Chapter 21) We Need to Talk

A/N: Season's Greetings! Merry Christmas/Solstice/Nondescript Winter Holiday to you all! One final chapter to see out the year 2022, and we'll pick back up again in 2023. Enjoy!

Myrtenaster thrust forwards.

The point of Weiss' sword homed in on its target, moving to strike her opponent dead-on. She had performed this exact attack thousands of times over, honed it to the point of near perfection through repeated practice…

The umbrella swatted her strike aside, dismissed her efforts as if they were nothing.

Weiss sidestepped the counter, avoiding the slash aimed at her neck, following up with a swing of her own. A tried-and-true technique, drilled into her by hours of training…

Her opponent jumped over her sword, never once being in any danger of getting hit.

Stepping back to give herself space, Weiss drew upon her Aura and prepared a Glyph, ready to vault over her opponent's head and strike from above. Her Semblance, her weapon, all the years of hard work she had put into making herself stronger, all so she could snatch victory in this very moment…

A blow swept her legs out from beneath her, sending Weiss tumbling back to the ground as a flash of silver lanced towards her face-

"Match over! The victor is Pyrrha Nikos!"

Weiss blinked, and the image of Neo's smirking face looking over her was replaced with the friendly smile of Pyrrha, who was offering her a hand to help her back to her feet.

"Well fought, Weiss," said Pyrrha.

Weiss stared at Pyrrha's outstretched hand for a long moment, before pushing herself to her feet and walking out of the sparring ring to sit on the bench, head cradled in her hands as she took several deep, calming breaths.

"Should I call medical and have someone escort you there, Miss Schnee?" asked Professor Goodwitch.

Weiss shook her head. "I'll be fine, Professor. I just need a minute."

"Very well," Professor Goodwitch replied. "Now then, I need to get back to my office, so this is the end of your allocated time here. Miss Nikos, please make sure Miss Schnee does not linger here for any longer than is necessary, and see to it that she returns her weapon to the impound room."

"Yes, Professor," Pyrrha responded uneasily, as Professor Goodwitch made her exit.

Were she not feeling so awful, Weiss would have baulked at the notion that anyone would have to watch her to ensure she followed the rules. At that moment, however, she was far too preoccupied with other thoughts to register any sort of indignation.

"Weiss? Are you sure everything is alright? I am more than happy to fetch someone for you if needed."

Weiss lifted her head out of her hands to look up at Pyrrha once more. The taller girl was starting down at her worriedly… worry that was not entirely without merit, she supposed.

"I think I just need to go back to the dorm and lie down for a bit," Weiss admitted with a sigh. "I wasn't as ready to get back into this as I thought I was."

Pyrrha frowned. "If you weren't feeling up to this, why did you ask to spar with me? Pushing yourself too far is rather… out-of-character for you, if you don't mind me saying."

Weiss opened her mouth to protest, but she couldn't think of anything to say to refute Pyrrha's insinuation.

She was right, after all… Weiss wasn't the sort of person to step too far outside what she was familiar with. She stuck to what she knew, what she had practiced before…

… and look what that accomplished.

Rising to her feet, Weiss handed Myrtenaster over to Pyrrha, who accepted the offered weapon after a moment's hesitation.

"Remember, store it blade-downwards. And make sure the barrel is unlatched before you hang it up."

"Of course," Pyrrha replied. "No need to worry, I'll make sure your sword is stored safely."

Nodding in thanks, Weiss moved past Pyrrha and began to make her way out of the sparring room.

"Weiss," Pyrrha called after her.

Weiss paused and turned back around. "Yes?"

Pyrrha gave Weiss a small smile. "Remember, even if we aren't teammates, you can still talk to me if you need to. If you can't talk to your team, I mean."

Weiss returned Pyrrha's smile. "Thank-you. I appreciate it, but I'm fine. Really."

The door to the sparring room swung shut behind Weiss as she began to make her way back towards the dorm. As she walked, she tried her best to think of literally anything else besides the disaster of a duel she had just had.

Her thoughts returned, as they so often had done in the days since, to the night of the rally.

To her fight against Neo.

It had been a week, yet it was all still so fresh and raw in her mind. The chaos of it all, the sound of her teammates' desperate voices crying out as they fought for their lives, the sound of her partner's agonised scream as Neo sliced her back open, the panic and the fear and the pain as she was beaten down by Neo before everything went dark, before she woke up in a hospital bed to learn that they had almost all died…

They had all recovered from their injuries by now, Weiss having recovered the fastest owing to her injuries being the least severe. Yang's cast had come off two days ago, Ruby's back and head had both fully healed, Blake's many bruises had faded away…

So why am I not able to fight properly?

