Alright, after a considerable delay, the next few chapters are now coming. Also, Cardin is going down.
Chapter 22: ...Best Served Sweet
The night was restless. While Ren, Pyrrha and Nora slept peacefully on their beds, with the valkyrie's snoring drowning out most of the nightly noises, I just lay on my side on Jaune's bed, unable to sleep and thinking about how tomorrow's events would play out. Thinking back to our interrogation of Sky, I had to wonder if he had kept his promise to not tell Cardin about what he had told Velvet and I.
"I won't tell anyone, I swear!"
But would he make good on that promise? Had Sky kept his mouth shut? Even though I had threatened him, I still had to wonder if he would stay true to the vow.
Sky Lark... He's a coward. There is no way he will break his promise to you.
But what if he does? What if Cardin asks him why he took so long to get a drink?
You overestimate Cardin's insight. He is not stupid enough to not notice Lark's prolonged absence, but he gets by on the dominance of others. As long as he receives attention when he wishes, he will not care one bit for his allies.
But he's jealous of me, for the props I've been receiving.
Exactly! Cardin sought to ruin you, by exposing you as a blind fool. But in truth, he is the fool: he makes plans without regards for other's safety. When the time comes, his allies will leave him to his deserved fate.
You think so?
Darrel, you don't get to be me without knowing how to read people.
Talking of which, I don't know anything about you. Could you tell me something about yourself?
I... I cannot. Not yet, at least. It is not because I am not willing, but it is for your own safety. If you learn too much about me, our foes might attack you directly.
Alright. But when I fix this mess, you need to come clean with me. Tell me what I'm fighting for, tell me about you, tell me everything.
I cannot promise this... but I will tell you what I can, when I can. Now, I advise you to get some rest. If Cardin is to pay for the grievances he has beset on Velvet, Yang, and yourself, you will need to stay focused.
And with that, Kimba's presence vanished from my head. I rolled onto my back, and closed my eyes, finally achieving rest at last.
Wandering through the forest of Forever Fall, I had to admit, I was quickly captivated by it's beauty. Maple leaves hung elegantly from the innumerable branches, and the bark on the trunk was knotted and burled, sap had crystallized into streaks spiderwebbing down the various crevices of the tree, giving an appearance that someone had elegantly handcrafted the entire setting. Professor Goodwitch led teams RWBY, JNPR, CRDL, and myself through the trees.
"Yes, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sightsee. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so."
If all we were doing was collecting samples from the trees, then compared to my previous outings, this would be a simple walk in the park. But I knew better to complain: quite frankly, I could do with a trip to a forest that didn't involve a Creature of Grimm wanting to tear my head and spine off and lick it like a lollipop. Looking back to Professor Goodwitch, she had pulled out a jar filled to the brim with a watery red liquid, which sloshed about as she showed it to us.
"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here by 4 o'clock. Have fun!"
Looking at Ruby, she was looking worriedly at her sister, who hung back from the main group, playing with a twig between her fingers, gently breaking it to pieces. Ruby looked at me, a pleading look in her silver eyes. I just nodded, and looked back to Jaune, who was carrying a white case, and six empty glass jars balanced delicately on top, clinking together discordantly. He had tried to slip away unnoticed by his blackmailer, but with the jars positioned as they were, stealth was impossible. Cardin grabbed his shoulder roughly, nearly making him drop his case.
"C'mon, buddy, let's go!" He said happily, strolling off with his lackeys in tow, Sky shooting me nervous looks. Going off with Ruby, Weiss and Blake, I was reminded of something that had happened. Or rather, hadn't happened.
You idiot, Darrel. If Weiss is still jealous of Ruby being nominated leader, then this could be a problem.
Seeing Weiss kneel in front of a tree, a jar beside her, and a spigot in her hands, I saw an opportunity to try and fix this issue. As she scraped some of the bark away, I knelt down beside her, seeing that she was having some trouble trying to attach the spigot. She was thrusting the end into the trunk, which was far softer that the bark, gripping the spigot so tight that her knuckles were beginning to turn white.
"Come on, already! I don't have time for this!" She hissed, as she continually stabbed the spigot into the fleshy trunk underneath the bark, staining it red as it punctured the trunk, only for it to slip out, the tip now stained red with sap.
"Having trouble?" I asked. Weiss looked up, her expression showing irritation.
