"Weiss, can I let you in on a little secret?
I'm not from Atlas, out of every kingdom, Atlas would be my last choice to live there, terrible blizzards-
who even likes the freezing conditions there anyway?
I'm not even a student there, the flat out truth is Weiss… I don't call Remnant home."
"Wait, let me understand this if I may. So you are representing an academy to which you do not attend, you mention the fact you don't live in the kingdom which it resides in, and more to the point you aren't even from Remnant?"
"Yes you've pretty much summed it up right there."
"So where do you come from?
Why tell me this?
How did you get here?
Why are you here?"
"That first part I'm going to let you think about, even if I told you, it would be hard to pinpoint, at least for now.
I'm telling you this because I want someone on team RWBY to know the situation I'm in.
How I ended up in Remnant might be a result of my so-called semblance activating for the first time.
And as to why I'm here?
I have asked myself that same question every day since I arrived."
"You want me to be the person who understands the situation, yet I'm more confused now than before we even spoke to each other. You think of me in such a high regard you would tell me this in the hope I can piece together what you're saying?"
Like it would actually play out like that…
The whole meeting between Weiss left Zen feeling like he should spin on his heels and head straight back there, sit down and continue where they left off.
Still fresh, yet he went over the idea, pondering if there was another way he could have spoken to her, whether or not, if he truly told her where he actually came from.
Would she believe him?
Think it was another attempt to lead her from her questions?
Or whip out Gambol Shroud and use it on him point blank-
No this is Weiss we're talking about, the level headed, rational member of her team…
And besides, I'm not obsessed with your team, there's also JNPR.
Similarly, Weiss still contemplated her own input during their discussion.
Should I have pressed further, been more open… not bring a gun?
At the end of the day, he wasn't going to give up as easily as I thought he would, and I knew I wasn't going to use Gambol Shroud.
"I'm nowhere nearer to resolving this."
She stared down at the foam atop her coffee before looking over to the window, by the time she got a transport back to Beacon, the sun would have begun to set.
So without further thought, she grabbed herself a to-go cup, transferred the still piping hot coffee, and set her sights on the airship docks.
"Hey Penny, I'm back."
"Hello Zen, how was Weiss?"
"She was alright, interesting to say the least."
"She may seem like she's always serious, but once you get to know her past the formalities and her heritage, she is actually quite a fun companion to be around… I think that Ruby had some part of breaking her out of her shell.
Now what are your plans for the rest of the evening? Are you up to date on your notes?"
"Pretty much."
"Then I guess we'll go train then." She said in a tone Zen definitely felt was different though he chose not to say anything, but instead going to his bedside and grabbing some spare ammo for Spirit and Opportunity in case Penny planned on live fire training.
Weiss entered the dorm to see Blake lay on her bed, studying homework problems while Yang looked like she was doing the same, though also multitasking with her scroll beside her, the sound of that game she would play solo if Ruby wasn't around being the giveaway.
"Guys, I think we should do this." Weiss spoke with slight exhaustion in her voice once she calmly shut the door behind her.
"Do what, exactly?" Blake asked, looking up to give her full attention.
"First of all. Where is Ruby?"
"She went out with JNPR to see a movie remember…" The blonde answered not missing a beat at what she was doing without even turning to the heiress.
Somehow Weiss felt as though Yang knew in relation as to what she wanted to speak to them about, hence the detached response.
She also felt that the blonde would have added 'of course you don't remember, that's when you went off to arrange that little meet up with Zen.' just to be snarky with her if given the chance.
"We need to have a talk about Zen."
Surprisingly, those words were enough to steal Yang away from her game, throwing the device on the bed as she hopped down and stood with her arms crossed.
"You wanna run that by me again?"
Weiss mirrored the posture of her larger teammate and with a sterner tone answered.
"I believe we should talk about Zen and how much of an influence he's had on each of us and how it has affected the team.
She noted Blake tense upon mentioning it, while Yang remained unfazed.
"Why should we?
Got that idea from the chit chat session you had with him instead of training with us?"
Again, thank you Ruby for divulging that information.
