Yup… definitely shocked at how much attention this has gotten… especially when compared to my other stories… this one is my story with the most follows; and that after only two chapters! Thank you so very much, all of you!

Special thanks to Roseflare, pikaree1, Guest and EternalPKK for reviewing the previous chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY

It was already well into the day when the figure under the sheets started to stir, suggesting that the sleeping person hiding beneath it was slowly waking up. Sure enough, a bundle of messy, reddish black hair popped out of the covers as the young woman yawned and stretched, the distinct popping sound of bones resounding through the room.

It was at this hour that Ruby was slowly waking up, her silver eyes drifting off to the multiple stacks of paper on her desk that she had left there the night before. With another small yawn, the brunette stepped out of bed and waltzed over to the bathroom to freshen herself up.

Twenty minutes later, the young brunette walked into the living room as she dried off her hair with a fuzzy towel, content to start the day at a relatively slow pace. Not expecting to see anything out of the ordinary, Ruby was pleasantly surprised to see the wild mane of blond hair draped over the sofa's back.

"Yang?" Ruby asked hesitantly, almost in disbelief at what she was seeing. Her thoughts were confirmed when a figure stirred and her sister rose up from the sofa.

"Ruby!"

Despite the fact that she was visibly exhausted, Yang was quick to trap her little sister in a tight hug, "It's about time you woke up! Hurry up and get something to eat, we're going out!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" the trapped Ruby managed to utter, desperately trying to push the stronger woman off of her. To say that the brunette was shocked to hear Yang's words was an understatement, which she wasted no time in voicing, "Aren't you supposed to be at work right now?"

"You must've stayed up later than usual, didn't you?" Yang responded Ruby's question with one of her one, complete with a knowing yet serious look in her eyes. Despite having asked a question, the elder sibling already knew the answer from the shift in the brunette's demeanor and, with a sigh, added offhandedly, "Seems like you need big sis to take care of you after all…"

"T-That's not the point!" Ruby quickly countered, but knew that she was fighting a losing battle. Instead, the brunette decided to change the subject again, "That aside, you haven't answered my question yet: what did you mean with "we're going out"? Don't you have to be at work today?"

"Check the calendar," Yang replied, tossing the object in question at her sister as she walked over towards the fridge and took out two cans of juice, "It's a Tuesday."

"Oh…" Ruby stared at the calendar in her hands, realizing her sister was right. Tuesday was an off day for Yang, which meant that she was probably going to be dragged around all day. Before the brunette knew it, she was already deep in thoughts as to what the day would become.

"Heads up!"

Shocked out of her train of thoughts, Ruby turned in the direction of the voice to see the metal can flying her way a few seconds before it reached her. Fumbling slightly with the cold metal object, Ruby had it opened a second later and, upon realizing just how thirsty she was, wasted no time in gulping down over half of its content in one go.

"Nice catch!" Yang grinned before following her sister's example and taking a few gulps from her own.

"Thanks…" was the muttered reply as Ruby lost herself in the ripples of her drink's surface. With a small gulp to prepare herself for the worst, Ruby turned around to face her sister, "So where are we going?"

"Hm?" Yang looked up from her can, clearly being distracted herself. After Ruby had repeated her question once more, Yang only grinned, "You'll find out soon enough Rubes, just hurry up and meet me outside in ten!"

And without saying another word, the older of two left the room at a relaxed pace. This left a stunned and more than a little confused Ruby behind.

"Now where would Yang bring me this time that it is so important to keep it a secret?" Ruby muttered to herself as she took another sip of her juice. Normally, Yang would announce where she was dragging her that Tuesday, so this change in routine had caught the young brunette off guard. Shrugging, Ruby finished her drink, made a small detour to throw the towel in the washing machine and walked back to her room to get ready.

She would find out where she was going soon enough.

"Won't you please tell me where we're going now?" Ruby whined as she obediently followed her older sister down a road that the brunette did not recognize. Thirty minutes had already passed since the two left their home but, considering the brisk pace at which Yang was still walking in, they were still far from their destination. Tugging at the sleeve of her sister's shirt, Ruby tried once more, "Come on, would it really be so bad if I knew?"

