It had only taken him a few minutes of brisk walking to make it back to his office, placing the sketchpad on the table in front of him as he reclined into his chair. He placed his half-empty cup gently down on the surface and slid his fingers through the pages, casting them aside in one clean motion to bring the interesting item into his view. Three drawings. One of a head, one of a tail, one of a body. It certainly matched the previous ones he had seen with his own eyes, but like all the others there were small differences which set each and every one apart.
He leaned back into the chair, briefly closing his eyes to gather his thoughts. Things were not as he hoped, and with the impending arrival of his new acquaintance looming closer and closer he was hard pressed to keep everything under control. This was by no means a problem for him, as he had countless years of experience with deadlines and difficult situations. He was used to being pressured, but even so, he could not predict the string of events that would transpire when he arrived.
Ozpin idly reached behind his chair, retrieving a black folder full of files and dropping it on top of Rubys pad in silence. He had the foresight to hide the legitimate material in plain sight, where nobody would find it. The sheets of paper were removed one by one as the headmaster glanced over every single one, moving with a fluidity that belied his appearance. He had done this many times before.
He paused, sliding the pad out from underneath the folder and holding it up beside a single page, furrowing his brow somewhat. They matched perfectly, and that meant only one thing. He dropped them both and rested his head on his fingertips, holding them in a triangle shape to support his forehead. This did not bode well.
Blake seated herself alone in the corner of the dining hall, as far away from the other students as she could get. She sat in silence, ignoring the noise and activity as best she could. Nothing fancy, just a simple salad; light but filling, perfect for her schedule for the day. She watched with faint interest at the myriad of people coming and going as she ate, observing things even when she wasn't trying to. The vast majority of them were all the same. They would queue for twenty minutes, sit at a table with their friends, talk and then leave. It seemed so boring and pointless to her, as she much preferred to be with her thoughts than any human company.
Unfortunately for her, it didn't seem like she would get that luxury today.
She watched in slight irritation at the epitome of unsubtly that sprung his way towards her with an almost stupid grin plastered to his face. She really didn't feel like rebuffing anybody at the moment, but it seemed she would have to at some point or another. Jaune practically fell onto the seat adjacent to her with a cheery salute, almost spilling his drink as he did so, threatening to stain his uniform.
"Heeey, Blake! I saw you sitting over here all alone and I thought to myself: 'Why not go say hi?'. And here I am!" His happy face faltered slightly as Blake rolled her eyes, putting his spirits down with a single sentence.
"Pyrrha is still in class, I take it?" She kept her voice as flat as possible, making her intentions perfectly clear. Jaune swallowed hard and rubbed the back of his neck, doing his best to stay positive.
"Ehehe...yeah. Uh. Can I ask you something?" Blake sighed at his sheepish question, nodding her head once while she took another bite.
"Well, uh, you see. I've been practicing really, really hard to get better and Pyrrha is helping me do that." He paused, waiting for a reaction. When Blake carried on without a second glance he frowned a little in confusion, but continued nonetheless.
"And it's been great, I really feel like we're making progress. But I'd like to ask you something, if that's alright? I know you're not exactly the uh...most...ehhh...you don't like talking to people."
"Really? What gave you that impression?" Blake deadpanned, already seeing where this was going. Jaunes face drooped a little before he caught himself and resumed his nervous smile.
"Well you know, you don't-...oh. That was rhetorical. Right. A-anyway, like I was saying, it's going really good but I feel like there are some things even Pyrrha can't teach me and I was wondering if-"
"You were wondering if I would help you? I'm not... captivated by you and your hopelessness." She kept her eyes trained on Jaunes face, conveying nothing but icy rejection. His eyes were wide, probably with shock. Blake cut him off before he could stutter out more words.
"Pyrrha, as strong as she is, is head over heels for you. Now, I don't know nor care if you've noticed that or not, and I'm not saying that's the only reason she's helping you. But she clearly sees something in you that I don't. I have never given anyone advice or training of any sort and I'm not going to make an exception for you. You want to learn? There's a library in the Academy for that specific reason. And now, I'm going-"
"Hellloooooooo! Fancy seeing you two here at the same time!" Blake closed her eyes, silently asking what she had done to deserve this punishment. She opened them with a start as an empty tray slammed down on the table between her and Jaune, catching his distinctly girly 'eep' as Nora beamed her usual smile at them both. He was the first to speak after the initial silence, addressing his teammate nervously.