Weiss hadn't expected to actually be able to beat Pyrrha. She was quite aware of how far the gap between the two of them was in terms of skill, after all. Even so, she should not have lost quite so badly as she had done so. She should have at least been able to put up a bit of a fight.

But as she clashed with Pyrrha, Weiss' mind had gone back to her fight with Neo, and she had fallen apart.

"Pushing yourself too far is rather… out-of-character for you…"

Pyrrha likely hadn't meant it as a critical statement, but her words resonated within Weiss as she grappled with what was going on inside her head.

She was cautious. Always had been. Ever since her recklessness had cost her brother an eye. So if she never took too big a risk, then she wouldn't make another mistake like that one again. That was the reasoning.

So she trained. Made herself stronger and faster, made herself into a warrior who could fight back… but always, always making sure she never went too far, never strayed too far from what was necessary. Caution became ingrained in almost everything she did… and only now did Weiss realise what that had done to her.

She had played it safe, never pushing too far outside what she knew she could handle… and as a result, she had stagnated. Instead of overcoming her limits, she had accepted them. Instead of becoming more than she was, she had become more of the same.

Her recklessness had cost her brother an eye… now, her caution had almost cost her friends their lives.

If I had been stronger… if I had been faster… if I had just been better than that…

…

… not again.

Weiss turned and changed direction, heading away from the dorms.

Sitting in a room and sulking isn't going to fix anything. I need to be better, and that will only happen if I make it so.

An empty classroom afforded her the perfect venue for what she had in mind. Closing the door behind her, Weiss set about the task of shunting various items of furniture out of the way to clear a space in the centre of the room.

As part of their probation, Team RWBY as a whole were restricted for the time being in what they could do outside of class. When not in use, their weapons had to be handed over, and if any of them wanted to make use of any facilities like the sparring rooms or the forges, they had to get express permission and a member of staff to oversee them.

Luckily, at least from a certain point of view, Weiss didn't need any of that for the moment. Weiss could admit that she wasn't in the right headspace for any more sparring anyway, even if she were allowed to do so.

But there was something else she could work on… and using a classroom wasn't technically breaking the rules.

Satisfied that she had prepared a wide enough space to work in, Weiss stood at the edge of her impromptu practice circle and did everything she could to clear her head.

…

Weiss could conjure Glyphs as platforms and as barriers. She could manipulate the elements with Dust, boost her speed, even bend the flow of time.

But there was one aspect of her Semblance that she had never managed to grasp. And in her drive to perfect only what she could already do, she had neglected to invest adequate time into unlocking this other power she had available to her.

'We Schnees are unique. Unlike many, our Semblance is hereditary. Every Schnee, for generations, has had the ability to Summon. But that doesn't mean it will come easily.'

Winter's words of advice resurfaced in Weiss' mind as she focussed on what she wanted… on what she needed to do.

'Your Semblance is like a muscle. The more you practice with it, the stronger it will become. But if you only focus on one aspect of it, if you fail to test the limits of what you think is possible, then you'll never truly grow.'

Weiss took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let it out slowly.

I'm sorry, Winter. I should never have ignored your teachings. But I promise, I won't make that mistake again.

Extending one hand out in front of her, Weiss focussed her Aura and willed it to take the form she desired.

A Glyph appeared on the floor in front of her, flickered briefly, then vanished.

Clenching her jaw, Weiss tried again.

And again.

And again…

Ending the call, Ren sighed and sagged with relief.

"Well?" Nora asked impatiently.

"They said yes," Ren replied with a grin.

Nora practically squeed with delight as she threw her arms around Ren excitedly. "Ren, you're the best! What would we ever do without you?"

"I imagine you'd probably break a lot more stuff that you already do," Ren deadpanned in response.

Jaune quirked an eyebrow at that. "Hey, I happen to be very mature and responsible, thank-you very much. I only break things unintentionally."

"You tore open a vending machine in order to use the cans within as makeshift grenades against Team RWBY."

"And you used a pair of leeks as knives," Jaune retorted. "You're not as above it all as you think you are, Ren."

Ren levelled Jaune with a stare, but quickly devolved into chuckling, unable to maintain their feigned annoyance for very long.

