"That Mercury guy's really gotta be some kind of machine…" Ruby commented, somewhere between awe and perplexity as she watched the sparring match unfold below, "I mean, just this last week he's challenged Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha to sparring matches – and now Mina?"

"He certainly is… enthusiastic…" Weiss allowed, "What I don't understand is why he forfeits every one – he's clearly a capable fighter…"

Below, in the arena, Mercury Black was certainly putting Mina through her paces. Whatever might be said of the cocky swagger that the boy seemed to exude, his skills were certainly impressive; it took more than dumb luck to disarm Pyrrha Nikos – however briefly – but if he remained true to form, sooner or later he'd forfeit this match too. The question was, why?

Of course, to call what was unfolding below a 'duel' in the traditional sense would perhaps been a bit of a stretch. It was less a match of combat skill carried out through controlled blows than a dodging contest. They both exhibited masterful footwork, although how each fighter used it differed immensely; Mercury would jump, spin, occasionally make a kick, whilst Mina's feet most always remained firmly on the ground, barring the occasional roll out of the way. Mina had started the match with a stake in each hand, held in reverse grip, and now pushing three minutes in, she still did; Mercury hadn't given her the chance to attempt anything else – she'd needed the stakes for a few close calls with the boy's boot. He was fast, that much was for sure, but thanks to Mina's semblance, no amount of his fancier maneuvers could surprise Mina, and she always managed to remain just outside the attacks, ducking and pivoting to avoid her foe as efficiently as possible. Still, however she managed to remain half a step ahead of Mercury, one did not win a fight by dodging and defending, and at a glance at least, Mercury had had the initiative from the start.

"Do you think she's gonna be okay?" Ruby asked worriedly.

Weiss nodded, "She's being a lot more efficient with the way she moves than he is; if it comes down to it, he'll wear himself out first." That was how she foresaw the duel playing out anyway. In a broader sense though, Weiss wasn't so sure.

It was a subtle, blink-and-you'd-miss-it sort of thing, but it was there. Mina wasn't so dead behind the eyes as she had been on the testing range – that much was good; at least it meant that Mina had a little faith in what Weiss had promised her about Blake – but Weiss could still see that look in her eyes that betrayed her unease. Weiss sighed, Yang… sooner rather than later would be expedient…

There would probably never be a better opportunity, after all; while Weiss and Ruby were effectively 'keeping an eye' on Mina to make sure she was still okay, Yang was free to go confront Blake in the library. This sparring session was not, strictly speaking a class, but rather, it was an optional practice period for the Vytal Tournament qualifiers. It had not taken much to persuade Mina to attend the session, as she had been immersing herself in whatever tasks she could find – anything with a clear-cut goal to be achieved really – as a way of distracting herself, and a sparring match was precisely the sort of distraction that Mina needed right now, of that, Weiss was sure.

Over the past week, the only times that the Heiress had seen Mina smile were few and far between. When she won a sparring match or took out a cluster of training drones at once, her lip would curl upwards a bit, however briefly as she let the sense of accomplishment drown everything else out, but those were always fleeting moments, and soon enough they would pass. The only other time was when Weiss had taken her into Vale to go buy a new dress for the dance; while Mina had initially been reluctant, both on the grounds that she yet doubted whether or not Blake would go and because she already had the white evening dress, Weiss had managed to persuade her that shopping had a way of making people feel better and, somewhat surprisingly, it worked better than the Heiress could have imagined. At the boutique Weiss led Mina to, she'd naturally had to be Mina's eyes through the selection process, and describing in detail how one dress probably showed a little too much skin or how another was a bit too tight to be considered tasteful, while embarrassing, managed to get a little giggle out of Mina here and there. When they'd actually chosen a dress, Mina even left the store with a smile, and for that, Weiss would have put up with a great deal more than the odd embarrassing jibe – it just fit Mina's face better than the recent dejected indifference that dominated her expression of late. Unfortunately, the smile had only lasted until they returned to Beacon, and Mina went right back to disappointment when Blake again failed to return to the Dorm before lights out.

