Roman Torchwick stood in the middle of the room, wary of what was going to happen next. His feet gently stepped on the stone tiles on the floor and looked around, unable to see the dark walls that were made of stone as well. The entire room was stone; it was the basement of a run-down warehouse, and right now, it was the most frightening place Torchwick had ever been in. He looked around the room, trying to focus his attention everywhere and listen for any noises. He heard none.
"I'm not playing, kitty cat. Get out here and I'll make this quick," he snarled, trying to use anger to hold back his fear. He took another step forward, his shoes crushing the fallen glass from the broken light bulb above him, making a cracking noise. His heart skipped a beat, but nothing happened.
"Why not attack me now and get this bullshit over with? You've got your super faunus night vision, right?" Torchwick received no answer yet again.
"Is this how you get your kicks? Just like a real kitty, you play with your prey before going in for the kill? Or are you just scared to fight me in the open? I wouldn't be surprised. You're a faunus; all your kind do is hide." Still no reply.
"Okay, now this is getting old. What do I have to do to get you to step out of the shadows? I mean, I can't say I blame you for staying there. If I were a filthy faunus piece of trash, I'd keep my face hidden too. I mean, you basically look like the kid of an animal and a human who had sex. Say, is that how faunus are born? Does someone just wake up one day and say 'hey, I'm gonna fuck a cat?' Does-" Torchwick was cut off by a heavy object hitting his hand, making him hiss. His can skidded away from him, and he heard the drawing of a sword. He tried moving away, but it was useless. He found that his opponent had shoved her heel into the back of his knee, and he fell on it. The front of his knee slammed into the ground and he grunted as he felt a dull pain erupt in his leg. His grunt was soon replaced by a scream as a sword was jammed into his thigh and pierced the stone, keeping him impaled on the ground. His right arm was pulled into the air and Torchwick felt it bend in a highly irregular manner, eliciting another scream from the crime boss. His other arm received the same treatment, and both of his upper extremities hung limp at his sides, broken. Torchwick didn't want to move them.
"What the hell is this?" He asked in a panic. Suddenly, a light was shone into his eyes and he closed them quickly, opening them after a few seconds to see a terrifying face in front of his. He stared at the woman's narrowed, amber eyes, and as he tried to look away, a hand grabbed his throat and he gagged. He found himself forced to stare into the woman's eyes again. He could see the clarity in her gaze, the calm. He saw that she wasn't unhinged or blinded by anger. She was torturing him as if she was simply going about her daily business. His own eyes grew increasingly wide, not wanting to hold her gaze any longer. So, he focused on a different part of her face, and he saw deep scowl. He then closed his eyes, not wishing to see any more. There was no word to describe what the woman's expression was. It was beyond terrifying. To Torchwick, with an impaled leg, two broken arms, and a single small flashlight illuminating the person who had made it all happen, his assailant's face was like looking into his own personal hell. No matter where he looked, he saw fear and helplessness. Suddenly, the woman spoke.
"I'm not going to waste too much time talking to you, Roman. I'm not going to bore you with things you already know. You know my friend is dead, you know you killed him, and you know that I'm angry. Very angry. But what you don't know is how angry. I've been living in a world I've helped to save, a world that's only deteriorated since its salvation. And there's only so much shit I can take before snapping. Racism? I've dealt with that my whole life. Suffering? I've seen that, too. So I should have been used to losing people, right? I should have been used to death and sadness. But it's always the small things, isn't it? They're always the ones that push us over the edge, because that's all we need. A single push. After all, by that point, we're already at that edge. I was at that edge, and you gave me the final shove."
"W-What are you doing? Don't-" Torchwick cried out, interrupted as the faunus slammed her elbow into his face. He could hardly make out her dark Aura in the shadows, but he saw it flare up as her first strike landed. He tried looking up again, and saw a glint of controlled anger in her eyes before she punched him in the face again. His stomach was next to receive an impact from the woman's fist, and he coughed up blood. He then cried out as his hair was pulled back, forcing him to look up at his assailant.
