In Fate's Defiance

by DemonoftheRoundTable

Fate has dictated Ruby Rose's life from a very young age. From losing her family, to finding a new one, this young woman has spent her life weaving through life's twisted tale, looking for the storybook ending that she has longed for. Join her as she continues the search for her family, joined by those from her shattered childhood as well as those from her promising future. [AU]

18. A Night at Yang's pt 2: The Young Night

Holy crap, this chapter was more fun to write than the lockdown one. There's a lot that happens even though there was a lot more that I wanted to add. I wasn't going to make a 4th part, though, so instead of having a fucking 22-thousand-page chapter (which will never fly to you all, and rightfully so), I had trimmed down stuff that I felt weren't entirely necessary. Though some things did happen off-page, and I'll list them off at the end.

I know this is a lot, so space yourself out. This doesn't require a full-read in one go, I'm not timing your reading comprehension... Shit, maybe I should start timing my writing comprehension? That might get a chapter out quicker... Anyway, moving on. Just take this at your own pace, it's a lot to take in.

For now, enjoy the most fun at writing I've had in a while!

---

Taiyang checked his watch and sighed. He didn't mean to be up this early, as he didn't have to work for another couple of hours, but he also wasn't going to miss the chance to say hello to everyone, either. Worth it, in his mind. Especially, to see the new faces. Sure, he's known Pyrrha and Nora since they were kids with Yang in elementary. But she's only known Ruby through association, and Blake is the true newest arrival for the group.

The girls had been up and down the stairs a lot recently, meandering about the main floor and away from the door, whispering about something. First it was Nora and Pyrrha, then Blake and Yang after his daughter ran downstairs with a paper and pencil in hand. What were they doing down there? Whatever it was, it was noisy. He pondered just where Yang could have heard such language, knowing that it just couldn't have been him.

Maybe Qrow had something to do with it, that potty mouth.

Glancing down at his watch again, he wondered just what there was for him to do. Clearly, he wasn't needed here and was only playing the… Let's see, there's Yang, Ruby, Pyrrha… Right now, he was the sixth wheel, and it didn't get much worse than that. Maybe he could do dinner, call up a friend or a coworker, see if they want in before work…

Or, maybe he could call someone else…

Coming to his decision, Taiyang rose from his seat and began to ready himself. Work began at eight, and that gave him some time for some investigating. Once he had his shoes on and he had collected his coat, he walked to the garage and popped the basement door slightly open, peering into the well-lit basement, calling down to his guests and daughter. "I'm heading out, girls! I'll see you tomorrow."

"Going to work already?" Yang called up, craning her head around to face up the stairs, bending backwards on the side of the couch, "Isn't it only, like, six?"

"Almost." He chuckled. "I've got some things to do at the office, anyway, so this will be for the best."

"O-okay, then." His daughter stuttered, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Have a good one. Pyrrha, I'm counting on you to keep them all out of trouble!"

Yang rolled her eyes as her friends chuckled at the compliment and insult. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, old man." She sarcastically groaned, "I'll remember that for later." The group waited a minute for the garage door to open, then shut again a few minutes later, indicating that the man had finally left. Not like he was getting in the way or anything, but his presence was causing them some difficulties in terms of things to do. True as it may be that they didn't have a schedule, the group would like to get some activity going, rather than staying stationary the entire night.

Ruby was busy jotting down something on a clipboard that her hostess had found within Taiyang's office in the corner, using the pen and paper she was given, only stopping to think. She was given the highly important task of creating a tournament tree for Blake's game, making it be as unbiased as possible that would also be the most interesting. Everyone waited in silent and growing anticipation, but refused to rush their friend. Ruby's job was tough enough as is.

In her mind, it had to run smoothly and interestingly. Blake had set forth the rules to the classic Pokémon Stadium Elite, which had only earned an Elite status after receiving an update by the original developer for the latest consoles, one that gave all of the Pokémon in its library. All seven generations were there, and the rules went as followed: Everyone can make only one premade team to use. Once you've used it once, you have to draft a new team each time. Yes, there were limitations, but not too many, as the supposed legendries of the game had crappy moves. Still, Blake was fair and allowed one legendary per team, just to make it interesting. During drafting, the opponent must leave to the upstairs area, with whatever company they'd like, while their opponent decides their team. It was a tournament, but how it would be conducted, she left to her neighbor, Ruby.

"I think I've got it." Ruby said, giving her creation a once over before nodding happily, "Yeah, here we go." She set the paper down on the table and let the group admire her work before confusion began to set in over her lack of proper handwriting. There were two trees that connected with each other on the left side, and only one on the right. Yang's name was at the very top, matched with Nora while Pyrrha was placed in the same round as Blake. Across on the right side, Ruby's name sat all alone. "I hope you don't mind but I took it upon myself to give myself a bye round, given that I won it all last time, if I recall correctly."

Nora rolled her eyes and pouted, "Don't remind me." She muttered, only to get a tongue stuck out at her.

"Okay, I see how it's working." Yang said, picking up the paper. "So, the winner moves on and the loser goes to a second chance round, the loser's bracket, where if they lose again they're out."

Ruby nodded happily, "Yup. And if that loser happens to win, they get to face me." She also shot a glare at the chef across the table. "And no throwing the match just because you want a rematch. Otherwise, I'm disqualifying you." Nora nodded, understanding the implications and silently kicking herself, her plans being easily thwarted like that. "So, we can either do Yang's match with Nora first, or Pyrrha's match with Blake? Your call, girls."

All four looked around and each other before the first two nodded, Yang deciding first, "We'll go, why not."

"Alright, Yang will decide first, Nora has to go upstairs with any company she desires."

Emerald eyes locked onto the young chef, the owner shrugging before finally standing up. "Interesting choice of words, there, Ruby."

As the duo walked up the stairs, Ruby furrowed her brow with confusion and glanced to Yang, who had picked up her controller and guided herself to the drafting page. "What did she mean by that, Yang?"

The hostess shook her head and sighed heavily, "I'll let you know when you're older." She said. "Pyrrha's just being a little instigator is all."

---

Ruby made her scribbles she knew as writing into the tournament list, crossing off Nora's name and moving it to the right side where it belonged. She fell to Yang's premade Dragon Comp., one that the blonde had made the last time all the girls were present. They've done this before, only in the last time, they all had a premade team that had a specific theme. Pyrrha's was fire, Nora's was electric, Yang's was dragon's and Ruby was given permission to use her own special comp: The Evee-lution. Essentially, it was every Eevee evolution. What the others didn't realize was that their speed and attack was extremely high- like, brokenly high. It was ridiculous, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

Yang's match with Nora went down fairly quickly, as Nora created an Ice-specific team to counter the dragons. What she didn't know, however, was that Yang made a team that had at least one fire move each, because she knew that her chef-friend would try to counter what was obviously coming. Fortunately for the blonde, it went well. Nora currently curled into a ball on the far side of the room, having been thoroughly humiliated twice today at games she usually does well on, ignoring the calls for her to get back to it.

"Okay, Pyrrha, Blake." Ruby called, standing up, "Your turn."

The gymnast and the bookworm both locked eyes with each other, the former standing up first and shrugging, "I'm going to use one of my older ones that I made a while ago, so you can go ahead and pick. But… Ruby, I hope you don't mind coming up with me?"

The silver-eyed teen blinked in surprise by the request, assuming that she would have chosen Yang or Nora. "Uh, yeah, okay, sure. Let's go." She bounced off the couch and followed the taller girl up the stairs, closing the door behind her so they could avoid eavesdropping and face an automatic disqualification. Pyrrha leaned against the wall across from the bathroom, watching as Ruby stood beside the basement door, arms folded in front of her chest. Just by her sheer body language, she was able to tell that Ruby had a feeling that she was here for a reason. She was no dummy. "So, uh…" The younger one began, rubbing the back of her head, "Sorry about what Yang and I did earlier. I actually kind of believe you…"

'She's stalling.'- "It's okay. It'll give Jaune and I something to work on together." She said simply, wanting to get to the point quickly. "Listen, Ruby, I wanted to talk to you about the Volleyball team."

"Oh, yeah! Sure!"

"Are you going to go for it?"

Ruby happily nodded, "Yeah! I'm having some issues convincing my family, but they're only worried about health and all that."

"I can see that." Pyrrha admonished, "There can be a lot of health concerns for any sport. I just want you to know that if you have any questions, I'm here for you."

Once again, silver eyes blinked in surprise. Ruby had a feeling she was being brought up for something, but she totally forgot about the volleyball team. It was nice to know that Pyrrha really did care, Oh, wow, thanks Pyrrha…" She said, honestly, "I may have something when we have a little bit more privacy than now, if you know what I mean."

The taller teen gave an assuring nod. "I understand, you're trying to keep this on the down-low, so to speak. I just wanted to make sure that you understood everything."

"I'm fine, Pyrrha, thank you." Ruby assured, "Right now the ball isn't in my court anymore, I'm just trying to get the people who make the decisions on my side, if you know what I mean."

Both girls shared a giggle, but another thought came to Pyrrha's mind, one that blurted right out: "Are your parents really all that concerned about your well-being?" Silver eyes went wide in an instant as their owner realized what she just said, pretty much backing herself into another corner. "I understand if they're afraid of you getting hurt, but you make it sound as if there's something else?"

"Oh, well…" Ruby kicked herself as she rubbed the back of her head, trying to shrug it off and make an excuse, but nothing came to mind. "See, it's just that… You know, my, uh, parents are worried that I'll take it too far and hurt myself, you know?"

The gymnast chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand in an attempt to hide it, "Really? I mean, do they know who you are?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, it's just that you don't go that far in class usually, at least you didn't for the longest time. Unless, of course, you're not showing me everything you can do."

A light blush came to Ruby's face as she felt a hint of a challenge out of her friend, unsure if Pyrrha was trying to say something or just talking. "Well, of course I'm a different person at home than I am at school. Isn't everybody?"