"Oh h-hey Nora, Blake was alone up here and I decided to-" He was cut off for the second time in five minutes, glancing over at Blake who had her head millimeters from her food as she hung it there.
"She was all alone? Awww, that's not right! Where's Yang? You two are like girlfriends, right?" Nora interrupted herself at the loud bang to her left, her usual cheer being replaced by surprise for a split second as Blakes head hit the table.
"You alright?" She asked, leaning in to inspect Blakes covered face. Jaune caught himself sitting speechless with his jaw hanging open and quickly corrected his teammate before she implied anything else.
"They're partners, Nora. L-like you and Ren! Uh, speaking of which, where is he?" Blake silently groaned to herself, grateful that Jaune was at least trying to distract the hyperactive ball of hammer wielding lunacy from any more erroneous claims.
"He said I should go on ahead but he should be here soon..." Nora replied, craning her neck to scan the crowds for her partner.
Blake liked Ren. He was quiet. He left her alone. She wouldn't mind being alone right now.
"But I don't see him yet, so I'll stay here until he shows up!" She exclaimed happily, whirling around and skipping off towards the queue, leaving Jaune still a little dumbstruck and Blake with a headache in the making. She stood up quietly, taking the remains of her dinner with her. Jaune raised a hand to ask her to stop, but by the time he had chosen his words she was already halfway across the hall. He couldn't help but giggle to himself at the huge red mark on her forehead, his happiness only increased when another one of his teammates sat across from him, greeting his leader with a respectful nod.
"Hi Ren, do you know if Blake-"
"No."
At this point, Jaune decided to stop trying. Ren was going over his weapons with a calm precision, a quality that Jaune had always admired. Nora would probably order Rens food for him, and so he sat and waited with his leader for her to return, catching Blake exit through the doors.
Blake moved quickly, holding her head in one hand and pressing herself against the wall with the other. Slamming the table may have been a mistake, but the sincerity of Noras words had caught Blake completely off-guard. She actually truthfully believed that the two were together. They may be partners and as such spend a lot of time together, but does it appear that they would be a couple? Was it that obvious? Although...
After everything that happened in the past few days, Blake found even herself warming up ever closer to her partner. She had emptied her heart to the fiery girl over the unconscious body of her sister and shared two incredibly emotional moments with her that really touched them both, emotionally and mentally. There had to be more to it than just friendship, right? It wasn't possible to feel that close to someone who would forever just be your associate, your friend. Blake caught herself referring to her teammates as a step up from strangers. She was still getting used to being in close quarters with other people for so long, it was inevitable that she would warm up to them in time.
But she still harboured a dislike of Weiss that she suppressed for the wellbeing of everyone, and she was sure that the heiress felt the same way about her. Ruby was their leader, and while Blake respected the girls combat skills and kind-heartedness, she was the one lying in the infirmary in pain. Blake pitied her of course, but she only ever thought of the younger girl as just that. A leader. Yang was her partner of course, so it was to be expected that they would spend more time together than others and therefore form a stronger bond, but this felt like it went far beyond that.
She turned these thoughts over in her head as she walked, thankful that the blow hadn't triggered anything yet. With any luck, she would be able to return to the dorm and sleep it off before it became too much of a problem. That was the plan at least, and it seemed that it would all work as intended, as she found herself walking a familiar path that only passed a few stray students every now and then. It was overcast outside, but Blake hoped that it wouldn't rain for another few days. She had important 'errands' to run that rain would only make harder.
Happily enough, she made it to the dorm without incident and slid inside just as the first throbs of aching pain began to pulse in her temple. She sighed, taking in the sight before her for a second. She was alone in here, Yang was still with Ruby and Weiss had classes just like her so Blake had ample time to shower and fall asleep before anything interrupted her recuperation. Weiss respected peace and quiet just as much as Blake did, and unless Yang did actually force Rubys bone back into place - Blake shuddered somewhat at the thought - neither of the sisters would ruin her rest.
