Team BXPS listened closely as Blake debriefed them on the latest progress with Ozpin and the Fang.
"So… we're sitting tight for now?" said Yang.
"For now," said Blake.
"Good," said Weiss.
"I mean, I still want to punch the hell out of Adam Taurus, but I get where you're all coming from." Yang flopped back onto her bed in a way that made her bounce (Weiss' eyes followed the motions closely). "In that case, we can think about other stuff for now."
Weiss swallowed and tore her eyes away. "Like classwork," she said, busying herself with her bag and moving away.
"Nah, I was assuming we're already doing that," said Yang. "I mean, like the dance."
"I had intended to ask about this," said Penny. "I've never been to a dance before! How does this all work?"
"Well, traditionally," said Yang, "you ask someone to go to the dance with you."
"Okay," said Penny. "Would you go to the dance with me, Yang?"
Yang looked like Penny had punched her in the face. (Penny, having punched Yang in the face before in spars, knew exactly what that looked like.) "Walked into that one," said Blake with a smirk.
"I guess I under-explained there," said Yang. "It's usually someone you like in a romantic sense."
"Ah," said Penny. "I retract my invitation."
"But it doesn't have to be," said Yang. "Sometimes people go just as friends."
"I... re-extend my invitation?"
Yang laughed. "It's okay, Penny. I know you'd want to go with Garnet if you could."
Was that possible? Analysis tackled the problem as a priority task. In the meantime... "Is asking really so difficult? I believe I've overheard people strategizing on this topic."
"Put it this way," said Yang. "Remember back when you hadn't told us you were a gynoid yet? Remember how unsure and nervous you felt?"
"Vividly," said Penny.
"This is less intense, but it's the same sort of feeling. People are taking a risk, opening themselves up to another person to accept or reject. Some people struggle with risk."
"I don't," said Weiss. "When I see an opportunity, I seize it."
"So, you went ahead and asked Pyrrha?" Yang said keenly.
"The opportunity hasn't come yet," said Weiss, suddenly unable to make eye contact. "What about you?"
"You know my attitude towards risk," said Yang. "I already finished my plan, I'm all set, don't worry about me."
"I won't," said Penny.
Yang grinned. "Anyway, once you get there, you spend time together with your date. You, well, you dance, of course, but there's drinks and snacks and things, and you socialize and hang out and just have a good time."
Penny wouldn't get much out of drinks and snacks, but socializing and hanging out? She very much liked those things. "That sounds like a lot of fun."
"It can be," said Yang. She looked at her teammates. "And we're all going, right?"
"I suppose I'd be expected to," said Weiss.
Blake shook her head. "Have fun without-"
"Blake."
Blake stopped and looked to Yang. Yang had been very rude, Penny thought, interrupting Blake, so why was it Blake who was looking embarrassed?
"You said yourself we've got time," said Yang. "It's okay if you don't know how to dance, and it's okay if you haven't been to one before. There's no pressure here, you know? It's just a chance to let your hair down a little.
"And besides," she added, "you're team leader. Would you really let this crew go unsupervised?"
"I can behave myself, thank you," said Weiss with a sniff.
"You're not who I'd worry about," said Blake. By process of elimination, that meant she was worried about Yang and Penny… which, Penny decided, was fair. "Alright, I'll go, too."
"Sweet," said Yang. "Now we just need to find you all dates."
Penny frowned. "Now that I understand better, I would prefer to take Garnet if at all possible, but I'm not sure I'll be able to. I can't even guarantee I'll speak with her again before the dance."
"I've been thinking about that," said Blake. "Would you like some advice?"
"I am desperately in need of any and all advice," said Penny.
"Okay. What you'll do is, before Garnet contacts you again…"
The combat theater was filled with the sounds of clashing metal, of masculine grunts and yells, of blunt objects smashing against Aura-protected bodies. But the figure in the center of it all made little noise of any kind besides occasional gasps of exertion. Even those were kept to a minimum, as if everything she was doing took her no effort at all.