"That's not the point." Pyrrha admonished, "We want you on the team because we believe that you can be a difference maker for us. Both Coach Glynda and myself see you as a trump card, but you'll never make it if you keep holding back."

"What if I don't want to go all out? What if I want to be more careful with what I do?"

"That's fine, but it also means that you won't be going anywhere. Not on our team, and not in life."

Silver eyes glared into emerald orbs, trying to figure out the latter's angle here. What the hell was Pyrrha saying or what was she trying to do? Ruby is always so reluctant to let loose and be 'herself' because she is afraid that she will hurt herself, or somebody else. On Tuesday, she could have seriously hurt Pyrrha, and now the same girl that was once a physical trampoline for her was trying to get her to do what exactly?

"We can have this staredown all night long, Ruby, but you know I'm right." The redhead said easily, "I can see it in your eyes, you're considering the option and what I've said."

"And just what are you saying?" Ruby challenged with a hint of spite.

"If you want to make it anywhere in life, you need to change."

Ruby was ready to open her mouth and challenge the claim, uninterested with giving the gymnast the last word on the matter, but before she could, a pair of feet began to charge up the stairs, calling the attention of both teens who glanced at the door and watched as it flew open, revealing a familiar blonde.

"What the hell is going on up here?" Yang inquired, "We've been calling for you for a good two minutes now! Blake's ready, so get off your ass!"

Emerald eyes rolled sarcastically at the comments, "Geez, can't two girls have a conversation in peace?"

"No!"

"Fine. Come on, Ruby." Pyrrha tapped the younger teen's shoulder, nodding towards the stairs, "I want you to watch as I destroy your neighbor."

With a raise of her eyebrows, Ruby watched as the taller teen descended into the basement, shaking her head before slowly following suit. "Oh, boy, do you have another thing coming…"

---

The night, more the tournament, progressed steadily, with a lot of intense emotions. Blake and Pyrrha's match went down to the wire, the former's Gengar against the latter's Infernape. Unfortunately, the monkey couldn't shake a bad case of nap-time, falling for Gengar's yawn/dream-eater combo. The raw speed of the Ghost-Type was nightmarish to the point where Ruby was forced to ban it past the quarter-final round. Still, the win counted and Blake was moving on to fight Yang.

The next fight went between two girls that drove together: Nora and Pyrrha. The latter fought what was bound to be electric with ground, and her suspicions were correct. Poor Nora literally didn't make it past the first one of Pyrrha's choice. The chef went and pouted in the corner, having been thoroughly thrashed two games in a row, this time was a revenge for the board game.

Next was Ruby against Pyrrha, the toughest choice for the gymnast. The thing about Ruby was that she always thought a step ahead, and since she was picking first, she decided that the best way to go was to once again use the Eevee-lution squad, putting the ever-so-elegant Vaporeon first, who went far and wide to end up sweeping Pyrrha's fire team. The idea was that usually the youngest would have a grass-team as her pre-made draft, but she loved the cute Eevee's so much that she just couldn't put them down. The speed of Vaporeon alone rivaled Gengar, even, but because Ruby used them once, she couldn't do it again. That didn't matter to her, though, she's in the finals again and that's all that mattered.

Blake was honestly surprised. They didn't have this game on Patch, she only discovered it after leaving the home and wondered just what Ruby did to get this good at it. Unless something changed after the fact, maybe this was all dumb luck? Or, maybe this was pure skill.

The disguised faunus went up against her hostess for the evening, unsure of how to feel about it. Yang was just as much of a dangerous thinker as Ruby was. In fact, the blonde boasted about how she taught the young teen everything she knew about the game, and after seeing Ruby's thought process to combating Pyrrha, she could only fear how far ahead Yang was thinking. The only way to combat that was to go first and maybe psych Yang out. She did, picking her team to counter anything. It was a very generic lockdown type build, aiming to stop any movement in it's tracks. It worked, to an extent.

Yang chose her Full-Power Dragons team, which had high attack and defense but low speed. Speed didn't matter to her, though, when you need a big-hit fast. Ultimately, Blake put up a good fight, but Yang was able to pull through with half her team intact. Now, she was at the top of the stairs with her former adversary, in the championship round and waiting as Ruby chose first. Since both had used their pre-made teams, they had to actually draft, and that made it all the worse in the long run. Just not being able to think what the other was doing, not knowing what they could be up against… The thought of walking into a trap made Yang shutter.

"What do you think, Blake?" The blonde muttered, leaning against the wall, trying to stay as far away from the stairs as possible. "What do you think I'm up against?"

The bow-wearing teen perked up and raised an eyebrow at her friend, "Why would you ask me? After all, she's your supposed little sister. Shouldn't you know what she's going to pick?"

"Ah, I should. But, unfortunately, Ruby isn't exactly the most consistent. If anything, she's probably choosing something that will counter fire or dragon, because that's what I'd pick. But, she also may know that I know what she's thinking, which makes her decision all the trickier…"

"Wow, you're putting a lot of thought into this."

The blonde winked, "It's amazing, isn't it? Just imagine how well I could do in school if I applied myself this hard." Blake chuckled lightly, but returned her true attention to the discussion below. It was the softest of talking going on between Nora, Pyrrha and Ruby, all three trying to figure out what to draft. Ruby had tossed around the idea of fighting against fire, but also brought up the possibility that Yang would counter that and surprise her completely. That was a nightmare scenario. Instead, however, she said that she just had an idea, and whatever it was, it surprised her two friends. "Something wrong?" Yang asked, bringing Blake back into the realm of reality. "You look intrigued?"

"It's nothing." The young woman shook off, "I just… Have a feeling this one will be interesting, is all." Now, it was Yang's turn to raise an eyebrow, but she was stopped at the sound of feet ascending the stairs behind her black-themed friend. Lilac eyes soon came into contact with oddly confident silver orbs that glared a challenge at her like no other. Ruby stepped forward, then to the side and freed up the hall, silently gesturing to Yang that the basement was ready.

The blonde smiled before placing her hands on her hips, having a stare down with the younger teen that could spark a fire at any instant. Their expressions, to Blake, both screamed confidence in themselves, but also in each other. Confidence that the other will provide the challenge they not only require, but they need. Blake was surprised to see this out of Ruby; never in her wildest dreams could she imagine the girl to have grown this bold, especially considering how she acted in her past. Even this past week has offered a glimpse into a simple fact that she hadn't changed as much, but perhaps she was wrong? Maybe it just depended on her environment?

"My turn, huh?" Yang asked, her smile not wavering for a second.

Ruby simply nodded, "Good luck." She said as the blonde walked by, "You're going to need it." Lilac eyes glanced one last time at her before descending into the basement, causing two old friends to look at each other again. "Before you say anything: Yes, I'm confident in my decision."

"You played really well against Pyrrha, so I have faith in your abilities." Blake said as Ruby leaned against the same spot that Yang was against, "Though I must say I detect an iota of arrogance within you. Might want to ditch that before the game kicks off." Though, she was surprised to hear a chuckling from the young teen, who shook her head while folding her arms in front of her chest.

"Oh, Blake," She began, "You'd think I'd have learned by know, huh? Don't worry about me. My decision was… Different, to say the least. Needless to say, my theme is that of a champion."

"Oh, really?"

With a nod, Ruby continued, "I've channeled the hearts and minds of all my friends into on team. Call it cliché, but I'm proud of what is about to happen."

---

The blonde cracked her knuckles before picking up her controller, leaning back in her seat on the Massage Couch, now called the 'Champion's Seat', where on the left side sat the blonde, the challenger, while on the right, on the edge of her seat and leaning forward was the defending champion, Ruby. The youngest watched simply as the blonde went through the rituals, stretching her muscles and cracking her bones, loosening up as if she was actually going to fight.

A sense of nervousness ran through both combatant's minds as they awaited permission to start, carefully examining each team. Blake had made a rule for the last round that made it so that both participants could use the full power of their teams, rather than only three. Why keep them held back, was her excuse. The screen before the match was all about picking who is going to be in what place on your team, but that didn't concern Ruby. It was how completely unexpected Yang's team was, just like Yang was surprised at how far into left field Ruby was.

The champions team consisted of a Pokémon for each of her friends, one that Ruby felt embodied everyone she knew. She had a Zoroark for Blake, a Lucario for Ren, an Aggron to represent Ren, a Luxray for Nora (despite the girl's protest that it should be a Magnezone…), an Arcanine for Pyrrha, and finally something to represent Yang. A Garchomp, something the blonde had used as her ace for some time now.

Yang read the list before her, but couldn't get an understanding as to why Ruby would pick the ones she chose. Her picks were ones she thought would do best against a random force, one she foresaw on the horizon after a (illegal) warning from Pyrrha. So, to counter random she made Power: A Milotic, a Tyranitar, a Machamp, a Braviary, a Blaziken (for her own added charm) and a new Kommo-O, because in her words: "We need to abuse the seventh generation at some point, right?"

The biggest problem was convincing Blake to allow for starters to be used. She was so against it at first, but came to the conclusion that if Ruby was allowed to use the Eevee team she loved so much, then why not allow a starter or two? But no more than two.

"Are you two ready?" The aforementioned raven-themed teen called, standing beside the screen in eager anticipation. This was the truest test for the so-called sisters, to see just how far they'll go against one another, and to see who will come out on top and how they'll react to it. Both girls smiled, glanced at each other, then nodded as Nora and Pyrrha both began to chow down on the present snacks, finding this all the more enjoyable. "Go ahead and choose."

With their controllers in hand, both Yang and Ruby began to furiously mash the buttons, letting their side of the screens fill quickly before sitting upright and glancing back at each other again. Mouths agape, the gymnast and the chef both looked at each other and began to laugh, knowing that this was better than a pay-per-view. "What did we do, Pyr?" Nora asked, with a sense of fear.

