was it, this is where it began with the woman again. It has to go this way every damn time Ruby comes here… "What do you mean?" The silver eyed teen asked with a heavy sigh, "I finished everything on my plate, Kari."

"Mom." Nora growled as the familiar-faced woman held up a lone hand to her daughter.

"You haven't eaten nearly enough, darling. Look at you! How much do you even weigh, child?"

"Okay, you are way out of line!" Yang exclaimed, pounding her fist into the table and startling an annoyed Ruby… Actually, the rest of the group was pretty fed up with this. "You don't have a right to even say that, let alone tell her what to do, lady!"

"Is that anyway to talk your aunt?"

"Yes! Hell yes!"

"Mom, Yang's right."

"Oh, you don't know what you're talking about." Kari waved them all off easily and departed. "I'll go and get you something else and we'll get you going on a healthy path!"

"Oh, geez, for god's sakes." Both Ren and Nora sighed as Ruby ran her fingers through her hair, the shorter teen ordering people to clear out from the booth. "Move, move! I'll handle this."

"Don't do anything that you're going to regret on my behalf, please." Ruby pleaded, only to receive a very angry thumbs up from her friend, who marched after her mother once she had a clear path out of the booth. Pyrrha and Blake both moved back into the booth and fnished their meals as they patiently awaited the Nordic girl's return… Both of the girls, at least. "I'm serious when I say I hate it she does this."

"I know, Ru, I told you I know." Yang admonished with an annoyed tone as she turned to Blake, "Every time we come in here, Nora's mom always says that somebody didn't eat enough, and most of the time it's Ruby. All because she looks a little underweight."

"I'm a very healthy weight for my body size!"

"We know, Ruby." Ren confirmed, apologetically, only to have lilac eyes turn towards himself.

"Any chance that your mother could wait on us from here on? This is getting bad."

"Sure thing." He confirmed, "You'd have to go upstairs, though, because that's her turf."

Both Ruby and Yang nodded in agreement, speaking in unison: "Done." Had this been any other situation, Blake would have laughed at the nearly sisterly antics by the duo before her. However, she could tell just how upset and annoyed Ruby was and decided against it. By the sounds of things, this happened more often than not, and it was easy to see just how badly it affected the group, because in an instant the aura of all present turned to a negative tone. Though, a curious thought did come to mind…

"Ruby." The amber-eyed teen called, "If it's not too much for me to ask… How much do y-"

"One-hundred and five pounds as of last week." She replied with a deadpanned tone, though her neighbor knew it wasn't a poor attitude directed at her. "Which for a five-foot-five teenage girl, that's a good size. I just… Have a hard time gaining muscle?"

"No, you have a high-metabolism." Yang nudged, her arms crossed beneath her busty chest, "You burn off energy more than you retain it. That's not uncommon for people our age." She scratched her head in annoyance and grumbled something to herself, patiently waiting for her friend to return and for all of this to be cleared up. This was why Ruby didn't like coming here, this moment. And sometimes they'd get lucky and Kari would be behind in the kitchen, but others… She shivered at the thought. Ruby, however, seemed to be hugging herself, staring at her empty plate, deep in thought.

Because damnit, she was doing all that she could with what she had! Sure, she didn't have a lot of food available half of the time, but when she ate with Junior and Neo she ate like royalty! Ruby tried her best to have as many full meals as possible and was self-conscious about her weight… Really, she was self-conscious about her body as a whole, and her friends knew that. They tried their best to help her be more comfortable with herself, but then Kari comes along and blows it! Every time it's one step forward and two steps back!

Pyrrha, in a desperate attempt to change the subject to bring the mood back up, turned to Blake and asked a familiar question. "So, Blake," She began hurriedly, "How are you enjoying class so far."

"Well, like I said earlier, I've gotta give the school a mulligan. It's not fair to judge my classes when I haven't had them yet. At the end of the week, I'll let you know."

"Sounds nice."

"I am curious as to what you were talking with Goodwitch about, back during the lockdown."

"Nothing, Blake." Ruby deadpanned, "Nothing you should concern yourself with, at least."

Yang patted the young girl on the back softly, "Remember, the enemy is Kari, not us." She received several glares from the group, causing her to bite her lip and raise her hands defensively. "… Sorry."

Nora returned after a tense moment in silence, her face seemingly indifferent and her mother nowhere to be seen. She refused to sit, instead leaning into the table, her gaze locked on Ruby. "Alright, so," She began with a deep sigh, "I know this isn't exactly a good way to end things, here, but she apologizes for what she said." Her words were stuttered and slow, but honest to Ruby. "She didn't realize what she was doing, but she said she doesn't go back on her words, unfortunately."