"Fair enough," they conceded. "But let's get back on track, shall we? That takes care of the music for the night, so all that remains now is the decorations."

"Didn't Yang say her team would handle that part?" Nora asked.

"That was before they got themselves put on probation," Ren replied. "Professor Goodwitch took them off of planning duties because of that, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Nora mused. Then she grinned. "So that means we get all the credit for planning the party!"

Ren shook their head in bemusement. Of course Nora would default to that line of thinking. No concern for the extra workload they had been landed with, but instead the prospect of the glory that pulling this off successfully would bring.

"Well, I vote we leave that for now and take a break," said Jaune, rising to his feet. "I dunno about you two, but I could go for some sandwiches."

"Now that's a plan I can get behind!" Nora chirped happily, springing to her feet. "C'mon Ren, let's eat!"

Nodding and smiling, Ren followed after their teammates, hanging back behind them a short distance. While Nora and Jaune chatted about something or other, Ren pulled their Scroll back out of their pocket and reopened one of the other tabs they had saved from earlier.

"Oh, are you three done already?"

Ren stopped and turned to see Pyrrha approaching from the other end of the corridor.

"For now," they replied. "We're getting some lunch. Will you be joining us?"

"Certainly," Pyrrha said. "And sorry again for not sticking around to help out. I promised Weiss I would spar with her."

"No need to apologise," Ren responded. "In fact, you arrived at a good time."

"Oh?" Pyrrha quirked her eyebrows up. "Do tell."

Ren handed their Scroll over to Pyrrha. "I have mine, Nora's and Jaune's outfits ready to order for the dance. Now I just need yours. This site offers some very good deals if you buy in bulk."

Pyrrha gave the image on Ren's Scroll a glance. "I'll have to think about it before I decide. I haven't really given much thought to an outfit, I'll admit."

"Fair enough." Ren resumed following after Nora and Jaune, Pyrrha now also in tow.

"How is Weiss?" Ren asked.

Pyrrha hummed. "Hard to say. I think only she can answer that question right now. But I wonder if I should say something to her teammates all the same?"

"If you think that would help, then by all means do so," Ren said.

"But I don't want to overreact over nothing," stressed Pyrrha. "I don't want to be too intrusive."

Ren considered Pyrrha's words for a moment. "Well, what if you did nothing, and it turned out something was wrong? Wouldn't it be better to overreact than underreact in that case?"

"I suppose so…" Pyrrha murmured.

"Hey, Pyrrha!" Nora called, waving back at her while walking in reverse. "Jaune wants to talk to you about something!"

Pyrrha blinked, then shook herself to attention. "I'm coming!" she called, walking ahead of Ren to join Jaune while Nora fell back to walk beside Ren.

"So," Nora began. "Is she going to the dance or what?"

Ren shrugged. "No idea. We were talking about other things."

Nora puffed her cheeks out in annoyance. "Reeeen," she whined, drawing out their name. "We're supposed to be working together on this!"

Ren rolled their eyes. "Nora, this was your idea, not mine. I suggested we leave them be to figure things out on their own."

"But that's the problem! They won't! Pyrrha's too shy and Jaune's too dense! If we leave them to figure things out on their own, they'll be old and dead before either of them says anything to the other!"

Ren couldn't help but crack a smirk at Nora's remark. "As entertainingly morbid as that sounds, I think you need to have a bit more faith in the two of them. They're smart people, they'll figure it out soon enough."

Nora groaned, and Ren chuckled, as all four members of JNPR made their way down to the cafeteria.

If this is the worst drama the four of us have to deal with, I'll take it. It's a lot better than constantly worrying that Jaune is going to kill himself out of stubbornness, after all.

Blake massaged her temples as she continued to stare at the screen in front of her, the words of the article she had been attempting to read for the past hour blurring together into an incoherent mess as her exhaustion caught up with her, shattering her focus entirely.

"Dammit," she huffed, rising out of her seat and making her way over to the coffee machine to get another much-needed hit of caffeine to perk her up.

Whoever's idea it had been to install coffee machines in the library, presumably to help students with late-night studying, was someone Blake would dearly like to thank one day. Having coffee on-tap to keep her awake was something she sorely needed right now, three days in with no sleep and very little to eat. If she wanted to stay alert and able to keep on researching as much as she could, she needed all the caffeine she could get.

"Hey, Blake!"