"Well…" The tall redhead began, "We both fell flat, and let them cry havoc to unleash the hounds of war… This is going to be good."

---

This was the last move…

The red and yellow themed teens had driven each other to the brink, their teams battered and beaten, their pride and bragging rights all on the line. It was Ruby's Aggron, whose health was deep in the red, against Yang's Tyranitar, whose health was safely in yellow. Aggron had pulled tanking duty for today and made a comeback win a possibility for the Rose, it's high attack and semi-high defense doing enough work, but it has fallen to Tyranitar's fire-blast. Ruby had one move to go with, one that will change the game before Yang ends it all.

The blonde's monster had a high-enough accuracy to warrant fear amongst those in Team Ruby, which appeared to be everybody after Yang did some smack-talk before the game even started. But, the one thing the two towering creatures matched was speed. And the same speed meant that they'd swap turns going first. Yang's Tyranitar went first last time, which meant Ruby's Aggron would go first now, so she had to choose quickly. At least, she hoped; it was a theory, but not promised.

One of the moves she had was Ancient Power, which would do some damage, but wasn't promised to do a lot. Another attack was Flash Cannon, which always was good for a bind, but didn't have high-damage output, either. A third one was Earthquake, which, if she wanted to, just to mess with Yang… But… Another idea was Fire Fang.

If that hit, not only would it take a chunk of Yang's health, guaranteed, but also had a chance to hit it with a burn, which after the turn would definitely kill her foe… Go for win, or go for cheeky? Oh, the choices…

Yang made her decision long ago, sitting back in her side of the couch, her arms in front of her chest and patiently waiting as the 'losers' of the round (as Yang called them in gloat) sat, shoulder to shoulder on the couch to Ruby's right, silent, waiting for her to make a choice. Go for kill and hope, or go for cheeky and hope? Hm…

"Just remember, Ruby,' Yang began, placing her hand on her opponent's left shoulder, her tone sounding as though she's talking to a child, "No matter what happens, you'll always be a champ to me."

With a deep, long sigh, Ruby nodded, that comment forcing her decision. "Ah, thanks Yang." She said, hitting the down button of the D-Pad, "That helped me make my choice."

"Wait, wha-?" The blonde turned to the screen and watched as the camera panned to the right side where a giant Iron-plated behemoth stood, a line of text scrolling across the bottom. 'Aggron used Fire Fang!' Her eyes went wide with realization, knowing that an attempt upon Bad Manners was in progress. "No way, why would you…?"

All three on the couch watched as the avatar lunged forward, flames around his mouth and biting at the air, while across the field, the green-clad monster known as Tyranitar took the hit, reeling back for a moment before standing up tall again. Ruby crossed her arms and tapped the side of her muscle with her fingers, watching as the beast's health went down, slowly. "It's not going to do it…" Pyrrha whispered, "It wasn't enough…"

Unfortunately, she was right. The health bar stopped moving, deep into the red, causing mostly everyone to sigh dejectedly. Yang fist-pumped as another line of text rolled through, followed by a sound of a flame…

'Not very effective…'

'Tyranitar was burned!'

"Yes!" Ruby cheered, jumping to her feet. She knew that the burn would tick away the last fifteen of the beast's health, meaning that she at least ended this in a tie. "It worked!"

"No way!" Nora cheered, wrapping the teen into a hug. Pyrrha and Blake both watched with Yang as the rest of the battle played out, Aggron being done in by another fire blast, but that was expected. Now was the moment of truth… As the text announcing Aggron's defeat finished scrolling, both Nora and Ruby watched with bated breath as the burn took effect, slowly ticking away Tyranitar's health, until…

'Tyranitar has fainted!'

"No!"

'The match is a draw!'

Yang dropped to her knees, mouth agape in awe as her guests swept up the youngest teen into a mosh-pit of an embrace. It worked! Yes!" Ruby cheered, as the blonde pondered just how it all fell apart. She blew a lead the size of Vale, and… Damnit, she was so close! She went easy on Ruby the first time the girl ever played the game, allowing her to win and take bragging rights just because she wanted to be nice, but now, after actually trying… The student almost beat the master…

No…

It can't be…

"No way." Yang said, shaking her head, "I don't lose to bad manners, I commit bad manners! This won't end like this!"

"Yang, I… U-uh, Yang?" Ruby turned to face her former opponent, trying to break free of the groups congratulatory hold to shake hands in a sign of sportsmanship, only to face Yang's back as the hostess walked to the far right side of the basement where a lone closet door stood. Once the plank was opened, the blonde began to pull out a familiar box and fiddled with it, causing the teen's eyes to go wide. "Uh-oh." The youngest giggled as she watched her friend's shoulders shift up and down as Yang's hands were preoccupied within a box. She didn't need to see what was in that box, though, she knew exactly what it meant. "Dear God, run! Go!" The others laughed as they turned towards the stairs, pushing and shoving their way up and overall just getting caught up in a tangled mess in the middle. Nora was trying her hardest to break free first, but it didn't matter.

Ruby was last in the pack, trying to push her friends up the stairs before-

"Gotcha!" A voice from behind affirmed, a force attaching itself to Ruby's ankle firmly, pulling it away from the stairs and causing her to trip while the others finally got their bearings right and charged up to the top. Once there, however, Pyrrha and Blake were both horrified to find that their friend was currently struggling with a familiar blonde 'cop', trying hard to kick her way free and crawl up the stairs, to no avail. "There's no escape! This is for Tyranitar!"

"Ruby!" The gymnast cried, running back down and taking her hands. Blake jumped in, too, wrapping her arms around Pyrrha's waist and pulling the tall teen back. Their combined strength started to supersede the hostess' strength, but she still had a way to capture her friend. "We'll get you out, no problem!" The disguised faunus honestly considered jumping off and tackling the blonde, but thought against it, as she may end up in the big house because of it.

"Yes, save me! Please!"

Yang chuckled before releasing her grip from her friend's ankle, instead taking the hem of her pants instead. "Here you go, Ru-" She began, "It's you or your sweats!"

"What!?"

"Yang, that's not fair!" Pyrrha chided.

"Whoever accused me of being fair?" She replied with a wink, "Now which is it, kid?"

Now, she was trapped, knowing full well that her hostess would actually do what she was threatening to do. Yang didn't mind bodies, and no matter how uncomfortable anyone would be, she would be right at home, which made her threat all the more valid. Ruby tried to resist, climbing her way up the stairs as both of the eyes of her friends worriedly glanced at her. What was she going to do? Get a chance at freedom and 'loan' Yang her pants, or be taken hostage?

Her decision was very quickly made when she felt her sweats begin to slide an inch, indicating that Yang was getting antsy for an answer. "Okay! Fine! Pyrrha, Blake, let go!"

"Ruby, are you-"

"Let go! Please! Save yourselves!"

Emerald eyes blinked into an assuring look, understanding why she had just been yelled at like that. She nodded and released her grip, allowing her friend to fall (literally) into the 'cop's' hands. Turning, Pyrrha pushed Blake up the stairs and slammed the basement door shut before once again pushing the new member out into the garage and eventually out into the driveway, where Nora stood with a worried expression. "Oh, thank you!" She cried to the skies, "I thought you all got captured… Where's Ruby?"

Pyrrha shook her head solemnly, "Yang got a hold of her and threatened her with a pants-less game, or be captured."

"How evil!"

"Right." Emerald eyes turned and faced amber orbs before grabbing a hold of Blake's shoulders, "We'll explain the game in a second, but for right now we need to find a place to hide, alright?"

"Sure, I understand… Follow me."

---

Yang, with her arm wrapped around her little sister's neck, began to drag the girl into the corner of the basement that Ruby knew as Taiyang's office, throwing her to the floor and looming over the girl and watched as she fixed her bottoms properly. "That was low, Yang." Ruby growled, retying her waistband tightly.

The blonde laughed and shook her head. "Oh, whatever!" She said, "Not like anybody would miss them, anyway."

The teen's face blushed a hard red, one that rivaled the color of Pyrrha's hair. "Yang!"

"Oh, you know I'm kidding." She waved off, rolling her lilac eyes. "So, you know the rules. You're the first captured and so you can't leave this room unless somebody lets you out."

"And that somebody could be a very sweet blonde woman I know…?"

"Nice try, but you'd have to do a lot for me in order to have me consider your early release. And most of it would make me a hypocrite." Once again, Ruby's blush began to deepen, causing her to smirk, "As I was saying, you're captured, so sit tight and I'll bring you somebody to play with! Also, the only thing you can touch is a book on the wall. Have fun!" Leaving, Yang pulled the door closed and left her victim all alone in the office, making Ruby think that the only thing that could make this all the better would be a harmonica…

"What did she say about books?"

---

"This is a really good spot, Blake." Pyrrha complimented, kneeling behind thick bushes along the front of Yang's house near the porch that was located on the other side of the garage. The disguised faunus first noticed these when she first came in, but realized that it may come in handy when she was told to hide. The bushes were thick enough to hide them all, and there was enough space for the trio to sit along the porch's edge and watch. The only dreaded thought in her mind, however, was the fact that Yang may come out through the front door. "Now, I know what you're thinking…"

"Really, now?"

"'What the hell kind of friends did I make?' Well, let me tell you." She glanced into the amber eyes of a bow-wearing teen and blinked as those eyes pierced through the darkening air around them, "A bunch of weirdo's."

"Aw, you're not that bad."

"Thanks. For that, we'll give you a rundown of the rules. Nora, keep watch for me." The young chef nodded, barely peeking over the top of the neatly trimmed hedge while the taller duo below her began an in-depth explanation. "Here's what's up. So, we have the cop and the robbers, in our cause, we're the robbers. What we stole is up to whatever the cop dictates. We can only go so far out, usually only one, maybe two houses down and we can't use back yards, except for Yang's. When she captures you, she puts you in whatever she deems to be the prison, and in our case, it's probably Taiyang's office. When you've been caught, and you're in there, that's it. You're done. However, somebody can take a risk and break you out."