"If I pull hard enough, will your scalp come off?" She asked quizzically and rhetorically. She pulled and Torchwick blinked. She continued pulling, her strength gradually increasing. Torchwick blinked again, holding back a scream. But when the woman suddenly yanked at his orange hair, he let it all out. His eyes watered and noise erupted from his mouth like water breaking a dam. Quickly, she reached her hand into his mouth and ripped off one of his teeth, stabbing him in the eye with it. The screams grew louder, but the faunus didn't seem to care. She didn't smile with satisfaction, nor did she flinch at the noise. Torchwick had never been this afraid before. He'd seen wild anger, blind anger, and even calculated anger. However, this was none of them. For the first time, he was seeing the anger of someone who snapped. He was seeing the rage of someone past the breaking point. There was no blindness, there was no calculation, and there was certainly nothing wild about the woman in front of him. What he did see, however, was change. Blake Belladonna had fallen, crashed, and shattered, and when she was put back together, something was out of place. But those concerns had fallen from Torchwick's mind. All he knew now was pain and fear.
A shriek rose from Roman Torchwick's lungs and rose out of his mouth as he woke up. The noise echoed across his white, brightly lit room. It seemed to cling to the ornate, expensive wooden furniture and the massive bed he was sleeping on.
"Hah...hah...hah..." Torchwick breathed heavily, taking note of all of the lights in the room, their orange glow comforting him. He saw lamps, candles, a chandelier made of solid gold, and even a few nightlights. He felt like a child afraid of the dark, but he knew that he wasn't. It wasn't the dark he truly feared. He wasn't really scared of shadows. He was scared of who lay within them. Blake Belladonna had risen from her shadows and into his light, and her appearance cast a blanket of darkness over his entire mind.
"Why her? Why is it her, every single fucking night? That faunus bitch just won't leave me alone!" Roman screamed, his hands clenching as he sat up in his bed, sweating. He threw off his sweaty white undershirt, revealing the bandages on his chest. He moved his hands along them, scaling his body until he reached his face. His left eye was heavily bandaged and he had multiple stitches on his cheeks and even neck. His nose was wrapped in a bandage as well, and he also wore a good deal of bandages around his head, covering his hair. However, some orange strands stuck beyond the white cloth and fell onto his forehead, sticking there due to the sweat. Grunting as he readjusted his sleeping position without putting too much pressure on his injured leg, the one that had been stabbed, he tried to get comfortable again. As he kept squirming, Torchwick felt his bandages brush against the sheets of his bed. He knew he didn't need them. It had been months since Blake had attacked him, and it had been a little while longer since he had financed a mob of thirty members of various anti-faunus groups in their mission to kill Adam Taurus. He had a vague idea about the nature of Adam's and Blake's relationship, but didn't know too much. What he did know, however, was that taking Adam down would send a very big message about the power of the anti-faunus groups and Torchwick's own influence, and it did. Of course, for Blake, it had been more of a challenge. She'd practically torn apart the thirty men and women who'd killed Adam, and had almost done the same to Torchwick himself. He was lucky beyond all belief that the faunus' blonde friend had intervened. He briefly tried to remember her name, thinking it may have been Yin or something of that nature, before his thoughts drifted to sleep. He hoped desperately that he didn't have nightmares about the night Blake had found him.
Weiss waited patiently, holding a snowflake pillow to her chest. Her hand drummed along the exterior of the phone to the beat of a song she'd heard Yang sing to Ruby once. She didn't know why she'd thought of that song at the moment she was calling Yang's younger sister, but she did. Giving it no thought, as there were some thoughts she had that even she couldn't understand, Weiss' patience was rewarded and she eagerly but somberly greeted the leader of team RWBY.
"Hello, Ruby. How...how are you?" She asked. Ruby responded, and Weiss could practically hear the smile in her friend's voice.
"Oh, I'm good. I've been cleaning my sweetheart for a little white now, lubricating her barrel and-" Weiss sighed, interrupting the younger woman.
"Please don't talk about Crescent Rose like a human being. It makes everything you say sound...indecent," she said. Ruby chuckled.
"Sorry, sorry. Old habits and all. So, did you just want to hear the melodic sound of my voice, or do you have some ulterior motive?" The redhead asked cheerfully. However, it was in that sentence that Weiss noticed something. Ruby's voice cracked, just a little.
"You've been crying, haven't you?" She asked. Ruby remained silent for a little before answering.
"Yeah. I have. It's just...Yang left to go on one of her 'walks,' and being alone is depressing. Aside from Crescent, I really don't have anything to distract me from, well, me. Have you ever felt like that, Weiss? That you just needed someone to be there so that you could forget who you were?" She spoke calmly but sadly, posing her question with more melancholy than she wanted to express. Weiss felt a pang of anger arise when Ruby mentioned Yang's absence, but quickly found herself more sad than anything.