Eventually, a new sound joined the rest: a horn. "And that's the match," said Professor Goodwitch snappily. "Pyrrha Nikos is victorious."
Penny looked on as Pyrrha brought herself back to calm with a smile, but it was a rare sort of smile for her—the smile of the conqueror. Taking on an entire team at once, even a team like CRDL, and emerging not only victorious, but overwhelmingly so? Pyrrha's Tactical subroutine had to be very powerful, because it dominated her Emotion Signifying at times like these.
Weiss' heartrate, Penny noted, was almost as high as Pyrrha's, even though Weiss had been watching and nothing more. Curious.
"We have time for one more match," said Professor Goodwitch. "Any volunteers?"
"I volunteer," said one of the visiting students. It was a boy dressed almost entirely in gray, one of the visiting Haven students they knew nothing about, Mercury, from Team Clementine. (Other students used a different pronunciation for "CMEN", but Jiminy wouldn't let Penny follow suit.)
"Thank you," said Professor Goodwitch. "Your opponent will be…"
"Actually," said Mercury, "I wanted to fight…"
His eyes and finger were tracking towards Pyrrha. He was going to choose her. Analysis found that… odd.
People never chose Pyrrha. Pyrrha had told stories about how, in tournaments, people would go out of their way to avoid being on her side of the bracket, to delay their meeting her for as long as possible. Even Penny, who'd actively wanted to fight Pyrrha, hadn't been so bold as to seek her out.
What was Mercury playing at?
"I'll fight you."
A classroom full of surprised faces, Penny's included, turned in Jaune's direction. He looked almost as surprised as everyone else, but turned nervously towards Professor Goodwitch. "If that's okay, ma'am."
"That will do nicely, thank you, Mr. Arc," said Professor Goodwitch smoothly, giving no time or space for Mercury to object.
Now Penny was certain she didn't understand the situation. She looked back towards Mercury, and saw fury flash across his face before his default cocky demeanor returned. "Sure," he said. "No problem."
He did not sound like someone who had no problems.
Pyrrha went back up towards the galley area just as Jaune descended. They paused halfway for Pyrrha to put a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Good luck," said Pyrrha kindly. He smiled, gave her a thumbs up, and went the rest of the way down to the stage.
Mercury was already there. Tactical issued several alerts as Penny assessed him. His stance, motions, and approach were all non-standard. Wherever he'd learned to fight, it wasn't a combat school. Even so, they were efficient in motion, and suggestive of deep practice. Penny was reminded of herself, in some regards.
Which spoke very ill for Jaune's chances.
"You may begin," said Professor Goodwitch.
Jaune advanced cautiously, shield up, keeping his feet steady and in proper position. He'd made good progress, Penny noted (Pyrrha looked on with pride by her side); his fundamentals were greatly improved. Mercury didn't seem to mind, shuffling around towards Jaune's left in a wide circle. The range closed step by step. Mercury let it happen, sliding and sliding and letting Jaune come towards him.
Right as Jaune entered the effective range of his sword, Mercury exploded into action. He stepped in low, baiting the shield to follow, then leapt high, spinning as he did so that the back of his heel had a clean shot over the top of Jaune's shield to smash into his temple. He kept his momentum by handspringing away; Jaune's retaliatory sweep cleaved the air and nothing more.
Out of range once more, Mercury smirked and gave Jaune a condescending look. "You'd better give up now while you're ahead," said Mercury.
"Too bad for us both that I don't know when to quit," said Jaune.
"Suit yourself," said Mercury, and he charged in this time. Jaune braced himself and let him come, keeping his shield up and ready between him and his opponent.
So Mercury jumped at the shield, leading with both feet. Jaune was unprepared for that; the force of the double kick pushed the shield back against Jaune's body, and then Mercury kicked off with an odd sound, catapulting high into the air in an arc that took him far away from Jaune once more.