"We don't like that risk, though." Nora pipped quietly. "Always ends in disaster."

"The cop has a rubber band gun and if she shoots you and hits you, you're dead and then you're really done. Can't be brought back, can't affect the game at all. You're gone."

"Wow." Blake blinked, "That's dark."

"Welcome to our world. Now, onto us. Our job is to just hide and after, like, ten minutes or so, if even one of us is still hiding, the whole team wins."

"Pst! Tell her about the deals with the devil…"

"Thank you, Nora. Deals with the devil are when the cop comes down to whoever has been captured and is still alive, and has them work for the cop on their team. Then, if the cop wins, whoever is on their team wins, also. If the robbers win, then the ones who didn't make the deal or are still free only win. Any questions?"

"Just one." Blake began, "Any way we can fight back?"

The gymnast shook her head carefully, "Not unless you go down and try to rescue a friend, therefore raiding the 'armory', too."

She nodded, accepting the answer with a thumb's up while getting nudged by a certain short-statured woman, "That works, thanks… Nora, what's-?"

"Cop, ahoy!" Nora whispered, ducking into the bushes in-between the two girls, both of whom peeked through the gaps in the branches as the wind began to blow. In the distance, the sun was setting, nearly past the horizon completely, which offered a little light to work with. Other than that, it was up to breaks in the clouds to reveal a shattered moon that would illuminate the sky.

Blake carefully watched her blonde friend as Yang twirled a long stick around, whistling as she did so, nonchalantly examining the surroundings- checking under and inside the cars and around the garage. Once she was around the corner and out of sight, the raven-haired girl sat back and sighed heavily. She had been in this situation before, being a master at it, actually, so this would literally be child's play for her. Probably should hold back, though, just a little bit. But…

"You said one of us can go down after the captives, right?" Pyrrha turned back and nodded, confused at the question, "Good. I can go down after her, but I need a distraction."

"Her being Ruby?"

"Yes, Nora, her being Ruby… You're loud and obnoxious- no offense…"

"Oh, none taken." She replied with a sinister smile, cracking her knuckles, "I know what you're going to ask."

"Think you can do it?"

"Can I."

With a smile, Blake nodded, "Pyrrha, help Nora with the distraction, just in case, so we don't lose another one. While you two keep miss busty over there busy, I'll bring you both a flower, okay?"

The duo nodded to each other and moved into positions, knowing exactly what to do in order to get and keep Yang's attention. Something that would really get her riled up, something to really make her mad…

They had to insult her hair.

Pyrrha planted herself along the side of the garage as Nora simply walked to the front, planting her feet to the floor in a stomp and bringing the attention of the blonde forward, one who was examining the area around her bike, in case someone was hiding with the tools. "Ah, Nora! Come to surrender, have we?"

The girl shook her head fervently with a smile. "Nope!" She said, popping the 'p' at the end. "I have something I want to tell you!"

"Oh?" Yang slowly reached back for the long pistol in her pocket, one with five rubber bands loaded on already. It had a spiked wheel at the end near the handle where it would meet the trigger, thus allowing it to be fired easily. It was damn accurate, two, and could hold the really thick rubber bands that would hurt after impact, too. Luckily, though, she wasn't using those. No, she didn't want to maim today. "And just what's that?"

"Well… I always wondered… Why is your hair so bad?" Lilac eyes broke wide open as Yang felt her heart skip a beat. What did she just say? Why would she say that, Nora loved her hair! Mind you, it was a little long, going nearly all the way down to her butt… But, that doesn't mean…! "It's so curly and looks so dry, do you even use conditioner?"

"Nora…" She growled, balling her hands into fists, "You better take that back right now…"

"Or what?" The short girl giggled, "Are you going to use your hair killing powers on me?"

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" The blonde cried in pure rage, charging at the girl with fire in her heart. Nora didn't deserve to be shot, she deserved to be beaten into nothing more than dusty oblivion. The chef chirped before jumping away, bouncing between the two cars and running to the backyard, while the blonde stayed hot on her trail. Pyrrha watched with fear as she gestured for Blake to get a move on, else Yang will catch on and if she does, everyone can assume a position on the wall of death.

"Go make sure Nora lives." Blake assured, entering the open garage door that Yang popped up once the game had started. "Seriously, like, not even playing anymore, Yang might actually kill her." The gymnast nodded before running back to help her friend, leaving the disguised faunus all alone to do what she did best. Carefully entering the abode, she ensured that the door would close without making a sound before pulling the basement door open. The lights downstairs were still on, probably for Ruby's sake, which made her smile. Yang really did care, didn't she?

Blake carefully walked into the basement, trying to ensure that her steps made no noise upon the creaky staircase, glancing around the room until she spotted her prize. A child, her knees to her chest in the corner of a small, enclosed space, her head tucked away into her knees while her arms wrapped around her legs in wait. Waiting for someone to come and help, come rescue her…

Maybe Ruby hadn't changed as much…?

Blake quickly approached the closed door and opened it easily, catching the attention of the lone occupant, who brought her head up and looked into the familiar eyes of an old friend, her shoulders graciously dropping before sighing, "I had a feeling you'd try this…" She said with a smile.

"What's that?" The disguised faunus asked, "A rescue mission for an old friend? Or how about a trip down memory lane."

Ruby chuckled before finally standing up, "No, if you want a trip down memory lane, ask Yang to make the prison one of the closets in the house, then come and rescue me in the middle of the night. That'll really be a trip down memory lane… Or maybe, for a homage to our last day together, I save you?" Blake gave her a deadpanned look, indicating that she was neither fond of nor in a mood to remember those antics. "Okay, fine. Forget I said anything."

"We'll have a talk about this. Now come on-" Blake easily grabbed Ruby's hand and tugged, but was surprised to meet resistance, "We gotta go before…" She finally saw the look in her young friends' eyes, one that spoke of fear and regret, one that forced Blake to turn and face a familiar blonde, whose sinister smile seemed to go endlessly as she shook her head at the duo before her. "Ah, crap! What did you do to Nora, you monster!" Blake cried, taking an aggressive stance towards the blonde, ensuring that Ruby was safely behind her should things go sideways.

Yang laughed maniacally before stepping forward, her hands on her hips and a seductive look to both girls before her. "Well, what do I have here, huh?"

"Answer me!"

"If you must know, I let her go for a moment. When I saw her and Pyrrha playing the distraction, it only made sense that you were trying a bold rescue mission." Once she was within arms-reach, with one hand- her right- Yang pushed Blake into the make-shift prison, forcing Ruby back in also, who pushed herself away from Blake to avoid being landed on, hitting the wall and sliding down. "Oh, and you were so close." She teased. "Oh well. Luck can only take you so far, eh Rubes?"

"Yang!"

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady!" Yang threatened, "Every last one of your comrades are on thin ice with me!"

The youngest glanced towards Blake, "What did you do?" Blake shrugged, feigning confusion.

Lilac eyes sarcastically rolled, "Oh, don't give me that! You were in on it, too!"

"Yang, I swear, I didn't know they'd go that far!"

"Uh-huh, sure. Well, it doesn't matter. Because right now, I'm looking to shoot on sight. And once I win-" She smirked evilly, "Oh, you won't like what happens next." Both girls gulped at the comment, a hint of pure, unadulterated evil laced their hostess' tone. "However…" She began again, standing upright and rubbing her chin before examining the two grounded prisoners. "You may be of use to me, yet. Blake, did they tell you of a 'deal with a devil'?" The black-themed girl nodded, "Good, because I'm about to make you an offer you can't refuse. And Ruby…" The girl looked up, a hint of worry in her gaze, "I will only make this deal with you on one condition."

Once again, she audibly gulped, worried over what the blonde may do or ask for. Yang was fervently against making her do lewd acts, so she knew her dignity was safe… But… "W-what's that?" She stuttered out, causing Yang's smile to deepen.

"I will only offer the deal if you agree to stay away from Weiss and her friends at all costs. This means during class, after class, before class, the weekends, no contact on any social media, I bar you from even texting them."

"Yang! You can't-"

"I can, and will." She harshly retorted, "It's for your safety. Now, I ask you… Do you agree? Because the deal is that the losers have to go and get dinner while the winners not only stay back and relax, but they also get the first bite. And it can be anything our hearts desire. So, what do you girls say? Agree to the deal with the devil?" Both girls looked at each other, each one knowing just what is on the line. They couldn't keep her delayed, either, that was against the rules. No, this was a one-time deal, take it or leave it. "I'll give you one minute do decide."

---

Nora and Pyrrha sat beside the car that was parked in the street, kneeling on the curb and carefully watching the home of the Xiao Long's. To their right was a ditch that they'd be more welcoming the thought of hiding in, however the excess rain lately has only made it a very saturated marsh. Luckily, everywhere else was dry, though they weren't sure how long that would be.

They had regrouped here after Yang heard the basement door open, having chased Pyrrha past the garage, she was able to hear inside her house and snuck her way back in, opting to let the other two brats go and save her revenge for later. It was dinner time, anyway.

"Blake's been gone a while…" Nora worriedly said, shaking her head, "You don't think…?"

Pyrrha fervently shook her head, "No, Yang wouldn't kill on sight. She's not like that… Besides, Ruby's down there, she wouldn't hurt her in any way."

"I mean, true, but… She is really mad…"

With a defeated sigh, Pyrrha nodded. "True." In the enraged state she was in, Yang's ideals were probably out the window. Now the gymnast began to worry that her friends were being tortured down there, and Yang could take her time, too, since it's essentially a timeout while she deals with a prison break. Only if it's one cop can that be considered a timeout. The slamming of a familiar light-door brought up both concealed girls' attention. Out in the driveway and under the automatic lights that turned on whenever there was movement, stood a familiar young teen in a red jacket, hurriedly glancing around, anxious to find her friends.