"I just can't get this stupid thing in the tree!" She said angrily. Kneeling beside her, I took the spigot from her, and inspected the spigot, seeing that it looked much like a bathroom tap. Scraping a new knot in the bark away, I gently pushed the tap into the soft trunk, using some leftover bark to temporarily anchor it in place. Weiss twisted the valve, and a steady trickle of sweet, red liquid flowed into her waiting jar, filling it a little above a third of the way to the brim. Weiss looked at me, a look of annoyed admiration on her face.
"How'd you-?"
"Thing like this need to be done gently, otherwise it'll just get ruined." I said. Weiss's eyes swiveled sideways uncomfortably towards Ruby, who was kneeling by the roots of a tree, an empty jar beside her.
"Something wrong, Snowflake?" I asked. Weiss gave me another annoyed look.
"I told you not to call me that. But no, nothing's wrong. At least, not yet." She trailed off, looking to Ruby again.
"It's our leader, isn't it?" I asked. Weiss's ice-blue eyes widened.
"How did you-?"
"It's not exactly difficult to guess. You feeling a little upset that she was chosen as leader instead of you?" I asked. Weiss just rested her left elbow in her hand, and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I don't know... I mean, during initiation, she just kept acting without thinking, attacking out of turn, coming up with silly plans, and she's done nothing to earn her position. I just can't help but think that I should have been made leader." She sighed. I placed my hand on her shoulder.
"Weiss, in Ruby's defense, being slingshotted into a Nevermore's neck, and decapitating it by running up a cliff is child's play compared to what I've done. And she's skipped two years. You probably need to cut her some slack for that. Remember what Professor Port said about Ozpin's decisions on the first day of class?" I asked.
"His decisions never once led him astray. But even he makes mistakes. Right?" Weiss asked.
"Weiss, everyone makes mistakes. And believe me, Ozpin's probably old enough to have made more than any human on Remnant. But to be honest, if you've studied to be a leader, then rather than brooding over it, you could try and help her improve. She's still young, and she's your partner. Don't focus on trying to lead. Focus on helping your partner succeed." I said. Weiss looked into my eyes, and gave a smile. Then, without another word, she turned away, and knelt down in front of a second tree, scraping the bark away, and gently squeezing the spigot into the trunk.
Looking at Ruby, I saw her looking at us with a sad smile. Had she been listening in? Or would I need to talk to her as well? Unfortunately, I saw Pyrrha stand, and look around, as if expecting trouble. The final reminder I was running out of time. Ruby looked up to the Spartan.
"Pyrrha? You okay?" She asked. Pyrrha looked back.
"Yeah..." She answered. Getting a little worried, I turned to Weiss.
"Cover for me. I got to do something before we go." I whispered. Weiss looked at me confusedly, but nodded. And without another word, I quickly ran into the undergrowth. First thing I needed was some sap. And I knew exactly where to get some.
"C'mon, dammit, where are you?!"
Most of my trap was set, now I just needed the bait. The only problem was, Team CRDL's jars of sap were nowhere to be found. Either they had snatched them up for safekeeping, or...
*Clink-clink*
My fears were assuaged, when I heard a bundle of jars clattered together beneath a bush. Kneeling down and looking at the roots of a nearby bush, I saw five jars of sap clumped together in a small pile, each labeled with a small strip of tape, which had a word written on it. I gathered three jars, labelled "Cardin", "Thrush", and "Dove". The other two, marked with "Lark" and "Vomit Boy" I left behind, to keep Jaune from getting into trouble for bringing nothing back, and to thank Lark for his information. After all, if he was telling the truth about Cardin forcing him to torment Velvet, then he wasn't such a bad apple.
Kicking the two jars back underneath the shrubbery, I snuck away to my trap, near where I had a clear view of Cardin getting pummeled by the newly arrived Ursa Major I grabbed one of my grappling barbs, and yanked it free, taping it to the bottom of the three jars I had stolen using the name labels, leaving a good amount free to make a tripwire. Unscrewing the lids, so they would pour the sweet sticky liquid down onto Cardin, I stuck the barb into a tree, jamming it hard into the bark, giving a firm tug to ensure it remained secured. Finally, to complete the plan, I wound the wire around another tree, climbing into the canopy, and hanging the jars by individual wires.
Climbing down, I carefully inspected the booby trap. Gently edging my foot into the tripwire, enough so that it would register movement, I looked up to see the jars of sap gently tilt to the ground, as the wire hoisted them up. A single drop of sap splashed onto the ground. Satisfied, I removed my foot, and quietly snuck away, ready to spring the trap.