She can't do this forever…

Nothing. The White Fang had to be subtle, of course, but if you knew where to look, as Blake did, one could usually pick up hints regarding their whereabouts and activities on the internet. Usually. It seemed in this case though, whoever was pulling the strings had clamped down on whatever typically made its way online, because after nearly two weeks of searching, the latest and only clue Blake had to go on was 'Southeast of Vale" courtesy of Roman Torchwick at the faction meeting. She was tired, yes, and the headaches that came with staring at a screen for hours on end every day for two weeks certainly weren't helping, but this needed to be done, I need to do this…

And then a little red dot appeared on her screen.

She blinked at first, and her eyes involuntarily followed the little red dot left and right, up and down for a few seconds before she turned to see where it was coming from. There were a few students milling about, some reading at the tables or browsing the shelves, but nobody seemed to be casting the infuriating little red light. Taking a deep breath, Blake turned back to her screen and set back to her work. Unfortunately, the red dot was back as soon as her hand touched the mouse. Growing frustrated, she impulsively tried to swat the annoying little light off the back of her hand, only to have it leap back to her screen. Her eyebrow twitched as she groaned in irritation and reached for it again, but again the light escaped, first to the desk, and then to the floor beside her.

Resolving that she would be able to get nothing done as long as that stupid little dot was roaming around, Blake got up from her seat and followed it as the thing scuttled away – if a point of light could truly be said to scuttle was a secondary concern at the moment, next to Blake's mounting desire just to teach it a lesson. As she rounded the corner around a bookshelf though, who did she bump into but Yang, holding the offending laser pointer?

I should have known….

"We need to talk,"

"Wha-?" Before Blake could finish her question or make an objection to the blonde though, she was abruptly dragged out of the library.

It wasn't until they'd reached the nearest vacant lecture hall that Yang had let a flustered Blake go and bid her have a seat, "Come on," She said gently, her usual boisterousness conspicuously absent.

Blake sighed, crossing her arms, "Yang, if you're going to-,"

"I don't want you to stop," The brawler interrupted, "but you do need to slow down…"

"There's too much at stake, Yang-!"

"Maybe, but you're not gonna help anyone by running yourself ragged like this," Yang countered.

"We don't have a choice! We need to know what Torchwick is doing before something serious happens! You were there! You know what he can do with an arsenal full of those Paladins-,"

"And I know that you can't do jack about it if you're too exhausted to keep your eyes open!" Yang rebuked, but then her voice softened again, "Look, I'm not saying you should slam the breaks or anything – just ease up on the gas, okay? You need to rest. I know what you're going through, and I know that sometimes it's hardest to just take a break, but believe me, I know-,"

"How? How would you know-,"

"Because I almost got myself and Ruby killed when we were kids!" Yang slammed her fist on the lectern, commanding Blake's silence, "I don't know if you've noticed, but Ruby and I don't have the same mother; mine walked out on Dad and me after I was born – I found that out after Mom died – Ruby's mother, Summer Rose, but she was Mom to me too – well, Summer was a Huntress, and one day, she never came back. That sucked, and it hurt, but Dad couldn't take it… he just… shut down after that, and that's when I found out about how my mother had left us. And you know what I did? Exactly what you're doing now: I obsessed. I had to know why, I needed the answer, and when I found a clue, I didn't hesitate to put Ruby into a wagon and drag her out with me to go look while Dad was away. Long story short, I didn't find my mother, I found Beowolves, and I thank God that Uncle Qrow found us in time, because I was too terrified and exhausted to cry for help,"

"Yang, this isn't the same-,"

"It's exactly the same!" Yang shouted, "Look at yourself! What the hell would you do if Roman Torchwick showed up, right here, right now? Huh? I still want to know why the hell my mother abandoned Dad and me, but do you see me losing sleep over it Blake?"