"Nora! Pyrrha! Where are you? Please, I only have thirty seconds!"

The gymnast instantly jumped up and started waving, the moonlight illuminating the world long enough for Ruby to see: Straight out in front of the house and across the street, an obvious but great hiding spot, especially for a temporary space. "Over here!" She cried, watching Ruby run over. Once across the street and around the car, Pyrrha swept the child into a hug before kneeling back down, breaking the embrace only for a moment to inquire: "What happened down there? How did you escape?"

"Yang caught Blake in the act!" Ruby professed, "But Blake negotiated for my escape, in exchange…"

"Oh, no, don't tell me…"

Ruby nodded in affirmation, "Yang and Blake are working together…"

"Damn." Nora cursed, snapping her finger. "I knew she shouldn't have gone alone!"

"Even if she didn't-" Pyrrha admonished, "It would only mean an easy loss for us. That's fine, though, all we need to do is hold out for three minutes and we win. Then, Yang and Blake can treat us to a meal, tonight!"

Ruby raised an eyebrow curiously. Didn't Yang say somebody was just running to get the food? Why, all of the sudden, is it that somebody is paying? Damn, why does anyone have to pay for her! It was bad enough that Blake had to, but she had money for herself! "I-I… Wai-"

"Sh!" Pyrrha quickly snapped, breaking the teen out of her self-depreciating stance as Yang and Blake exited the garage, both of whom began to examine their surroundings. "All we need to do is hide here and we'll win!" Ruby nodded in understanding as she heard Yang bark orders to Blake, telling the disguised faunus to go check any spot she hid in before, to see if the others were there. Nonchalantly, Blake complied, checking the bushes by the porch while Yang went to the backyard, flipping on the patio light. "We aren't back there, honey…" Pyrrha sung, happily.

A chill wind blew as the night carefully grew over them, indicating that the day was now gone. The light of the moon diminished behind the clouds and hadn't returned, which worried the girls that the clouds may open up on them. "Guys…" Ruby whispered, leaning against the car, only to have one arm wrap around her shoulders.

"I'll warm you up, don't worry."

Ruby watched through the car's windows as Yang and Blake regrouped beside the two cars in the driveway, both playfully shrugging as the two beside her began to giggle in joy. They were about to win, rather easily, too! "No, seriously, I need to talk to you about something."

"It's gotta wait, Ruby!" Nora chided in a whisper, "So shh!"

Silver eyes blinked, their owner huffed and shook her head, breaking the one-armed embrace. She had her jacket on (as if she ever took it off, tonight, anyway), so she was fine. If anything, Pyrrha was using her to keep warm, and that just wouldn't fly. She watched as the "cops" across the street stood with befuddled expressions, shrugging and glancing around aimlessly. 'They're really playing dumb, aren't they? Come on, guys! Nora and Ruby aren't going to fall for that!'

"Just a minute!" Pyrrha cheered as she watched her stopwatch on her scroll.

'Well… Maybe not…'

"Thirty seconds!" Nora counted eagerly, watching her scroll with a darkened screen, "We've got it!"

Having enough, Ruby began to reach into her left pocket, "Girls, I really think we need to talk."

"What is it, Ru… by…" Pyrrha was surprised to face the barrel of a rubber band gun, not three inches from the bridge of her nose. "W-w-wha…?"

"Sorry…" Ruby meekly apologized with a shrug, "But… I had to make a deal with the devil…"

"You little-"

"On your feet, now! You're under arrest!" Both Nora and Pyrrha did as they were told, rolling their eyes in frustration and rising to their feet with their hands atop their heads. "And, by the way… We win."

---

Yang and Blake watched as their young friend forced the duo out of hiding and crossed the street, the robbers with their hands in the air and annoyed looks on their faces. "I take it back, Ruby," Yang said with a smile, "Your luck may take you a little farther." Ruby playfully stuck a tongue out at the blonde, her rubber band gun drawn and aiming at the gymnasts' back, specifically.

"I told you it would work." Blake said, "I just didn't think your acting would be good enough." With a look of mock hurt, Ruby's shoulders dropped, "Oh, no-no-no, not like this. Want to talk about my acting, how about you two!" The yellow-and-black themed duo raised an eyebrow each before glancing at each other, Pyrrha and Nora moving to the side and allowing the victors to… Work this out… "You two made playing dumb look dumb!"

"It worked, didn't it?"

"It almost didn't! You would have blown my cover!"

Silver eyes went wide as she realized what just happened, the familiar rumbling in her stomach causing her to blush and grab it as all eyes looked towards her. Yang raised her eyebrows while Blake placed her hands on her hips, the latter opting to speak. "Unbelievable." She began with a chiding tone, "You ate so much for lunch, literally ate as much junk as possible with Yang's snacks all day and now you're that hungry, again?"

Ruby rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, "What can I say, right? But, uh… Dinner?"

Yang reached out and grabbed her younger friend by the hood of her jacket, pulling her forward into a headlock as she grabbed the black-themed teen beside her, doing the same. "You're right, dinner time." She turned the group away from the losing duo near the cars, "So, what do you girls want?"

Ruby and Blake both looked at each other and shrugged, the former starting to speak, "Well, we went out of lunch today, so… I guess it's whatever you two want, I'm fine with."

Yang glanced up and eyed the two girls behind her and bobbed her head around. "I think I've got a small idea…"

---

"Oh, this is good." Ruby said, taking a bite of her slice of victory. "You're right, Yang, it tastes even better when somebody else has to get it for you." Pyrrha and Nora both scoffed as the victors took their time, indulging in the pie before them. "Thank you, at least." She meekly said, noting the glares she was receiving.

"Can we please eat now?" Pyrrha huffed in annoyance, "you all had your fun, but we're hungry too!" She and Nora were forced to take everyone's order as the trio rested amongst the couches in the basement, the only one being remotely respectful to her patron was Nora, who waited on Ruby. Then, they had to make the call to the pizza place down the block and drive there. It was just one large pizza, which meant ten slices, which meant two slices for each girl. There was a small bread with it and for dessert (even though Yang had more than enough at home to eat, she just wanted to drive the price up a little. Also, she knew Ruby would get a kick out of it, too), a giant pizza-cookie was ordered, one that was the size of a small round pizza, only cut into five sizable pieces.

Yang shrugged at the annoyed inquiry, taking a bite out of her slice audibly, "Sure, why not? A loser can only suffer for so long."

"With the way their day's been going," Blake began, before taking a drink from her red can, "their suffering is going to be a lot longer than they'd like." She earned two soul-piercing glares but shot the look right back with a sassy smirk. "Don't look at me like that, I have to say, I'm disappointed. Thus far, I expected more of a challenge out of you all, and really the only one to oblige has been Yang."

The blonde playfully blushed and waved off the comment while Nora and Pyrrha across the table began to pick their slices. "Oh, please, Blake, you give me too much credit!"

"Yeah, you do." Pyrrha muttered, rolling her eyes and earning a chuckle out of Ruby. "Bet you didn't expect these two to get along so well, huh?"

The youngest shrugged easily, "Opposites attract, you know."

"They do, indeed. So, Yang, what were you all talking about before we got back?"

The blonde nodded before swallowing the molten cheese slice, washing it down with her soda on the table before beginning. "Well," She burped lightly, "I asked what they did when they go home together, at first, just because I was curious as to what they do together."

"And?" Nora piped, earning a glare from Ruby.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Yang quipped, "I'm happy to say that they don't do anything, or at least that's what they say."

Blake shook her head and interrupted, "We don't not do anything, Yang, we do homework together then Ruby works for the rest of the night."

Once again, the blonde nodded, accepting that she had been corrected. "Right, sorry, my bad. Well, next we were talking about our classes and that's when you two barged in, interrupting us."

"Oh, my, I'm just so sorry, Yang." Pyrrha said with intense sarcasm, rolling her eyes so hard they nearly rolled behind her head, "But we just can't know that we're interrupting a conversation when we're outside of the house! Next time, I'll be sure to call you and let you know to wrap up whatever your talking about before walking in!"

"Gee, would ya? That'd be great!" Pyrrha rolled her eyes in annoyance as the group giggled, Yang sitting back into the front of the couch, dropping the plate in her lap as she did so. "If you really want to get involved with the conversation, I say one of you two can go first."

Nora nearly jumped to her feet as the athletic teen beside her tried to understand what was happening now, zoning out as she grabbed her drink. "Oh! Oh! Pick me! Me, me!"

"Teacher calls on Nora Valkyrie for show and tell, today!"

"Yes!" Nora fist pumped with a smile before beginning, "Well, I know what you're thinking-?"

"Do you, now?" Blake interrupted with a sassy smirk.

"Yes, I do, and being a part of the restaurant isn't as far as I want to go." The group had their own varying looks of confusion and intrigue as the young chef caught their attention. "Don't get me wrong, and both Ren and I feel this way, but our parent's restaurant has been such a huge part of our lives and we would never give it up. But we also want to do so much more! I mean, Ren alone is just so skilled in other things beside cooking that we'd own the store, operate it within reasonable means and help whenever needed, but overall it's a well-oiled machine, enough so that we feel we can chase other dreams."

Her interest peaked, Yang set aside her plate and leaned in, setting her elbows upon her knees and her head resting on her hands. "And just what would that be, Nora?"

With a small smile, the short, orange-haired teen perked up, "Massage therapy. Ren and his family has taught me a lot about it and I think he and I could probably do a good job. We already know how to start and operate a business, all we need is the time and effort to put forth… But that's for the future. We want to at least get through a few semesters of college before even starting any of that."

"Patience is a virtue, Nora." Pyrrha admonished, "Good for you two for having goals."

"How about you, Pyr?" Nora instantly inquired, turning to her taller friend. "I know you were talking about something the other day."

The fiery-haired young woman blushed and shook the back of her head before turning away, surprising the group. It wasn't often that Pyrrha was genuinely embarrassed about something, let alone a career. What could be so bad?

