Chapter 41: Let's Split Up, Gang!
Gather around, my children! It's your special friend, The Draigg! Now, ready to hear a story? Yes, indeed it's a special story. So special, that it wasn't made by me. RWBY belongs to Monty Oum, and I don't own anything I tell you about. Now, sit in your squares, find your buddies, and settle in for story time!
Thursday. The day of musical reckoning was coming closer every hour. They were only a couple of days away from their show. Currently, Task Force Musical was split up to work on multiple fronts after classes. Ruby and Weiss were practicing the songs on the list. Team JNPR was setting up the movement markers on stage, and also moving around the speaker equipment into the right places. Blake, Yang, and Velvet were over at the snack bar, trying to get the staff there ready for the influx of customers that evening of the show.
Now, let's observe the mentioned groups in the order they were mentioned in. We begin here with Ruby and Weiss.
Team White Rose were lounging around in their dorm room, practicing some of the songs on the show list.
"How was that?", Weiss asked Ruby. She had just finished her sixth song in her practice order. It was important to get it just right, so she was not only singing, she was also working on her body language as well. It was just as important as singing when it came to performance art.
Ruby, who was sitting on her bed, perked up at Weiss' voice. Sure, Weiss' singing was absolutely great. But, after a while just staring at Weiss, the songs started to blend together. Plus, even though it might break Weiss' heart to say it, she was absolutely stiff in her movements.
Apparently, she had forgotten how she acted on stage before. Which was understandable, since she had a lot on her plate recently. In fact, one could say that her emotional plate recently looked like that of a world-class competitive eater at an all you can eat buffet. It was probably filled with a bunch of sausage spaghetti, corn bread, green bean casserole, and chocolate pie. It wasn't healthy in the slightest. Anyway, let's get back to the subject at hand.
Deciding to take the diplomatic route, Ruby replied, "Well… your singing was fine, as usual… but…".
That raised Weiss' eyebrows. "But what?", she asked, now concerned. Was her movement awkward? Did she look nervous? What was it? WHAT?!
"I… umm… you look really stiff.", Ruby said, finding no other way to phrase her criticism. Weiss' body language wasn't acceptable, to say the least. Her legs were locked in place, and one of her arms was stuck to her side. The other one was mimicking holding up a microphone. She wasn't aware that large beads of sweat were forming on her forehead.
Stiff? STIFF?! What the hell happened to her confidence? Weiss was sure that she had gotten over her fears of public singing the first time the music show came around. But, maybe all of that stuff with her family regrew her fears slightly. This wasn't good. She only had a few days to get ready for the music show!
"But… I can't freeze up on stage! I can't! What can I do?", Weiss exclaimed to herself, pacing around the room. She was playing with her ponytail roughly, deep in thought. Why now? Why was her body betraying her mind? Weiss' hyperactive breathing was starting up again, her tic coming up to the surface once more.
Ruby stood up and moved over to Weiss. Putting her hands on Weiss' shoulders she gently pushed her onto the bed to sit. She then kneeled in front of Weiss, holding her hands. Weiss' hands were shaking slightly in her grasp.
"Weiss, look at me.", Ruby commanded, staring straight at Weiss' face. Weiss' icy blue eyes locked with Ruby's gaze.
"Now, I know that all of this is a little scary. In fact, it's A LOT scary. Heck, even I'm a little afraid. But, I can't let that fear stop me. I won't let it, because I can believe in my friends to support me whenever I may fall.", comforted Ruby, rubbing Weiss' smooth hands. They stopped shaking, due to her massage.
"But… what should I do? What Can I do?", Weiss asked, sounding a little desperate. She needed to overcome this NOW.
"Believe in me who believes in you!", Ruby suggested with a smile. "Trust me, it always works! As long as you know that I'm there for you, you can't fail!". She then stood up, wanting to sit next to Weiss. Plopping next to her, Ruby wrapped her arm around Weiss' shoulder. In return, Weiss did the same.
"How lucky am I to end up with you?", Weiss sighed, her confidence boosted by Ruby's kind words. Her lips curled into a small smile. Ruby's simple honesty never failed to make her feel better.
"I'm not really sure… a lot, I think?", Ruby guessed in response. She looked completely baffled at Weiss' rhetorical question.
Sighing, Weiss ruffled Ruby's hair. Hopping off of the bed, Weiss pulled out her scroll to look at the song list. She could do this. For her. Always for her.
"Ready for another one?", Weiss asked, readying herself for the next song. She could feel the tendons in her muscles loosen. Her body was starting to match her confidence.
Ruby nodded, and pulled up the song sheet herself to look at the lyrics. The heart she wore on her sleeve knew that Weiss would do well. She just knew it.
So, Weiss began to sing again, making her best practice session so far.
Moving on, let's now shift our attention to Blake, Yang, and Velvet. They were leaning against the snack bar's counter, talking to the cashier there.
"Wow, that much eh?", the cashier said in response to the estimated amount of attendees for the show. Of course, Yang exaggerated when she said well over three thousand. But hey, if it got the snack bar to work with them, a small white lie was okay.