"And that's okay." Ruby admitted, "She has the right to her opinion, but that was pretty insulting, Nora…"

"I-I know, and I'm sorry. My dad is having a word with her and said that you don't have to worry about the tab, today, he'll pick it up, alright?"

"No, he shouldn't have to-"

"Let it happen, Ruby." Ren interrupted easily, "He's probably not in the mood, seeing as how furious he was about it last time."

"You should see your mom, Ren."

"Mad?"

"Pretty."

"Should we go?" Blake inquired awkwardly, trying to avoid any further incident.

Nora shrugged cautiously, "That's up to you all. I can get your checks."

"I think we should go." Yang growled. "And here I was starting to enjoy my day, too."

"It's okay, Yang." Ruby meekly said as her friend rose out of the booth. Lilac eyes turned and glared back at her, telling the teen that this probably wasn't the best time to reason with her. She shook her head, dropping the subject as Nora departed for the kitchen to receive the checks. Blake stood up, allowing Pyrrha and Ren to exit the booth; the latter following his friend to the back while Pyrrha and Ruby shared eye contact. "You were rather quiet during that."

The red-haired athlete shrugged, honestly. "What else could I have said?" She pondered aloud, "You, Yang, Nora and Ren were already giving her hell, nothing I could have done could have changed anything. That being said, I agree with Kari to an extent, but the way she went about it was all wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," She broke eye contact to gather her thoughts as Blake watched nearby, eager to hear what the taller teen had to say. "I think that you had a good point with your metabolism, but there are other ways for you to put on weight, if that's really what you want to do. Personally, I think you're fine as is, but I agree with her in the fact that you probably could eat more in every meal, rather than little bits in two and a lot in one. You get what I'm saying?"

"I… Think so. Thank you, Pyrrha."

"If we're going to be teammates, you know?"

Teammates? What? Hm, interesting, at least to Blake. Now all she could do is ponder just what the two were talking about as Ren returned with everyone's checks, having to chase Yang down at the front counter in order to give it to her. The group begrudgingly paid and walked out, another apology being sent towards Ruby from her two friends as she left for home. Yang allowed her to get her school bag out of the back seat and leaned against the driver's side door as more rain clouds lingered above, another line of storms seeming to roll in and give her another reason to be upset.

As she excavated her belongings, Ruby hugged the teen who was formerly her driver, asking her to calm down before going back on the road, just to be safe. Yang agreed, albeit reluctantly. After a moment, the duo broke the embrace and returned to their rightful spots; Pyrrha had already made it to her car, looking to get as far away from this dumpster fire of a day as possible while Ruby followed Blake to her car. Yang had quickly jumped in her supped up death machine and drove away, peeling out to head home.

"I thought we were having fun." Blake wondered aloud.

"We were… For a good long while there."

"I'm sorry that happened."

"Why are you sorry? You had no control over it?"

"I know, but still…" The bow-wearing teen blushed lightly as she began to walk across the empty street towards her black car. She had to park in the street, unfortunately, but was lucky to have one so close to the building, just halfway down the block. "At least you got your meal for free."

Ruby scoffed, "Yeah, because that's what I strive for every day." Blake made a blank face, pursing her lips as she realized just what she had implied and cursing herself for her poor choice of wording. "Sorry, I'm just a little testy today."

"It's okay. Let's go home."

The duo hopped in, buckling their seatbelts while Blake turned the engine over, put it in drive and drove away, through the windows of the store Ruby could see Nora and Ren watching and felt bad for them. She always hated causing problems, and this was no different, regardless of what Nora's mother had said. Still, she kept her thoughts to herself as she tried her best to take her mind off things, sitting back in her passenger seat and sighing.

Blake wanted to say something, anything to help her friend, but couldn't think of anything, cursing herself for her lack of action. Once again, Ruby needed her help and she couldn't provide. Damnit!

She drove out to the familiar highway and began driving north, knowing that in a few minutes they'd be home and Ruby could drown her sorrows in… Whatever she used to drown sorrows, really. At this point, she wouldn't blame the teen for drinking after all of that, but wouldn't condone it. However, she wondered if Ruby really was that self-conscious about her body? 'Maybe it's the attention?' the bow-wearing teen considered to herself, 'Or, maybe she's just nervous. Either way, she looks great… In a friendly way, of course…'

'Brain?'

'Yeah?'

'Shut up… You gave me an idea.'