Even a good jump shouldn't have done quite that, especially with poor footing. What was going on here?
Mercury made a new approach, not even hiding his swagger this time. Jaune cocked his sword back, ready to stab at Mercury as he drew near, but Mercury slid to Jaune's left again as he darted in to strike. As the next few moves unfolded, Penny was vividly reminded of advice she'd heard Pyrrha giving to Jaune in those grueling extra sessions:
"Which is the better weapon: the sharp one your enemies watch, or the blunt one they ignore?"
Mercury had gotten away from the sword's arc, apparently not expecting Jaune to take a strong first step, put his weight behind a cocked-back left arm, and shoot out the edge of the shield to bash Mercury with it.
Leading with the edge concentrated all Jaune's momentum and strength for a sharp blow. Mercury was nearly knocked from his feet, recovering badly. Jaune went to follow up with his sword, but an impossibly high kick deflected the sword away and, with a strange sound, nearly blasted it out of Jaune's grasp.
There was no cockiness on Mercury's face now, just anger. Before Jaune could fully recover, Mercury was inside his guard, low punches pounding Jaune's unarmored abdomen and groin.
Even Ren cringed away at the sight. Aura could protect the body from real harm, but it didn't do much for pain, and soft tissues needed a lot more Aura to protect…
With Jaune doubled over, Mercury swept his feet and knocked him flat.
That's when the kicks started.
Mercury was a hailstorm, slamming his heel down vindictively against stomach and face, lashing out toe kicks against kidney and neck, pummeling his grounded foe without mercy.
"This has to stop," Pyrrha said. Penny saw her point. Jaune was in a helpless position against someone who knew how to take full advantage. Aura or no, all he could do was lay there and take it.
Mercury stomped on Jaune's face.
"Stop the fight," Pyrrha said more loudly. No one listened.
Jaune let go of his weapons and tried to grab at Mercury's leg, but with a sound like a gunshot Mercury sprang free and stormed back in with a kick to the gut that bent Jaune in half.
Mercury raised a foot to stomp on Jaune again, but his downstroke came up curiously short, like his foot somehow couldn't reach the ground. An unseen force had lifted him. It moved him away from Jaune and deposited him at the end of the stage. "That's quite enough," said Professor Goodwitch coldly. "Mercury is the winner, but that is not a display I hope to ever see again."
"Don't like winners, huh?" said Mercury.
Professor Goodwitch glared at him.
"Whatever," mumbled Mercury, turning away and slouching back towards the stairs. There was quiet in the combat theater.
"Do you require assistance, Mr. Arc?" said Professor Goodwitch.
"No, I'm good," said Jaune. "Still have a little Aura and everything."
It was technically true. Looking up at the meter, Penny saw that Jaune was still in the low yellows… but that said nothing about his ability to continue the fight. Those kicks had been so powerful, and the sound of them so odd...
"Penny," Pyrrha said in an urgent whisper, "you have special senses, right?"
"Indeed," said Penny with cheer. "I can see in multiple spectra and hear with great sensitivity on top of…"
"Can you look at Mercury's legs?" Pyrrha interrupted. "Is there anything unusual about them?"
Penny didn't question or hesitate—not when Pyrrha's voice and face were like that. She looked over to Mercury and subjected them to a full scan. Ah, that was it. "Mercury's legs are prosthetics from the thigh down. Some sort of firing mechanism is built into the soles."
"That explains a lot," said Pyrrha. "His kicks sounded like gunshots because they actually were gunshots."
"Fascinating," said Penny. She'd heard of hand-to-hand fighters referring to their body as their weapon; with Mercury, that was literal.
Hm. Was the same true of her? She would have been dangerous even without Aura, just on the strength of her exceptional construction. Was her body a weapon? Was she?
She didn't like where this was going. It was too much like that night—the night when she'd submerged herself beneath Tactical.
