Chapter 4:
After a long and rather uneventful day, Weiss had finally decided to take a short walk in Beacon's garden. It was a good way, she felt, to clear her mind and relax after a very stressful day.
Yang and Blake had decided to take some time at the gym. Due to all the studying, Yang felt their exercise had been in serious neglect. Besides, she seemed to find entertainment in bashing her fists into some punching bag. Weiss supposed it was because a punching bag wouldn't break apart after a few strikes from the blonde.
Taking a turn, Weiss saw team JNPR sitting down on the grass. Well, at least Jaune, Pyrrha and Ren were. Nora was walking around in circles muttering to herself.
"So there are at least 100 people in our year." Nora said. "Meaning only 20 of us can go to Vacuo. I'm sure Weiss and Pyrrha can make the cut, and of course you Ren. After all, you're the perfect student and the rest of us are, well, not as great but we're still great if you-"
"Hello there." Weiss greeted as Nora continued with her endless errant of thoughts. Jaune and Pyrrha looked up, waving their hands in greeting.
"Hello Weiss." Pyrrha said. "How'd the test go?"
"I'm pretty sure I'll ace it." Weiss said with confidence. "And besides, nothing is stopping me from missing out on this wonderful opportunity. What about you?"
Jaune gave a thumbs up. "I doubt I'll do that badly. And I owe it to Pyrrha and Ren here. They've been a really big help."
"Oh stop it Jaune." Pyrrha smiled. "You did it because of your own hard work and dedication!"
"No Pyrrha." Jaune said. "If it hadn't been for you guys, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere. I mean, heck, I could stare at one of those books for a whole day and not get anything at all. If it hadn't been for you and Ren..."
"It's alright Jaune." Came Ren. "We're thankful you feel that way, but I've never seen you work that hard before. So why don't you give yourself a pat on the back?"
"Yeah!" Nora came over, giving Jaune a rather forceful version of a pat on the back, knocking the wind out of him. "A pat on the back!"
"Nora..." Jaune gasped. "I think a pat is supposed to be gentler than that..."
"So what are you doing now?" Weiss asked. "Getting some rest?"
"You bet!" Nora nodded. "Studying is really draining you know? I mean, besides actual combat. And we have to be at our best to impress the Vacuo students!" Nora glanced down at her watch. "Oh my gosh! It's already 7pm! Ren! It's time for the pancakes! Lay down the syrup!"
"Nora, I didn't make pancakes today. I made-" Ren didn't have a chance to finish before Nora grabbed him and tore down the paved walkway at full speed.
"Scones! Why didn't you say so! Then we need to get out the jam!" She squealed in delight, dragging him behind her.
"Wait! Stop! I meant to say- NORA!" Ren yelled as he flew right behind.
Weiss Jaune and Pyrrha blinked as the two of them left. "So, what about you two?" Weiss asked.
"We were thinking of taking it easy for now." Jaune said. "Like my dad always said, when you can't do anything, do nothing."
Weiss frowned. The statement made no form of sense whatsoever. Who could not do anything? Still, she supposed he had a different version of logic that what she had.
"Hey, where's Ruby?" Jaune asked. Normally, the red cloaked girl would be enjoying her time with her partner or even be trying to get her out of school and into the city. Now however, it was as if she wasn't there at all.
Weiss sighed. "Library. She said she wanted to check out some things. Not sure why though. She looked very deep in thought during lunch."
"Ruby? Deep in thought? That's something you don't see every day." Pyrrha noted. "Did she say anything about what she was thinking about?"
"Nope." Weiss shook her head. "But I doubt it was anything too urgent. And besides, maybe she is starting to find the joys of studying at last."
"Ugh... How does Weiss do this?" Ruby moaned as she flipped the pages again. Professor Port may not have been that helpful, but the books were even less. They told her nothing of what she wanted to find out. It was obvious that these texts contained at most the extent of what the good teacher already knew.
"Hmm..." Ruby breathed as she put the books back onto the librarian's trolley. They'd sort it out on their own.
She sat down in front of the computer again, wondering what sort of search option to take. She thought for a while, recounting the events that had occurred recently. Damien Jonas's rant at the bar. The strange dream she had the night before. For a brief moment, something in Ruby's head clicked.
Reaching her hands over the keyboard, she typed in her search key. Ocean Devil. The computer ran a search. Soon enough, a hit came up. Ruby looked to see the title of the book. Mysterious Tides.
"Weird..." Ruby commented, going over to the shelf where the book was located. Once she had reached it, she looked around. Unfortunately, the book was nowhere to be found.
"Excuse me." Ruby called out to the passing librarian. "I'm looking for the Mysterious Tides book? It doesn't seem to be here."
"Let me check." The librarian took out her scroll, sifting through the myriad messages and notifications for the required information. When she was done, she looked up, a apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry. It seems to have been just loaned out. It will only be due by the following week."
"Tough luck for me I guess." Ruby shrugged. "Would it be okay for me to be notified when it is returned?"
"Of course Ms. Rose." The librarian nodded. "I will reserve it for you straight away when it comes back. I apologize for disrupting your studies."
"It's okay." Ruby smiled. "It's not really a study thing. Just a quest of self knowledge." Still, she was in quite the stump. The only lead she had is gone for now.
It's not the only lead... She mused, looking out the window. Weiss would definitely kill her for what she was about to do. But Ruby supposed it'd be okay as long as no one found out about it.
With her plan concocted, she left the library.