Emerging from the undergrowth, I came across the sight of Jaune standing over a decapitated Ursa Major, it's corpse evaporating into black wisps of smoke. Smiling, I looked to a nearby ridge to see the box of Rapier Wasps. True to form, it was taped shut, ready to be sliced open, and it's furious contents to be unleashed at any hapless victims. Gently gripping the box, I slowly snuck back into the trees, as Jaune was helping Cardin to his feet.
"Don't ever mess with my team… my friends… ever again. Got it?" Jaune looked Cardin in the eye, and delivered his threat with confidence, a far cry from the goofy screwball that Cardin had believed him to be. As he turned and walked away, Cardin managed to lay his indigo eyes on me. His malicious confidence returned in the blink of an eye, and he began to sprint after me.
"Hey, gimme that box, you little brat!" He yelled. I just rolled my eyes, and took off in the direction of my sap trap. Cardin, hot on my heels and yelling threats consisting mostly of words that would make a sailor blush, I looked up to see the jars of sap overhead. Leaping over the tripwire, I spun around, to see Cardin, fury in his eyes, getting closer. Finally, his left ankle snagged on the wire, and he was sent flying forwards into a small bed of leaves. Overhead, the jars tilted, emptying their contents right onto Cardin's head and back, coating his upper torso in sweet, red sap. He stood up angrily, and glared at me. His red coated body looked outright comical.
"You little Grimmspawn. When I get my hands on you, you'll wish you had never been born!" He shouted angrily. I just gave a smirk, and placed the box down, and giving it a swift kick towards Cardin. He looked down in confusion.
"You've bent enough rules, Winchester. But sometimes, they snap right back in your face." I leered. Then, the cardboard box exploded, revealing a large cloud of black, tiny wasps, with long stingers, sharp and pointy. As Cardin took a step back, terror on his face, he turned tail and ran, covering his head from the wasps which swooped down on him, stinging him through his armor, and causing him to shriek in agony.
"OWOWOW! GET THEM OFF MEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeee...! AAAAAAAAAAAGH! MY LEGS!"
The way that scream faded into the distance worried me a little bit. Taking off after Cardin, the treeline broke to reveal a sheer drop into more red trees. Peeking over the edge, at the bottom of a twenty metre drop, Cardin was lying in a crumpled heap, his legs bent at awkward angles, which the human body would never be able to do under normal circumstances. His arms swatted away at the Rapier Wasps, which did no good, as they continued to swoop on Cardin and perforate him with their stingers. Catharsis gave way to dread, as I felt daggers suddenly drill into my back.
"Mr. Conway. Would you care to explain why I heard Mr. Winchester scream a few moments ago?"
Goodwitch's stern voice turn my blood to ice, as I heard her crop tapping harshly in her palm. Turning, I saw her giving me an angry glare, flanked by Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, Pyrrha, and, to my surprise, Yang and Sky. Yang looked at with an apologetic smile, while Sky looked… repentant?
"Ummm…" Words had failed me for once, the awkward silence only interrupted by Cardin's muffled howls far below. With the look Goodwitch was giving me, I withered beneath her gaze, and was about to confess, only for Sky to speak up.
"Cardin made Jaune into his whipping boy, and he blackmailed Yang to hurt Darrel. Darrel just ended up giving my leader a vigilante punishment." Sky answered, shooting me a look of unrecognizable emotion. Goodwitch looked to him in surprise, then looked to me angrily.
"Err… this isn't going to hurt my chances in the Vytal Festival tournament, is it?"
"So let me get this straight: you stole Cardin's sap, made a booby trap that would pour it on him, and set a bunch of Rapier Wasps on him?!"
Back in the cafeteria, I was sitting with Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Nora, and Ren having dinner. All of them were surprised at what I had done, but were showing varying levels of amazement. Ren's magenta eyes had grown wider than normal, Blake had actually put her book down to listen, Weiss was too surprised to lecture me about my stupid plan, and Ruby had an enormous grin on her face. Nora was actually sitting still for a change, but for some reason, her face showed an expression of forlorn jealousy.
"Well, technically, he was going to set the Rapier Wasps on Pyrrha, so I just gave them a prod in the right direction." I grinned. Weiss gave me a glare.
"And for that, you've been saddled with cleaning the pool, locker room, combat grounds, gym, cafeteria, kitchen, launch pads, trophy room, weapons racks, fountain, dorms…"
"Stop rubbing it in, Weiss!" Ruby shouted. I just laughed.
"Hell, Goodwitch could have me cleaning Beacon from top to bottom twice over, and I wouldn't care. Making Cardin suffer… all worth it." I sighed happily. Nora just sighed sadly, prompting a response from Ren.