"For the millionth time, Rubes, you'll see where we're going once we're there," Yang's reply has been the same each time the question was thrown her way to the point that the blonde had seriously considered recording her reply for future purposes. To the blonde's credit, however, she had remained silent rather than giving in to her sister's pleas. With a sigh more for releasing frustration than anything else, Yang added, "We're not far from it anymore so you will find out soon."

Upon hearing this, Ruby fell silent almost immediately and Yang, despite facing a different direction, visibly relaxed at this. The blissful seconds of peace and quiet, however, did not last.

"Yang!"

"For the last time Ruby—"

"It's not that!" Ruby quickly said, interrupting her sister's sentence. This, coupled with the fact that she wasn't asking another dreaded question, piqued Yang's interest. Turning around, she saw the brunette pointing at something across the street, "Isn't that Blake?"

"Huh?" Yang spun on her heel to look in the direction her sister was pointing at to see a familiar black bow behind the black cover of a book the blonde recognized all too well sitting at an outdoor café. With a grin, Yang grabbed Ruby by the wrist and started to drag her across the street, "Change of plans!"

"H-Hey! Yang! Where are you going?" Ruby only had time to yelp in surprise as she was effortlessly dragged by her sister. Knowing better than to resist, the brunette tried desperately to match Yang's pace step for step to prevent herself from tripping.

"Helloooo!" Yang sang the moment the two sisters were within hearing distance. The person reading the book, however, did not seem to even acknowledge the blonde; which only caused Yang to push even harder, "Fancy meeting you here, huh Blake?"

"Uh… Yang?" Ruby asked almost hesitantly, poking Yang's back slightly to grab her attention.

"Not now Rubes, I need to get Blake to return my greeting," Yang muttered, her back turned to her sister as her brow was furrowed in concentration, "I mean, what are the chances of us meeting at a place like this?"

"Yang…?" Ruby tried once again, though she was completely ignored.

"Just let her be and we'll see how long it takes for her to figure it out…"

Yang froze abruptly the moment she fully processed what she had heard, recognizing the newcomer's voice. It was the second, new voice that made the blonde slowly turn her head around to see someone standing beside her sister with a smug smirk on her lips.

"B-B-Blake?" Yang sputtered in disbelief, her eyes widening as she recognized just who was standing by Ruby's side. Turning her gaze between Blake and the book behind her multiple times, Yang quickly found herself at a loss for words, "How did—? Where'd you—? When have you—? Why would—? Who is—?"

"Isn't it nice that we're all able to make clear and coherent sentences?" Blake smirked as she walked up to the book and stored both it and the bow laying above what appeared to be a mannequin in her bag. With a smug smile, the black haired woman added, "As for why… I had to run and grab something from the store a few blocks down. I thought leaving something here to make you recognize this place would be a good idea."

"You're… not wrong…" Yang finally admitted with a sigh of defeat. This only caused Blake's smile to widen.

"Aren't you scared that someone could've easily grabbed your belongings while you were gone?" Ruby asked, recalling just how possessive her black haired friend could be of her stuff.

"Not much, I'm good friends with the owner of this place so all I had to do was ask for a little favor," Blake shrugged, throwing her bag over the shoulder before eyeing the defeated blonde who was slumped down in the chair, "Come on, let's go."

"Where are we going?" Ruby asked, hoping that Blake would be more willing to answer her question than her sister has been.

"Yang hasn't told you?" Blake asked, an undertone of genuine shock evident in her voice as she turned to the brunette.

"No she hasn't," Ruby pouted, sending a glare in her sister's direction while doing so, "She has been dragging me all over the place, telling me that we would get somewhere big but refused to even give a hint as to where we were going!"

"Good," Blake muttered with a smile as she pulled Yang back on her feet. Seeing the crestfallen look on Ruby's face, Blake hid a snicker and added, "I wasn't sure whether Yang would be able to keep it from you—"

"Why don't you have any faith in me?" Yang whined, interrupting Blake's sentence, "When have I ever let you down?"

"I have two lists, alphabetical and chronological, which do you want?" Blake asked with a straight face as she began rummaging through her bag.