"Well…" She began, awkwardly, "Thing is… I… Have a few things in mind."

"Like…?" Yang gestured her on with her hand, "Give us an idea!"

Pyrrha took a deep breath an slowly exhaled before beginning, "See, I've always had this gift for athletics. I've always been good at everything I do, and I enjoy the sports I play, but… I feel like I could do more. I mean, I tried out for the Vytal Festival competition and only was disqualified because I won't be eighteen by qualifiers. They have strict rules, you know." The group nodded, allowing her to go one without interruption as they knew she was getting somewhere. "As much fun as I have and as much as I want to milk my physical strength for everything it's worth, I know that there will come a day where I just can't go on, and I want to be prepared for that."

"What are you thinking?" Ruby asked, honestly, leaning back into the new couch behind her and bringing up her left leg to her chest, resting her chin upon her knee.

"I'd like to be a teacher." Was the honest reply, shocking the others, save for Yang. "I love working with the kids at the gym and they're always a load of fun to be around. When they have problems with school they come to me because they know they can trust me… I just feel like I can connect with kids enough and do some good, while keeping myself in shape on the side and participating in the games whenever I'm ready! Plus, there are so many feats of strength and I'm sure I can implement a workout in my lessons, just like those teachers do on the news all the time!"

Blake nodded and smirked, "I remember seeing something about that." She said, "A few teachers on all levels find ways to keep in shape and do some crazy stunt for or with a friend. What level would you teach at?"

"Elementary. Young kids are the easiest to mold. I just want to do some good work with."

"Very nice."

"How about you, Blake?" The athlete inquired, now choosing to go around the whole table. "I don't think we've even asked what you had planned for at Beacon?"

"Oh, it's okay." The bow-wearing teen admonished, waving off the notion. "I like writing and I like books, and if I had to choose anything in the world, I'd be a writer." She smiled at the thought, knowing it just wasn't possible in today's world. "But, in the same vain… I'm more into politics than a lot of people our age."

Lilac eyes blinked as their owner did a double-take, eyebrows raising slightly, even though Ruby seemed less surprised by that revelation. "Really?" Yang inquired, leading to a decisive nod by the black-themed guest.

"Yes, actually. See, growing up, my dad was a representative, an Ambassador, actually, so I was always around something politically motivated. Actually, he used my infancy as a way of getting the position."

"How'd that happen?" Ruby asked, knowing that bit of the story was true, but needing information for her own sake. Really, she just wanted to know more about her friend.

"He took time off after my mom gave birth and lost the chance to be in the cabinet for the new administration for my home's leader. When he came back, said leader- who was an old friend- put him into an ambassador to Vale. We bought a house on Patch, somewhere with a direct line to the ocean so he could take the ferry in and to work. That's how her and I know each other." She pointed to the red-themed teen beside her, "I lived a few doors down from her." Silently, the group nodded in some form of appreciation and approval, leading her to her next point. "And just pointing this out, I've never told anybody how my dad got his position, so."

"Boy, I'll say…" Ruby muttered, but it wasn't in spite.

Yang took over, next, with her own inquiry. "So, what's he do, now? Your dad, I mean?"

"Oh, he retired. He and my mom live on the east side of the country now, and while we were moving into our new house, I got the acceptance letter to Beacon. So I hurried here, found a place to stay and got everything worked out with the administrative staff, and in my hunt for a cheap apartment to stay at for a while, I found Ruby."

"It's almost like some bad plot out of one of those made for TV movies." Ruby quipped, earning a slug to her arm. "What? You were the one who said that!"

"I know, and I was going to say that again, you joke stealer!" Ruby rolled her eyes and shook her head as the groups giggles intensified, a sense of pride dwelling within, knowing that she had a part to play in their joy. "Anyway, just for that, I'm going to ask Yang what she wants to do when she grows up and jump past you."

Ruby playfully gasped audibly, reaching for a second slice, "You monster!"

"It's okay, Ru." Yang said, shaking her head, "You can have my turn, after all, you all know what I want to do."

"Hospital." All said in unison, save for Blake.

"Yup. Specifically, though, I'm still up in the air, about. But, I know for a fact that I want to dedicate my life to helping others in some way."

"That's a huge sacrifice, Yang…" Pyrrha said, as if she hadn't said it before. A million times. Over many years. To the point where Yang now gave her the death glare. "But, if you're up to it…"

"I am, you'll see." She retorted before turning to the youngest member of the group, who now dug into her second slice of the night. "You're turn, Ru. What're your plans after Beacon?"

The young teen swallowed the bite, washing it down with her fifth can of red pop before lightly burping, earning a small applause from her friends. "Ah, thank you, all." She said, pleasantly. "Well, to be honest… I'm just not sure." She shook her head lightly at the thought of a career, not even able to comprehend life outside of the academy… She wasn't ready to accept growing up, yet, but she knew deep down she passed that station a long time ago. "I take Engineering classes at Beacon, but only because I'm good at math. That was the school's recommendation for me when I first came here." Her eyes stayed locked onto the table, staring into space, mostly, "And even though I'm good at it, I'm not sure if I want my career to be engineering related…"

Yang raised her eyebrows and nodded at her friend's confession, surprised that it took so long to divulge this information. Though, for some reason, she knew Blake had something to do with it. "Really?" She asked, really asking for her to go on.

"Yeah, I mean, there's just so much I want to do! I'm just not sure, yet…"

"I see what's happening." Pyrrha said, rubbing her chin and calling attention to herself, "You're going through what everybody your age goes through. It's an existential crisis of finding who you are and what you want to do, and most people don't find out until College. The only reason we all know is because we either grew up in the field-" She nodded to both Yang and Blake, "- Or we learned it at Beacon. That's the Academy's job, in Ozpin's words. To get us ready for what we want to do with our lives, that way we don't waste our time in College and can go right for those degrees. That's also why the classes we take are seen as college credits to most institutions not only kingdom-wide, but worldwide. We know because we were prepared for it, but this is only your second year, so it only makes sense that you feel this way."

"It's true." Yang nodded in agreement, "When I was your age- all two years ago- I wasn't even sure if I wanted to be anywhere near a hospital. But as time went on I heard my calling. And Beacon helped me hear it. It'll take some time, but I guarantee, you'll hear it, too."

Ruby nodded, blinking a few times before finally speaking. "Thanks… I didn't realize it was… Such a generic problem, actually. That makes me feel a lot better, to be honest!"

"Right? And, hey, if it'll help, the Medical Wing gladly accepts all comers!"

"So, will the kitchen!" Nora cheered. Pyrrha and Blake also leant their support, though they didn't have definitive departments, yet. The former was just a gym-nut for right now while the latter didn't even know if hers existed yet. It had been a productive first week for her, but only on a social level. She still had a long way to go to unlocking the mysteries of Beacon Academy.

Ruby once again thanked everyone for everything and returned to her meal, but had something on her mind for a while now, and felt that this time was the best to inquire about it. Nobody had started any conversation, yet, not one that would lead to a full group discussion. Yang and Nora were talking about the concept of massage therapy while Blake and Pyrrha talked about teaching and the importance of literature to a young mind, understanding that sometimes it was better to be read to than to read at a young age.

"Yang?" Ruby whispered, seeing her chance. The blonde turned her attention to the young teen, who reached for a piece of the dessert: A still warm giant cookie, cut into five large slices. "Can I ask you something honestly?"

"Of course, what's up?"

Silver orbs stared into intrigued lilac eyes as the owner of the former nodded, "What's up with you and Weiss?"

"Why do you want to know?" Was the instant and harsh retort.

"I mean… I dunno?" Putting her plate down on the counter, silver eyes stared blankly at the clearly frustrated blonde, whose eyes seemed to twitch at the question. That question was out of nowhere and uncalled for, maybe even needing better timing. Regardless, she had to continue pressing on, merely for curiosity sakes. "I mean, you made me promise to stay away from Weiss and her friends, but I refuse to do that unless I have a reason as to why."

"Damnit, you little brat, we had a deal!" Yang angrily said, slamming her fists into the table, silencing all discussion and turning the group's collective attention towards the heated duo. "I set you free and you stay away from the ice-queen!"

"And I'm breaking the deal!" The teen instantly countered, "Seriously! I'll do what you want, I just want a reason. Please?"

"Because they can't be trusted!"

"Why not!?"

"Because I know, alright! Now that's the end of the discussion!" She closed her eyes, folded her arms and sat back down in a huff, her knuckles white with anger as she took a deep breath, sighing loudly. Ruby sat back, dejectedly, a sad look in her eyes. She wanted to press on, she needed to know, but for some reason her friend wouldn't budge! Lord knows Yang wouldn't stop pressuring her, no matter how mad Ruby would get, so why was she supposed to stop.

"Why are you being so difficult, Yang?" Ruby asked, sweetly, "I'm sorry if this subject isn't… You know, easy, but… You didn't have to yell like that."

Lilac eyes slowly opened, facing something she never wanted to see, let alone think about: Ruby brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, staring into nothingness as the others around them seemed to not exist any longer. All of the hostess' focus was on the youngest member of the group, whom she had always tried to be the very best and happiest towards and whom she just yelled at, unfairly.

"Oh, Ruby." She said, her arms slowly falling to her lap, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get frustrated at you or anything, it's just… I have a hard time trusting Weiss than I do anyone else… Hell, I'd trust my mother before I do that bitch."

"Yang." Pyrrha nudged with a sharp elbow. "If you can't be nice about it, then do you want me to explain it?"