Blake, of course, wasn't having any of that. She elbowed Yang in the ribs to punish her. Wincing from the pain, Yang asked, "What? It could happen!". Her rationalization wasn't exactly wrong. But on the other hand, that was clearly some B.S. she made up on the spot.
"What my partner means to say, is to expect plenty of customers.", Blake clarified to the cashier. Velvet nodded at Blake's statement. Then Velvet added:
"Exactly. All we ask is that you stay open through our show. That way, you get plenty of lien, and we get our audience to stay around. It works out for both of us.". Velvet's reasoning certainly made sense. People loved snacks, especially at public events. Why not work with the people who provided them?
"Okay, okay.", the cashier said, raising his hands. "No need to convince me. As far as I'm concerned, it's a good deal.", he said to the work group.
"So, we can rely on you to service our audience?", asked Blake for clarification.
"Yeah, sure. I'm on duty that day anyway, so it's cool.", the cashier replied, scratching his dark green hair with a pale-ish hand. Now that he thought about it, didn't his brother deal with these people before? He did mention an aloof girl in black and a busty blonde lady asking him for music supplies.
"Groovy!", Yang exclaimed, extending her fist out. The cashier bumped it in response. The deal was sealed.
"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have met my brother, Rickert, would you? He works in the Music Club.", the cashier asked the group before they left.
Now it clicked in Blake and Yang's heads. That cashier DID look a little familiar! That must have been his brother that was the Music Club president!
"Oh, yeah! We did!", Yang exclaimed. Man, what a coincidence!
"Indeed.", Blake added. "If you see him, send our thanks.", she asked of the cashier.
"Yeah, sure. Oh, and…", the cashier said, moving his pointed finger over to Yang. "He said you tried to seduce him! Pfft! Ha!". For some reason, the cashier then burst out laughing. Velvet looked confused, Blake face palmed, and Yang blushed in embarrassment. That certainly wasn't her proudest decision.
"Oh *snort* man… It wouldn't have even worked!", the cashier exclaimed, his laughter dying down a little.
"And why not?", Yang asked, now feeling like her pride was tarnished. Why wouldn't her lifting up her top have worked?
With his laughter now down to a small chuckle, the cashier replied, "He has a boyfriend!". Then, the cashier's laughter picked up again.
Now Yang felt incredibly dumb. Leave it to her to try and expose her chest to a gay guy. In hindsight, that day was now even worse than before. And here she thought the universe couldn't mess with the past.
Choking noises left Yang's throat, as she tried to find some words. The part of her brain that could for sentences failed her. So, deciding to cut her losses, Yang abruptly walked away. By the looks of it, she was heading over to the cafeteria. She wanted some ice cream to drown her sorrows. Yang was in for a nasty surprise, since she forgot that she crushed the dessert counter yesterday.
Blake decided to follow after her, wondering what the hell she was doing. Velvet did a double take as Blake suddenly disappeared from her side. She began to head in her direction as well, but then quickly turned her attention to the cashier.
"We're still good, right…", Velvet began to ask as she looked at the cashier's name tag, "…Cedric?".
"Yeah, we're good.", Cedric replied through his continued chuckles.
Nodding, Velvet then followed her friends towards the cafeteria. What the heck had happened to cause this reaction? She hoped to get an answer.
And now, we will now focus on Team JNPR, who were working on the final touches on the stage for the show.
Ren was feeling perturbed by his teammate's behavior right now. Granted, that was a common feeling nowadays, but today he was feeling it pretty hard. Pyrrha was supposed to be helping Jaune place movement markers on the stage, but she was clearly staring at his rear as he bended over to place the stage markers down. Ren thought that her lechery would be over once they had sex. Unfortunately, that wasn't reality. If anything, Pyrrha's ogling had grown even more blatant. Ren guessed that one taste wasn't enough for her.
Nora, on the other hand, was at least trying to work. 'Trying' was the key word there. For every five minutes she spent putting speakers and audio equipment into place, there was at least twenty more where she goofed around incessantly. Nora was currently in her twenty minute phase.
"Nora, get down from there!", Ren shouted upward. Nora was perched on the lighting rigs, staring at the view of the Emerald Forest.
"But it's so nice up here! I feel like a bird!", Nora shouted down to Ren.
"I can see up your skirt!", warned Ren. While that was true, it didn't really do much for him. Since they grew up together, there wasn't a part of her that he didn't get a fair look at. Ren felt that Nora didn't really care, as long as it was only him. She could get clingy at times. Oh well, that's what comes with having a 'special friend'.
Nora cried back, "You should come up here!". Clearly, she didn't heed Ren's warning.
"No, I'm not going up there! Just come down already!", Ren shouted even louder. Ren wasn't used to yelling this much. He was perfectly fine having his voice stay low. In fact, that was his preferred setting.
"No! I don't want to!", Nora complained back to him.
Ren pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Why was living with Nora so hard? But, he knew he had only himself to blame for that. If Ren didn't feel love for her, he would have been long gone by now.
