The 'Lone' Hero of Vale - Chapter 14
"Come in." Ozpin spoke as he stood up from his chair while Ironwood and Glynda were still in their conflict.
In came Ruby, who was called in by Ozpin, due to request by Ironwood, for questioning. However, Ruby was alone, despite the fact that they also called in Link.
"Sorry it took so long." Ruby said "Someone accidentally hit all the buttons on the elevator on the way up here." Ruby mumbled "It wasn't me."
"We're glad you could make it." Glynda said and was about say more until
"Where is he?" James approached Ruby
"Who?" Ruby whistled
"The boy who you were with last night...you two combated that woman didn't you?" James said
"O-oh you mean Link..." Ruby chuckled nervously
"Yes where is he?" Glynda asked
"Oh he was tired so I told him to sleep in and that I'd answer every question." Ruby smiled and rubbed her head nervously.
"What a shame, it would've been nice to get two reports rather than one."
"Nonetheless, thank you for coming ruby." Ozpin nods "How are you feeling?"
"I feel...different." Ruby said with a smile, resisting her urge to blush as she bumped her index fingers together, but she knew that they weren't asking about her love life. "I feel okay." She nodded
"You sure?" Ozpin asked
"Mhm. I'd feel a lot better if my bad guy catching record wasn't O for three." Ruby nervously chuckled, getting no laughter in return from the adults in the room.
Link sighed as he opened his eyes, yawning very slowly
"Time for the mission I suppose..." Link shrugged and walked over to his desk, where he had school books, sketch books and a coffee maker.
"Eh, why not? She wanted some anyway." Link yawned again and started to make coffee
Link carefully sat down and tried to remember everything that happened last night, absolutely everything.
"Ugh no I have to get that out of my head." Link shook his head rapidly and carefully waited for his coffee to be done. "It was amazing though..."
The most important fact finally hit Link...what about Velvet?
"She's really sweet and nice...and it's me who has to break her heart." Link sighed and quickly filled up his mug despite the coffee not being done.
"Look at me, I'm talking to myself, I'm such a psycho." Link chuckled and quickly added cream and sugar.
Link sighed in relief as the coffee warmed up his hands.
"YO!" Yang pounded on the door, the shock factor made Link drop his mug
"Grr..." Link balled up his fists and rushed towards the door
"Open up!" Weiss shouted
"WHAT?!" Link slammed the door open
"Whoa whoa whoa..." Yang chuckled and stormed inside Link's room "Not a morning person huh?"
"Well I'm not use to people pounding on my door every morning." Link sighed and checked the wall, only a small dent luckily
"Why are you here?" Blake asked "I thought you and Ruby had to talk to Professor Ozpin and Glynda?"
"And Ironwood..." Link rolled his eyes
"Why are so sarcastic with the general?" Weiss asked
"Because he's a scumbag." Link was about to continue but then he just laughed it off "But that's a story for another day."
"What's this?" Yang walked over to Link's desk, reaching for the chair, grabbing Ruby's dress
"Oh..." Link backed away slowly "Yeah it is."
"What were you guys up to last night?" Yang asked
"Private stuff that should never discussed ever." Link chuckled
"I see..." Yang nodded and put Ruby's dress down
Yang paced around Link, saying nothing before rushing towards Link, immediately throwing hard punches at him
"Whoa what the hell?!" Link said as he struggled to dodge
"Come on Link, fight back!" Yang said, firing bullets from her gauntlets
"You better stop." Link warned as he tried to fight back with kicks
"Or what? You gonna hurt me? I'd love to see you try" Yang taunted and winked
"Stop it Yang, this isn't funny. You're destroying my room!" Link growled as he ran for his sword
"None of that, blake please." Yang smiled as Blake used her shadow 'clone' to distract to make Link steer clear of his weapon
"I've had enough, you better stop." Link said, trying to stay calm, quickly grabbing his throwing knife
"Since when did he-!" Weiss had no chance to finish as Link launched his throwing knife, with gold aura surrounding the weapon surging past Yang, clipping a piece of her hair
"Uh oh..." Blake said, immediately backing away.
Yang's smile vanished, her eyes went from innocent purple to blood red
"You're gonna pay for that!" Yang said, launching herself using shotgun shells, aiming a single punch directly for Link
"I said..." Link growled, his eyes flashed gold "ENOUGH!" Link sprinted at Yang with the same motion, a closed fist, a strong punch
Both of them collided with each other, with both fists barely outlasting one another
Elsewhere
"Phew..." Ruby sighed "That went well." Ruby frowned "That jerk said he'd be there with me, and he also wants to skip out the whole day." She then smiled "Oh I can't stay mad at him forever, after all, he's making me coffee."
Back to the 'fight'
"What is wrong with you?" Weiss snapped
"Who?!" Yang and Link yelled
"Both of you." Blake sighed and showed off a smile
"What was that all about?" Link frowned
"Oh." Yang chuckled "Ruby said you needed help with hand to hand."