"Nora? Something wrong?"
"I called dibs on breaking his legs! Why do you gotta do all the cool stuff?!" She whined angrily, puffing her cheeks out and pouting. I just scratched the back of my neck nervously.
"Okay, that part was an accident. I didn't know a cliff was there for him to plummet off." I shrugged. Ruby gave me a confused look.
"Then why were you standing at the top of the cliff, looking down on Cardin?" She asked accusingly.
"I heard him scream, and I tried to follow him. I knew nothing about the cliff." I defended. It was the truth: Cardin throwing himself of that cliff was never part of the plan, but it was an added bonus. As the conversation was about to continue, I felt my scroll vibrate gently against my leg. Pulling it up, I opened it to reveal two new messages. One from Yang, one from… Velvet? Tapping on Velvet's message, I began to read.
Darrel, Professor Goodwitch wants you to see Cardin. Meet me outside the infirmary. V.
Shutting my scroll and shoving it in my bag, I stood up, excused myself, and went to relish my success.
Velvet was in her combat gear, quietly munching on a carrot while leaning against the wall. As she saw me approaching, she smiled, pocketed the vegetable, and kicked herself free from her perch.
"Just so you know, Yang, Sky and I testified for you. Goodwitch has agreed to lighten your punishment." She grinned. I threw up my hands and sighed in relief.
"Thank Dust for that! What's the catch?"
"You have to clean Beacon from top to bottom."
"But that's exactly what I had to do before!"
"Yes, but now you get actual cleaning supplies.
"Oh. Crap."
"Also, Goodwitch wants you to apologize for your boneheaded prank." She gave a coy smile. I sighed in mock irritation.
"Okay, let's get it over with..." I grumbled, pushing the door open to find a nurse spooning some green liquid into Cardin's swollen lips. Professor Goodwitch was observing some footage of what had been happening for the past few days, from Cardin bullying Velvet, to me setting the wasps on Cardin. My presence did not go unnoticed by Goodwitch and Cardin, who turned to look at me.
"Um, Cardin? I just wanted to say… sorry for my boneheaded prank. And I, uh, hope you get better soon." I stammered.
'Especially since you now know the lengths I will go through to achieve victory.' I thought to myself. Professor Goodwitch continued to gaze levelly at me, before departing with a scoff, and a flick of her cape. The nurse rolled her eyes at me, and exited the room. Walking over to Cardin, his injuries appeared to be even more severe than I had anticipated.
Most of his body from the pelvis up was covered in swollen wounds, his lips swollen beyond the realm of coherent speech. His indigo eyes, however, continued to glare hatefully at me. But his legs were the most satisfying injury of all: they had been set in a splint, tied dow securely so the bones within could heal properly.
"Mmmphrl derrphl! Imph mphrl mph yumph!" He mumbled angrily. I just grinned, and leaned my head forward, cupping my ear.
"Sorry? Didn't catch that, buddy. Could you speak up?" I asked innocently. Cardin thrashed around angrily, unable to move too much.
""Mmmmph mmph nurph derrelf!" Cardin mumbled from behind his swollen face. Velvet smirked.
"Wow. You weren't kidding when you meant a sting operation, were you?" She snickered, and raised a fist. I responded with my own, knocking it against hers with a wry grin. Cardin gave me a withering look. I just responded with a gentle pat on his suspended legs. His eyes grew wide, and he let loose a muzzled roar of pain.
"Oh, don't be such a baby. Leg bones grow back!" I chided the bloated body. I signalled to Velvet, and she and I turned and headed to the door. But as I exited, I leaned back into the medical wing, so that Cardin could see me.
"No, zhey don't!" I whispered to him, in a near perfect imitation of the Medic's hushed voice. His eyes popped one final time, and he let out a unintelligible roar of fury, before I left the room for good. Yeah, it was fun to torment Cardin when he couldn't fight back, but even I had my limits. Velvet waited for me outside.
"You gonna be okay?" I asked. Velvet nodded, her cheeks growing pink.
"If you ever need a friend, I'm always here, Velvet. You can talk to me about anything." I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and smiled.
"Yang's a lucky girl. I hope you two bring each other eternal happiness." She said, looking away with a hint of sadness and longing. At that moment, I realised something.
Velvet was crushing on me.
