A peaceful night has passed and Weiss opened her eyes to gaze at the bottom side of her partner's still empty bed. Ruby has been brought to the infirmary for further treatment of her leg – the wound caused by none other than the heiress herself. So many unanswered questions came so suddenly to her attention that Weiss almost jumped out of her bed, and rushed into the bathroom. Her sudden movement must have raised some suspicion among the two lovers on the other side of the room, who happened to share the lower of their improvised bunk beds. At least they had the decency to not keep the heiress awake with pillow talk or anything similar. Weiss remembered Blake crying a bit when they entered their dorm room, and Yang comforting the upset Faunus girl by whispering nice things – as far as Weiss could tell – into her girlfriend's ears. So there it was; the first question: Why did Weiss pay so much attention to the interactions between the lovers, who were her team mates, her friends? It was a nice thing to witness, but those matters also require, and demand a certain degree of privacy and discretion.
But as soon as Weiss looked into the mirror, this trail of thought was cast aside by the sheer feeling of disgust, and the heiress knew exactly where that feeling originated. She simply could not look into the mirror without the immediate reminder of her… Crime? Was that the correct term? No, it could not be, since it was an accident. But then again, the guilt behind this hailstorm of emotions that ran through her mind and body had to have a reason. Why was she feeling that guilty? Was it the severity of the wound that was caused? Could it be that the victim was the reason behind all this confusion? Ruby Rose was just so young, innocent, but simple minded as well. But that was what made Ruby… Ruby. Of course Weiss would not like it any different, but then again: Why? Yet, another question with no answer.
The heiress could not stand looking into her own face any longer, and decided to take an unusually early shower, since she was in the bathroom anyway. As she removed her clothing, Weiss noticed that she did not even bother getting out of her combat skirt, let alone wash herself before going to bed when she returned. What time is it? She looked around for the alarm clock that could provide the answer, and it was exactly 5 a.m. At least that question could be answered, but it was followed by another one. How am I going to tell them…? Weiss froze in place as ice cold water hit her bare and pale skin; the thought washed away with the dirt, but her mind was still not silenced, not even by the flow of the water.
How in Remnant could Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, the one expected to become the best of best Huntresses, have made a mistake like that?
I'm sorry.
How could she fail all those expectations in mere seconds of her life?
I did save her. I took responsibility for my actions.
How could she betray her team leader –not to mention partner – in such a way?
She knows, what happened. Maybe she knows better than accuse me for anything.
How could she be this afraid of the consequences?
Ruby is our leader, our friend. If they find out about what I've done, I…
Taking her usual time showering, it was half an hour later when the heiress re-emerged from the now somewhat steamy bathroom. However, she was not even remotely satisfied with the results of the shower; her body was cleaned up, but the stains of failure still remained, especially on her hands. Weiss was greeted by a smirking Yang. The blonde brawler started to grin in amusement as the heiress made sure the towel that covered her did not show anything it was not supposed to show.
"Morning, princess," the blonde hailed the white haired girl.
"Shouldn't you call her that?" the latter asked in return, pointing at the still sleeping black haired Faunus. Trying to behave as usual seemed to be the best way to actually getting used to a couple like that in the very dorm room the heiress spent her nights in. Weiss was grateful for Yang being awake already. Her thoughts were finally silenced, at least for the time of this conversation.
"Her nickname is another one. Don't want to cause a commotion." Both girls then just smiled at each other, before Weiss hesitantly started to put on her school uniform. As the heiress looked around, she noticed that Yang was inspecting the ceiling for some reason.
"Is there anything up there?" Weiss asked.
"Nope, just looking away. Courtesy and stuff…" Yang admitted, still grinning about the situation, the heiress assumed. It was possible that similar situations were happening on a daily basis in the dorm room across the hallway, where the members of team JNPR reside.
"Oh, okay. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Weiss laid finishing touches to her uniform, her pony tail including the little tiara at the bottom of it and other accessories, before taking her leave. "Where're you going?" Yang asked.
"Oh, I just wanted to visit Ruby; see if she's okay," Weiss answered, once again only telling part of the truth. The rest of it was plain simple, however: Weiss needed answers to her many questions, and she hoped that Ruby could provide some at least. The heiress looked back, since her brawling team mate did not give an answer. Yang, in the mean time, had one hand and her mouth occupied by Blake, and therefore answered with a simple thumb up of her free hand. "Oh, Dust, please! Let me at least close the door first…" Weiss complained, and just did what she already intended to do.