"..." Link sighed with relief. "What about the other thing?"
"Should've probably brought it up, my bad." Yang smiled, ignoring Link's question
"No problem..." Link nodded and glanced the coffeemaker, which did have enough for another mug
"I never knew you were a coffee person." Blake spoke
"Not today, that's for Ruby." Link yawned and jumped back on his bed "I'm taking a nap and enjoying the week off."
"Week off?"
"There's no way Professor Ozpin exempted you from this mission." Weiss frowned
"Probably not." Link shook his head and shrugged his shoulders
"You know it's that laid back attitude that'll cost you big time later on." Blake mumbled
"I know, but it's hard to change, you know?"
"I know how you feel." Blake and Yang said at the same time
"Brilliant, we're all weirdos." Link chuckled
"Listen." Yang said, her tone changed from cheerful to serious almost immediately
"Yes?" Link sat up
"You keep my sister happy, okay?"
"Look." Link sighed "We don't even know if we're gonna be...you know...together...together; In the words of Nora." Link said it exactly like Nora does whenever she dodges Jaune's questions about her and Ren.
"Not relevant." Weiss said "You two are clearly close friends, so keep her happy either way. Okay?"
"No problem, that we can agree on." Link got up and promptly shook hands with Weiss
"Thank you." She said, then calmly and quickly exited Link's dorm along with the rest of team RWBY
Moments later
"Hey thanks." Ruby said, enjoying her warm coffee
"No problem." Link nodded "Your team is probably expecting you."
"Of course they are, they're gonna wanna know everything that happened today...and yesterday."
"No mentions of...you know."
"Oh of course, nobody shall know." Ruby nodded drank a bit of coffee "So that's what that's like-!"
"Ah!" Link shook his head "Let's not discuss it anymore."
"R-right." Ruby blushed
"Good. Oh and don't forget your dress."
"Ugh as if I want that back." Ruby groaned
"Your leggings and shoes miss you too." Link teased
"Those shoes..." Ruby sighed "I was completely off my game."
"I feel ya." Link nodded
"So are you still gonna skip the mission?" Ruby whined
"Mhm." Link nodded
"Please? It'll be fun." Ruby tugged on Link's arm
"Nothing is fun about being restricted to rookie's work. We're first year students Ruby, only the easy jobs will be available to us." Link shrugged "But hey...call me." Link smiled
"I will." Ruby smiled back
Ruby and Link then tried to hug...but the awkwardness prevented anything, so they ended up just roughly fist bumping again
"Good luck." Link waved
"Thanks." Ruby waved back and quickly sprinted off.
"...Finally..." Link sighed, following it with a yawn before dropping dead on his mattress.
15 minutes later
knock knock
"..." Link opened one eye and let out another sigh "Go away!"
knock knock knock
"You're not funny!"
knock knock knock knock
"...I'm going to hurt you." Link warned as he sat up, cracking his knuckles slowly
"Ah but that would be completely unnecessary my young pupil!"
"...What the-!" Link wiped his eyes and opened the door to find his least favorite Professor...Oobleck
"Get dressed, you can't go on a dangerous mission dressed like you're ready for bed."
"I've been ready for bed..." Link sighed and slammed the door...except that it didn't shut
"Ozpin gave me permission to escort you out the easy way...and the hard way." He pushed his glasses back
"You're threatening me now?" Link frowned "I'm not-!"
"Yes you aren't afraid of me." Oobleck said with a really hyper tone. "And you wouldn't hold back if we were to battle, is that correct?"
"Um...yes?" Link shrugged his shoulders
"I can see now why Ozpin would take an interest in you, fearless, calm, strong..." Oobleck continued to pace around Link
"You done yet?" Link asked
"Yes. Now I must tell you. This mission is mandatory, especially to first year students, you must shadow a huntsman or huntress."
"And if I don't?"
"Consider yourself in big trouble, with your maximum punishment being expulsion while your most lenient will be suspension."
"Geez you guys are really tough aren't ya?" Link rolled his eyes
"Oh but on the contrary for you, Ozpin has already chosen the mission and huntsman for you to train under for the week." Oobleck said
"Oh really?" Link softly smiled "What and Who?"
Oobleck only smiled as he drank his coffee
Moments later
"Mr..."
"I get it, I'm here and I'm ready." Link shrugged as he was now in his regular clothing, with his sword, bow and extra weapons at hand. "I still can't believe Ozpin put me on the dangerous mission...with you of all people."
"...Me of all people?"
"No offense professor oobleck, but you look very passive."
"Many have said so, and those many were wrong to make such assumptions, you will see young man that I am a strong and capable Huntsman."
"I hope so." Link slowly nodded and noticed team RWBY walking up to Oobleck
"No way..." Ruby's jaw dropped in amazement and fright.
"Oobleck?" Yang said slowly
"Genuinely..." Weiss looked at Ruby "Just...why?"