She sighed to herself, placing Gambol Shroud on the foot of her bed and making her way into the bathroom. She began to undress in an unrushed fashion, glad that she had escaped the lively duo that was Jaune and Nora. A small groan echoed around the confined room as she removed her skirtas the throbbing pain was starting to flare up. The sooner she showered, the better.
Several minutes later and Blake was ready to enter, gently removing her bow from her head and leaving it on the pile of her clothes on the floor. She'd clean up when she had finished. Stepping into the shower, she flinched at first, the water being scalding hot; someone else had been here before her and they liked it burning. She turned the knob to a more acceptable level and quickly found herself in the snug embrace of the soothing heat, glad that the warmth was lessening the brunt of her headache.
This along with the rain was one of the few things she found tranquility in, to feel the water running down her body was a calming joy that she found hard to match anywhere else - it released her from the stresses of everyday life. She turned to let the water run down her back, sighing in pleasure as the heat warmed her scalp. She gently ran her hands through her luxurious black hair, quietly enjoying her time alone.
As ever, she quickly found her thoughts wandering while she washed, loosening her muscles with the thick layer of bubbles that she wiped across her skin. It was relaxing enough that she didn't want to stop. She slowly wiped her arm across her midriff, exposing the faint discoloured line that ran from the tip of her thigh to the other, running just under the bottom of her stomach. She felt her legs weaken slightly, but quickly resumed her therapeutic cleaning, refusing to let that dampen her mood. She stretched, glad to be able to ease her muscles without pain. A satisfied smile spread across her face as she moved, arching her back and touching her ankles.
She eventually found herself in her own embrace, softly holding herself in both arms as the water ran across her shoulders and streamed down her back towards the floor. She swayed slightly in a world of her own, dreaming of happier times. She could have fallen asleep in there and was sure that she would rest easy once she had finished. As the soothing touch of the shower calmed her body, she calmed her mind with memories of her time at the Academy. From the initial meetings, the initiation and the formation of the teams, all the way up until today, grateful that events happened as they did. Her thoughts began to wander once more, gradually pushing her further into the realms of pleasure.
In an almost shameful sense of self-indulgence, Blake fell into her imagination, fantasizing about holding the one person who truly enthralled her in this very shower. The warmth from her body pressing against Blakes own, the tingling sensation as she brushed her arms against Blakes skin and the hot breath on Blakes neck as she stood entranced with her partner. She could feel her heart rising at the prospect of caressing a body as perfect as Yangs, at the idea of sharing an intimate moment with the person she would spend the rest of her life with. They would hold oneanother in wordless silence, captivating eachother without even trying. The gentle touch would firm as Yang held Blakes wrists against the wall, pinning her in place. Yang would lean in, leaving her lips tantalizingly close to Blakes own until the temptation would be too much. They would lock in place, with Yang forcefully pressing her own body against Blakes as they indulged themselves in oneanothers mouths, entwining their tongues in a supreme act of passion.
Blakes eyes darted open in shock. That was a little too intimate, even for her. She shook her head in disbelief and turned the shower off, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her waist in a hurry. She stepped out of the shower and over her clothes to pause in front of the mirror, rubbing a small hole in the condensation to gasp slightly at what she saw. Her face was flushed bright red, even moreso than usual. Mind racing, she made her way over to her sleeping clothes, hurriedly drying herself off and sliding the black yukata onto her shoulders. She tied the bow at her back and secured it in place, pulling the material over her chest and tucking it beneath the folds. She was about to climb straight into her bed and hope for a rapid sleep, but her logical thinking kicked in, reminding her that her clothes were still in the bathroom.
Five minutes later and Blake was lying in her bed, her attire in a folded pile next to her uniform, with her headbow now back in its comfortable place. She was confident that everything was normal, but any positive thoughts were quickly drowned out by the violent, pulsing pain that raged inside her head and the flustered feeling that tugged at her heart and stomach. Her eyes closed tightly as she gripped the cover hard, lying on her side and willing herself to sleep. Gradually her muscles relaxed as she herself calmed down, her body taking over and easing her into a state of rest, until it finally shut off the conscious side of her brain to allow her to rest.
Where she would go from here would be an interesting conversation with herself.