"Some combat practice today huh?" Sun asked idly as Goodwitch dismissed the whole group for the day, "Don't tell her I said this, but that Goodwitch is a slave driver…"
"I don't know, I think that she is duly committed to her profession," Weiss disagreed, "Although today was rather more intense than usual… Especially for an extracurricular session…"
"Yeah…" Neptune didn't sound particularly convinced.
"I usually find that a good workout helps… relieve stress…" Mina added somewhat reluctantly. She just wanted to shower, change, and get back to RWBY's dorm as quickly as possible. Weiss had mentioned earlier that she meant to attend this Saturday session of practice, and Mina had volunteered to join her, thinking to work out some of her accumulated stress. Now that she'd come and had the workout though, she found herself wishing that she had not. There were too many people here that she did not know. Normally, she was perfectly happy to be alone in a crowd, or to be fawned over by slack-jawed customers with their heads in the gutter but who nonetheless knew better than to engage her on a personal level. Here though… so many exchange students, all wanting to impress the Beacon professors and their peers, and some looking to make friends… They just… wouldn't leave her alone… "Although… not today, it would seem…"
"Least we're done now, right?" Sun offered in an attempt to bolster their spirits after the rather grueling session, "Who's up for a trip into Vale?"
Wonderful…A trip to Vale meant the possibility of meeting yet more strangers who did not know to leave her alone. Mildly put, she did not want to go, and without her conscious notice, her posture must have testified to that effect, because concerned-sounding Mr. Vasilias approached her.
"Hey… You ok- Gah!"
Mina panicked at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder, and reflexively, her own hand shot upward like a bullet, grabbing the offender at the wrist and twisting. Hard, "Do. Not. Touch. Me-,"
"Owowowowowowowow!"
"Mina!" Weiss swiftly stepped between Mina and her unfortunate victim to hold them separate, "What's gotten into you?"
Mina blinked, "I…" using her Semblance now as rationality reasserted itself, "I did not mean… Mr. Vasilias…" She let his wrist go and stepped back, "I…"
"Yo dude! Are you okay!?" Sun moved in now, "What the Hell Mina!?"
"I… I'm sorry…"
"Is anything broken?" Weiss interrupted, speaking to Neptune.
Neptune shook out his wrist, and then shook his head in the negative, "Nah… just hurts…"
"Good…" Weiss sighed with relief, before turning to Mina and firmly guiding her from the room by the shoulder, "Okay, diary time. Now."
Mina nodded nervously as she was ushered from the room and into the women's locker room. Her breathing felt shallow, her blood felt cold, and no matter how much she told herself that nothing was there, it still felt like some stranger had a hand on her shoulder – even though she knew who had done it and that the blunder was perfectly innocent.
"Okay, what has gotten into you?" Weiss demanded as the door shut behind them, "I mean, I might understand if it were Dove, or Cardin, or someone like that, but Neptune's…"
"Just a fool…?" Mina joked weakly,"
"Harmless," Weiss corrected, somewhat bitterly, "And he didn't deserve a broken wrist for asking if you were alright!"
"I… apologize if I have created a conflict of interest for you…"
"Don't give me that!" Weiss rebuked, "This isn't about Neptune, it's about you! This isn't like you!" She shook her head exasperatedly, "What good would I be as a friend if I won't tell you when you're wrong? So… are you going to tell me why you lost it on him?"
Mina stared blindly at her feet, "I… I do not know…"
"You… don't know?" Weiss asked in disbelief.
"I felt a hand on my shoulder and I… reacted…"
"Then what about this, huh? " Weiss gave Mina a little shove to emphasize that she still had a hold of Mina's shoulder, "You're not twisting my arm!"
Mina looked up now in an effort to meet Weiss's eyes, "I… trust you…"
Weiss stepped back, "You… Trust me? What… what do you mean…?"
"I…" Mina hesitated, "I only like to let Blake touch me…" She paused, "But you are my best friend, and I trust you not to… abuse the privilege"
Weiss blinked in vexation at first before the penny dropped, "Oh my God, Mina, what happened?"
"Nadia Undine…" Mina admitted.
This gave Weiss some pause, "That girl who tried to blow us up?" she queried for clarification, "What did she-," Her eyes widened, "What did she do to you? I thought you said-,"
"I did best her…" Mina interrupted, "But…"
Weiss stepped forward to give Mina a hug, "It's alright… you don't have to say it…"
"Thank you…" Mina sniffled, "I just… I do not care to have new people take an interest in me right now…"
"Like who?"
"It's nothing really-,"
"Obviously not," Weiss stepped back again, shaking her head, "Not if it's got you this paranoid…"
"It should not though…" Mina replied guiltily, "She was just a bit nosy…"
"Who?"
"You're Emerald, right?" Blake asked calmly; it wouldn't do to accuse somebody she barely knew of something when for all she knew, Mina was just feeling drowsily fragile yesterday.