"Just now, actually. I've been crying, too. Ruby, I have some very bad news. That's why I wanted to call you in the first place, to tell you about the...nevermind. It's just..." Her voice wavered and she found a stray tear falling from her eye. She wiped it away forcefully and continued talking.
"Ruby, Snow, Inc isn't working with me anymore. In light of recent events, they won't accept my money and they won't fund my projects. I...I can't get you a cure. I'm sorry," the white-haired woman told her friend, her voice as low and gentle as she could possibly make it. Aside from a small squeak, she heard nothing from her friend. Many seconds passed, Weiss waiting patiently, before Ruby responded.
"H-hey, it's fine."
"Is it really?" Weiss asked, doubtful.
"Sure it is! I mean yeah, I'm sad and I want my legs back, but..." At this, Ruby trailed off, her optimism fading. She had nothing to say, no excuse to give. She had always tried to stay happy and upbeat for her friends, but now, she couldn't do it. She knew that sometimes, they didn't appreciate her cheery attitude. Sometimes she got on their nerves, especially Weiss. But it was something the redhead felt that she needed to do. So many people she knew were willing to let themselves fall into depressing thoughts. Some, like Weiss and Blake, had pasts that haunted them. Others, like Jaune, struggled with their sense of self-worth. And Ruby felt that she needed to try and cheer them up. She needed to give them a sense of normalcy, to let them know that nothing had changed. This time, however, she couldn't do it. For her, things had changed.
"Ruby?" Weiss asked, fear lingering on her voice. She didn't hear anything coming form the other end. Ruby made no noise, or perhaps she had put the phone down to cry in private.
"Ruby!" Weiss shouted out of habit, having done so whenever her team leader spaced out when they were students in Beacon.
"Sorry, Weiss. I, uh...could we talk about something else?" Ruby asked, surprising Weiss with the speed at which she replied.
"Um..."
"Look, I can't cry anymore. I'm empty. I can't mope, because that would be rude to you. And worst of all, I can't do anything about it. I'm stuck in this chair and I'm weak. I can't beat anyone up to make them give the use of my legs back. I can't rally the troops and have everyone go marching on Snow, Inc. I'm helpless, and I'm done. Let's just...talk. Like old times, okay?" Ruby asked sweetly, trying her best to persuade Weiss with her words and tone of voice.
"Ruby, you can't just act like none of this is happening," her friend said, trying to sound supportive instead of demanding. Ruby sighed.
"I know, I know. I can't run from it. I have to face it, and I face it every night. Some nights go better than others, some are worse. But I've been facing this for a month now, Weiss. Can't I ignore it, just this once? Don't I deserve that much?" Weiss sighed a big long sigh in response to Ruby. She was right. Sometimes, pretending wasn't such a bad thing. And Ruby, who had always so willingly embraced responsibility and tried to bear her burdens as best she could, certainly earned the right to pretend.
"Of course. I'm sorry for being so insensitive."
"Oh, it's fine," Ruby said, her voice loud and uplifting like that of a chirping bird. As soon as Weiss relented, the redhead seemed to have pulled herself together, so eager was she to distract herself this one particular night.
"So, Weiss. Have you heard about the saucy rumors floating around Vale? About a certain blonde and his lady love?" Ruby asked coyly, making Weiss sigh.
"You sound just like your sister."
"Hey, it's exciting! They're finally starting to go out! I mean, it took them long enough, right?" Weiss let herself smile.
"Yes, it is and yes, it did."
"I know, right? I'm just so happy for them! I mean, I was there! We were eating out, and Jaune suddenly got up and started muttering something about Pyrrha being the greatest, most badass woman he'd ever met, and then Pyrrha turns all red and starts getting all fidgety and then Jaune is all 'so, uh...I mean...uh...well, if it's alright with you...'" Ruby started, trailing off into an endless stream of words, using comically deep voices to imitate Jaune and Pyrrha, making Weiss chuckle a little. She listened, trying to understand what Ruby was saying, secretly wishing that the younger woman had learned to properly space her words and talk like a normal human being. When she was excited about something, Ruby tended to let her words blend and her mind wander everywhere, thinking of the most ridiculous things. It was part of her charm, but at the same time, Weiss was annoyed by it and wondered what possessed an adult to talk in such a manner.