"Don't worry, Velvet. Sooner or later, you'll find someone who loves you for who you are, ears and all. I promise." I whispered, bringing her in for a small hug. After a few moments, Velvet turned, and skipped away jauntily, whistling a happy tune. Watching her go, I smiled. Then, opening my scroll, I looked at Yang's message.
Meet me outside the dorm. We need to talk.
I grinned. Yang was finally talking to me again. It was so nice to get a message from her again. And with her free from under Cardin's thumb, now was the time to check how she was doing.
Leaning on the wall outside the dorm room, it was late at night, and I was dressed in my pyjamas, waiting for Yang to arrive. As the minutes ticked by, Pyrrha and Jaune turned the corner, heading to their dorm, grins on their faces, and Jaune covered in bumps and bruises. I kicked myself off the wall, and stood before the pair.
"Now where have you two been?" I asked coyly. Pyrrha shrugged innocently.
"Oh, you know, after Jaune killed the Ursa, he needed some... first aid. You know, bumps and bruises. Right, Jaune?" She looked to the bruised blonde knight, her green eyes begging for assistance. He just rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"Uhh, yeah. That's it. First aid. Hehe..." He affirmed nervously, giving a clearly fake grin. I just held my hands up defensively.
"Take it easy. I'm not Yang. You don't have to worry about me teasing you." I assured the pair. They both gave a sigh of relief in perfect synchronisation. Pyrrha just went to the door, giving me a smile and a nod of thanks, quickly disappearing into her dorm across the hall. Jaune flashed me a thumbs up, and pulled me aside.
"Hey Darrel, just so you know, you didn't have to put Cardin in the medbay. I can handle him now." He whispered to me. I just gave him a wry grin.
"You haven't been the only one he's picked on, you know. I'm just making sure he realises it's not good to mess with me."
Jaune's eyes widened.
"So it justified setting the Rapier Wasps on him and breaking his legs?" Jaune whispered, horrified. I just shrugged.
"Well, yeah. He wasn't going to learn about retribution , otherwise." I answered bluntly. Jaune just kept giving me this shocked look, not responding.
"Uhh, but the broken legs were purely accidental. How was I to know he would run off a cliff?" I asked guiltily, nervously tapping my fingers together. Truth be told, I never meant to break his legs. On a fluke, that is. Jaune gave me a sharp smack on the head.
"Normally, I'm all for pranks like that, but it's when they go too far that they become dangerous. Not that I'm saying he didn't deserve it, but next time, just think about what could end up happening. Alright?" Jaune lectured. I nodded.
"Well, I'm gonna hit the hay. G'night, Darrel." And with that, he turned, and entered his dorm room for the first time in a long while. I smiled, grateful that events were playing out as they should, even if I had deviated from the plot a little bit.
"Who knew Vomit Boy could be the kind of guy who wouldn't wanna hurt Tall, Brown and Stupid?"
Turning, I saw Yang leaning against the wall, her arms folded, and a little grin on her face. I walked back to her, a similar grin growing on mine.
"You feeling better?"
"Much. C'mon, Ruby and Weiss left to take care of things, and Blake's in the library. And, uh, I figured I owe you an explanation. Since..." She trailed off. I just put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"It's okay. I know all about it. You had no choice." I consoled. Yang gently brushed my hand away, and opened the door, beckoning me inside. I complied, walking in, and she closed the door behind me. We both climbed up to her bed, and sat down next to each other, legs dangling freely.
"Darrel... Back that day, after you left to try and talk to Velvet, I... followed you. I told Ruby that I needed to get something from here, but... I wanted to see you. If you were truly the guy I thought you were. I saw you comforting Velvet, and... I listened in. I'm sorry if that sounds bad, but... I wanted to know how you'd feel about her. But while I was listening, Cardin grabbed me from behind, covered my mouth so you wouldn't know what he was doing. He then told me to break your heart, and in return, he wouldn't go after Ruby. What choice did I have?" She explained, tears beginning to flow down her cheeks, as if someone had broken a dam behind her eyes.
"For a few days, Cardin was making me his team 'maid'. God, it was unbearable. He groped me, had me do stupid stuff that you'd see in a nightclub, carry his stuff around... you get the idea. If I didn't do it, Ruby would suffer." She cried. Good God, Cardin was a pig, but this was monstrous. It almost made me want to go back and play Moby Dick on the bastard's legs. Shaking my head, I banished the thought of the action, and slowly caressed Yang's tearstained cheeks.
"It's okay, Yang. You were only protecting Ruby. It's not your fault." I whispered, wiping her cheeks dry from the stream of tears. Yang looked up.
