Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.
The Vytal Festival was nearly upon Beacon and the hustle and bustle of commotion seemed to be reaching a fever pitch on campus. Students were mostly ignoring classes as they either trained for the Festival or just got so wrapped up in the excitement of everything that they couldn't focus on much else at all. The Professors were all knee deep in preparations for the Tournament or the surrounding festivities, and they couldn't really be bothered to keep tabs on them all anyways. To top it all off, just a few days ago, on the weekend before the Festival officially began, two full fledged Hunters had held what appeared to be a very intense sparring match in the main courtyard in the middle of the day.
Yang hadn't been there to see her Uncle Qrow fight that prickish Schnee girl, Winter. She couldn't even believe that Weiss's sister and her Uncle had somehow managed to run into each other on Beacon's campus of all places. It was completely conceivable though that once they had they had fought. Uncle Qrow was laid back, completely confident, a bit of a drunk and kind of sexist. Winter, as far as Yang could tell, was stuck up, self righteous and would not be okay with Qrow's attitude towards life in genral. Yang was just sad she hadn't been there to see it go down.
Team RWBY had just finished a training bout of their own and were in the cafeteria grabbing some food and giving their auras a rest and a chance to recharge before they went at it again. Yang's girlfriend was absent from the table because JNPR had fallen into the opposite schedule as RWBY and they were all in training right now, with plans to get food after, just as RWBY would be leaving. Nora and Yang would undoubtedly be able to spare a few minutes between rounds to say hi but today was a day to be spent with their teams preparing for the tournament.
"So, have we decided who is going to fight in the second round if we move on?" Weiss placed her fork carefully beside her plate on a small napkin and folded her hands in her lap.
"What is this if?" Yang flipped her hand over and poked her fork in Weiss's general direction accusingly, "There's no way we aren't gonna make it to the next round, absolutely no chance."
"Team RWBY is the best duh," Ruby had an entire plate of cookies, and given the increased training regimen she had them on right now, no one was willing to contest her on much of anything, not even Weiss. "Of course we're gonna win."
"We shouldn't get overly confident, there are other very capable teams in the tournament." Blake was eating more than Yang had ever seen her eat before, the uptick in training must be affecting her. That or she was spending so much time with Sun that the boy was starting to rub off on her.
"We don't really have to worry about the first round because odds are we end up fighting some nobody team from Haven that we've never even heard of. I'm not worried." Yang relaxed and let the head of her fork fall back to her plate so she could continue eating
"Okay," Weiss held up her hands defensively, "I get it, we're the best ever. But-"
"That's right we are the best." Yang said through a full mouth and saw Weiss grimace which made her chuckle internally.
"Ever." her sister finished for her, bright and cheery as ever.
"Buut," Weiss started up again stretching the word to make sure they realized she was speaking again, "Who are we gonna use as our pair if it comes down to twos?" Weiss looked at Ruby and Blake and Yang looked at each other. It seemed like both sets of partners wanted to be paired with each other for the twos rounds.
"I'm actually not sure that my fighting style will work the best for the two versus two rounds." Blake said regretfully, giving Yang an apologetic stare, "Maybe if we could divide the enemy but there's no guarantee that's how it will turn out." Yang sighed, Blake was wrong they could handle anything the tournament threw at them together. She had no doubt they would be able to divide and conquer the foe, creating a mismatch where one would be able to easily outclass their opponent and then double team the other.
"No come on Blake. We've fought together a ton, we have awesome strategies worked out." Yang set her fork down rather forcefully, "I'll just take one of 'em and knock 'em across the arena so you can go one on one with their partner. "
"And what would you do if it was a pair like Yatsuhashi and Coco?" Weiss asked with more than a hint of derision in her voice. "You can't 'knock 'em across the arena' when they're his size and if you hit Coco that far she'll just rain dust rounds on you from way beyond your range."
Yang's temper cooled as she realized that Weiss had a point. There were pairs that would have a definite advantage against Yang and Blake as a team. Of course there were always weaknesses and strengths to a matching, no team was invincible.
"So what's your idea Ice Princess?" Yang put more than usual amount of sarcasm on the nickname and switched it to Princess as she was now sure that Weiss's older sister was the true Ice Queen. Ever since the encounter with Winter, Weiss and Yang had been on edge with each other. The whole fiasco had reminded Yang how different their families were and she was just desperately hoping Weiss could be better than the other Schnees for Ruby's sake. "You and Ruby? You go up against anyone who hits harder than a Beowulf and they'll tear you apart."