"Never mind…"

"Anyway, I'm afraid that you're just going to have to stay in the dark for a little while longer Ruby," Blake added, turning to said brunette with an apologetic smile. Blake knew almost as well as Yang just how much Ruby hated waiting, so Blake relented, "We're only another ten minutes away."

"Alright! What are we waiting for?" Ruby cheered as she jumped to her feet, a bright grin on her face as this little bit of information visibly rejuvenated her. Her eagerness must have been infectious as Blake and even Yang couldn't help a smile of their own from forming, "Let's go!"

"This… is where we were going?"

"Yup."

Eleven minutes later, the three women were standing in front of the largest building in the area, easily towering at least five floors above any other building near it. As Blake and Yang were glad to have made it in relatively decent time, Ruby was still shocked speechless.

"Come on, we're wasting daylight Rubes!" Yang laughed, seeing the look on her sister's face before she gently but firmly pushed her inside, "It's not exactly Eleventh Mist that we wanted to show you but a new store that opened up recently!"

"And I'm guessing neither of you will tell me what that place is until we get there, huh?" Ruby asked dejectedly, fearing the answer that she knew was coming. True enough, both Blake and Yang nodded in response. With a sigh, and in an effort to distract herself, Ruby wondered out loud, "Why did they call this mall "Eleventh Mist" anyway?"

"No clue," Yang shrugged, still focused on guiding Ruby to their destination without being too forceful. Turning to Blake, the blonde asked, "Do you know?"

"I heard their manager opened up a branch in a faraway city several years ago, named "Seventh Mist", so I guess they thought it would be a good idea to continue with that naming trend," Blake replied after a second of thought. Ruby and Yang, accepting this explanation, nodded contently before Blake resumed talking, "But that's beside the point. We're still a few floors away from our destination, after all."

"Right, let's get going!" Yang agreed cheerfully, taking a few strides to walk besides Blake as the two of them walked on ahead.

While the two older women made their way to the escalators, Ruby found herself looking around the many stores on the floor. Even though Eleventh Mist exploded in popularity the moment the doors were first opened, the young brunette only found herself within its walls a handful of times.

The floors were systematically arranged so that each floor was dedicated to a certain theme. As the theme of the floor that Ruby was on was sports, the floor was filled with stores selling goods that ranged from sport gear to pro league team merchandise to courses for those wanting to start out with the sport.

"Rubes! Are you coming or what?" Yang's loud call shook Ruby back to reality, which was what shocked her the most as she never even realized that she was spacing out to begin with.

"Coming!" Ruby replied almost sheepishly as she started a jog to catch up with Yang and Blake. Before she took a step, however, she caught a glimpse of a white flash from the corner of her eye that instantly caused her to stop and turn in the direction of the flash.

Standing there was a woman with long, flowing white hair that, tied into a right ponytail, draped all the way down to her waist. Wearing a bluish white dress that reached just above her knees under a jacket that was similarly colored bluish white on the outside and red on the inside, Ruby could only wonder whether she was whiter or the walls of the buildings. It was then when silver orbs met blue ones…

And then realization dawned upon her.

"Ruby?" Yang's gentle touch caused said woman to jump in surprise, not having heard her sister reaching them. With a concerned look on her face, Yang turned to Ruby, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Y-Yeah…" Ruby panted, a hand on her chest as she tried her best to calm down, "You just caught me off guard is all."

"So…" Yang trailed as she turned to look between the white haired woman and her sister, completely ignoring the fact that Ruby was having difficulties breathing, "Friend of yours?"

"Not exactly," Ruby sighed, recalling their previous encounter and knowing that she couldn't hope to call the mysterious white haired woman her friend already, "I met her the other day when I visited Neo. I don't even know her name."

"Well here's your chance already!" Yang said as she wasted no time to close the distance between the two. Bending over so that her mouth was beside her sister's ear, Yang quietly added, "Introduce yourself!"

"R-Right…" Ruby said half-heartedly, almost wishing that she could have made up a real excuse. With a gulp and several sharp intakes of breath, the brunette turned to the seemingly uninterested white haired woman. Holding out her hand, she began, "H-Hello, I'm Ruby. Nice to meet you."