"You know, that's not the only reason I gave in to Cardin." She said. I blinked, not quite understanding what she meant.
"Back when he blackmailed me, he tried to kiss me. But when I stopped him, he... he threatened to kill you, make sure the next time you saw a Grimm, it'd be your last. And the scary part is, he'd go through with it if I didn't agree." Yang breathed in a ragged whisper. I nearly fell off the bed at this. Cardin would have killed me?
"So that's why I agreed to hurt you. Because even though I could barely live with myself after what happened in the amphitheatre... if you died, I'd never be able to..." She trailed off, as if not wanting to finish. I just wrapped my arms around her, giving a gentle squeeze. Cardin had made everyone suffer. But at least he wouldn't be hurting anybody else for some time.
"Yang, none of it matters anymore. We're okay, Cardin can't hurt anyone, and even Velvet came through for us in the end. Matter of fact, without her, I'd never be able to figure this out." I shrugged. Yang gave a soft giggle.
"Speaking of, you and Velvet...?"
I shook my head.
"It wouldn't be fair to take advantage of her. I know how she feels about me, but we're just gonna stay friends." I explained. Yang gave a soft exhale.
"Okay, that's fine." She sighed in relief. As an awkward silence began to overtake our conversation, I decided to try and lighten the mood a little bit.
Pumping my fingers back and forth, I positioned them so that they lightly tapped against her leg. She began to giggle uncontrollably.
"Dar-heehee-Darrel, stop it! I'm tic-I'm ticklish!" She squealed, giving the occasional giggle. Nevertheless, I continued to drum my fingers against her leg, gently moving my hand up to her torso. She writhed on the bed, laughing all the while.
"St-stop!"
"Give me one good reason why." I sang playfully, now letting my free hand join in the mix, running my drumming fingers up and down her sides. Between snickers, Yang gave me a grinning leer.
"Be-heehee-because... Because... Oh, haha, hell with it." She giggled. Then without warning, she grabbed my wrists, and twisted her body, catching me off guard, and sending me sprawling onto the prickly carpet, gazing at the roof. Before I could blink, Yang had pounced on top of me, on her hands and knees, trapping me underneath her.
"Sorry, but I did warn you..." She purred, giving a lustful grin. Then, to my surprise, her arms wrapped around my neck, holding me in a tight embrace.
'Does she... like me?"
Slowly, as if my neck was now acting by itself, our faces drew closer, eyes closed, lips prepped for a heavenly kiss.
'My first real kiss...'
Closer...
'And it's with you...'
Closer...
'Come what may, I will make you happy.'
Feeling her soft breath displace against my outstretched lips, I was engaged in a little moment of blissful content. This moment was perfect. But right as our lips were about to lock...
*CLICK-CLICK*
"...still think that that dunderhead Darrel got off lightly. I mean-WHAT IN BLAZES DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
Weiss, Ruby, and Blake had just entered the room, and come face to face with Yang and I embracing on the floor in our pyjamas, about to begin making out. We looked up, and saw Ruby looking at us with a mixture of surprise, joy, and embarrassment. Weiss's jaw was threatening to touch the ground, while Blake moved her book up to her mouth, in a desperate attempt to hide a joyful smile. Yang quickly stood up, and I rolled over so I could sit up, facing our shocked roommates.
"Uh..."
"Erm..."
Words failed both of us. Fortunately, Ruby grabbed Weiss's shoulder.
"C'mon, Weiss. Let's leave the two lovebirds alone."
"But-" Weiss began to protest, but Blake piped up before she could go any further.
"Agreed. Any questions can be saved for later." She said, lowering her book and putting a spare piece of black ribbon in the page, closing her book in the process. Weiss opened her mouth to protest, then quickly shut it again, as if she agreed to leave Yang and I in peace. As the trio turned away, I heard Blake snicker softly.
"After all, we'd do the same to you and Ruby if we caught you in similar circumstances." She chuckled, and quickly leaving the room.
"I suppose you're right, Blake. Wait... WHAT?! YOU FIEND! GET BACK HERE!" Weiss spluttered, chasing Blake with fury in her eyes. Ruby merely blushed, pulled her hood up so her embarrassed face was hidden, and closed the door without a word. Yang and I looked at each other.
"Well, g'night!"
"G'night!"
Leaping up to my hammock, I pulled the blanket up over my head, and prayed for sleep before the rest of my teammates returned.
I'm such a ~tease~.
Okay, I know I said that this would be 4 chapters, but this saga is getting so long, that I've had to extend it a bit.
But I digress.