Blake didn't pause to acknowledge whoever was calling her name. She just returned to her seat and resumed attempting to read the article on screen, sipping at her cup as she did so.

'White Fang presence… southern regions… reports of heavy weaponry…'

The fog over Blake's mind was slow to lift, but she was beginning to pick out some details from what she read. None of which made her feel any better.

'Heavy weaponry'… so he really does have access to that tech.

"Blake!"

Scowling, Blake turned to see whoever was trying to bother her.

"What do you want, Sun?" she snapped irritably. "I'm busy."

Sun looked Blake up and down, his expression one of confusion. "Uh… are you doing OK?"

"I'm fine," Blake replied shortly. "Is that all?"

"Well, actually…" Sun rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "I hear that there's this dance going on next weekend… sounds kind lame, but… you and me? I'm thinking, not as lame, yeah?"

Blake stared at Sun. "What?"

"The dance! Next weekend! You wanna go? With me?"

Blake scowled. "I don't have time for some stupid dance, Sun. Now leave me alone."

Sun's face fell. "Oh, well, OK. If you change your mind-"

"I won't," Blake replied swiftly. "Now please go away."

Returning her attention to the screen, Blake resumed reading.

'Multiple reports have been made that White Fang members have been seen using military-grade equipment. According to insider sources in the VPD, known criminal Roman Torchwick has been conspiring with the White Fang to acquire such hardware illicitly, but exactly how such an individual was able to gain access to Atlas military equipment remains a mystery. Vale's chief of police has gone on record to say that-'

"Blake, we need to talk."

Blake looked up from the screen, once again pulled away from what she was supposed to be focussed on by yet another interloper.

"Yang, this had better be important."

Blake's partner stood with her hands on her hips, staring down at Blake disapprovingly. "Walk with me," she said, gesturing towards the exit with a motion of her head.

Blake retuned her attention to her screen. "No thanks, I'm perfectly fine right where I am."

A hand grabbed Blake's arm and yanked her out of her seat.

"I wasn't asking," Yang said, pulling Blake along as she made her way out of the library.

Blake tried to pull free from Yang's grasp, but quickly accepted that it was useless to even try. The blonde's grip was unbreakable.

Yang led the two of them into an empty classroom, shutting the door behind them before she released Blake from her grasp.

"Alright, no dancing around the issue," Yang began. "Blake, we're worried about you. This investigation is really starting to mess with your head."

Blake scoffed. "That's ridiculous."

"I'm serious," Yang pressed. "You don't sleep, you barely eat, in class you hardly even seem to notice that you're there."

Blake bristled. "Do you think I care about the grades I get in class? I have bigger things to worry about. I thought you of all people would understand that."

"I do," said Yang firmly, leaning against a nearby desk as she spoke. "We all do, Blake. We were all there, we all saw the same thing, we all know what we're up against."

Blake clenched her fists. "No you don't. Not really. Not the same way I do."

"You mean Adam?"

Blake turned away from Yang to hide her face, hugging her arms as she did so.

"He wants a war, Yang," she whispered. "He always spoke about the war that would change the world, and now he has the means to actually start one. Someone has to stop him."

"I agree," Yang replied. "But you're not going to stop anything if you run yourself into the ground."

Blake barked out a bitter laugh. "If you're trying to tell me I need to stop, then save your breath, because I can't."

Blake felt a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not gonna tell you to stop; I'm telling you to slow down."

Blake whirled around to glare at Yang, her temper beginning to rise. "I don't have the luxury of slowing down, Yang!"

Yang crossed her arms and levelled Blake with a glare of her own. "It's not a luxury, it's a necessity."

"The necessity is stopping him before he gets thousands of people killed!"

"And we will," said Yang, her glare softening slightly. "But first, you are going to hear me out. So sit down, and listen to what I have to say. If you still won't agree with me when I'm done, I won't pressure you any more, but at least give me a chance to say my piece."

Blake considered simply brushing Yang off and leaving then and there, but ultimately decided against it. She knew Yang well enough by now to know that the blonde would not let this go so easily.

Taking a seat atop a desk, Blake folded her arms and levelled Yang with a stern gaze. "Alright, fine. I'm listening."

Yang nodded once, then leaned backwards on her hands against the desk behind her, gazing up at the ceiling.

"Ruby and I… We grew up on Patch, the little island off the coast of Vale. Our Dad's a former Huntsman, teaches part-time at Signal, while Mom took on missions all over the place."