Rather than respond to Ruby's words or even accept the brunette's outstretched hand, the woman only stared at Ruby's face critically. Shifting slightly under the intense gaze, Ruby held her position firmly, unwilling to give in.

Finally, the white haired woman showed some form of reaction, though it was in a form that neither Ruby nor Yang had expected it to be.

The woman's eyes widened slightly, almost as if in recognition, before narrowing dangerously. In a soft voice, she muttered, "Belladonna…"

"Eh?" Ruby was more than a little caught off guard and, taking a quick glance at her sister, the same could be said for Yang, ""Belladonna"? Isn't that—?"

"Schnee…" a familiar voice muttered in just as soft of a voice behind Ruby and Yang. Both women turned around to see Blake eyeing the mysterious woman, the normally warm and kind amber orbs were now a surprising cold and hard stare, "That is no way to speak to my friends."

"Your… friends…?" the woman arched an eyebrow in surprise, "I see… so these two are…"

"That's right. These are my friends, Yang and her younger sister Ruby," Blake continued, pointing to the respective people as she introduced her friends. Turning to face both Yang and Ruby, the black haired woman continued, "Yang, Ruby… this is an old, lacking a better word, friend of mine, Schnee."

"I have a first name, you know," Schnee added in an annoyed tone, "It's Weiss."

"I know, that's the problem…" Blake sighed, the last part muttered softly enough so that nobody could hear her, before turning to Weiss, "So what brings you up here?"

"An order of mine arrived, the delivery team of the store had problems so they requested my presence at the store to get my order myself," Weiss replied before glancing at her watch, "I would really love to stay and chat—"

"Of course you would…"

"But I'm afraid I have to get going," Weiss finished, seemingly unfazed at Blake's comment as she grabbed her purse, "Hopefully we can meet under better circumstances another day."

"Eh… s…ure…?" Ruby could only stare wide eyed as Weiss walked off into the distance at a brisk pace.

"Nice friend you got there Blake," Yang said the moment the blonde knew that said friend was out of earshot. Hearing this, Blake couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"She can be quite the handful, but she's nice if you get to know her better," Blake's response was a much calmer and nicer one than either of the sisters had expected it to be. Blake, either not realizing this or choosing not to comment on it all together, turned to Ruby, "So how about we get to that place already?"

"Impressive, huh?" Yang laughed, unable to keep the grin from forming as she watched her sister's eyes light up in excitement and amazement, "So… what'll it be, Rubes?"

Yang, Blake and Ruby had finally made it to their destination, and while Ruby was upset that neither Yang nor Blake would tell her where they were actually going, a part of her was glad that it was a surprise now that she was actually here.

Standing before the pastry shop Pasticceria Manicagni, Ruby's eyes were a blur as she eyed one item after another. Clearly, the brunette had difficulties choosing any one of them.

"I'll go save us a seat," Blake announced, quick to pick up on Ruby's indecisiveness. Before she left, however, she turned to Yang, "Can you get one of those cheesecakes for me when you're at the register?"

"Sure but, taking a look at things, that might still take a while," Yang laughed, nodding in Ruby's direction as she was still deciding on her choice. Shrugging, Blake walked off to find a good spot as the blonde turned to her sister again, "Come on Rubes, how difficult is it to—"

"I'm going for the strawberry crostata!" Ruby announced boldly with fists pumped into the air, surprising not just Yang but several passersby as well. After a second or two, the brunette turned to her sister with somewhat of a sheepish grin, "Assuming I may have the strawberry crostata, of course."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Yang laughed, ruffling Ruby's short hair affectionately before turning to the cashier and placing their orders. While waiting, the blonde asked, "What made you choose the crostata?"

"Well, it was either that or the montebianco," Ruby shrugged, taking a quick glance at said pastry on display before nodding contently at the sight of her crostata, "I dunno Yang… I just felt like having the crostata more than the montebianca is all."

"Works for me," Yang shrugged, accepting two of the three pastries as Ruby took her own, turned around and scanned the seats, "Do you see Blake anywhere?"

"She's right over there," Ruby pointed at a familiar black bow sticking up from behind one of the chairs near the window.