At this time of day there was hardly anyone awake. Weiss could not understand why Ruby would be up so early. On the other hand, Ruby still had some trouble getting along with other students, since she was at minimum two years younger than any other student of Beacon. Maybe the little rose was using this time of day to explore the Academy, without the risk of an awkward social encounter. The heiress got closer to the infirmary sooner than anticipated, and Ruby was… Already expecting her? The young team leader was sitting on her bed, and reading the book, Blake lent her. But as soon as Weiss entered the room, Ruby closed the book, put in on the end table, and prepared for… Something. Surprised to see me? Weiss tried to brace herself for anything.
"Good morning, Weiss," Ruby greeted her partner as she arrived at the side of the bed.
"Good morning, Ruby." So far, so normal. Weiss soon noticed a sudden change of atmosphere in the already cold room. Ruby was definitely angry, for only one reason Weiss could imagine.
"You're early," the young one said awfully calmly. Gods, help me please.
"Well, I couldn't sleep," the heiress answered nervously, shifting her weight from one leg to the other.
"Oh, why is that?" Ruby asked in return, locking eyes with Weiss. Now or never! She already got you anyway.
"Ehm… Because of what happened in the forest, I think." Weiss inhaled sharply, but silently, as she braced herself for Ruby's answer, that would be full of anger.
"You mean my leg?" Ruby seemed to assume, but Weiss already knew better. Thank you, Ruby… That makes this a lot easier… I hope.
"…Yes…" Weiss admitted silently. She started to break eye contact with Ruby, but decided to keep looking at her partner, no matter how ashamed the heiress felt. "I hope you can forgive me…" But Ruby did not say anything. Under the assumption, her partner wanted an explanation, Weiss continued after a short time.
"I just thought there was a Beowolf right in front of me, so I struck. I couldn't… I didn't want to… I don't know why I didn't see you there, or else I-"
"You would've redirected the strike, just as you did in Emerald Forest, yes?" Ruby interrupted Weiss.
"…Yes, something along those lines… Ruby, I know that I almost killed you…" Weiss wanted to take a brief pause, but Ruby used the opportunity to speak up.
"And I already said: I risked it in order to save you. Did you really forget that?" Ruby asked, still not the slightest sign of anger in her voice. Weiss hesitated for a couple of minutes, but nodded eventually. "I'm sorry, Weiss. I caused you a lot of trouble with Yang, I think, and-"
"She doesn't know…" Weiss now interrupted Ruby, as impolite as it was, but this one thing had to be clarified.
"Weiss…" Ruby whispered, and grabbed the heiress by her forearm. Weiss froze in place again, and was pulled into a gentle hug. She did not even try to resist this assault on her personal space, as she usually did. Hearing the calm breath of Ruby next to her left ear made the heiress more comfortable than anything she could imagine in that moment. Questions still remained in her head, but they were different and less frightening.
How did she deserve such kindness?
That's Ruby, the kindest soul I know.
How did Ruby know what to do?
She's acting instinctively, I suppose.
As Weiss wanted to wrap her arms around Ruby, the little rose pushed the heiress away as gently as she had pulled her into the hug before, much to Weiss' surprise. "Thank you, Ruby. I think I just needed that," Weiss said in order to prevent a moment of awkward silence.
"Everyone needs a hug from time to time," Ruby answered, and smiled sheepishly, a slight tone of pink on her cheeks. Are you blushing again?
"Looks, like you're right… Anyway, I need to go now. It's almost seven," Weiss noted, and stood up.
"Don't be afraid of her," Ruby reassured the heiress, holding her hand just as they did in the house of the heroine Erydias Grey. Weiss hesitantly pulled her hand away, and made for the cafeteria. It was time for breakfast, and she still had to confront the flaming wrath of a big sister – quite literally in this case.
"Hey, there you are!" Yang shouted, as Weiss entered the culinary center of Beacon Academy. The blonde brawler was sitting at their usual table, Blake cheek to cheek on Yang's left side, both attending more to the scroll in front of them, than to their meals. "You have to see this!" Yang added. "It's about your dad's company!"
Weiss made haste to Yang's right side, but maintained a respectful distance of about three fingers to the blonde's cheek, as she watched a live feed by the news.
-=The Emerald Ghosts strike again!=- was running on the bottom of the screen, in the news ticker that always sums up the latest events of Vale and all of Remnant alike. Behind the reporter Weiss could clearly see a warehouse of the Schnee Dust Company, and she knew it was #12; one of the larger storages of Dust the company had inside the city of Vale. Many of the large containers were knocked over, clearly the result of fighting between, no, over them.