"Class dismissed," said Professor Goodwitch, startling Penny out of her reverie. Amidst all the hubbub of departing students, Pyrrha closed on Jaune. He was moving gingerly but didn't look worse for the wear.
"Go on ahead," said Pyrrha. "I just need to talk to Jaune about the fight."
"Aaaand we're outta here," said Nora. "Have fun, you two!"
The way she said it made Penny wonder if the meat people knew something she didn't. Again.
"Hey, I bet we could go put the screws to Jaune in the locker room," said Dove. "His Aura got trashed!"
"You don't get it, do you?" growled Cardin.
_RDL said nothing.
"You don't get why Jaune did that, and you sure didn't see what he just accomplished," said Cardin. "So you've got no place thinking you can go beat him up. And anyway, your Aura got trashed even harder by the Bronze Bitch in a 1v4, so you can shut your trap."
Dove looked like he'd just gotten curb-stomped.
"We're heading to the gym while we're still sweaty," said Cardin. "Showers after that, and then hit the books, got it?"
"Got it," his teammates muttered in varying levels of amazement.
"Lucky bastard," Cardin said under his breath.
Pyrrha made sure that the combat theater was empty before she spoke. She even exchanged looks with Professor Goodwitch, who rolled her eyes in lieu of words before leaving them to it.
"Jaune," said Pyrrha, "you knew Mercury was going to challenge me, right?"
"Yeah," said Jaune.
"And you had to know that anyone bold enough to challenge me would be more than a match for you, right?" said Pyrrha.
"I had that feeling, yeah," said Jaune.
"So why'd you jump in?" said Pyrrha.
"He was obviously scouting you for the tournament," said Jaune. "He was trying to understand what you could do, maybe figure out your semblance."
"People have been trying to do that for years," said Pyrrha.
"I know," said Jaune. "The thing is... I know you. I know how competitive you get. When you're in the zone and going all out, the way you did against Team CRDL, well, you might still be subtle, but you'll do what it takes to win. I think Mercury was counting on that."
"I see," said Pyrrha. "So this was saving me from myself?"
"It was securing you an advantage for later," said Jaune, "because they still don't know your semblance, but now we know more about Mercury. Look, I'm not gonna kid myself. You want to do well in the Tournament, and my fighting skills won't be what gets us there. But I still want to do my part, because I know how much this means to you. I think my dignity's a fair trade for that, y'know?"
Maybe it was that her competitive spirit was still alight. Maybe it was because that specific kind of sweet appealed to her. Maybe she was just tired of waiting.
Regardless of why, Pyrrha stepped forward, wrapped both her arms around Jaune, and pulled him into a tight hug.
Oh, how she'd wanted to do this! Oh, how nice it was!
…Except that Jaune hadn't moved. His hands hadn't embraced her; they were hovering uncertainly to either side.
Embarrassment swept Pyrrha away. This was a mistake, she'd gone too far, she'd ruined everything…
She took a step back, so that her hands were only just resting on his shoulders. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice shaking like a leaf in the wind. "I didn't mean to impose."
"It's okay," said Jaune. "I'm used to Penny's hugs by now, and she has a lot less restraint."
Pyrrha's heart did a swan dive into Hell. "Are you saying you look at me the same way you look at Penny?" said Pyrrha, unable to keep her voice from trembling.
"No, of course not," said Jaune. "You're my team…mate…"
Even as he said the words that would have condemned Pyrrha to more loneliness, his eyes widened in realization. Pyrrha could almost see the light bulb going off next to his head.
"Oh," he said stupidly.
The next five minutes were a blur.
"And you don't see the slightest problem with how you went about that fight?" said Cinder through gritted teeth.
"Why would I?" said Mercury.
"We're at a school of people who specialize in fighting Grimm," said Cinder. "You just showed off your expertise in a style specialized for fighting people."
"In a class where we practice fighting people," Mercury said, "as prep for a tournament where we'll fight people."