"...And so Pyrrha gets all emotional and kisses Jaune square on the lips and he starts gagging because Pyrrha doesn't know what she'd doing and she's crushing him kind of like what Yang does except with a lot more kissing and Jaune can't breathe and he starts tapping on Pyrrha who lets go and is all like 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry!' And then everyone starts clapping and Pyrrha bows before running off with Jaune to go somewhere and Yang said something really dirty and I flicked her in the head and then the waiter got there with my cookies and I ate them all and it was great! So, where were you that day, huh? Did you run off to do Weiss things, like organize books and drink expensive champagne?" Ruby finished her run-on sentence, not pausing at all and not even showing the slightest sign of fatigue. Weiss, for her part, had only barely heard what Ruby said.
"Well, I'll have you know that I was..." Realization dawned on Weiss as she remembered that she had been organizing her books that day.
"...I don't drink champagne unless it's a special occasion," she decided to say forcefully, hoping to get Ruby off of the subject. She didn't like when the younger woman managed to corner her with logic, however twisted Ruby's logic might have been.
"You were organizing your books, weren't you?"
"Don't you judge me! It's very therapeutic! I had just been arguing with the most moronic man in the store that day. He was spouting some anti-faunus nonsense, and after I brutally defeating him with undeniable logic, he made some very juvenile and unkind comments about my appearance and left. The nerve of some people! I had to find a completely new order to place my books in! This time, I settled with date published, from newest to oldest. And before you ask, yes, I do actually read them...on occasion," Weiss said, growing flustered just by remembering the encounter. Ruby chuckled. Both women were growing more comfortable, talking with each other like they were both back in Beacon, with no homework and nothing to do.
"Well, Pyrrha missed you. She said that it was a shame that you weren't there because, apparently, you'd been berating both her and Jaune about their shyness," Ruby replied.
"Berated? I just gave them advice was all!"
"Well, you have a really weird way of giving them advice. Apparently, you called Jaune 'as yellow as his hair.' And yeah, I know what that means. Pyrrha told me."
"I was trying to encourage him."
"You were being mean."
"I can't help it if that's how I sound!" The two continued their talking late into the night, only stopping once Ruby yawned and fell asleep. Weiss hung up and went to bed herself, her spirits lifted yet again due to Ruby.
Sun had reached the alleyway the anti-faunus members were supposed to come to. He was five minutes early. Reaching his hand into his coat, he pulled out a ripe banana and folded up his mask. He began chewing mindlessly, his legs dangling from the edge of the building. It was at least fifty feet high, and he felt quite at ease being able to stare from such a height out into the night sky.
"Come on, Nora, be right..." Sun muttered, glancing down into the alley quickly. There was still no sign of anyone coming by or about to come by, and the monkey faunus began to get stiff. While he ordinarily made fun of Nora for her boundless energy, he wasn't much different. He constantly moved around, his tail swinging under his coat. That was probably the most restless part of him. Standing up and stretching, he looked out at all of the colorful lights in the richer part of the city, noticing how they illuminated the gaudy architecture. There were so many unnecessary swirls and designs that could be easily seen on all of the buildings, and it made Sun sick to his stomach. This was how humans spent the Lien they stole from the faunus or forced them to hand over. They put it into fancy buildings and lights. Apparently, even the faunus' Lien was considered less important, being spent on mere trivialities. But Sun wouldn't give them the satisfaction of taking his money, be it through means legal or illegal. Small a gesture as it was in the vast consumer world, he didn't pay for anything. He lived off of the kindness of his landlord, who allowed him to live at the hotel in exchange for doing maintenance around the building, keeping everything running. He either stole food or was given meals by the other hotel tenants, who either sympathized with his tough life as a faunus or were amazed by his lawless and unique lifestyle. In fact, he had stolen the Lien he used to pay for his and Yang's drinks in the bar from an anti-faunus group member he'd beaten up earlier that week. As he pondered his defiance, trying to figure out whether he loved it or whether he really loved it, he noticed five figures moving beneath him, two minutes behind schedule. Nora was surprisingly accurate. Four were holding backpacks that were likely full of the stolen food, and they all wore black clothes, like Sun. He didn't hear them well, but he didn't want to. Holding his empty banana peel over the building's edge, he tried to time it so that he dropped it on the head of the nearest moving target. He cursed as he saw that his projectile was going to fall slower than anticipated and thus miss its target, but Sun knew that he wouldn't.