The green-haired girl looked up from the book she'd been reading – The Third Crusade – and put it back on the library shelf, "Hmm? Oh, yeah, that's me…" She raised an eyebrow, "Blake Belladonna?"
Blake nodded, "I… haven't seen you in the library before…"
The exchange student from Haven shrugged, "I usually prefer to… own the books I read, but the bookstores in town… leave much to be desired…"
Blake grabbed a book – she wasn't paying attention to which, "I don't know; as long as you return them, these are free..."
"Fair enough…" Emerald Sustrai allowed, "But most of these aren't really my thing,"
"You prefer gossip to literature, I take it?" Blake tried not to sound accusing, but wasn't sure that she was doing a very good job.
Emerald's eyes narrowed as she leaned up against the bookshelf, "What would give you that idea?"
"Mina may have mentioned that you approached her yesterday…"
"So it is true, you two are a thing-,"
Blake closed the book that she had not been reading anyway, "What did you ask her?" She demanded as politely as she could, "She wasn't exactly… herself when she came to me after your little… chat…"
Emerald's eyes widened, "Really? I'm… I'm sorry… I didn't know. I… can be a bit pushy sometimes, I guess… I just like to get a feel for new places, and word-of-mouth's just one of the best ways, y'know?"
I suppose that makes sense… Blake briefly recalled Clara, She wouldn't be the first gossip-hound I know… "Okay…" She began, "just… in the future… please be more careful how you talk to her? She doesn't usually look it, but she's sensitive…"
"Really?" The green-haired girl seemed genuinely surprised, "From what I've heard, she's pretty terrifying when you piss her off…"
"And who'd you hear that from?" Blake asked, genuinely curious.
"Cardin Winchester,"
"Oh…" Blake nodded, unable to resist a little smirk, "Yes, I suppose she showed him once or twice…"
Emerald shared the little laugh, "Yeah… I get the feeling that the big lug deserved it…"
"Oh absolutely," Blake acknowledged, "Although he hasn't been as much of a jerk lately…"
"That right?"
"Yeah, the first time, she almost-," Blake caught herself; she hadn't come here to chat, "Mina is… different…"
"I've been hearing that she's blind? And she mentioned something about a weird diet?"
All true… and fairly routine subjects for gossip, the way she's talking about it… "Yeah…"
"Something wrong?"
"Look… I'm sorry if I came off as… unfriendly… But in the future, could you just… give Mina some space? She's not what you'd call a 'people person,"
Emerald fell quiet, "Yeah, okay… Hey; I'm sorry if I stressed your girlfriend out – I didn't mean any of it like that… I hope you didn't… lose out on anything because of it…"
Blake blushed, "Well no… Mina's actually kind of clingy when she's upset actually but – that… why am I sharing that…"
Emerald burst out laughing, "Noted… but I promise not to tell,"
"Thank you…" Blake sighed, "I'm sorry; I just get… protective of her… you know? I didn't mean to accuse you…"
"Eh, no big; water under the bridge?"
Blake nodded, "Thanks for being so-," Just then, Blake's scroll went off, interrupting her mid-sentence.
"It's okay; I won't tell the librarian," Emerald smirked.
Nodding with a slight sigh, Blake pulled her scroll from her pocket and answered, "Weiss? What's-,"
"Dorm. Now."
"What happened?" Blake demanded; Weiss had not sounded like things were good.
"mina… had a little bit of a panic attack…"
"She what?" Blake was heading for the doors even as she spoke the words, "What do you mean a panic attack?"
"Long story short; she almost broke Neptune's arm…"
"I'm on my way,"
Weiss nodded over the call, "right…"
Closing the call, Blake looked back up at Emerald, who had been patiently waiting with a slightly bemused look on her face, "I'm sorry, I've got to go…"
"Go right ahead," She waved it off, "I'm glad that we could have this little talk…"
Blake opened the door to RWBY's dorm and found to her relief that Weiss and Mina were the only occupants. Weis was pacing in front of the window, and Mina was seated on Blake's own bed, staring down at her feet. It was early afternoon, so some indirect sunlight shone in from the window, but the room's own lights were out.
"So, in detail, what happened?"
Weiss sighed, "Mina…?"
Mina did not look up, "I was… feeling down, and Mr. Vasilias tried to ask if I was well…"
Blake shot Weiss a look, "But you said-,"
"Let her finish…" Weiss shook her head.
"He put a hand on my shoulder and I… overreacted…" Mina continued, "I did not know who it was at first – I just felt a hand on my shoulder – and I wanted it off…"
"Well there you have it…" Weiss affirmed without conviction, "Fortunately, Neptune is fine, but I'm concerned about what happens to the next person who doesn't know better."
"Okay… I think I get it… Weiss, do you mind giving us a minute?" Blake asked.