"You are jeopardizing our security," said Cinder. "And you didn't even get anything out of it!"
"Not my fault that John loser jumped in front of me," said Mercury with a shrug.
"You had better be more reliable about executing the other parts of this plan," said Cinder, "or I'll arrange a reunion with dear old daddy ahead of schedule."
Mercury started to snarl at Cinder, but seemed to think better of it. "Yes ma'am," he said.
Cinder's scroll made noise. Her scowl deepened. "And at that," she said with audible annoyance, "you're still ahead of these other failures."
As she started tapping out a message on her scroll, Emerald and Mercury met eyes and mutually shrugged. If it mattered, she would tell them.
Or maybe not.
That evening, Blake exited the library, still thinking about the book she'd been reading, when a sound startled her.
"Hey."
Blake looked up and saw Sun sitting on top of a lamp post. He was in a squat that looked uncomfortable except for how often Blake saw him in that posture. He had his scroll in one hand and an opaque black bag in the other.
Pocketing the scroll, he jumped down to stand in front of her. "I thought I could catch you here," said Sun.
"You could have come in to find me," said Blake.
"You know that place way better than I do," said Sun, "I'm sure you hang out in places where I'd never find you. But I knew you'd have to leave sooner or later."
Blake was reminded once again of the difference between intelligence and competence. Sun was no one's idea of a deep thinker, but he knew how to make things happen.
"What do you want?" Blake asked.
"I went and got something for you," said Sun, holding up the bag. Blake looked at it skeptically. Unmarked black bags were not the most reputable delivery mechanism. She tentatively touched the outside of the bag, but whatever was inside was reassuringly rectangular rather than round or phallic.
Her worst fears held at bay, Blake reached into the bag– and her eyes widened. "Kunoichi Courtship: A Ninjas of Love Sequel?!" she said breathlessly… until her eyes touched on a subtitle and confusion staged a coup in her brain. "'Abridged edition'?"
"So," said Sun with overflowing nerves, "I knew you liked those books, and I wanted to get you one you didn't have, and when we were in our conspiracy meeting in your room I took a picture of your shelves so I could make sure I didn't buy one you already had. But then, when I went to buy it, the guy at the counter carded me because it has "mature content", or whatever, and I was like, Wait, do you have an immature version?"
"An immature version," Blake repeated.
"Yeah," said Sun, "because I wanted to get this book for you, but I didn't want you to think I was perving on you by getting you something gross, because I like you and I think I like you that way but I wanna build up to that and not, like, lead with that, because that'd be too much and I wanna respect your boundaries, so I asked for–"
Before Blake knew what she was doing, she'd stepped forward and shut Sun up.
And when she realized what she'd done, she leapt away in a burst of shadows.
"Ahem," she said, unable to look Sun in the eye, "sorry about that, it was… a little sudden, and too much, I know…"
Sun's fingers ghosted over his lips. "No biggie," he said airily.
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure. So… I guess that means you like the book?"
"I love the book," said Blake, clutching it to her chest. "And the thought behind it."
"Cool," said Sun, a little less over-eager than usual, but as sincere as ever. He smiled gently. "Oh, by the way, you wanna go to the dance with me?"
"I… I would," said Blake, as much to her own surprise as anything.
"Sweet," said Sun.
"As long as you promise to let Neptune and Scarlet dress you for it," she added.
He started to object, looked at her, and shrugged. "I can live with that."
"Great," said Blake.
Both of them were out of words, and no conversational dismount presented itself. Ugh, Blake was as bad at this as she was at everything el…
No, "everything" was a lie. She knew that now. His voice faded.
But she could still be bad at this, specifically.
Sun scratched the back of his head, his face scrunched up in concentration. "So… could I walk you back to your dorm?"
"We're staying in the faculty building."
"Oh, yeah. Forgot."
"But you can walk me back there," said Blake before she could second-guess herself.