The banana peel made a smacking noise on the wet stone ground, and the five men glared at it.
"What the hell was that?" One asked. He turned to his comrades, who were busy staring at the sky.
"Put up your Auras boys!" A voice cried out from overhead. The man activated his Aura, not sure who spoke but not wanting to be unprepared. He was right to do so. He felt sneakers connect with his head and he crumpled to the ground, not even remaining conscious long enough to see the figure who had landed on him roll off of his fallen body and into an upright position. The other men pulled out their weapons, mostly swords and axes, but they were quickly disarmed. Sun twirled his staff above his head and it caught on man in the forehead who was standing near him, knocking him out and away from the fight. Sun then twirled his weapon in a downward spiral, tripping up another man who had been running towards the fray. Before he could fall to the ground, however, Sun stopped his staff mid twirl and brought it back, catching the falling man with it. As if he was scooping dirt from the ground, he swung his staff back and the man on it slammed into a third man who had also been foolish enough to run up to the fight. Both were knocked out. One man was left, the man nor carrying a pack, and he had put a lot of distance between himself and Sun. He was holding a chain with a small semicircle on it that quickly expanded, curving in on itself to become a sphere as large as a pumpkin. From it, smooth cylinders popped out, crackling with electricity. He spun the chain around slowly, and Sun saw that the chain came from a metal band on his wrist.
"Okay...now what? Should we settle this with a game of shoots and ladders?" Sun asked jokingly, spinning his staff with the same amount of flippant carelessness he used to taunt his opponent.
"Quit your yapping. I know who you are, and you're not gonna do to us what you did to the others, banana freak."
"I guess that's a no. I honestly don't know what I was thinking, asking you that. Who the hell plays shoots and ladders these days?" The man swung his ball and chain and Sun ducked it, thinking that he would have a wide opening. However, the man seemed to be stronger than Sun gave him credit for. He quickly pulled the chain and it came flying back at the faunus, who knocked it aside with his staff. The man wasted no time in attacking again, seeing that deflecting the ball had staggered Sun. He swung the chain back almost immediately after it had been knocked aside, and the faunus had to roll to dodge it as it slammed the ground where he had been a second ago, dust and debris rising with the impact. He came up next to the man, just within his staff's striking range, when his opponent flexed the hand that the metal band was on. The chain suddenly retracted into the hole it had come out of, making the ball come closer and allowing the man to block Sun's strike. He then swung his ball and chain as if it were like a sword, with no parts moving. Each strike was immediately followed by another, Sun being forced to step back with each deflection. He moved his staff like a windshield wiper, knocking aside the ball one way and then knocking it back another. He then spun his weapon like a windmill as the man moved his free hand up above his wrist, slapping the metal band. Suddenly, the cylinders shot out of the ball and flew at him, electricity spreading across them so that he could hardly see the cylinders at all. They were deflected by his furious spinning, but more shot out of the ball to replace them.
"And now for something completely different," he muttered, turning his staff into a pair of nunchaku. He jumped away from the ball, but the man shot more cylinders at him to retaliate. Sun rolled out of the way, coming up and spinning his weapons wildly, using them to knock away more than flew at him and dodging one that got past. However, he felt the electricity crackle along his face and shock him something fierce, making him grimace. Sun then folded up his weapons so that the two metal rods that were connected to their respective chains were held in his hands, and proceeded to charg the man head-on. His opponent extended the reach of his ball by increasing the length of his chain, and Sun dodged the first swipe by ducking his head as more cylinders popped out of the metal sphere to replace the ones that were launched. He then flipped over the next swing and landed in front of the man, unfolding his nunchaku. Behind him, however, he heard a scraping noise and spun out of the way. The man had brought his ball and chain back, forcing him to move aside as well. The maneuver put distance between him and Sun, but not quite enough. The faunus, charging up his brilliant orange Aura, swung his nunchaku as they glowed with orange light. The man tried to recover and fling his weapon at his opponent again, but Sun reacted too quickly. He stepped towards the man and released his Aura in the form of two massive, scattering energy blasts coming from Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang. They slammed into the man at the exact same moment, sending him hurtling out of the alley and into a nearby building. Sun looked at the demolished wall and sighed, picking up the four backpacks and hurling them, one by one, into the air. They landed on a nearby fire escape, which Sun himself jumped to.