Weiss nodded, "Alright…"
As Weiss took her leave, Blake moved to take a seat beside Mina, and for a long while they just sat there. Mina's fists were clenched and resting on her knees, and she insistently stared downward like a child expecting to be scolded. For her part, Blake knew perfectly well that this wasn't behavior that she could simply overlook, but neither did she want to come down too hard on Mina. The trick was that she had to find out which of Mina's… idiosyncrasies had brought this episode on…
"So…" Blake began hesitantly, "DO you want to tell me why you lashed out at Neptune like that?"
"I did not mean to…"
"But you still did it,"
"Yes…" Mina seemed to shrink, "I just… Didn't want anyone to touch me…"
"Mina, you were in a training session, it happens-,"
"The session was over," Mina shook her head, "And besides, combat is… different…"
Blake furrowed her brow, "So violence doesn't bother you, but a friendly hand or accidental nudge does?"
"A fight is a fight, Dearest…" Mina shook her head, "But that hand on my shoulder… it could have been any number of things… Things I do not mean to share casually…"
Blake pulled Mina into an awkward hug from the side, "Mina… I told you that I love you no matter what, didn't I?" she tried to assure Mina, "Don't beat yourself – or somebody else – up for-,"
Mina took Blake's hand and pulled it up to her own cheek , pressing Blake's open palm to her face, " This, Dearest," she pulled Blake's hand down to her chest, "and this – this is a privilege I reserve for you alone; I've slipped once on that through lack of vigilance Dearest… I do not mean to do so again…"
Blake felt her heart break a little, "Mina… you know I'm not going to hold that against you-,"
"But I do!" Mina sobbed, "Every new person who tries to engage with me… I keep thinking they'll be like her… I should have killed her and been done with it – then I wouldn't feel this way and… and…"
"No! No, no, no…" Blake pulled Mina into a tighter embrace, "Don't think like that; I am proud of you for not-,"
"I would have, Dearest," Mina buried her face in Blake's shoulder, "I still would have Done it!"
"Shhhh…." Blake gently stroked Mina's hair, "I see now… I told you that you don't need to be forgiven for this Mina…" Blake sighed, "But maybe I was wrong…"
"Hmmm?"
"Maybe you do need forgiveness Mina… But I can't give it to you…"
Mina looked up at Blake, and Blake's heart broke a little more, "I understand-,"
"No, you don't," Blake shook her head, "I can't forgive you because I don't need to; you do,"
Mina breathed shallowly, "What?"
"I don't blame you for anything Mina, but you obviously do…" Blake explained, "So I'll tell you what I want you to do for me: let this go…"
"But-,"
Blake interrupted patiently, "You like to be rational Mina, so let's do that, okay? Blake gave her a comforting squeeze, "Realistically, how many people who talk to you or bump shoulders with you in the hallway are going to have the same kind of twisted fixation on you that she did? You don't have to be afraid of everybody Mina…"
"I know that…" Mina sniffled again, "But I can't help it…"
It really was a horrible sort of irony; Mina had spent her entire life leery of people – both human and Faunus – because most of them instinctively hated her for her… unique needs. Now, she was suspicious of almost everyone on the off chance that they might be attracted to her. It would almost be funny if she wasn't breaking down over it. This wasn't something that Blake could just leave be – even setting aside the fact that violent outbursts like this would get Mina into a world of trouble if she couldn't get a grip on this – Mina was hurting, and Blake needed to do something about it, so without pausing to think of another argument, she pulled Mina up and into a kiss.
"How was that?"
Mina's eyes went wide, "What? I… I do not understand…"
"From now on, whenever you start to feel anxious like that, instead of lashing out, I want you to come to me, and I'll give you a kiss, okay? Will that make you feel better?" Blake elaborated with a pained smile, "I don't care when or where; whenever you feel insecure like that, let me reassure you that it doesn't matter… Okay?"
Mina's face had a look somewhere between perplexity and childlike awe, but slowly, she did nod her comprehension, "Yes…"
"Good," she hugged Mina again, "Now what do you say we take you to apologize to Neptune, and then then we can go out to that place Goodwitch showed us? It's been two weeks…"
Mina nodded, some measure of her enthusiasm restored by the prospect of a little intimacy, "very well…"
Author's Note: So I got to thinking that the issue Mina was dealing with in 'Convalescence' was really more of a two-headed beast in that, yes, Blake could assure Mina that she still loved her then, but the subtler issue of the guilt Mina feels for having allowed it to happen in the first place was also worth exploring; granted, I haven't had a whole lot of occasion to demonstrate this since she hasn't had any major dealings with anyone with whom she isn't comfortable in the last few chapters until Emerald last chapter. Speaking of which, this whole issue is what had her getting anxious around Emerald – the… interest that Emerald exhibited in her, made her uncomfortable for this reason. Anyway, as always, I hope that you enjoyed this, and do feel free to leave any feedback.