Weiss cursed to herself before focusing on the problem in front of her, or rather one loud obstruction and Blake.
"Clearly you both have been conversing with Zen on separate occasions.
Each of you spoke to him with your own intentions and your own questions in mind, whether to get to know him, or finding out more about him.
What's also telling is that when he spoke to you, he said something that either you didn't expect him to say, or something that only made you question him more.
The point of it was to walk away from the exercise feeling like you've accomplished further understanding about Zen Discovery, but at the end of it you just wound up with more questions than answers from what might as well have been for naught."
"Where are you going with this?" Blake asked, as she pushed herself upright, the nervous tone in her voice not being lost on either teammate.
"Because I feel like that's happened to me.
I want to see if any of our one on one encounters with him can garner anything useful if we piece it together."
"And this is going to help us… how?
Not like getting a full picture will lead us to doing anything.
Besides, even if you had the information that will make you finally understand what I've been feeling since day one… you of all people won't do anything outside of going to maybe one of the professors and letting them handle it."
The blonde detested as she turned to climb back up to her bed.
"Blake, here's Gambol Shroud back."
Weiss casually, yet sternly claimed as the metallic thud could be heard as the pistol was placed on the desk next to her.
This only raised eyebrows from the pair as Yang ceased what she did to look over to the heiress, then to her partner, the pair putting two and two together.
"Did- did you intentionally take Gambol Shroud in order to threaten Zen to get him to talk?" Blake asked worryingly, meanwhile Yang stared blankly at the gun, surprised while somewhat impressed at what Weiss might have resorted to.
"I'd call it more of a motivational tool, but yes to answer your question I did take your pistol.
And that's why I ran, I knew you'd realise as soon as I was leaving I was without Myrtenaster."
"And even with this motivation tool, you still couldn't get answers out of him?"
"Oh I got answers alright, answers of what I'm willing to do for the sake of my friends…"
Weiss retorted back at Yang without even thinking, recoiling a little at her sudden surge of anger.
She took a deep breath, cleared her mind, and exhaled before looking at the two of them.
"So are we going to have this talk or not?"
"I think it'd be best if we did." Blake timidly piped up.
There was a tense silence as both girls then directed their attention to the defiant voice in the room.
"Fine." She finally huffed before crossing her arms once more.
"But I'm not going first."
It's not like I was doing much in the way of listening to what he had to say while in the locker room.
"Let's not forget, most of this does stem from your apparent vilification of Zen."
"You really want to go there, Ice Queen?" The blonde retorted, her irises flicking ever so slightly to their crimson colour.
"Yes I do, the whole reason for why I felt compelled to take Gambol Shroud to use was because deep down somewhere that little voice in my head told me maybe I should trust Yang's judgement.
Maybe I should question what he has done and back myself up in case of the worst possible scenario."
"And I wonder what made you think of that, surely you've got to be seeing what I see in him?"
"I can't really deny there is a part of me that feels off when Zen is around, but that still only was because of your words influencing my perspective."
Weiss paused before looking to the lower bunk bed where the third member of WBY had been quietly listening as the pair had their back and forth.
"Blake, you did what you did because despite no affiliation to him whatsoever, you felt compelled to act in his best interest, which by all accounts was to prevent Yang from beating him up, correct?"
"It wasn't just Zen I was worried about, I did it for you too Yang.
I know you're quick to anger if under the right conditions-"
"I got angry at the newsagents and that was justified."
"But you've been seething about Zen ever since.
It was subtle, more doubtful than anything, but I could tell the more you thought about it… you have not relented unless you got your way, and getting your way could only mean one thing… "
"Blake, seething is the furthest feeling I have towards Zen."
Weiss then cut Yang off before she could continue.
"Look, the fact of the matter is I have my reservations when it comes to trusting him, that isn't to say I think Ruby should be denied any chance she can to be friends with whoever she wants.
And though I might make the joke of her giving away her fighting style for the tournament, I'm genuine in that Ruby imparting her own knowledge of combat to someone else like Zen is only going to strengthen herself as both a mentor, leader and huntress."
"And you don't think it's odd that someone like Zen is at the level he is for where he is?" Yang questioned.