"Hey," Ruby yelled, "I have been eating meat, and bread and drinking all kinds of milk." She held up her arms and flexed, no real visible change apparent but obvious pride on the team leader's face. That calmed down Yang down even further, Ruby may not have put on much muscle but she was more than capable with her scythe. Between Weiss's glyphs to hold people off and the damage Ruby's Crescent Rose could deal as a sniper at range and a scythe up close they probably would be quite effective in the tournament setting. Weiss grunted out a loud sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose hard, making the skin between her fingers go red.
"I was going to say, that you and I should make a team Yang." Weiss took a deep breath and eased her hand down, back into her lap. Yang was shocked at the suggestion, taken aback at the suddenness of it and how strange of a proposition it seemed. "Listen, we have nearly opposite fighting styles, so we will have a better range of abilities to counter any team we might face." Weiss had adopted her 'smarter than you' voice now and however angry it made Yang she had to admit that Weiss had a point. "Anyone fast enough to outclass me won't be able to take a hit from you and anyone big enough to square up with you won't see me coming."
"But will you be able to work together?" Blake gave Weiss the concerned look this time. Yang could make it work during a fight but Weiss had nearly gotten herself and Ruby killed during the initial team placement trials because she couldn't adapt and they had almost burnt the forest down. Admittedly, that was partly Ruby's fault too and Yang hadn't been there to see it, but based on what she had heard, Weiss had almost shot Ruby in the back with a jet of red dust flame.
"Of course we will be able to. That's what all this training is for right?" Weiss crossed her arms and looked to Ruby for support.
"Uhh yeah," Ruby faltered for a brief moment under Weiss's stare before recovering, "Why don't we do Blake and I against you two after we finish eating so we can test it out?" Ruby looked to each of them in turn and got no resistance, so she pumped a fist into the air. "Wooo go Team RWBY." The other three girls each pumped a fist into the air and cheered along with her.
"So guess what Nora told me?" Yang asked as they all returned to eating.
"If it's about you two or about Jaune and Pyrrha I really don't wanna hear it." Weiss shot Yang a merciless glare that didn't phase her one bit.
"Ewww. Don't tell us Yang." Ruby went to throw her hands over her ears.
"No, no it's about training." Yang laughed at how the two reacted to any hint of intimacy. If they ever did get together they might be too shy to ever even hug. "She told me that Jaune is trying to use Team Attacks like Ruby makes for us. With names and everything." Ruby made a scoffing noise as she tried to prevent herself from spewing milk everywhere. She prevented a disastrous spit take, but a small amount dribbled out onto her lip and down her chin. She hurriedly swallowed and looked around frantically for a napkin. Weiss picked one up from the table and dabbed at Ruby's mouth and cheeks, cleaning the milk from her face before giving her a gentle smile. Ruby blushed hard.
"Honestly Ruby, you are totally hopeless." Weiss said with very little of her usual ire.
"Thanks Weiss, that was almost really bad." Ruby brushed at her face with the hem of her cloak and turned to Yang but she could see that her little sister was fighting a losing battle against the redness in her cheeks. "I just.. I can't see Jaune coming up with very cool sounding names."
"I don't think Pyrrha would have very creative names either. She would probably use numbers and letters." Blake chuckled lightly and Yang had to lean back on the bench to let her laughter out. Ruby giggled happily and even Weiss's shoulder shook slightly in humor.
"Come on team, do move AXS29," Yang lifted one arm in front of her and held her other out to the side, mocking Pyrrha's stance. "There's no way Nora would remember what that meant, she'd probably just end up hitting them with her hammer."
"Isn't that all she ever really does?" Weiss fell slightly into their playful mood. "I mean, it's just a hammer." Weiss picked up her fork with both hands and swung it back and forth like a bat. Yang laughed in spite of herself, that was pretty much how her girlfriend fought.
"What if he has super silly names though? Then out in the ring he's yelling at them to do Flower Power or Thwack a Slap?" Ruby giggled and swung her legs back and forth under the table in her merriment. "I just hope they don't embarrass themselves."
"I wouldn't worry, they've got Nora and the Invincible Girl. I think they'll be fine." Yang sat back up and wiped at her eyes, "We should actually be ready just in case we have to fight them."
"We won't have to until the singles rounds, that's how the brackets are set up." Blake explained as she recovered from their joking and removed a small folded sheet of paper from her pocket. She laid it out on the table and they all saw a pyramid shaped tournament bracket that ended in a collection of competitors to participate in the one on one rounds.