"It better not be another one of those mannequin shenanigans…" Yang grumbled angrily, clearly still remembering the events that occurred earlier that day, as she, with Ruby following close behind, walked in the direction the brunette pointed in. The two soon found out that it was, in fact, not another one of those mannequin substitutes. With a sigh of relief, Yang plopped down on one of the chairs as Ruby followed suit soon after.

"So what do you think Ruby? You like it?" Blake asked after Ruby had just taken her first spoonful of the crostata. The black haired woman didn't need a verbal reply as the look on Ruby's face was answer enough, "I'll take that as a "yes" then."

"I love it!" Ruby exclaimed giddily, quickly taking another spoonful of her treat as she eyed both of her companions with an almost accusatory look, "Why didn't you take me here sooner?"

"We wish we could Rubes, but it only opened up last week," Yang replied with an apologetic smile, "We went here on Sunday to test it out, trying to see if it was worth dragging you all the way here. From the looks of it, it was."

Nodding vigorously, Ruby wasted no time in digging into the treat in front of her. With a smile on her face after seeing this, Yang turned to Blake.

"So…" Yang began, not knowing how to start it off. Blake, about to take a bite of her cheesecake, slowly lowered her hand as she realized that Yang wanted to ask her something, "That Weiss girl… what's she like?"

"She's… a perfectionist…" Blake began, trying to choose her words as carefully as possible to describe her friend, "Not only by nature but also because she has no other choice."

"No other choice?" Yang repeated, hanging on to Blake's every word, "What do you mean? How can she not have a choice regarding what she wants to be?"

"She's… the heiress to the Schnee Corporation," Blake answered slowly, with Yang nodding in understanding, "According to Weiss, she has been under the watchful eyes of her parents her entire life. This didn't allow her a lot of breathing space, unfortunately, so she is very strict regarding the rules. Especially to herself."

"Still, she could at least be a bit nicer to us if we're the friends of her friend," Yang huffed before finally taking a spoonful of her treat of choice herself.

"Take it from me, that's actually nicer and more open than she usually is with strangers," Blake sighed, her eyes blurring slightly as she remembered time's long past. With a light chuckle, she continued, "She's really a nice person once you get her to open up to you. We didn't really see eye to eye at first, but now… I'm confident enough to say that we're at least more than acquaintances now."

"Well, Yang, Blake, it was very nice spending time with you two today and I really appreciate you treating me here," Ruby began as she stood up and took her empty plate, "But I have to go."

"What? Already?" Yang gasped in shock, surprised at her sister's sudden announcement, "But we just got here."

"I know Yang… and I'm sorry…" Ruby allowed a small, sad smile to adorn her face before continuing, "But I promised Neo that I would visit her more often, and if I don't hurry I can only stop by to say "hello"."

"I see…" Yang trailed off in a deflated tone, but managed to quickly recover a smile, "Say hi to her for us, alright?"

"Sure will!" Ruby smiled, grabbed her things and was about to leave but turned to face the two still seated women first, "Bye! And, again, thank you!"

"Watch yourself out there Rubes!" Yang called out, but was uncertain whether or not her sister had heard her. With an exasperated sigh, the blonde slumped down in her chair and muttered, "Well that could have gone better…"

"Perhaps, but you did what you could Yang," Blake responded, wiping off a few crumps with a napkin before continuing in a gentle tone, "She has, no… still is going through some hard times right now. I know it is difficult, but she has her own way of taking care of this. All you can do is just be yourself and make sure you're there for her if and when she needs you."

"I knoooow… but I just wish I could do more, you know?" Yang whined, dropping her head on her arms. This, however, prevented the blonde from seeing her friend's nod. After a few seconds of silence, Yang added, "It's just… strange… Ruby is growing up faster and faster, and while I'm proud of her, I also just want to hug and protect her from what's out there. Time… just flies by so fast…"

"It sure does…" Blake sighed, looking out the window to see the fluffy white clouds scattered across the clear blue sky.

Both women would stay in their seats for a long time.

That wraps up this chapter… some more insight on the characters as well as a bit of interactions and buildup, which I know some of you may not like, but I guarantee you that the plot will start to thicken starting next chapter!

Also, I'm sorry for all the references in this chapter… So… second disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Kagaku no Railgun.

Until that chapter comes up, take care everybody!