"While I find it strange, I don't think it's a concern, especially if he is showing aptitude to improve."
"So far Ruby's been doing fine, she's already taking time to spar with us outside of classand she's also hanging out with JNPR again." The blonde added.
"Yang be serious, it's been nearly two days, how long do you think that Ruby not sparring with Zen and Penny will actually last?"
Weiss retorted.
"As I said to Blake, I'll say it again, if Ruby chooses to go against what I think is best for her, she's more than welcome to test her luck, but it won't end either well nor in her favour."
"My father said the same about me going to Beacon…" Weiss turned away the moment those words left her mouth.
"What?" Blake asked with concern.
"Remember how I said I didn't have the best childhood?
Well, that wasn't just part of the White Fang and their raids on what they deemed to be high value targets of the SDC.
Those were on the very end of the extreme, but that didn't mean that when there wasn't news of the death of family, friends or board members, things weren't any better for me.
My father was the very definition of possessive, when I should go to bed, the amount of study I should do, even what hobbies I should take…
All in the name of 'what is in my best interest'.
The day I wanted to go to Beacon was one of the biggest changes that I made on my own under my own terms.
This scar you see, that is a testament to me working to earn my chance of freedom…
The question I ask now, is Ruby going to have to earn her own scars?"
"You were being controlled by your father based on his own selfish hubris. I am actively looking out for Ruby, I always have and always will look out for her. "
"Yang, there will come a time when Ruby will have to look out for herself, by herself." Blake once again sheepishly chimed in.
"She will have that chance as you said in time, but not while I have anything to say about it."
Are you really taking Ruby's feelings into consideration?
Blake thought.
You really don't know how Ruby feels about this at all, do you?
At the same time Weiss thought along similar lines, but chose to voice her concern.
"Are you really that ignorant of how this has affected Ruby."
"I'm being cold, not cruel." The blonde responded.
I know what being cruel to her was… all for my own selfish reasons, I could have easily just gone alone.
"I'm not leaving her defenceless in the woods like last time, leading her to wolves again by not doing anything about Zen."
"The woods?"
Wait, I just said that out loud? Yang thought to herself as she quickly looked up first at Weiss who appeared puzzled, then to Blake, seeing that the raven haired girl knew exactly what she was referring to.
After a few seconds she sighed and recomposed herself.
"I will make this as clear as I can to both of you, even if you can't understand why I hate the idea of my little sister spending even just a minute alone with him is too much…
No amount of words are going to be enough to convince me that she should continue training and sparring with him, even if that means she feels hurt by it, even if she goes on to say she's going to hate me for the rest of her life… I will continue to keep her safe."
"Resentment can be a powerful tool Yang, I'd be careful in being so confident you're willing to accept Ruby drifting away from you as a result of your choice." Blake spoke up.
"I just find it hard that you two really can't see why Zen should not and cannot be trusted.
I mean, you guys saw how he acted when he first came to the dorm-"
"Oh no, you're not going to tell us how he acted, we were there, we saw the same thing as you, we heard the same things as you… we have the facts here.
I want you to tell me, tell Blake, why you, Yang Xiao Long, have this categorical hatred to Zen."
"I look at Zen, and all I see are lies. I see a guy no taller than Ruby who acts like he is here like the rest of us to do what is right as a huntsman.
I see weakness where he thinks it is strength, a person who can easily be taken down by any one of us yet continues on despite one very big flaw.
A flaw that my sister is willing to overlook, and a person like Zen has an aura to him, and I don't mean the one for combat… he is playing a long game… I have had nights where I have had nightmares that one day Ruby is alone with Zen… that they spar and during the fight, Zen breaks her aura, but he doesn't stop he continues to attack… all the while I can only watch my defenceless sister as he gets closer and closer, until…
Ever since the day our mother went out on that mission, I have been there to look out for Ruby, taking over that role.
It was first a job to help dad, but eventually over time, it became a part of who I am.
And what am I if I ever fail at what is a part of me?
If I ever failed Ruby… If I ever failed mom?"
"You'd still be Yang Xiao Long."
