-'Ruby? Dead? I have to have heard wrong..' Blake thought desperately to herself, but Weiss's suddenly pale face told her the truth. Their smaller, happy-go-lucky, weapons-loving leader was dead.-
Yang was escorted to a structurally reinforced room, more for others safety than hers. Weiss and Blake half expected Yang to blast her way out, but were surprised and a little concerned when the normally fiery-when-angry brawler just sat silently in the middle of the room.
"I… I just can't believe it… she was fine just minutes before… I saw her leave… but didn't say anything… dammit, I should have stopped her…" Weiss stuttered, staring blankly at the other wall in their dorm. Blake was sitting on her bunk bed, nose in a book. She wasn't reading, though. She was using the book to hide her face while she silently produced a river of tears from her eyes. She had removed her bow, in somewhat of a vigil for Ruby. There was a knock at the door.
"Ms. Schnee, Ms. Belladonna, it's Professor Goodwitch. Please answer the door."
Weiss complied, and stepped back in slight shock. The usually primped and proper professor looked as though she had stepped through a blazing furnace while fighting a gorilla.
"I need to talk to you two about… the team… I realize that now may be the wrong time, but no time is right when it comes to… this." Goodwitch was clearly trying to word her sentences carefully, "We need to talk about leadership of RWBY. I tried to discuss this with Ms. Xiao Long, but… as you can see from my attire, she was not in the mood to talk."
Weiss sat down. She hadn't even thought about leadership. This surprised her, as she was used to thinking about order and chain in command. Instead, she had been thinking about her friendships and losses. Goodwitch took their silence as a sign to continue.
"As the runner up to Ruby, and the second letter of the team, Weiss is acting leader until such time as another is decided."
Blake heard this, and was instantly a little angry. She knew Weiss had wanted to be leader since day one, and knew she would never turn something like this down.
"No. No. I do not want to be this team's leader."
Blake stopped mid-thought, again thinking she heard wrong. She recalled the major meltdown that Weiss had gone through when Ruby was made leader, and thought for sure the heiress would jump at the chance to be leader, no matter what.
Goodwitch apparently thought the same thing, because she did a double take, staring at the silently sobbing Schnee.
"I beg your pardon...? May I ask why you're declining leadership?" Goodwitch asked with unveiled disbelief.
"Because I... I wouldn't feel right. If I were to be leader, I want it because of skill... not because som-" she stopped herself, "because a friend died. So no. I will not lead this team. Ask Blake or Yang."
She was surprised at herself. She, Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, one of the richest and most powerful businesses in the world, declining a position of power in respect to a fallen friend. But, surprised as she was, she did not in the slightest wish to retract her decision. There was no way she would take leadership.
"Again, as you can clearly see, I have already talked to Ms. Xiao Long, and was attacked for my trouble." She turned to the last member of RWBY, "It appears you are now leader by default, Ms. Belladonna. Bear in mind if you refuse, Team RWBY will be disbanded, and you will be put into other teams who have also lost teammates.
Blake was startled. She hadn't expected this to ever happen. In her mind, she quickly recounted the events that had lead to this.
'Ruby dead, Yang attacking teachers, Weiss being human, Me…leader of a shattered team… Can I accept this? Can I hold this team together? I…I will have to try. Ruby would come back from the d… come back and kill me if I let her team dissolve…'
"Yes. I… I accept. I don't want to, but for the sake of the rest of the team, I accept."
Goodwitch nodded in understanding, while Weiss, although first staring in shock, now stared at her in an almost apologetic and thankful manner.
3 weeks later
Yang was still devastated. Every waking moment, she imagined her sister already up and running around, doing random things to wake everyone else up. Then the crushing reality would set in, and she would clench her fists until her nails, now rather long because of her voluntary captivity, dug into her palms. Using the pain, she would steel herself, and rise from her bed. Today was different. Today was the day she would stop crying. Today was the day she would exit her messy, burnt room and reenter the real world. She didn't know how her teammates would handle her return, or if she'd be able to catch up on missed classes, but one thing she knew she would do. She was done crying.
She knocked three times on the door, the signal that she wanted out, and the guard unlocked and opened the door. The walk to her dorm room seemed endless, but also very fast. Soon enough, she found herself in front of the off-white door, and opening it.
POV change
Weiss and Blake had grown used to Yang's absence. Ruby's too, but it was an unspoken point to never mention anything about their fallen leader. They were just getting ready for Combat class, when they heard the doorknob turn, and open.
"YANG!" Weiss gasped when she saw who was on the otherside of the door. Blake also gasped, but quickly resumed sharpening her Katana, acting like Yang wasn't there.
"Hehe, yeah… I decided to come back. I… I don't want to be alone anymore." Yang muttered a response.
"Come on. We have combat practice. You coming, Xiao Long?" Blake asked in a deadpan tone.
Yang raised an eyebrow, 'Xiao Long? Since when did she call me that?' she thought to herself as she nodded and followed her out the door.
In class, Goodwitch showed little surprised when the blonde brawler entered the classroom, but wasted no time in calling on her.
"Are you sure you want to return to classes this early? Perhaps you can just sit an watch… just for today?" The room fell quiet. Never in a million years have they ever expected 'Hard-Ass' Goodwitch to give somebody a free pass in her class. They were equally shocked when Yang responded, "No thank you, Professor. I actually want to fight." Goodwitch began to answer, when she heard low snickering from the corner of the room.
"Mr. Winchester, would you like to share your hilarious comment with the class?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Cardin glanced up at Yang, then back to Goodwitch, "No. Its not that funny… at least to you…"
"No, I insist."
Cardin sighed, then realizing there was no easy way out of this, he muttered, "I just said that the blonde girl was weak, now that her sister is dead…" he glanced again at said Blonde, and visibly paled when she was staring back with murderous intent.
Goodwitch's eyes narrowed, "You and your team. Enter the arena now." Her voice had gotten cold, and even Cardin knew not to argue this time, so he followed her orders.
"Ms. Xiao Long, would you like to fight?" She asked with a knowing look. Yang nodded, smiling darkly.
As she passed Yang, Goodwitch allowed her strict visage to drop for a second, and whispered, "Fuck'em up." Yang nodded, and entered the arena. CRDL had begun to gather courage, but quailed in fear when Yang fixed began to grin at them.
Her eyes had turned red.