"So cool!" Ruby looked at all the team names, "There are so many different teams."
"Oh wow, we won't have to fight anyone from Beacon until the last rounds." Weiss traced the bracket course for Team RWBY with her finger, "That will make preparing much easier."
"Happy you don't have to fight us in the prelims?" A voice rang out from behind Ruby and Weiss and the whole of Team RWBY swung their heads up to greet the new person.
"Hey Coco," Ruby waved emphatically despite the fact that the girl was right next to her. Coco gave Ruby a nod and a smile and put a foot up on the bench next to Weiss, leaning down on her knee and tipping her sunglasses forward. Weiss scooted a little off to the side towards Ruby to put some distance between herself and CVFY's team leader.
"You better not lose before the singles rounds Coco. I wanna go head to head." Yang threw a few playful jabs at the older girl, she was sure Coco was here to find out who they were sending to the singles, so she might as well tell her. If the choice was between her and Weiss for single combat, she knew who the team would pick.
"And what if we choose to send me to the singles rounds Yang?" Weiss crossed her arms and gave Yang what she assumed was supposed to be a competitive glare.
"So you two are the pair for the second round?" Coco turned to Weiss and peered at her over the top rim of her sunglasses, "You tell me if someone mars your beautiful face before then, it would be a shame to see it hurt."
"Excuse me?" Weiss recoiled slightly away from Coco
"That single scar is like a beauty mark, a single imperfection on an otherwise flawless face." Coco removed her sunglasses with a slight flourish and smirked at Weiss.
"Are you trying to hit on Weiss right now?" Yang tried to suppress a laugh, she always assumed Coco was much smoother than this.
"Aren't you involved with someone?" Weiss asked incredulously. Coco made a noise of derision and looked off to the side, out into the cafeteria.
"No," it was more of a mumble than a real answer, "Me and Velvet haven't been together for a while now." she turned back to Weiss and her confident grin reappeared. "So I'm totally free to show you a good time, what about Friday night, to kick off the Festival? I know some really nice restaurants downtown."
"Are you serious? Absolutely not." Weiss turned her head away and made a small, indignant hmmpf noise through her pursed lips, "As a matter of fact, I will be out with my leader that night." Ruby's face lit up with joy at that which Weiss missed because her back was turned but Coco evidently picked up on because she took her foot off the bench and backpedaled a step.
"Whoa, alright. I get it Ice Queen. Cold shoulder for me." Coco swung her glasses back up to her eyes and hesitated with them as she glanced at Yang, "If you and Nora ever go through a rough patch or anything. You know where my dorm is." She gave Yang a wink before sliding her glasses back over her ears and walking away without another word, apparently very unphased by Weiss's flat out refusal. Team RWBY sat in a stunned silence for a moment.
"That was so weird." Ruby muttered in confusion, "What even just happened?"
"Weiss shot down a terrible attempt at a hook-up that's what happened." Yang laughed and looked at the heiress across from her, arms still crossed in anger.
"How could Coco even believe I would react to something like that. It was so, so," Yang frowned in concentration as she tried to think of a word to aptly describe Coco's behavior.
"Pitiful," Blake deadpanned from her seat, "Absolutely pitiful."
"She might be worse than Jaune." Ruby peeped and they all chuckled.
"I don't know Rubes, that boy was pretty bad." Yang looked down at her mostly empty plate and sighed internally. There wasn't enough time to go get another plate.
"The nerve of some people. I didn't even know that she and Velvet had broken up." Weiss sounded like there was a note of sadness or regret in what she said. "It can't have been too long ago could it?"
"I dunno, Nora and I saw Velvet the other day and she didn't say anything." Yang piped up, resigning to the fact that she would have to go without any more food. "We didn't exactly ask though, she kind of caught us making out." Yang snickered at the memory.
"I'm sure that was a very comfortable situation for someone who had just been dumped." Blake gave Yang a smoldering stare, laced with disappointment, "She did say it had been a while though. Hopefully Velvet's okay"
"They were so cute together." Ruby whined, "Even if Coco was always all over her, it was adorable how Velvet would blush and hide her face. I thought they really liked each other."
"I wonder if that's weird for their team now? Since they're still partners and have to keep working together." Weiss asked no one in particular, just letting the question float uneasily in the air.
"I'm sure they'll work it out. They probably won't get back together if Coco's already out looking for someone new, but I'm sure their team will be fine." Yang had to intervene, she didn't want Weiss bringing that kind of thing up when they had just managed to convince Ruby to finally go for it with her.