"Blake?"
"At the end of the day no matter the burden, no matter the obstacle in your way be it grim, thief or even Zen… you are Yang Xiao Long.
You're worried about what happens if you fail Ruby.
But the first thing you need to consider before any of the people before you is whether you have failed yourself… and so far I've yet to see that happen."
"She's right, you know." Weiss chimed in.
"I'm still lost here."
"How quick are you to violent tendencies?"
"Very."
"And admit it to us, when Glynda's sparring class was over and while we went to the cafeteria, you went to speak to Zen after going to the bathroom, didn't you?"
"He told you that?"
"He did, but I had a sneaking suspicion that was why you were so cheerful when you sat with us."
"And what does this have to do with everything I've just said?"
"Face the facts here, you have had one or two occasions where you could have intervened, either physically against him or verbally, I know you and you are more prone to the former than the latter.
In the end you spoke to him, you didn't beat him up, you didn't punch him through a wall, you simply talked to him and told him to keep his distance… Why?"
"If you're trying to get me to say deep down there's something about Zen- you won't, the only thought I had is that I'd rather not let him win by getting me expelled so I kept my cool, that was it."
"I'm not, what I am trying to say is that you can have some restraint, a part of me wants nothing more than a justifiable reason to keep Zen as far away from us as well as Ruby.
But at the same time I am willing to say I want to get to know him and even see more of who he is both as a fighter and a person, maybe even impart my own knowledge of fighting.
You have demonstrated what you think is a good enough explanation to why I shouldn't trust Zen, Ruby has done the same but for why I should trust him.
The point I'm trying to make is that if we do anything, it should be as a team."
"What if we are divided on what to do?" Yang asked.
For the first time their discussion began, did it seem like she was looking for a practical solution.
"Then we are divided… until some new light comes to the subject that may change our minds one way or the other."
Weiss paused for a moment, looking towards the lower bunk.
"Blake, you've been fairly quiet and for good reason, I know why, but I'm going to ask you anyway.
When you spoke to Zen, what did he say to you?"
"He said he knew I was a faunus, that the bow, though good at hiding them, when I'm angry or nervous, my ears twitch and if you're perceptive enough, you'd notice the bow moving."
Weiss looked away, she already thought that's what he said, yet it still didn't hurt to see how much it got to Blake.
"There's one other thing… Zen knew I worked with the White Fang, and that I left because I had seen that it was losing its way."
Weiss could hear the sound of Yang's knuckles cracking as she looked over to see how tightly the blonde had clenched her fists.
"And despite that… you told me you felt he was NOT coming off as hostile?" Yang challenged.
"Is that what you said while I was taking Ruby out of the dorm?"Weiss asked with a softer tone.
"Yes." The faunus responded.
"I still can't believe it, how- I mean if it was me, then and there I would have done exactly what Weiss would have, pulled out Gambol Shroud and demanded to know how he got info about the Fang.
How do you feel about that?" Yang further pressed.
"How do I feel? That's the thing, I feel like I should have been a lot more concerned as to how he knew I was in the White Fang, and even why bring it up as a way of trying to be friends… a way to be honest with me.
But the thing is I'm not, I- I feel that I do see something in him. It's a familiar sense, that he is only trying to do good in this world and he is scared to do it… but he is willing to try."
"What makes you so sure of that?" Weiss inquired.
"Just the instinct I've picked up along the way while serving within the White Fang.
Yang, you've told me you can read people's reactions when you square up against them in a fight.
I learnt to read faces, mainly through their eyes when doing recruitment rallies or protests, you can pick up certain tell tale signs if you do it long enough.
I've known what people feel just by their eyes even when the rest of their body language is neutral, anger, fear, eagerness, pain, passion… each one of them distinct.
And when I spoke to Zen, I saw the eyes of someone who isn't a liar, no I see eyes that have a lot to say…
The main thing that I first saw I wasn't sure of, but I've thought about it… I need your help."
"I need your help? Really?" Yang looked down to Blake as she crossed her arms and scoffed.