The blonde shook her head after gaining her composure, still reeling from the jab to her ribs. "It's fine, I've got this." She assured. "Listen, Weiss and I… When we first met, we had a thing. We were… Really good friends and…" With a defeated sigh, Yang shook her head, hating to relive that day, "She stabbed me in the back. She hurt me, Ruby, and her friends laughed. There's a reason why I don't trust them and it's because they… Just, can't be trusted, okay? I just don't want you to get hurt like I did…"

Brunette hair hung in front of silver eyes as their owner slowly picked herself up, eventually brushing said hair away and straightening her vision out. "Oh, Yang." Admonished Ruby, who slid her way past Blake and closer to Yang, who maintained eye-contact with the young teen, all up until her hand was taken by the same girl before her, "You know why I know I won't be as hurt if anything could go wrong? Because unlike you-" Her grip on her friends' hand tightened, her eyes filled with honesty and hope as lilac orbs finally locked back unto her eyes, "- I have you who will be there for me."

Lilac eyes turned soft as she began to reciprocate the grip, finally, smiling at the girl who pushed her body up to meet eye-to-eye with her. "Ruby…" Yang said, shaking her head with a never-ending smile, "That had to be the cheesiest thing I've ever heard."

"Really?" Ruby giggled, "Because I took it out of your playbook- Omph!" Quickly, she was swept into a tight embrace, met by the cheers of the trio around them. "I'll promise to be careful," Ruby said, turning her head so that she wasn't buried in the mountain of Yang and could be heard, "but you have to promise to give me a chance, okay? I want to work with Weiss… Please?"

Through reluctance, Yang nodded, patting her friend on the back, "Alright. I guess I owe you a shot at it, don't I?"

"Thank you…"

Nora, Pyrrha and Blake, each of whom had quieted down after a moment, all watched as the embrace prolonged past a minute, both of the girls seemingly enjoying each other's company. And, because they had gone past the minute mark, Nora was now allowed to institute the oldest of deal-breakers known to man. With a nod to the gymnast, then to the would-be writer (who was unsure of what the nod meant), the chef jumped to her feet and at the top of her lungs, called out: "Dog Pile!"

Both Yang and Ruby's eyes cracked open as they tried to break free, only they didn't nearly have enough time as Pyrrha tackled them both to the ground, eventually joined by a body-crushing dive by Nora. Yang, though, turned her body to protect the girl in her arms, taking the brunt of both impacts while Ruby lay, crushed beneath the added weight. Trying to wiggle her arms free, the teen cried out to her neighbor, her old friend. Surely, Blake would take her out and away from this mess.

She was sorely mistaken.

"Banzai!" Blake called, diving headlong atop the group, somehow able to wrap her arms around everyone while all present began to laugh at their own antics. The rule was set, long before even Ruby was initiated into the group, that anyone holding a hug for more than a minute was susceptible to a dog-pile, where anyone and everyone could get in on it, so long as nobody would get hurt. Though, like most dog-piles, everyone eventually gets hurt.

"Thank you, Nora!" Yang called with a hint of playful annoyance, "Only you could ruin a moment so sincere!"

"Oh, well!" The chef shrugged as everyone began to climb off of each other, first off checking to ensure nobody was seriously hurt, then everyone went into a laughing fit about their antics tonight. Ruby recalled the first night she spent here, the week after Homecoming the year prior, and feeling a welcomed sense of home. This group treated her like they did each other and made her feel so welcomed, and judging by the look on Blake's face, she felt the same. And that's all the teen could ever want; all of her friend's being friends with each other. That's why she wanted to work with Weiss so much, because she felt there was a chance for all of them to be friends and finally put this childish fight aside…

She hoped, at least.

"So!" Yang clapped, breaking the teen from her thoughts, "We've had some food in us, we've still got drinks… Now what do you all want to do?" The group glanced around at each other, everyone shrugging as they found each other's gaze. Nobody had an idea of what they wanted to do next, giving off the accurate impression that nobody had a set plan for the night, just the group's style: Winging it to victory! "It's alright," Yang assured, "We'll figure out something. We've got all night with each other!"

---

A bloodcurdling scream roared out of the speakers as the weedwhacker spooled up to full blast, cutting through the abdomen of the popular girl of the movie as she cried out in pain. This would be probably the most brutal thing the group has seen in a movie, if not for the fact that it was insanely corny, with a CGI weedwhacker and fake blood flying around, washing off the walls as if it was water… Hell, it was just water!

"Wow, Yang." Ruby sarcastically said, "I never thought a horror movie could leave me so bored."

Pyrrha pipped up next, "And she was saying you were the one who would break, first!"

"Right? Geez, give me some credit, why don't ya?"

Yang accepted all the smack that was being shot her way, knowing that she deserved it. They had all decided to watch a movie at about one o'clock, seeing as they had all gamed themselves out. They abused that zombie game to no end, even playing a party game that allowed for more than four players. Unfortunately, they just got burned out for the night, so they decided on a movie. Yang had multiple ideas that she thought the group would enjoy and when they said horror for fun, she instantly knew on that she heard of the week prior. It had good reviews all across the board, but…

Damn, did it suck.

The plot was basic: A group of snoody, arrogant, popular kids run off to a cabin for the weekend to get laid and have an orgy (it was never said, but that was implied, according to Yang). They pissed off a garden worker in town and that man was now- quite literally- cutting them down. Fun as it may be for plot to see a bunch of rich kids get sacked like that, at least to Yang, it was half poor-porn, half terrible movie. The girl that got cut in half now lied in one piece.

"Oh, come on!" The blonde cried, "That's not even possible! At least show me some guts!"

Ruby turned back to the blonde and smirked, "The only nightmare I'm having tonight is being forced to re-watch this." The group laughed, mostly at how phony the film was, but also at the comment that accompanied it. "I call a vote to kill this movie with fire and never bring it up again. All in favor?"

Everyone at once, even Blake, called: "I"

"All who oppose?" No words, "The motion carries. KILL IT WITH FIRE!"

Yang picked up the remote and began to curiously mash the buttons, nearly breaking it under the pressure of her fingers. "AHHH! DIE, DIE!" She cried, playfully, as her friends laughed at her antics, "You can't hurt anyone else, now." She huffed as the screen went black. "Seriously, I cannot explain how sorry I am. I never thought it was going to be that bad…"

"All of the reviews said it was good." Blake reasoned, leaning back in her seat with a sigh. She and Yang were seated on her massage chair, while on the couch against the wall, Nora and Pyrrha sat side by side and Ruby had her couch on the right side of the room all to herself. "We had no reason to believe something that corny could exist… geez, Ruby and I have seen scarier things when we were kids!" The young teen nodded, staring blankly into the off screen.

The group sat in disappointed silence for a moment. It was three o'clock in the morning, they were all gamed out and were disheartened by a poor display of film-making. Yang's true intention with the movie was to calm everyone down enough to put them to sleep, or at least get them ready for it. Needless to say, it worked, but not in the way she wanted.

The blonde stood up and stretched her muscles before glancing around the room. Nora and Pyrrha were having their own conversation about the "movie", Blake was currently watching her and Ruby had finally shaken herself back to reality and began to listen in on the conversation across the room, smiling as the chef's reigning insults of terror began. "Okay, girls," Yang said with a sigh, "Who's ready for bed?"

"Why not?" Pyrrha shrugged, "after that display, it'll be tough not to stay up." The group chuckled in agreement.

"Alright, well, grab your stuff and go get changed! I've got two bathrooms and my room you can use, so go ahead." Both Pyrrha and Nora nodded, standing up and walking to the bench press across he room where Yang placed everyone's bags. They took their duffels and walked up the stairs as Ruby finally sat upright, stretching her arms high as she did. "You know…" Yang said in though, "Who is taking my room?" Both teens glanced at each other and shrugged, Ruby breaking first.

"You can go ahead, Blake." She said with a wave, "I need a minute before I can move."

Placing her hands on her hips, the blonde smirked and stared down at her friend. "Comfy, eh?" Ruby smiled and nodded slowly, "Okay, Blake, it's yours. Ruby, if you want, while everyone is up there you can change out down here."

Before the raven-haired teen could respond, Ruby instantly stood up and clapped, shaking her head as she did so. "Oh-ho-ho! Nope, never mind. I'll go take her room." She said, maneuvering to grab her stuff. "Between the cops and Robbers earlier and that comment, I think you just want to see my unmentionables."

Lilac eyes blinked, the eyebrows above raising with confusion as she realized what the teen was saying. "What's surprising is that anyone uses unmentionables to describe underwear." The red-themed teen folded her arms and raised an eyebrow, forcing the hostess to rolled her eyes as Blake smiled at the duo's antics. "Fine, go ahead and do whatever you wanna do." With a firm smile, the young teen nodded and began to walk up the stairs, but an idea came to Yang, one that she knew would work. She winked at Blake before calling up the stairs. "If my computer screen has a glowing red dot on it, just move away off screen! The camera can't pan over automatically!"

"Yang!"

Ruby let it slide with an annoyed huff and walked away, leaving the disguised Faunus and the hostess to themselves. Blake looked up at her blonde friend and smiled, "You know…" she began with a small laugh, "I have known Ruby for a long time, and even when we were kids there was nothing I could do at to frustrate her the way you do now that wouldn't result in me getting slugged in the arm. I'm impressed."

"She would hit when she was a kid?" Yang incredulously inquired, causing Blake to nod with a confused look, "Man, something changed, because now, I can barely make her ball a fist… not like she ever needs to or was in a situation where it was warranted, but still, you get what I'm saying."

Blake nodded before standing up and stretching her muscles. She didn't have a problem changing in front of someone she knew, especially since she already had a few gym classes with the blonde already, what was the difference of doing it now then in the locker rooms? She walked over to the bench and grabbed her black string bag, digging within to pull out her favorite Yukata, which was an old, eastern-style short robe. Hers was a fluffy and comfortable black, per her usual style, which made it all the comfier to sleep in at night.

She quickly tore her shirt off and wrapped the robe around herself, tying it shut before removing her bottoms. She shoved both articles of clothing into her bag before turning to see that her hostess had already changed out, standing in just a yellow undershirt and black shorts. "Why go far for PJ's?" She said with a shrug, "Who cares about it, right?"