"Okay. That happened. Probably should have been a little more subtle, but hey. I got what I came for." Now all Sun had to do was contact Nora again; she'd tell him where the food was supposed to be delivered.
Nora sat on a wooden bench in a grassy park, watching a fountain in the center of the park shoot out jets of water. Much to her amusement, the water was being shot out of the stone gauntlets of a Yang statue. The brawler had requested that at least one statue be made in her honor. The thought of it made Nora giggle. She kicked her feet back and forth thoughtlessly, listening as her shoes gently scraped against the cobblestone ground. The grass that was so prevalent in the park spread all around the small cobblestone circle that surrounded the fountain. As the orange-haired woman stared at the Yang statue, thinking about how specific Yang was about the artist getting her measurements right, she noticed a vibrating object next to her. Her phone was ringing, and she knew who it was.
"Hey there, Sunshine! How are you?" Nora asked in her usual bubbly voice.
"I'll let you know once I think of a clever joke involving your name," was the reply.
"Then we're gonna be here all night." Sun sighed at Nora's bluntness, and proceeded to get to business.
"So I beat up the thugs and got their goods. Who do they go to?" He asked.
"Well, as much as I want some food right now, those actually go to a faunus family on Crescent Lane. You'll find their house easily enough; it's bright red and has a massive doghouse out front."
"Thanks Nora, but...do you have anything more specific, like an address or a last name?" Sun asked his cheerful partner.
"Nope." She replied.
"Seriously?"
"Yep." Sun cursed under his breath at Nora's joviality in admitting that she had no idea.
"You suck."
"I'll ignore that comment. Say, can I beat up the next batch of goons we get?" Nora asked, her tone of voice a little too eager for Sun's liking.
"Your weapon is way too iconic, Nora. If you fight, you'll be recognized. Besides, you're a Huntress. Don't you fight enough already?"
"Then I just have to hit them so hard they forget everything!" She shouted, either not hearing or choosing to ignore Sun's last comment.
"Uh...how about you let me do the fighting, okay?" Nora made an annoyed grunting noise, but yielded to her partner's request.
"Red house, big doghouse, Crescent Lane. Got it. I'm off. You can go back home now," the faunus told her. She gave him a cheery goodbye and hung up, getting up from her seat on the bench and ran home.
"Ren's gonna be pissed again. He hates when I wake him up," she said to herself, thinking fondly of her boyfriend.
Yang woke up in Sun's bedroom, her head throbbing and her hair wet. She quickly got up and went to the sink, washing all of the booze off of her golden locks, cooing to them as she did so. Getting up from the sink, she quickly left the apartment and pulled out her phone. She had to get home quickly so as not to disappoint Ruby, who had requested that she come home before morning. However, feeling guilty at having Sun bring her to his home as well as deal with her drunk, she called him. The phone rang three times before Sun picked up.
"Hey, Yang."
"Hey Sun. Please don't talk too loud," she said. Another reason she needed to get home was so she could get her hands on some much-needed hangover medicine. Every noise made her head hurt.
"Right, sorry. You know, you were a huge pain in the ass tonight." Yang sighed, fearing that was the case.
"I'm really sorry for whatever I did. I got a little drunk. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, just let me know." Sun almost laughed when she said that she had gotten a little drunk. It was far more than just a little.
"Well good, because I've got a few things I want from you. For starters, if you stopped getting shit-faced in a bar filled with the sleaziest guys in town, I'd be really happy." The biting comment made Yang frown.
"This is my life. I'll do whatever I want. Besides, if anyone gets too hands-on, I just go for the balls. That teaches dudes what's what." Yang's words made Sun wince at the memory of what happened in the bar. He assumed she had forgotten about it, and although he wasn't eager to remind her, he figured that it might get her to see some sense.
"Yeah, I know. You practically shoved your face between my legs." Yang chuckled a little, quickly silencing herself as her splitting headache increased in intensity.
"Funny."
"No seriously, you did. Yang, this isn't healthy for you. If I were any other guy..." As Sun trailed off, the blonde woman realized that he wasn't kidding.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry."
"You should be. That was awkward as hell."
"That's a new drunk thing for me," Yang sighed. It was at that point that Sun snapped, not willing to humor his friend any longer.