"I hope they are, I don't want them to ruin their team." Ruby moaned.
"We are Huntresses first, above all else." Blake said with determination.
"I suppose you're right." Weiss shrugged in shoulders in resignation. "And you two are doing okay in your relationships right?" she looked across the table at Yang and Blake, genuine concern pooled in her piercing blue eyes.
"Oh yeah, we're great." Yang smiled like a fool, thinking of Nora. "Never been better."
"You're not taking that girl for granted are you, you big oaf?" Weiss squinted at Yang, lowering a suspicious eyebrow.
"No really." the blonde blurted out defensively, "We just… It's so easy with Nora. I never feel stressed to put on a big romantic show, but I always want to anyways. I love seeing her happy and hearing her laugh. She's always so playful and spontaneous with me, just dragging me off to do the most random things. I love it." Yang rested her elbows on the table and put her chin in her hands. "You should try it sometime Weiss, might help you calm down a bit." Weiss scoffed at her.
"Aww that's so sweet Yang. I'm so glad you two are happy together." Ruby had recovered from her earlier glumness to her usual chipper self.
"Thanks, I wouldn't have done it without you." Yang gave her little sister a smile, "Or you partner." Yang threw a one armed hug around her partner and Blake begrudgingly allowed herself to be pulled in.
"Blake?" Weiss turned to the Faunus girl currently being squashed by an overly affectionate Yang, "Sun is being respectful? I still don't really trust him." Yang released her so she could speak more comfortably
"Yes, he is actually much more refined than he looks," Blake reached up and corrected her bow, ensuring it completely covered her ears, "He can be very sweet," a small smile spread across her lips.
"Have you touched his tail Blake? Is it really soft?" Ruby asked in excitement and Blake blushed a little, her smile disappearing into a nervous grimace.
"Umm," she mumbled under her breath and coughed a little, "Yes, it's actually...uhh...quite soft."
"I wonder if he shampoos it in the shower? I mean it's hair right?" Ruby thought out loud.
"I bet he does, I mean I totally would if I had a tail," Yang thought about the possibility of a tail. If she got to choose though she would want more like a lion's, long and sleek with that awesome little puff of fur at the end.
"Wait, you mean you actually do something in the shower besides clog the drain with hair?" Weiss cocked her head to one side mockingly, "I had no idea."
"You don't know a lot of what goes on in the shower Weiss." Yang let a devious grin grow and thought of her and Nora's more recent escapades in that department.
"Yaaaang, that's gross!" Ruby slammed her fists on the table in frustration, "We all have to share that."
"You are so brutish." Weiss shook her head in bewilderment, "absolutely no regard for your teammates,"
"Hey now, I have tons of regards." Yang crossed her arms, "You haven't heard us have you? Or walked in on us yet? That's gotta count for something."
"Actually you're rather loud." Blake said shyly.
"Oh that's not fair." Yang turned to her partner, "You have super hearing. We could be on the roof and you'd hear us."
"That doesn't change the fact that it's common decency to keep your," Weiss cleared her throat, "romantic encounters private."
"Ewww Yang, I just showered this morning," Ruby whined again and looked down at herself, "I'm gonna have to shower in Team JNPR's room now."
"I don't think that's gonna help Ruby." Blake stated simply and it dawned on Ruby what she meant.
"That's it, we are buying bleach and you are washing the shower." Ruby jumped up to stand on her bench and pointed an accusatory finger at Yang
"But Ruby-" she began to protest.
"Ahh ah ah, Team Leader's orders, you have to." Ruby tried to muster all of her authority.
"You don't really think-" Yang was cut off again.
"And I'll tell Dad." Ruby stated firmly and Yang dropped her hands.
"Alright, alright I'll clean it." She resigned to her fate.
"JNPR's too." Ruby crossed her arms and Weiss and Blake both laughed quietly, trying to hide it from Yang but not really succeeding.
A/N - Soooo, yes the Vytal Festival is really honestly gonna happen, I promise the story will get there. Also though, that will pretty much be the end here because this story kind of follows with the canon (loosely, very loosely) and I am not going to deal with the fall. It's just not gonna happen here. Also, Boombox94, Allen Ramsey II, some things have happened that may answer some questions you posed before.
Thanks so much for reading, please stay tuned for tomorrow's chapter and remember that I am taking a break next week so Tuesday will be the last postings until after anime expo.
-Zach