Blake smirked and shook her head, "I'm just glad you decided against sleeping naked tonight."

"Ah, I couldn't do that to you all." She replied, waving the thought off, "Between the crap I'd get from Pyrrha and Nora alone, it's just not worth it."

Blake nodded as the sound of a pair of feet came descending the stairs, only to reveal an aforementioned gymnast, her hair down, her clothes not nearly as revealing as her counterpart's. she wore plaid pajama bottoms that were various colors of red and white, with a pure red cotton t-shirt to go along with it. The athletic teen glance around the room and nodded, inquiring why all the stares.

"Welcome back." Yang said, you beat Nora and Ruby."

"Oh, I beat two of the slowest girls back down here. How surprising!"

Another pair of footsteps hurried down and stopped right behind the redhead, a short-haired brunette with red streaks in her hair stood in a pair of white pajama pants with little hearts on the leg and a sleeveless undershirt with a corgi face on the front, staring up at the girl who was currently ignoring her existence. "What was that about being slow? If I recall the tackle earlier today…"

"Okay, you two-" Yang interrupted, stepping in between the duo before they could work themselves up. "We've had a good day, lets not end it by antagonizing each other… NORA! ARE YOU DONE YET?"

"No!" Was the faint reply from the upstairs bathroom nearest to the basement, causing all present to roll their eyes.

"Geez, she can be infuriating at this." Yang huffed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Whatever, well just figure out who's sleeping where. You all know the rules… oh wait, Blake. Right. It's every girl for themselves, so pick wisely, first come first serve. And if she-" she nodded upstairs- "has an issue…"

"She won't." Pyrrha assured. "I guarantee it." The blonde nodded and turned towards a familiar closet as Nora finally began to come back, dropping her bag near the couch as she hit the floor. The others worked out who was where, talking amongst themselves as Yang dug into the closet, picking up any pillows and blankets, just in case anybody didn't bring their own. Usually Nora and Pyrrha were pretty good about bringing their own bedding, it was Ruby that almost never did, for probably obvious reasons.

Yang began throwing around pillows to her respective guests as they all chose sleeping spots. Blake was on the ground in front of Yang's new, really nice couch, Pyrrha was on the floor in front of Nora, who was on the couch against the far wall as Ruby set up a spot on the floor in front of the final couch on the right-side of the stairs. This caused more protest from the blonde.

"Ruby, take the couch." She said, finally finding the last elusive pillow and fluffing it to an even cushion, "I'll sleep on the floor tonight."

The red-themed girl shook her head lightly as she sat down next to her pillow. She set herself up to be sleeping parallel with the couch, her pillow staying flat on the floor. "No, it's okay, you can take the couch."

"Host declares the order, and the order is you and Nora on the couch."

Blake piped up, "I thought you said 'Every girl for themselves'." Yang scowled at her new friend as her words turned against her. "Just saying."

Pyrrha jumped into the argument, "Ruby, take the couch so Yang can shut up."

The teen stood… Well, more like sat, her ground, "No, I'm alright on the floor." Her defiance wasn't met with the best of reactions from the blonde.

"Well I don't care; you were on the floor the last time you were here. It's only fair." Despite Yang's words, she had no effect on her friend. "Alright, let's vote on it. Who says Ruby should be on the floor?"

"Who doesn't care?" Blake's monotone voice called the attention of the other occupants to raise their hands, which they all did with a giggle, even Ruby. "There, that settles it."

"It doesn't settle anything!"

"Just take the couch Yang!" Nora cried as the laid back on her couch, "You're making too much noise!"

"Not until Ruby gives up!" Yang, fed up with having the tables turned so quickly, approached her friend and grabbed Ruby by the collar of her undershirt, "Come on, sis, it's time for bed."

"Wai- What are-?! Let go!"

Pyrrha finally got annoyed and stood up, slamming a hand down on Yang's shoulder. Both girls stopped and stared at the gymnast, Ruby having more hope in her eyes than Yang, "You." She pointed to Yang, "Take the couch. You won't win. She's too stubborn." She turned to Ruby and pointed, "You. Take the floor and stay quiet, or else next time, you get to sleep on the couch with Nora." The chef waved with a sinister smile. Ruby went wide-eyed as she dove for the floor, burying her face to hide from Pyrrha's threat. "Goodnight all." The gymnast calmly sighed as she walked towards her bed. Blake chuckled at the display.

Yang slowly sat down, speechless at what had just occurred. Normally, her group wasn't so fussy over the sleeping order... In fact, normally Pyrrha would be on her side for this, but suddenly the tables have turned. She turned her attention back to Ruby as the younger teen slowly turned over, lying on her belly. The younger teen knew that the gaze of her friend was locked on to her, but wanted to avoid another confrontation or else… She shuttered at the thought, knowing Nora could be the most restless sleeper ever. Yang watched as the girl below her got comfortable and was curious to know how anyone can sleep like that...

"Fine." Yang huffed, "Goodnight everyone." The hostess inevitably sighed, laying back into her bed. She was met with no voices, no response as she threw her blanket over herself and set her head upon her pillow. Lilac eyes blinked around the darkened basement as the figures of her friends turned over, silence overtaking the room. Everybody shifted around, trying to find that sweet, comfy spot to take them into the realm of dreams, and for some it was easy. For others…

"Yang?" Ruby called, her voice muffled by her pillow.

"Hm?"

"Are you mad at me?"

"For what?" The blonde asked, peeking over the side of the couch and watching as the teen shrugged. She could imagine why Ruby would think that, but the girl knew that there had to be something massive in order for her to be hated by the group. With a smile and a light chuckle, Yang shook her head, "No, Ruby, I'm not mad. I just want you to be as comfy as possible in my house." She carefully leaned back onto the furniture, throwing her hands behind her head as she rested back.

"Ah, okay… Blake?"

The bow-wearing teen left her eyes closed, but still raised her eyebrows as she heard her name be called, "Yeah?"

"… What would you say if I told you I was hungry again?"

The group chuckled lightly at the comment as amber eyes blew open, their owner slowly sitting up and peering over to the teen, who hid her face into her pillow as she felt the sheer force of the gaze pierce her very soul. Yang once again peered down at her friend and rested her head upon her hand as she planted her elbow into the cushion.

"Well," The black-themed teen thought, "If I don't think I'd say anything…"

"O-oh?"

"Nope. Instead, I'd just drag you upstairs, tie you to a chair, shove a funnel down your throat-" Ruby's eyes went wide as she smiled, shrinking beneath her blanket as the group began to laugh in disbelief, "-And force all of the contents of Yang's fridge down your throat, just to ensure that you wouldn't be hungry for a while."

"Wow." Pyrrha said in disbelief, "Where did that come from? I thought you were friends?!"

"Oh, we are." Blake retorted honestly, "But you have to understand where I'm coming from: Today alone, she had a whole ham steak with fries at lunch, all of the junk snacks that Yang had for us, and two and a half slices of pizza with half of that giant cookie. There should be no freaking way in hell that she should be hungry. At. All. I went through heaven and hell to ensure that she was well fed today because somebody slept through breakfast."

"That's what happens when I have paperwork!"

"Quite frankly, I'm done with her for the weekend." Her tone wasn't serious, in fact it added to the comedy. "I've fed you enough, you hear!"

"You can never feed me enough, that's the glory of it! Mwahaha!"

Yang shook her head, her eyes stayed glued onto the girl beneath her, in fact she hadn't moved at all since she originally got up. "Ruby…" She chided, "Are you hungry again?"

"No…" The youngest honestly confessed. "I just wanted to see what she'd say."

Lilac eyes rolled as the group found enjoyment with the antics, Blake throwing herself backwards in annoyance. "Good night, everyone." Yang said, definitively, laying back once again.

---

I just couldn't resist!

So, what happened on-page was: The gang playing Pokemon Stadium, only massively updated to fit today's game, also going at it in a game of Cop's n' Robber's before sitting down for dinner and having a heart-to-heart about careers. Suffice to say that doesn't seem like much, but as you can see, quite the opposite. We ended with them all watching a poor excuse for a horror movie, and to be honest, that was based off a real thing my buddy had me and a bunch of friends of mine watch.

Seriously, it was so bad that I had to give it a nod. As far as I know you can't find that abomination anymore. Jesus, that's a blessing in itself.

What we didn't see was: The gang playing Rise of the Living Dead, which is essentially Remnant's version CoD Zombies (the only thing Cod has going for it now, let's face it), along with Mario Party (that one would have been 7k words on its own, let me tell ya), and a little bit of Smash before they finally settled on the movie, having been gamed out, which happens to us all.

This was insanely fun to write though, honestly. I just wish I could have been a bit more timely with it, but you can't rush perfection, right… Or at least what I can pass as something resembling good?

There was a lot that happened here. Not only did we see how rough the group likes to play, but we got a deeper look into Yang's despise of Weiss and her friends along with Ruby finally taming the blonde beast and promising she'll be careful. Not only that but we also saw everyone's plans for their futures, or what their vision is. Poor Ruby is facing the crisis that most high schoolers face today: Finding what she wants to do that will fit herself. Tough as that is, I think she'll find it sometime…

Who surprised you the most this chapter? What did you enjoy about what we saw, and would you like to see something like this in the future? I think the farmer's almanac of Vale made a prediction of a snowy winter, which means that Yang is going to have a field day with events like these. My question is that, if Yang hosts parties like these, would you like to see them in full (which means that those chapters could get into the 20-25k word counts) or would you prefer a 2 or 3 part chapter, like we had here? It varies, depending on the day (storywise) but I do have at least 2 more of these get-togethers planned. Just food for thought.

Should I think about it I'll make a poll, later.

Anyway, that's it for this chapter. Let me know what you enjoyed the most, and please give me your thoughts on the future chapters. I'd love to know what you prefer.

Until Next Time.