"This isn't just about me!"

"No, it isn't," Yang shook her head, "There's a lot at stake here, I get that, but how much are you gonna sacrifice to this monster before it devours you anyway? Cause that's what this obsession of yours is Blake; a big monster with Roman Torchwick's face and a thousand White Fang Grimm masks for scales! And it will eat you alive if you can't control it!"

"Yang, I-,"

"No, I'm not finished," Yang cut her off sternly, "Let's start with me; by forcing me to worry about you like this, you are sacrificing my time and peace of mind. The same goes for Ruby and Weiss. But you know what's worse?"

Blake swallowed, nodding as realization dawned on her and a cold knot tied itself in her stomach.

Yang didn't need her permission to continue though, "Now let's talk about Mina, Blake…"

Blake looked away, "Yang, I get it-,"

"No, you don't," Yang flatly asserted, "She loves you – lives for you – and what the hell have you been showing her the last couple of weeks? I'll tell you: you are showing her, day by day, that she's a secondary concern to you!"

At that, Blake got very angry, very fast, and the sudden buildup of rage focused itself into a fist, "Shut up!"

Yang caught the blow with nigh-effortless ease though, "Tell me it isn't true! What has your priority been, huh?"

"Nobody in Vale is safe until I stop this! Mina included! This is for the greater good-," Blake shouted back, tears starting to well up.

"Until you stop this?" Yang scoffed, "What about us? Do you really have that little faith in us? And don't even get me started on that 'greater good' crap Blake! Is Mina a lesser good to you?"

"That isn't what I meant-,"

"And this isn't solely your responsibility," Yang said with a sympathetic sigh, and pulled Blake into a hug, "You need. To take. A breath."

"I have to fix this Yang…"

"Shhh… We have to fix this… whatever this is… but we aren't gonna do it by working ourselves into early graves," The Blonde smiled, "Besides, things tend to work 'emselves out better when you're chill about it,"

"But how can I be 'chill' about it when people's lives hinge on whether or not we can stop Torchwick?" It was an honest question; the anger had bled out of her and its place had been filled by doubt.

"You can start by letting yourself sleep," Yang squeezed her a bit more tightly in the embrace, "Cause you can't keep up what you're doing now…"

"But-,"

"Remember all those times you told Mina that you didn't want her to throw her life away for you?" Blake was silent, "Well, you can't tell her that and then turn around and throw your life away on this."

"I'm not though-,"

"What do you think would happen if you had to fight Torchwick right now? Or a pack of Beowolves? Or a Nevermore? Look me straight in the eyes, tell me you could handle that, and I'll let this go,"

Somehow, and Blake didn't know why, but it was right then, when she'd been given the out – if only she could reach out and take it – her strength failed her. Her eyelids felt heavy, her legs felt weak, and no matter how much she told herself that she wanted to, her neck couldn't be persuaded to allow her to look up and meet Yang's eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut and choked back the urge to sob; she'd been wrong. It stung so much to admit that, even to herself, but it was the truth, and Yang was right; if she let her own prideful stubbornness control her now and consume all the strength she had, what good could she be to anyone? And Mina…

"I owe her an apology don't I …" It wasn't a question, nor was it meant for Yang, but she understood and answered nonetheless.

"Yeah…" Yang nodded, "Her and everybody else; cause I had to come out here and straighten you out, Weiss is organizing all the decorating for the dance, so it's probably gonna be really boring now…"

Blake blinked, "What…?"

Yang just gave her an affectionate clap on the shoulder, "Kidding, kidding… Just… apologize to Mina and bring her to the dance, okay? You both need to unwind after this,"

Blake nodded, "Yeah… alright…"

Author's Note: Okay, so here's another chapter; next time will probably be the actual dance – not entirely sure on that yet, but that's my best guess. For now though, I'd love to hear any feedback, and until next time, have a good one.