Yang's expression turned wistful as she spoke, but her voice had an air of melancholy to it.

"Summer Rose," Yang said softly. "She was like… Super-Mom. Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. She was gone a lot, sure, but she always found some way to make time for me and Ruby when it counted. But then…"

Yang closed her eyes and paused for a moment.

"It happened five years ago… Mom had gone on a mission that took her outside the Kingdom. She didn't tell anyone what it was for, just that she might not be back for a while. Well, about two months after she left… we got the news. She died."

Blake felt a pang of sympathy for Yang and her sister as she heard that, but she was still confused. What did any of this have to do with her?

"It was tough. Still is, sometimes. Ruby took it real bad, withdrew from basically everyone and everything for almost half a year. But Dad? He completely shut down. I… kinda had to take care of both of them for a while, there. I mean, Uncle Qrow helped out where he could, but he couldn't be there all the time. So for a long time, it was just… me, holding it all together."

Yang pushed herself off of the table and began to wander around the room absently.

"The thing is, though, it shouldn't have been. See, I call Summer my Mom because that's who I always saw her as, still see her as… but the truth is, my real Mom… she left."

Yang's voice took on a bitter edge towards the end, and her gaze hardened.

"Raven," she all but spat. "Qrow's sister. I don't know much about her. Dad and Qrow don't like to bring her up very much. She was on the same team as they were, but right after I was born… she just left everyone behind. Dad, her brother… her own kid."

"Do you… know why?" Blake asked.

Yang sighed. "That question… Why? Mom… I mean, Summer… she never made me feel like I was unwanted or didn't belong, so for a long time I didn't really care. I had a Mom who loved me, so why should I care about the one who doesn't? That was what I thought."

Yang walked over to the chalkboard at the front of the room and picked up a stick of chalk, absently beginning to draw something on the dark slate surface.

"But then she was gone, and Dad shut down, and I was left to pick up the pieces all by myself. But Raven was out there, somewhere. She should've been there to help when we needed her… so I decided to find her myself. I asked anyone I could what they knew about her, where she might be. And after a while, I found something. A clue that I thought might lead me to some answers."

"I wasn't much older than twelve, and Ruby was only ten. In my stupid, short-sighted mind, I figured I couldn't leave Ruby all by herself in the house while I went out searching, so I took her with me, pulling her along in a toy wagon while she slept the journey away."

Blake's confusion was only growing more pronounced. "Yang, is there a point to all of this?"

Yang turned and gave Blake a dry, humourless smile. "I'm getting there." Returning her attention to the chalkboard, Yang continued to draw as she spoke.

"I must've walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises all over my legs, I was totally exhausted, but I wasn't gonna let anything stop me. I could barely even stand up straight by the time I got to the place I had heard about, but I didn't care. All I could think about was how desperately I needed to find her, to find Raven, to make her realise how much we needed her…"

Yang finished her drawing with a sharp, final line, and Blake saw that she had drawn a picture of a Beowolf.

"There we were: two little kids, one asleep in a wagon, the other too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served up on a silver platter."

Yang drew one more line, slicing though the image of the Grimm she had drawn.

"Luckily, Uncle Qrow found us just in time. He saved us, made sure we got back home… and made sure I knew full well that I almost got myself and my little sister killed because I was too stubborn and reckless to realise what I was doing."

Blake stared at Yang. Sympathy welled up inside her for what her partner had gone through, but that sympathy was overshadowed by another, more bitter emotion.

"Yang, I'm sorry that happened to you, and I think I get what you're trying to tell me, but this is different. So much more is at stake here than just us."

"I know," Yang said. "But this isn't different: you're obsessed, like I was. And I get it, trust me, I get it… but if you let that control you-"

"He doesn't control me!" Blake snapped.

"But this search does," Yang pressed. "Listen to me, Blake, I'm not telling you to stop. You're right, this is so much bigger than us, and if we can do something about it, we should. But if we destroy ourselves in the process, then what good are we to anyone?"

Blake felt her anger rise once more. "You don't understand, Yang! I have to do this! I'm the only one who can do this!"

Why can't you see that? I got you involved already, and it got you hurt. It could get you killed, when this is my fight to face! Why can't you just let me go!?

Yang's eyes turned red.

"No, you don't understand!" she yelled. "If Torchwick were to walk in through that door right now, what would you do!?"

Blake drew herself up to her full height. "I'd fight him," she said firmly.