"Oh. Cool!" said Sun. "Lead the way."
Blushing, Blake stepped up beside Sun; he fell into step with her.
And all the while, her insides were screaming.
You said you weren't going to do this again. You swore off relationships. You said your last one ruined everything for you.
Yes, she thought. Yes, that's all true. Except… that relationship was nothing like this one. It's close to the opposite, if anything. Maybe this is… nice. Maybe this is okay.
"Sun?" She said, hoping to get the words out before she lost her nerve.
"Yeah?"
"Were you planning to buy me more books in the future?"
"If you like 'em, sure. Like, I can't do it all the time, my only cash is my stipend from Haven, but on special occasions, yeah, absolutely."
"Well… you can buy me the unabridged version next time."
"...oh. You sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Will do."
"...And those are the reasons why I think we should go to the dance together," Weiss said to Pyrrha.
"That was comprehensive and well thought out," said Pyrrha.
"Thank you," said Weiss, trying not to seem giddy as she disabled her scroll's projector. She'd put a lot of time into that briefing, hoping to demonstrate how compatible she and Pyrrha were physically, morally, temperamentally, and intellectually. ('Socially' was a land mine she'd rather avoid.) Penny had been a big help, feeding her intelligence and insight into Pyrrha that Weiss hadn't had available. Weiss had put it all together into this—her biggest, best hope.
She gathered herself and plunged on. "And it was persuasive too, I hope?"
"Actually…" said Pyrrha, poking her fingers together.
"Actually?" Weiss repeated even as dread rose in her stomach.
"…I'm already going to the dance," said Pyrrha. "With Jaune."
The words didn't fully register with Weiss. "With Jaune?"
"That's right."
"Are you joking?" said Weiss.
"Not at all," said Pyrrha, and she gave a brighter smile than any she'd ever given Weiss.
Disbelief gave way; frustration took its place. "You're Pyrrha Nikos! Anyone you asked to go to the dance would have been thrilled by the privilege, and you asked Jaune?!"
"I did," said Pyrrha.
"But you could have had anyone you wanted!" protested Weiss.
"I wanted Jaune," said Pyrrha.
Weiss put a hand to her head as if trying to force understanding into it manually. "I was sure Jaune would be asking me to the dance any day now!"
"When's the last time he asked you on a date?" said Pyrrha pointedly.
"I don't know," said Weiss with a huff, "it's happened often enough that I stopped tracking it or taking mind of it."
"But it's been a while, hasn't it?"
Pyrrha was forcing Weiss to stop and think about it, and when she did, she couldn't help but frown. "I… suppose it has?"
"You told him 'no' often enough that he took it to heart," said Pyrrha. "He's trying to do better about listening to people's needs."
That was certainly a fond look that was coming across Pyrrha's face now. Weiss could feel her hopes slipping out of her grasp; frustration dropped away, replaced by reckless abandon. "Well, it's fine if you go to the dance with him, but would you consider going on a date with me after?"
"Weiss…" said Pyrrha with strain in her voice.
Weiss could almost hear the rest of the sentence, had to head it off before it could be spoken. "Not even the same day, if you don't want, just when the mood strikes you. You'll at least consider it, right?"
"Weiss," said Pyrrha, her voice more strangled than ever, "you're a good person, and I like that you're my classmate, but I don't like you that way."
"And you know," Weiss said with almost manic energy, "I thought the same thing about myself. I thought, there's no way I could be anything but totally straight. But I was wrong!"
"I know that story," said Pyrrha with a groan.
"You do?"
"I've been told that I'm single-handedly responsible for the gay, bi, and trans awakenings of dozens of people across Remnant. Maybe hundreds. They call it 'the Pyrrha Effect'."
"I'm just asking you to think about it," said Weiss, clawing at her hopes to try to keep them within reach.
"I have," said Pyrrha. "I like you as a friend, but I can't like you as anything more than that."