-=With me now is Amadeus Moss, the security guard who was on duty last night. Thank you for your time, Mr. Moss,=- the reporter greeted a man in his 30s, still in uniform, and a bit shaken up by the events that had occurred the night before.
-=Sure thing, Miss,=- he answered.
-=So, Mr. Moss. Can you tell us what happened here last night?=-
-=Yes, yes… I was in my booth, watching the camera feeds, when I noticed the pattern of one of them was kind of… Off. So I went to that particular area to see what's going on, and I saw all these masked people preparing containers to be hooked onto Bullheads.=- The man underlined his explanations with overdone gestures. Let him have his 15 minutes, Weiss thought to herself, while still listening to the interview.
-=Did you get a closer look at them? Did they wear a certain kind of mask?=- the reporter asked, and Weiss could feel Blake tense up for unknown reasons, even though Yang was still between the Faunus and herself.
-=Grimm masks,=- the security guard said, -=and they wore the symbol of White Fang; the new, red one, actually.=- Blake almost spat on the table, as she hit it with both fists. She was on the verge of tears, but this time they were tears of anger, rage even. Yang focused on Blake's emotional outburst, and left the cafeteria with her girlfriend. The brawler left the scroll with Weiss, so she could finish watching the interview. The heiress hated the White Fang herself, but she still had to wonder, why Blake got this furious about them. That could wait, however, because neither Mr. Moss, nor the reporter would wait for Weiss to finish her trail of thought.
-=And then, out of nowhere, a masked man appeared right in front of me!=- he explained with a mixture of fear and relief.
-=Did the man look any different than the White Fang members in the storage area? And did the man say anything, Mr. Moss?=- the reporter asked calmly.
-=Yes. He was wearing greenish camouflage or something, and a black woolen mask with something like a skull painted on the front side it. He ordered me to stay where I was, or I would get into the crossfire.=-
-=What kind of crossfire?=-
-=An ambush, by the sounds of it. I heard another man shout 'Surprise!' The one in front of me was gone, while I tried to make out, where the shout came from. And I did as he said: Stay back for my own safety.=- Mr. Moss admitted.
-=Why exactly did you stay back?=- the reporter asked curiously.
-=Well, those guys beat the thieves up good, and they were three, the one who kept me out of that fight, the other one, and a woman. They appeared out of nowhere, and started fighting White Fang. As far as I could see, all three were using Aura enhanced techniques, and weaponry I've only seen Huntsmen and Huntresses use. That's why I stayed back.=- The security guard started to look like he was feeling uncomfortable. Tiredness and shock of the events probably started to take their tolls on the poor man, and even the reporter noticed that. So the interview was stopped at that point, and further information about the Emerald Ghosts was given in its stead.
It was said that this group of renegades were former Huntsmen who decided to take the law into their own hands, especially when Faunus were involved. Their acts of self proclaimed justice created two kinds of opinions throughout the population of Vale, humans and Faunus alike. One group appreciated their efforts regarding the equality of Faunus, the other group feared another White Fang in the making, since that's almost the same way the once peaceful organization had become the violent group it was now, let alone taking crime fighting into their own hands was not really legal. Since the Emerald Ghosts tended to appear out of nowhere, anywhere, and without warning, they earned a reputation mixed of fear and mistrust, but were respected by many people for doing what was right. They helped simple Faunus citizens who were harassed by others, and vice versa, caught criminal elements who acted violently against Faunus and humans alike, and even disrupted larger heists like the one of last night. Many other things about them were speculation, especially their number. Weiss, however, was sure that the Emerald Ghosts consisted of only three individuals; three certain individuals, she had seen on a photo. Weiss started wondering if Ms. Grey knew about these events, but came to the conclusion that she did not, since she had no means of communication to the world outside her house in the north eastern forests.
Looking at the clock, Weiss realized that it was almost time for the first lecture, and she did not even have a decent breakfast, yet. A green apple had to do the trick, while she was already on her way to history class with Professor Ooblek; Yang's scroll in hand, the intention of bringing it to its owner more than obvious. With no further distractions provided by her surroundings, though, the thoughts of the morning slowly returned to Weiss, including the shivers of fear, regarding the confrontation she would be having with Yang sooner or later. Don't be afraid of her… Weiss repeated Ruby's words inside her mind. It was going to be long day.
The next chapter: Aftermath