"Is it really? Do you even remember what you do when you get drunk? You could have done the same thing to tons of other guys and be completely clueless," Sun snarled.
"I'm pretty sure I'd know if I started whoring around when I get drunk," Yang responded with equal malice.
"Really? Would you?"
"What the hell are you trying to say, Sun?" Yang asked the faunus, getting increasingly angry. She was even willing to ignore the pain in her head to keep arguing, massaging her temples instinctively whenever it came up.
"What I'm trying to say is that you need to stop this. Don't just stop going to that bar, stop going to any bar. Tell Ruby and Weiss about this. They can help you. Do anything except for going off on your own and getting drunk." Sun's tone went from angry to pleading at the end, and Yang scoffed at his words. He wasn't surprised, but he was annoyed. He should have known that trying to talk sense into her was a bad idea.
"In case you didn't understand the first time, I can do whatever the hell I want. I'm a grown-ass woman and I can make my own choices."
"That doesn't make them good choices, Yang!" Sun shouted, forcing the blonde woman to reel back and cover her ears.
"Dammit, not so loud. Look, I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble and that I'm acting like an ungrateful brat right now, but I don't need help running my life. Ruby and Weiss have enough going on as it is. I'm not adding another problem to their loads. Maybe if I see you around, we can talk about this. But for now, I just need to get home and go to sleep. Ruby's gonna be pissed if I'm not back by morning," Yang said, controlling her anger. She'd caused Sun enough trouble as it was, and she knew that he didn't deserve to have her annoyance taken out on him.
"...Fine. Sorry I yelled. I guess I got a little heated. Look, if you really want to pay me back, then call me up. Maybe we can talk sometime. And not just about you and your...nightly habits. We could just hang out. Like friends," Sun replied. Yang grinned.
"Yeah, sure. I'll call you sometime tomorrow. Not really sure when; I'm a little too hung over to think straight right now."
It was the early morning. Prisoners lined up at the metal wire circle, clinging to it and shouting obscenities. Who they were directed to depended on who they were rooting for. Blake and Cinder were squaring off in the prison sparring ring, and people were eager to see such powerful warriors fight. A smiling, white-haired dog faunus wagged her short tail and stepped back into the prison employees' area, located in a small, one-room building near the wire that circled the dirt sparring field. She locked the door of the boring gray structure and sat behind a wooden desk. She then picked up a small microphone that was nearby and spoke into it.
"Okay, you know how these fights are. Don't throw anyone at this window because I'll freak out, don't cause any damage to each other that's too lethal, and do not...uh...the last thing was...don't tell me...have fun? No, no that's not it...oh yeah! Once one of you is knocked out, the other cannot, under any circumstances, keep beating them up. The match ends immediately. Ready? Now...fight!" As the two prisoners lunged at each other, a group of employees behind the faunus woman chuckled at her mistake.
Crap, this chapter is long. Hopefully, people can still actually read it and not give up halfway. I know I certainly might if I were to read this. In my defense though, a lot does happen and I hope that people are intrigued by it enough to read through. The events going on in this story are as follows: Blake beats the living shit out of Roman Torchwick because he killed Adam and now he's scared to death of her, Weiss and Ruby have a nice talk that becomes a sad talk that becomes a nice talk again, Ruby once again shows how the inability to use her legs has changed her emotionally, and Sun makes a Monty Python's Flying Circus reference. Spot it if you can! Also, Sun beats up people and talks to Nora and then talks to Yang. Sun is really prominent in this chapter, isn't he? I'd like to know what people think of him! Am I doing a good job of representing his character? I hope so. I'd also really like to know what people may think of Blake's backstory and whether or not her cruelty towards Roman seems OOC. If it does, don't worry; I plan to explain why she acted so cruelly towards him in more detail than just "Pimp cane man hurt Blake's friend. Blake smash!" And if anything else seems like it could use improvement, please let me know.
Also, it's actually quite hard to write for a more mature, world-weary Ruby Rose! I'm so used to her being the adorable, badass and optimistic leader of team RWBY that it's hard to see her any other way. Speaking of Ruby, did anyone watch the RWBY production diary 4? That episode clip at the end was HILARIOUS! It looks like Ruby's gone from being leader to president. And while volume 1 had some great humor (two words: combat skirt), volume 2 seems like it could kill me with laughter if the humor stays on track! I recommend watching it to anyone who hasn't done so already!