"What I have done, cannot be undone," Shedo said, desperately, as he leaned against the railing of the frigate. "I carry thousands of sins from my past. I was a different man… A horrible man." He whipped himself around to face Yuki. "How could you ever hope to-"

His speech was interrupted, by the calming touch of Yuki's hand on his face. "It does not matter to me who, or what, you were in the past, Shedo," she said, tracing his scar with her finger. "What matters is that you are here, now. With me."

A fog of emotion surrounded them, and as they kissed, fire and passion exploded between them. They cared not what other ships in the fleet saw them, for they would behold a display of romance the likes of which had never-

"Whatcha readin' there, Blake?"

In a flash, Blake Belladonna was snapped out of her literary haze. It almost took her a moment to reintroduce her mind to the world. Take in surroundings. Library. Table. In chair. Book. ...Ruby.

What was Ruby doing here?

"Oh, hey, Ruby," Blake said, laying her book on the table, careful to block the cover. "What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd see how you were doing here. It gets boring on snow days. But as I was asking-" She gestured to the book- "what are you reading?"

"Oh, um…" Blake blushed, and mumbled something that came out sounding like, "nmmjmm lmm."

"Hmm? I didn't-"

"Ninjas of Love."

Ruby made an exaggerated gasp. "That filth? For shame, Blake!" She looked around for a moment. "It's okay, I've read it too."

"Really? I never saw that you owned a copy."

"Oh, I've just been borrowing yours."

"What? When did-" Blake shook her head. "Never mind. I, uh… didn't know you were into this… genre… of romance novels."

"...Filth?"

"Yes, filth."

"Well, I don't really read it for... that."

"Yeah, that's what everyone-"

"No, I'm serious." Ruby picked up the copy, flipping through it. "If you look past the… filth…" she shuddered- "there's actually a lot of well-written romance in here. Especially that scene on the ship. Oh my Gav, that ship scene…"

"One of the best written."

"Even the main characters are so compelling together." She closed the book, leaving it front-up, where both leads were depicted. "The daughter of a wealthy merchant who, fed up with her father's practices, cuts ties and flees him… And a mysterious assassin with a shady past he is trying to wash away, bound to her by a life debt… Two individuals trying so hard to leave their past behind them… Only to find a future in each other. SO beautiful."

"Yeah, I…" Catching herself, Blake looked away, blushing. "I… I mean, a lot of people related to them."

Ruby looked over at where Blake had been glancing, and noticed Weiss Schnee at a nearby table, reading. She turned back to Blake, and gave her teammate a sly look. "Seeing a bit of yourself and her in there, huh?"

Blake laughed, without mirth. "Don't I wish."

"What? I thought you two were-"

"Were. She's insisted we have a little… 'break.' That only means one thing of course: She's done with little old me."

Ruby thought for a moment. "You know… Yang always said, back at Signal, 'The best way to get someone to look at you is through green eyes.'"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm saying…" she gestured to Weiss. "We make her jealous of you."

Blake's amber eyes dilated. "What do you have in mind?"

"I think we should get a little help from these two," she said, tapping the book in front of them. "If you're like me, you have that ship scene memorized. We'll use it to get her attention… then really reel her in."

"Hmm… That might actually work." Blake stood up, walked over to the window… and got right into character.

"What I have done, cannot be undone," Blake said, desperately, as she leaned against the windowsill. "I carry thousands of sins from my past. I was a different woman… A horrible woman." She whipped himself around to face Ruby. "How could you ever hope to-"

Her speech was interrupted, by the calming touch of Ruby's hand on her face. "It does not matter to me who, or what, you were in the past, Blake," she said, stroking her cheek with her finger. "What matters is that you are here, now. With me."

A fog of emotion surrounded them, and as they kissed, fire and passion exploded between them. They cared not who else in the library saw them, for they would behold a display of romance the likes of which had never-

"DAMN YOU, BLAKE!"

Jackpot.

They broke the kiss, and turned towards the source of the outburst: the heiress herself, storming towards them, her hands balled into fists, one of which was used swiftly against Blake's face, knocking the Faunus to the floor.

"You absolute strumpet! I gave us one week of slight separation, and suddenly you're all over…" She angrily gestured at Ruby. "...Her?!"

"Slight separation?" Blake said accusingly, as she rose to her feet. "I believe your exact words were, 'I just need some time to think about us.'"

"And I did! But apparently, your time was spent thinking about this little flake!"

"Hey!" Ruby said, indignantly. Neither of them paid her any mind, and throughout their fight, both Weiss and Blake kept their accusatory tone.

Blake took a step closer. "Well, maybe I was trying to see if you'd even do anything, because you never seemed to give a shit!"

"Well, I did! Every single day we were together, I was petrified you'd just leave me for another!"

"Oh, would promiscuity happen to be yet another Faunus stereotype I didn't know about?"

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You gave me a feeder mouse for my birthday!"

"It was a pet! I was just trying to make sure that if anything happened to me on one of our missions, you'd have something to remember me by!"

"Well, that's idiotic on two levels! One, who gives their lover a pet as a memento? Pets die!

"And second, in case you died on a mission? You are fully aware that I would never let anything ever happen to you!"

"I love you!"

"I love you, too!"

They embraced each other forcefully, in a passionate, angry kiss.

When they finally had to come up for air, the rage was gone. In its place… only love.

"Dorm room," Weiss whispered, acutely aware of their surroundings, not that there was really anyone else here. "Ten minutes." And she left.

And then, as it was in the beginning, there was Ruby and Blake. As the Faunus turned to leave, Ruby picked the book up, holding it to her.

Blake only smiled. "Go ahead, keep it. As thanks. I feel like I won't need it anymore." And she also left, anticipation in her stride.

With that, Ruby sat back down, flipping it open. "Now… Where were we?"

Author's Note: Originally, I intended this chapter to be Ninjas of Love reflecting Ruby and Blake. But time, and extensive mental rewrites, make fools of us all.

In other news, the OC casting call has been filled! Hooray. The winner shall be announced at a later date. Keep R+Ring, and tune in next time for a heaping bowl of Milk and Cereal!