Then, an idea struck Ren. "If you come down, I'll make you pancakes on the hotplate!", he bargained. If direct orders didn't work, bribery usually did the trick.
Nora's mouth watered at the thought of Ren's pancakes. Ren knew how to make a mean flapjack. She also really appreciated the fact that Ren would go through the trouble to cook for her. After all, love and attention always made for the best ingredients.
Finally swayed to come down off the lighting rigs, Nora leapt from the top. Landing on her feet, she shuffled around excitedly in front of Ren.
"When can we have them? Tomorrow? Oh! Can we have breakfast for dinner?!", she asked enthusiastically.
Ren decided to make use of Nora's boundless energy. "We can do that…", he began to say, noticing the light on Nora's eyes grow.
"But…", he continued, "Only if you can set up all of this equipment in the right order.".
Nora snapped her arm into a crisp salute. "You've got it, Captain Ren!", she said, puffing out her chest. Dropping her salute, she dashed over to the stack of audio equipment and started working.
Ren simply sighed and turned away. Well, that ought to take her about another half hour to finish. Whenever his cooking was on the line, Ren could always rely on Nora to get stuff done. It was like a rule of nature.
Now, with that issue out of the way, Ren decided to go over to Jaune and Pyrrha. Now, he no issue currently with Jaune. At least he was doing his job, placing down those markers. It was Pyrrha that was being unproductive. If she bothered to help Jaune instead of stare at his rear, placing the markers would go twice as fast.
"Enjoying the view?', snarked Ren as he walked up behind Pyrrha. She jumped a little in surprise.
"Oh! Hello, Ren! I didn't see you there!", Pyrrha exclaimed, waving at him.
Leaning against a speaker tower, Ren stared directly at Pyrrha with a judging gaze. Pyrrha shifted around, a little uncomfortable. Ren could be really good at covering up his intentions when he wanted to. That's why they stopped having casino night every weekend. His poker face was too good.
"So, is Jaune's butt looking any different than it did a few minutes ago?", Ren asked bluntly. Being unsubtle was a good way to throw people off their game.
Pyrrha's eyes briefly widened, before they went back to normal. She had been caught! Thinking quickly, she tried to play off what she was doing.
"What? I have no idea what you're talking about, Ren. Not at all.", she said, shifting her eyes around suspiciously. Pyrrha was too honest for her own good, even when it was unintentional. She couldn't lie her way out of a wet paper bag.
"Uh huh.", Ren replied, his tone completely deadpan. "Just keep it in the bedroom, okay?", he asked of her.
Pyrrha, whose blush of embarrassment was matching the color of her hair, nodded in agreement. She was supposed to be a role model to people, not someone who should be in a watch list!
However, by the time that Ren had finished warning Pyrrha, Jaune had finished putting down his movement markers in place. After brushing some dust off of his jeans, he walked over to his two teammates.
"Hey guys. Are you done too?", he asked, rubbing a kink out of his back. Bending over all the time sure annoyed his back.
"Well, I'm sure Pyrrha is done with what she was doing.", Ren noted, looking at her.
"Err, uh, that's right! We've done some good work here.", Pyrrha said in order to cover up any guilt that showed on her face. Ren rolled his eyes at her statement.
Silence then blanketed the small group.
"I'm going to help Nora now.", declared Pyrrha, walking over to her energetic, ginger haired friend.
Before Jaune could follow after her, Ren stopped him. He leaned over to Jaune and said, "She was checking you out, you know.".
Unexpectedly, Jaune grinned at the notion. Ren was slightly confused at his smiling. Why was he doing that?
"Yeah, I know. Trust me, I could tell.", Jaune said, smirking. Then, he clapped Ren on the back and said, "Like my dad always said, you gotta play the long game.".
As Jaune then strutted off to join Nora and Pyrrha, Ren looked on in bemusement. So, Jaune wasn't that clueless after all, the sly dog! He had to give Jaune credit for that. Ren was fine with it as long as it didn't affect the team dynamics too much.
Ren stopped leaning on the speaker tower and went to join his teammates. Heck, today wasn't that bad, all things considered. All it took was a payment of pancakes. That wasn't that bad of a price.
So, Team JNPR united to finish their work.
Overall, Task Force Musical got a lot done that Thursday. Sure, some dignity was lost by some people (Yang especially), but what they gained more than certainly made up for it. Weiss had gotten her confidence back, the snack bar people were ready to serve the show audience, and the stage had it's audio equipment and movement markers completely set up. Things were looking even better than before. The work couldn't fail now… probably.
Hopefully, Task Force Musical wouldn't trip over their shoelaces right in front of the finish line. They were so close, it would be such a shame to fail now. But, in the background, the universe watched them, scheming.
Okay readers, that's it for today! Now, I hope that you caught the Gurren Lagann reference (it was pretty obvious)! Anyway, stay tuned for more, coming up later! And be sure to leave me a kind message in the reviews! This is The Draigg, signing off.