Hope slipped away. Weiss felt the lack of it, like the floor had vanished out from under her. "I see," she said with stiff formality. She curtsied. "I'm glad that you were willing to hear me out. You're as polite and genteel as ever, and I very much appreciate it."
"You're welcome," said Pyrrha.
Weiss had looked down when she curtsied, and she didn't raise her eyes when she ended the gesture. She just turned on the spot to avoid seeing Pyrrha's expression and marched off with rigidly trained self-control.
She'd considered the possibility of rejection, of course; doing otherwise would have been naïve. And yet, of all the reasons for rejection that she'd considered, losing out to Jaune had never occurred to her. She couldn't feel anything about that, not yet; it was still unthinkable, as in she literally could not think about it.
Be that as it may, she had a fallback plan, one that she could implement promptly. To do that, she needed information.
Weiss knew better than to ask Sun for it; Sun wouldn't be able to answer. Scarlet, on the other hand... Weiss had quickly learned that Scarlet was the most reasonable and rational member of Team SSSN, in the same way she herself was the most reasonable, if not quite the most rational, member of Team BXPS. (Penny tended to wreck bell curves just by existing.) Sure enough, Scarlet answered her question promptly and even gave directions.
"He's out there 'playing wingman', whatever that means."
Weiss thanked him and followed his instructions. Sure enough, there was Neptune, looking casually at his scroll at some distance from the library. Beyond, Sun was sitting on a lamp post, for reasons Weiss decided she'd rather not think about.
Weiss approached Neptune, unafraid of what might happen. She hesitated only a moment at the sight of him, as his cute and cool appearance did things to her she'd rather not talk about and which defeated controlled conversation. She only needed a moment to acclimatize, though, and soon enough, she'd righted herself and walked in his direction. He spotted her on the way. He characteristically jerked his head and said, "T'sup?"
"Good evening, Neptune," she said with a smile. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Oh, yeah," said Neptune with a nonchalant shrug, "just helping Sun out with something."
"He needs all the help he can get," said Weiss.
"I know, right?" said Neptune.
Weiss smiled. So far, so good. "It's not Sun I want to talk about, though."
"Same," said Neptune.
Weiss was almost giddy. "I want to talk about the dance."
"Yeah," said Neptune dismissively, "it's so lame, isn't it?"
Weiss flinched. "You think so?"
"Mandatory fun," said Neptune. "I know for a fact that our assigned faculty from Haven is taking attendance to make sure we show up. So lame."
"I was hoping you'd be willing to go to the dance with me," said Weiss.
"I'd rather not go at all," said Neptune. "I'm thinking I'll show up long enough for them to take my name, then bail. It's just kind of beneath me, you know?"
"Are you turning me down?" said Weiss, unclear on the point.
"I'm turning the dance down," said Neptune. "Total waste of time."
As far as Weiss was concerned, Neptune was making a distinction without a difference. He wasn't going with her either way.
She'd been rejected.
Again.
"I see," she said in a daze. "Have fun with Sun."
"We always do," said Neptune. "I figure hanging out with him will be way more fun than—hey, you okay?"
"Oh," said Weiss, trying to keep her voice from devolving into hysterics, "now you care if I'm okay. How splendid." She turned on the spot and stepped away smartly, only just keeping her legs from turning this into a run.
Rejected. Rejected twice. She couldn't tell which hurt more: losing Pyrrha to Jaune, or losing Neptune to no one at all.
Was Weiss truly that terrible? That undesirable? That awful? She knew she had things to work on, of course, she knew better than anyone how imperfect she was, but was she really this unappealing?
Come to think of it, the only person who'd tried to approach her romantically had been Jaune, and for as ridiculous and lame as he was, he was somehow a hotter property than Weiss. How could she possibly lose Pyrrha to that loser? What did he have that she didn't have?