She returned her attention to the road and managed to make every green light by the grace of the almighty… Or by the luck of a thousand years that she will never see again… Worth it, either way, because they arrived at their destination faster than expected. As Blake searched for a parking spot, dark clouds seemed to roll over and block out the sun completely, which means that she had little time before it would start to pour. She had to find a parking spot and tell her passenger something very important all in a few minutes.

Luckily, she was able to find one under a tree, which would offer some protection in the long run. At least, that was the hope. Blake put the car in park and turned the engine off, quickly locking the doors before Ruby could escape again. "What the-? Blake?"

"Ruby, listen." The driver sighed, "I don't care what you think about yourself, nor do I care what the others may think or some old lady who runs a restaurant thinks… But if you ask me, I think I look pretty good."

Ruby's silver eyes went wide as she began to blush, slowly looking away from the black-haired teen as she processed just what she heard. She took it as a compliment above all else, but for some reason it struck her harder than on from Yang or Nora, or even Pyrrha for that matter. Why was it that this one felt so… So… Genuine? Is that what this was? It was an actual compliment, and not just one to pat her on the back?

"Wow, uh… Thanks, Blake. Really, that means a lot." The bow-wearing teen smiled and unlocked the car, opening her side of the door.

"Just thought you might want to know." She said as she exited her vehicle. "Now let's get going, huh? It's been a long day.

'You could say that again, sister.' Still, Ruby had a legitimate job to do, and had to report to Neo, despite how tired she was and just how sore her back was from her earlier nap. "You go on ahead, I've gotta meet up with Neo."

A few drops of rain began to fall as she turned to go around back, but a hand grabbing her arm stopped her. Turning around, she saw familiar amber eyes staring into her soul. "I just have one more thing…" Blake began. "Just who is Neo to you?"

"Aside for my boss and my landlord?" Blake nodded, "Well… She's kinda the woman who raised me, you know? She's looked after me and continues to do so."

Blake pursed her lips as she nodded, releasing her neighbor, satisfied with the answer. "Sorry, curiosity, you know."

"Ah, but curiosity killed the cat." Blake winced as she turned and walked away, that expression getting her every time. Ruby noticed the physical jolt of her neighbor, but didn't want to push. Maybe killing cats hit a nerve with Blake? Hrm, best to not find out… Everyone has their issues, of course. Just like hers was her self-consciousness. The rain began to pick up as she now ran around the back of the building, the sound of the liquid hitting the concrete offering a touch of nostalgia for her, though she shook the feeling and opened the heavy back door. Once inside, she turned into the break room and found a familiar short woman sitting at the table, numerous files before her. "I'm stuck locked down at school and you get lost in the paperwork?" She quipped, allowing the woman to smirk at her, "Man, this place would fall apart without me."

"On the contrary," Neo began, "We'd be alright."

"Ouch, my heart." Ruby took a seat beside her friend, dropping her backpack to the floor. "So what's happened here so far?"

"Plumbing issues on all levels." Neo deadpanned, "Can't figure out why. Nothing's broken. We thought it was the rain, but…"

"It still might be?"

"We'll just have to wait. Other than that, nothing's happened. Been waiting on you… You look like hell."

"Wow, thanks, Neo," Ruby sarcastically replied, "I needed that after today." The short woman raised an eyebrow, but was waved off. "It's nothing. Just a long day."

"Kinda tired, huh?"

"Insanely. I was going to take a powernap before work, but I had to talk to you about something first…"

"Okay, sure." The woman set aside the files as Ruby pulled out a packet from her backpack, placing it before dichromatic eyes. Neo read the words aloud, "Beacon Academy Volleyball Team Information… What?"

"It's a long story but… Neo, they actually want me to join the team."

Wow, that was a lot, wasn't it? Hope you took notes, because now it's quiz time!

So out of that entire mass of insanity and long-winded writing, what was:

Your favorite part?

Part that peaked your interest?

Part you disliked the most?

Part you want to see more about?

I want to hear it all, people! Out of all of that, you should be able to give me something, and don't hold back on the negative. I need to know what wasn't that strong in this work that I could do better on. It can be something that seemed too rushed, or something that there was too much on, but I'm asking for everything.

That being said, if you enjoyed this length of a chapter, then revel in it, because it's not going to happen too often. Most chapters will be 6k words at the very least. If you didn't enjoy a chapter of this size, well... It won't happen too often. Honestly, I don't know what else to tell ya...

Also, I'm sorry that this chapter is so late, but finals are starting to kick up, so I'm getting a little busy. Tardiness for chapters will be common in the future. I am starting on the next one, though, so we can look forward to that. As always,

Until Next Time.