"It sounds weird, yes, but I'm sure as day that when I stared into his eyes, he was looking at me for help… what for I'm not too sure… maybe what he said about wanting to be honest was his way of wanting to become friends?"
"Is that what you think?"
"Honestly, I think I do…"
"..."
"What is it?"
"When I talked to him… I asked him why he told you, and you're right, it was his way of trying to befriend you by showing not only honesty but also trust, by getting things out in the open and not hiding any secrets."
"Guy needs to work on his timing." Yang piped up.
"That's what I told him."
There was a short silence from all of them, until Yang spoke up, the gears in her head turning by something Blake and Weiss had just said.
"Don't get hung up on that part for a minute, but let me ask you two, at any point when you spoke to him did he mention or even hint at being friends with either you or all three of us?"
'Just know that though today I might have said things that mean you may never want to see me again, I wish for us to become good friends, I just need to prove it to you first is all… I don't know how or when, but I will.'
"What if making friends with us is part of his goal?" Blake said without even thinking.
"Part of it? What's the rest of it, and why would being friends with our team even be necessary?"
Yang asked, slightly worried.
"When he spoke to me, he did seem determined to act in good nature, perhaps part of becoming friends he hopes just like with Ruby, I might spar with him." The raven haired girl answered.
"So he's only pretending to gain your trust so he can then exploit your friendship for his own personal combat trainer… like he did with Ruby." Yang deduced aloud.
"No I'm not saying that…" Blake responded defensively.
'Not to make this sound weird but does this make us friends?'
"Yang might be onto something, and considering we are in the top ranking of our year… maybe with his time here he has heard rumours about our involvement with the breach- " Weiss then added.
"Can we drop this please, it's not what I meant, I shouldn't have said anything." Blake sighed as she hugged herself, looking as if she wanted nothing more than to then curl up on her bed and be left alone.
Again silence filled the room as what could have been cohesive thoughts between them dissolved away at the possible notion of what they might be implying… that was until Weiss decided to speak up.
"There's one other thing, it's a thought I had for a while now, something I wanted to mention sooner, but now seems like the perfect time to bring it up."
"Okay?" Blake said, looking up and unfolding her arms.
"I- well- I can't believe the thought even crossed my mind as a possibility."
"Spit it out ice queen." Yang responded.
"What if he isn't from Remnant… ?" She slowly asked, looking at the pair.
Blake and Yang stared at each other with surprise.
"Do you want to repeat that?" Blake voiced what they both thought.
"What if Zen isn't from Remnant?" Weiss restated.
"And you are Weiss Schnee?" Yang asked, with both eyebrows raised looking directly into the heiress' eyes from where she stood.
"I know it sounds absurd, but the more I look into everything, the less crazy it sounds, like his lack of aura, his condition is real, but very rare, and those that do have it, have been found living in areas where dust isn't commonly mined, like Mistral, only and handful of people in Atlas and more specifically Pleiades have it.
Furthermore when I went to question him about it, I purposely mispronounced the name of the condition to see how he'd respond."
"And?" Yang gestured for her to keep going.
"He fell for it, didn't even attempt to correct me, and only realised I made the mistake until I pressed him further and told him what I had done."
"That was it?" Yang asked with confusion, waiting for the Heiress to go on yet felt something was up.
"No it wasn't, when I tried to press on with why… he went on a tangent."
"..."
"Then there are his sayings."
"Sayings?" Blake asked.
"Yes, apparently he used a phrase, 'never look a gift horse in the mouth' to me just as he was about to leave.
Have either of you two ever heard that saying before?"
"Not that I can think of no." Yang shook her head before looking at Blake.
"What does it mean?" Blake asked with curiosity.
"According to him, it basically means, don't be critical of something given to you." Weiss answered.
"Sounds similar to don't ignore the sword in a Grimm's nest." Blake nodded in affirmation.
"Exactly." Weiss threw out her hands, glad to know she wasn't the only one.
"Then there is Satan..."
"Satan?" Blake asked.
"Satan, I heard Nora use that word in Port's class, told me she heard Zen mention it."
"Why did you ask him about some silly made up word?" Yang was somewhat surprised at what Weiss prioritised during her talk with Zen.