Yang stepped forwards and shoved Blake hard, causing her to stumble and almost fall over.

"You'd lose," she snarled.

Blake launched herself forwards and swung for Yang's head. "No I won't!"

Yang blocked Blake's punch with minimal effort. "Yes, you would."

"I can stop him!" Blake cried, desperation in her voice as she pushed back against Yang, anger and frustration boiling over and spurring her to make her point known through force.

Yang caught Blake's next punch in her hand and twisted around, throwing her down to the floor.

"You can't even stop me!" Yang spat.

Blake looked up at her partner, red-eyed and staring down at her with a thunderous expression… then her eyes became soft lilac again, and her scowl became a smile as she held out her hand.

"I'm not asking you to stop, Blake. Just please, get some rest."

Blake looked at Yang's offered hand for a moment… then she took it with hers, and allowed Yang to pull her to her feet.

"Alright," Blake sighed. "You win. I'll take a break."

Strong arms wrapped themselves around Blake, and she tensed up as Yang hugged her tightly.

"You're not alone, Blake," Yang whispered. "You don't have to do this alone."

Blake hesitated for a moment, then returned Yang's embrace, hugging her back.

'HUNTSMAN WANTED: Escort detail from Vale to Northern Outpost. Travel party of three, cargo consisting of Dust and ammunition. Mission Rank-1, details of fee to be agreed upon acceptance of job.'

"Miss Rose, might I enquire as to what you are doing at this moment?"

Ruby startled, then winced as her sudden motion tweaked her injury, sending a small jolt of pain along her back. She might no longer have any need for bandages of stitches, but her wound still felt tender in spots.

Professor Ozpin smirked down at her. "Perhaps you should not be up and about as of yet, if your back is still causing you issue."

"I-I'm f-fine," Ruby replied quickly. "It's n-not that bad."

Professor Ozpin's smile fell slightly, but he shrugged nonetheless. "If you feel you are well enough, then I shall not labour the point. So I shall instead return to my initial question: what are you doing at this moment?"

Ruby's brain quickly scrambled about for an appropriate excuse, only to come up with nothing.

Then again, I don't think I could actually tell a convincing lie to someone like the Headmaster anyway.

"W-well, I'm checking the M-Mission Boards…" Ruby cringed internally at how stupid that sounded.

Professor Ozpin hummed, casting his eye over the Board himself. "I see. Does anything stand out to you, then?"

Ruby shook her head. "N-not really…"

Not anything useful for us, at least…

"Not much advertised for the southern regions, I see."

"No," Ruby sighed, returning her own focus to the Board to stare despondently at the lack of anything helpful…

Then she clammed up and flushed red as she realised that she had been found out.

Whirling about, she saw Professor Ozpin once again smirking at her. "Subtlety is not you strongest attribute, Miss Rose. You tend to wear your intentions rather openly, even if you do not intend to."

"Uh, I can explain…" Ruby began.

"By all means, explain away."

Ruby opened and closed her mouth several times, then lowered her head and shuffled her feet awkwardly. "Actually, m-maybe I can't."

Ruby heard Professor Ozpin chuckle. "Don not fret, I am not here to reprimand you. I find your commitment to be quite admirable, even if you perhaps get a bit too involved at times. Rather, I wish to offer some sage advice to you."

Ruby lifted her head, fighting down the blush she could still feel on her cheeks. "Y-yes, sir?"

Ozpin turned to face Ruby fully. "Take some time to rest."

Ruby blinked. "Huh?"

Ozpin's expression shifted, taking on that unreadable look he adopted whenever he was being serious.

"Knowing when to step back and allow yourself to recuperate can be just as important, if not more so, than knowing when to take action. Just as it is a factor to bear in mind when managing your Aura in a fight, it is a factor to bear in mind regarding your mental wellbeing as well."

Ruby considered what Professor Ozpin was saying, and thought back to how Blake had been acting in recent days.

"Y-yeah, I th-think I understand."

Then again, it's not like I'm going that far… right?

"Then might I suggest you turn your attention towards the upcoming celebration instead?" said Professor Ozpin. "A night of dancing and revelry may do you the world of good."

Ruby frowned. "I'm n-not much of a… f-fancy pansty… dancey girl," she mumbled.

Professor Ozpin smirked once more. "Well, you can't spend your whole life on the battlefield, even if you want to."

That's a lesson that's been floating around a lot lately.