"..." Blake said nothing and just looked depressed
"My thoughts exact." Link mumbled
"Wait, Professor Ozpin didn't mention you to us at all." Weiss said
"You're right Ms. Schnee, because I pulled some strings and got Professor Ozpin to let Link come along with us, it was either that or face punishment for attempting to skip the big mission day."
"Hey!" Link pointed right at Oobleck "How'd you or Ozpin know I was planning to ditch the week?!"
"One of your friends informed Ozpin...four of them actually. They'll be joining us." Oobleck said, laughing uncontrollably as he pointed at team RWBY
"Brilliant, so much for relying on friends." Link frowned
"Sorry." Ruby sighed "I just couldn't bear the thought of you being unfairly punished."
"And besides this is the perfect time to work on your striking." Yang said while punching the air like a boxer.
"I suppose so..."
"Back on topic." Weiss spoke out, and got looks from everyone "PROFESSOR OOBLECK?!" She said out loud
"Ugh, I'm going to the airship." Link said as team RWBY began to get a very fast lecture from Professor Oobleck. On his way to the airship, he noticed a very dejected team CFVY walking around the school, Fox looked out of energy, Yatsuhashi still had wounds, plus Coco and Velvet exhausted.
Link then quickly changed course, rushing over towards them
"Oh look..." Coco mumbled and tried to smile
"Welcome back...all of you." Link waved and got no response from Fox, a small nod from Yatsuhashi and a weak smile from Velvet
"I'll speak on behalf on all of us and say sorry for being so down." Coco said "We're just a little beat up from the mission, we even missed the dance."
"Oh it was nothing exciting." Link chuckled
"How was it?" Velvet asked, clearly knowing Link lied
"Okay it was funny. Jaune danced in a dress." Link said with a big smile
"R-really?" Velvet replied as she cracked a bigger smile too.
"Who'd you go with Mr. Hustler?" Coco nudged Link arm
"Nobody." Link sighed with the tone of annoyance clearly coming off.
"You sure?" Coco took off her shades
"I'm sure." Link replied
"Ugh you're lucky I'm exhausted...I'm gonna peace out, go to our dorm, then go to sleep." Coco quickly put her shades back on
"Have a nice nap." Link said
"I'll try. Thanks. But when you get back..."
"I'm going to be interrogated, right?"
"That's right." Coco nodded
"I'll look forward to that. Link shrugged
"Cool. Peace." Coco waved and walked off with Fox and Yatsuhashi
Velvet walked slower than her teammates, which caused Link to walk next to her
"You okay?" Link asked Velvet "You're falling behind ya know."
"I'm fine. I just missed Beacon while I was gone."
"Was the mission that rough?" Link asked
"N-not really, but I just thought we were going to be there forever, and it made me appreciate all the memories I have of this place."
"Mission life can be tough after all..."
"You'll be fine though." Velvet said, trying to smile "You're strong and brave. And well..."
"Well...?" Link said, making hand motions, as to signal Velvet to continue
"I missed you." Velvet said then quickly wrapped her arms around Link
"...O-oh." Link looked around awkwardly before hugging back "I missed you too."
(Awkward...)
(Don't you think I know that.)
Link made sure to look around, making sure Ruby didn't see him, but the hug lasted for a whole minute, so he looked around for quite a bit of time
"..." Velvet nodded slowly, but deep down inside, she wanted to say more...however, her shyness completely took over
"Say what's on your mind." Link said
"..." Velvet shook her head
"ONE MINUTE!" Oobleck screamed from the airship
"Crap." Link smiled and rubbed his head
"Go." Velvet pointed at the airship "I don't want to be the reason you get left behind."
"Right, thanks for the heads up." Link nods
"Good luck on your mission." She said
"Thanks, I'll see ya soon." Link waved and ran off, practically sprinting towards the airship as the slowly began to rise, Link needed to do a leap in other to barely grab on then climb on
"...Don't be away for too long..." Velvet mumbled to herself, looking at the airship which contained Professor/Dr. Oobleck, Link and team RWBY.
"Come on Velvet." Coco called out
"R-right, I'm coming!" Velvet shouted before running towards her team, looking back at the airship one more time before reaching them.
Ship
"You almost got left behind." Ruby frowned, but she wasn't angry, she was worried...
"I'm sorry." Link mumbled as he got up
"No need to worry now, all that matters is that you're here..." Ruby said, while not realizing that she made a move by hugging Link in front of her team.
"...Not dating, huh?" Yang raised her eyebrows
"How inappropriate." Weiss frowned
"Don't judge. Happiness is down to those who chose to be..." Blake softly whispered
"Hey! What are you imply-!" Weiss was promptly cut off by Oobleck
"Miss Belladonna is right, but on an important mission like this, we must get serious."
"Right Doctor." Link said sarcastically before noticing something moving around in Ruby's bag
"Hehehe..." Ruby awkwardly split away and scratched her head
Link said nothing, continuing to keep an eye on Ruby's bag, and saw an ear poking out from the top
"An animal huh?" Link mumbled to himself and simply said nothing about it "We'll find out eventually..."