"Because I was curious okay!" The heiress yelled back.
"Well what is Satan?" Blake asked.
"Zen said it referred to a name belonging to a mythical figure that were in stories from his family.
The odd thing was when I tried to look up any records mentioning any Satan using the CCT, there was absolutely nothing."
"I mean there is some plausibility that it would be kept to family only." Blake voiced aloud.
"How so?" Yang asked.
Blake looked up at the blonde as she shifted herself where she sat.
"Think about it, weren't there recipes that only your parents could make and kept as the most important secrets within the family.
Surely the reason Ruby loves cookies so much is because the ones your mother made were made with a special touch."
"I mean when you put it that way, the SDC's patent for purifying dust is mainly because of the work my great grandfather did."
Weiss added.
Yang, now realising where Weiss was going with her original statement, spoke up, somehow as weird as this felt, she wanted to add to it.
"But let's take a step back for a second and assume that no, Satan is not a phrase that is just reserved for Zen and his family… what if we reversed the role for a second.
Weiss when you came to Beacon did the way people talked and act seem very strange compared to that of Atlas?"
"Well yes, I understand what you're trying to say, but even then-"
"Now just try for a second to imagine if that feeling extended beyond borders, instead of being away from Atlas you were away from Remnant itself?"
"When you put it like that-" The heiress was cut off as Yang went on.
"But then how would it even be possible, since really dust can't work outside the planet, that's dust theory one o one and even I know that."
Weiss, annoyed at how Yang kept cutting her off, finally had a chance once again to speak and this time making sure she got her point across.
"Again, what if we then think for a minute two possibilities.
One, dust may not be as abundant as we think it is.
Zen asked me to imagine if there was a world out there where there were no Grimm, what if by that same extension, no dust?
At first I thought he was being philosophical, but maybe he was leading me to the same idea."
"And number two?" Blake wondered.
"Zen might not have an aura, but he does have a semblance, Ruby told me he has one … portal generation I believe it was, and that he needs his swords in order to use it effectively."
Almost like Wilt and Blush with Adam.
Blake thought before shaking her head and listened as Weiss added.
"What if… and I know this sounds odd, if he is from another world, he used his semblance to come to Remnant, but he came by accident?"
"Now where are you pulling that one from?" Yang asked, humouring the shorter girl to go on.
"What if- and I don't want to jump to any conclusion, but I read a while ago that there was a small explosion that went off in Vale, terrorists might be suspected, but what if it was Zen unlocking his semblance and that is how he ended up here?"
"So you're saying for all intents and purposes, Zen looks, eats, breathes, sleeps and probably even bleeds like a human.
Buuut… he also isn't from Remnant but just happens to have a semblance?" The blonde confirmed.
"The universe is so large that anything is possible… it's almost limitless so it could be somewhat probable." Weiss nodded.
Yang didn't know how many times she had crossed her arms that night, but yet again she found herself standing with arms crossed, the rush of emotions she felt while playing along with Weiss finally wearing off on her.
"Really, just like that. You might as well have said he came from the sea and wound up at the same conclusion."
"How deep the recesses of one's mind can go when it comes to creativity."
"Now what are you on about?"
"Something Zen said, he also said Blake would understand."
Weiss simply answered.
"Zen's right, I would understand." Blake smiled as she recalled her own talk with him, though skipping over the first half of it, realising what he said.
"If he were here it would surpass his expectations." She quoted aloud.
"What?" Yang asked as she turned to face Blake.
"It was something Zen had said near the end of our conversation, he told me he reads and there was a professor he looked up to. That this professor is confined to a wheelchair but always looked to the universe wondering if there's anyone out there.
It's a question I think everyone asks once in their life if they look up into the night sky.
At first I thought maybe as part of wanting to be friends he was showing me we shared some interests, mainly in reading.
But now I'm hearing it from Weiss, what if Zen really meant if this professor was here on Remnant in person.
As the idea of being another world is so amazing that one would have to be in person to truly understand how wonderful it is.
And by how one's mind can go when it comes to creativity… What if he meant that if the universe is as large as we think it could be, limitless…
So too can ideas of what we think could exist out there do exist.