"If you think about it," Professor Ozpin continued. "Fighting and dancing aren't all that different from each other. Two partners interlocked, their respective movements as dependent on each other as they are on themselves..."

Ruby found herself imagining a pair of dancers holding weapons spinning each other around, bullets flying in all directions as a band played in the background.

Those two things do not go together…

"Y-you win a fight," Ruby mused. "You don't w-win a dance."

Professor Ozpin hummed. "Well, that all depends on the attitude you bring to the engagement, doesn't it?"

Ruby was about to ask what he meant by that, but Professor Ozpin simply turned and walked away, cane clacking against the polished wooden floor as he did so.

Odd…

Ruby glanced at the Mission Board again.

Oh, who am I kidding? I'm not gonna find anything useful here. Not now.

Maybe the Professor was right… Ruby needed a break.

"Hey there, need any help?"

Once again, Ruby startled at the sudden voice behind her, and once again painfully tweaked her back as she did so.

Yep, I definitely need a break.

Ruby turned to see who was talking to her. The girl in question was wearing glasses and a beret, and carrying a large handbag.

"Um, Coco, r-right?"

"Coco Adel, at your service." Coco bowed slightly and smiled. "Leader of Team CFVY. And you're Ruby, if I'm not mistaken. Your Team were one of the ones who took over for us planning the party, weren't you."

Ruby felt very awkward at that. "W-w-well, w-we kinda got… taken off of that…"

Coco laughed. "Oh yeah, that whole thing! Nice work busting that rally, by the way."

Ruby once again felt her face warm up in embarrassment. "W-we didn't r-really do much to h-help."

Coco waved her off. "Don't undersell yourself, kid, you did good, no matter what anyone says. Taking those kinds of risks is what being a Huntress is all about, after all."

Ruby began to fiddle with the hem of her cloak nervously. Coco and her Team were quite well known in Beacon for their many successes despite only being second-years, and Ruby was quite conscious of the fact that she was more known for her mistakes at present.

"Anyway," Coco continued. "Checking out the Boards I see. Thinking about what your Team's gonna take for your first Mission-shadowing?"

Ruby shook her head. "A-actually, I was just l-leaving. S-s-sorry."

Ruby began to leave, only for Coco to move to block her path, folding her arms and smiling. "Well, let me help you with something else, then. Gotta pay you back for covering for my Team somehow."

"Th-thanks, but I r-really don't n-need anything…"

"Got a dress for the dance?"

Ruby blinked. "Huh?"

"I'll take that as a no," Coco said. "Alright, come with me. Let's see what we can do for you."

Ruby gulped. "Y-you aren't gonna take n-no for an answer, are y-you?"

"Nope!" replied Coco. "Now come on! Let me work my magic!"

She's a lot like Yang…

Swallowing her awkwardness and nerves, Ruby allowed herself to be led out of the hall and towards, presumably, Coco's dorm.

"Got anyone in mind to go with?" Coco asked. "Unless you'd rather not say, that's fine too."

Go with?

Ruby hadn't really given that much… any thought. Then again, she hadn't really given the dance itself much thought either, especially this past week.

Who would I even ask? I don't really know anyone outside my Team all that well…

As she pondered this, Ruby found herself picturing an image of herself on a dancefloor, hand-in-hand with a carrot-haired girl in a green dress…

Penny.

…

Wait, what?

Hello again to you all, readers both old and new! I'm Not Scot.

I didn't forget about JNPR, I promise. Their greater role in the story just hasn't really come up yet, so they're mostly just in the background for now as I set things up. They'll get their time in the spotlight, just not right now.

I'll be honest, I reused a lot of the existing dialogue from the show in this chapter, especially in Yang and Blake's section. The talk those two have is one of my favourite parts of that Volume, it gives such a good insight into both of their mindsets. So I figured: no need to tamper with diamonds there, just let that scene play out with a bit more added internal thoughts from Blake.

Next chapter, 'Put On Your Dancing Shoes', will of course be the dance itself. Look out for that in the New Year, probably the second week of January sometime.

Before I go, I just want to give you all one final thank-you for the support you've shown this project of mine this past year. Every notification I get saying someone has responded in some way to what I've written really does brighten my day whenever it happens.

So, as 2022 draws to a close, for the final time this year, I shall take my leave.

Until next time,

Not Scot.

P.S: Place your bets… will Volume 9 come out before I finish Volume 2 of this fic?