If one were to imagine a world without grim or dust, just as a thought, the universe could be large enough where a world like that could be possible."
Blake wasn't sure if her point went across both her teammates, the room was left quiet yet again, either because they were thinking, or that all their talk that night might be drawing to a close.
"I have been given a chance."
"What?" Weiss asked as she was brought out of her thoughts and looked at the blonde.
"Something Zen had said to me when I confronted him in the locker room, what we've been talking about, what you have said.
In the moment, I thought what Zen said was nothing more than a way to sound genuine when in actuality it was just another way of him trying to avoid any questions I might ask him.
But the more I think, truly think about it… what if his 'chance' wasn't just coming to Beacon?"
'I care for my friends' wellbeing… you don't know it yet but I care about you, Blake, Weiss and I care about the safety of Beacon.'
"That then begs the question, is there more to it?" She then asked aloud.
"What are you implying?" Weiss asked, a little nervous as the blonde sharply looked at her before answering.
"Think about it, when you are given a chance, there are obvious reasons or purposes to be given a chance.
When Ruby fought Torchwick and stopped that dust shop from being robbed, Ozpin gave her the opportunity to come to Beacon early, so she could complete her education to become a fully fledged huntress.
So my question is… what is Zen's opportunity?"
"Coming to Remnant? To set foot on another world?"
"Maybe, but what if he meant something else?
What if when Zen mentioned to you Weiss about not looking a gift horse in the mouth, was he referring to himself as the gift?"
"Aren't you overthinking this just a little?" Weiss asked, now looking slightly worried.
"Hey you were the one spitballing the idea that he was somehow from another world."
Yang retorted, before something else Zen said got her thinking.
"Did Zen ever say how much he would want to tell you the truth but he couldn't."
"He said I wouldn't believe him if I did.
I said he could try, but he then just dropped the subject." Blake replied.
"The funny thing is he said something similar to that degree. He never mentioned it, though he seemed like he was trying to hide something. He wanted to tell me the 'truth' but he said he couldn't go into detail.
It does seem to be something he has said to all of us in one form or another…
Then there's Professor Ozpin."
"Ozpin?"
"He told me that he really wished he could tell me the 'truth' but he had promised Ozpin that he wouldn't.
So it is clear he has something to hide, but is it this, that he in fact isn't from Remnant?
He does trust us enough that he would want to be honest with us, but not enough to spell it out directly.
"What if it has to do with Beacon?" Yang asked.
"Beacon?" Both Blake and Weiss asked in unison.
' I care about the safety of Beacon.' Yang quoted verbatim, remaining to keep her focus on the ground.
"Why would he mention the safety of Beacon if it didn't mean anything?
Could he know something we don't, that something is going to happen to the academy?
An attack similar to the breach?
But if that was true, why would he be sworn not to mention it."
"Bigger question: What does that mean… if somehow we are right that us being kept in the dark by Zen might mean there is something going to happen, what does that mean for us?"
Zen and Penny had finished their combat training and though it ran smoothly as normal, Zen couldn't help shake then sense there was something Penny wasn't saying.
"I think I could use some work on running and gunning, but the left shoulder is still a bit funny so, maybe once the uncomfortable feeling goes away I can do better."
"..."
"Hopefully it won't affect me for the mission tomorrow-"
"Can I ask you something?" Penny asked abruptly. The sternness in her voice scared Zen to a small degree.
"What is-"
"Why is it you don't want to spar with Ruby anymore?"
"I-"
"Do you just not like her in general?"
What did I get myself into?
"Or were you just trying to be nice for my sake?"
I can't take this!
"Why, why would you keep playing this silly game if you never were going to enjoy yourself?
Had you told me earlier I could have told Ruby we are fine to-"
"I LIED OKAY!" He replied with such volume he surprised himself, tears nearly forming around the edge of his eyes.
"What?" Penny took a step back after being startled.
"I lied so you wouldn't go and try to fix the problem had you known what the matter was... but I guess in the end my lie only made you think less of me."
"So does that mean you do like sparring with Ruby?"
"Yes of course I do. I've enjoyed every minute we're all together.
The fact I have to keep saying no really hurts-"
He was cut off by being smothered in a hug from the android before pulling back after remembering the last time the two were like this.
"I wouldn't have thought any less of you, only worried that you couldn't talk to me sooner.
But now I'm confused, why lie that you didn't like sparring with Ruby?
And what do you mean by 'go and try to fix the problem'?"
"After the fight with Cardin, you, Ruby and JNPR went to the cafeteria and I went to the locker room like I said I did.
Shortly after that, Yang came in and spoke to me."
"While you were still in the locker room?"
"Yes."
"What did she have to say that was so important she went into the boys locker room in order to talk to you?"
"She told me not to hang out with Ruby anymore, even mentioning the conversation we had to her was part of the things I wasn't allowed to do."
"And let me guess, though she didn't explicitly say what would happen if you did tell Ruby, it would be something I don't want to hear."
"Took the words right out of my mouth."
"So that's why you told Weiss we couldn't spar with Ruby, and also why you wanted to message her yesterday, only for her to respond with 'being too busy to train with us'. That explains the hiccups too."
"Wait, you could tell I was lying with the hiccups."
"Not really, I mean the first hiccup I thought of as just ordinary hiccups, the second at breakfast however made me feel something was off, but I chose not to say anything."
"What are you going to do now that I've told you?"
"Tomorrow we'll be going on our mission.
We will have to worry about Yang afterwards... right now we should wait to see where we'll be assigned."
"Aren't these the set of missions where we'll be partnered up with another team?"
"Yes."
"Why is that?"
"Simply due to the nature of both of the mission where it will require the combined force of two squads of huntsmen as well as teaching us how to work cohesively with others, if ever the situation were to arise post graduation."
Just as they were really contemplating what it could mean if somehow their theories were right, their thoughts were cut off as all three of their scrolls buzzed.
"Must be the mission roster."
"Talk about timing."
Zen said as Penny produced her scroll, she was quiet as her eyes appeared to scan the display for their names.
"Oh."
"What is it?"
As Weiss went to open her scroll, Ruby opened the door with an overjoyed expression while she waved her scroll in the air, barely able to contain herself.
"Guys did you see who we're teaming up with?"
"I was just about to check, but it looks like you've beaten me to it."
"This is going to be awesome." Ruby declared.
"So which team are we going with tomorrow?" Blake asked, knowing full well the shorter teammate was bursting with excitement to tell them.
"Team SPCZ." Ruby stated, smiling warmly.
All three girls looked confused, since this was the first mission that entailed working with others, they had not considered looking at all the teams, but rather focused on their own until right now.
"Team specs? Who are they?" Yang asked with one eyebrow raised.
"They're the team with Penny and Zen."
A/N:
Well hello there,
It has nearly been a month since the last chapter... wait did I actually write a chapter and get it posted before a full month from the last?
I assure it's still me, no I have not been replace with a robot... unless- nope definitely me.
So with this chapter a lot of ideas are floating around, and hopefully the conclusions by characters have a natural flow to them rather than have the answer and simply getting there by chance...
To make it clear (which hopefully I did with the chapter).
Weiss remains in a neutral opinion of Zen.
Yang sees Zen in a negative light.
And Blake is a grey area, she does not actively hate him like Yang, though she doesn't feel comfortable just yet to approach him.
With some of the dialogue I did my best to keep consistent with who talked when and made sure to make it clear when one character spoke vs another, though there are some sections where there is no indication.
Just to be clear (and not confuse anyone) this is how I write my dialogue:
If Yang for example talks first I state that she does
If Weiss then replies I will use her name,
If there is then a reply after that, but no character name is mentioned then it was the first character (ie Yang) who is speaking.
If a new character talks, Blake, I will use Blake said/replied etc.
As far as any references, there are none that I can think of at this moment (as always writing late in the morning - 2am)
So that is all I have to say, feedback or overall reception to what I write
is always welcome.
See you in the next chapter... one I have been looking forward for a while now, will try to get it out ASAP (but making sure to take my time until it is ready)