Weiss had beauty, she had grace, she had command, she had presence, she had wealth. She had access to the finest beauty enhancers the cosmetic industry had to offer, and the training on how to use those things to maximum effect.
Okay, sure, she would have had to have been deaf to not hear the malicious whispers, the jealous mutters about her everywhere, about how she was so stuck up and stubborn and aloof and haughty and...
…and…
…was that how everyone saw her? Just a pile of money on legs?
And was she even really that pretty? She was scarred, deformed, marked in a way her teammates and classmates weren't. Who'd want to be with a Huntress who'd taken permanent damage in her first real fight?
And even if her face had been unblemished, she didn't have much else to offer. She met few standards of physical beauty, not with her nearly-flat figure. She was surrounded by (her bisexual ass would admit) true beauties with curves for days that put her boyish frame to shame. Penny had more curves than Weiss did, and Penny's curves weren't even real!
Was this it? Was this all she amounted to? Was Weiss just an undesirable bitch, doomed to be pursued by gold diggers and no one else the rest of her days, and to be lonely otherwise?
One reason she'd fled Schnee Manor was to escape her loneliness. She'd been a fool. She carried her loneliness with her, because she was its cause.
She blinked in surprise as she saw herself looking at the door to her room. She couldn't remember guiding herself here or choosing to come back here; for that matter, she couldn't even see it all that well, everything seemed hazy or blurry.
Oh. Because she was crying.
Disgust bubbled up inside her. Crying. How unworthy of a Schnee, how unworthy of a lady. She was seventeen, this was beneath her. She could hear her father screaming at her about how crying was so childish, so unseemly, a person who let her emotions hijack her to the point of tears had no place in a pitiless world of wealth and maneuver, she would never belong as a Schnee until she conquered that, and she'd tried, she'd tried so very hard, she hadn't cried in years, yet here she was, as unworthy as ever, wallowing in her own misery. She felt the weight of self-contempt heavy on her shoulders, could hear her father's screeches in her ears.
She opened the door to try and get away from them even though she knew it was futile.
"Oh, hey, Weiss-sicle."
"Don't," Weiss said with heat and a jab of her finger. "You think you're so funny, but you're not."
"Everyone has their own... whoa, are you okay?"
A laugh of contempt escaped Weiss, because it should have been obvious how very not-okay she was. She tried to collect herself. "Yang, a while back you offered to let me cry on your shoulder. Is that offer still valid?"
"Oh, Weiss," said Yang with feeling, "of course it is."
"Good," said Weiss, and she walked over to Yang's bed, sat down beside her teammate, wrapped her thin arms around Yang's beefier one, and began to bawl.
"It's okay," said Yang like a chant. "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay."
"How can it be? How can it be if it's making me cry?"
"Everyone cries sometimes," said Yang.
"Schnees don't," said Weiss.
"Yeah, and Schnees don't apologize, either," Yang said derisively. "But you do, and that puts you ahead, is what I say."
"Great," said Weiss. "So I'm not any good as a Schnee or as a girl."
"Why would you even say that?" said Yang.
"I got rejected! Twice!"
Yang winced. "Yeah, that's pretty rough."
"I lost Pyrrha to Jaune Arc, of all people! Seriously, how is that even possible?!"
"The heart wants what it wants. Pyrrha wanted Jaune. It doesn't have to make sense."
"Well, it should!" said Weiss. "How could she possibly see something in him that she doesn't see me?"
Yang hesitated. "Weiss, did you ever see or hear anything from Pyrrha saying she wasn't straight?"
"What would I know about that?" said Weiss. "I literally couldn't define homosexual until you and I talked about it. I thought it was just a term people used as gossip when married couples were fighting with each other."
Yang winced again. "Touche."
"I'm less attractive and desirable than Jaune Arc," Weiss said miserably. "No, worse than that. I'm less attractive and desirable than nobody. Neptune would rather go alone than go with me. At least Pyrrha chose someone, even if that someone is built like a mop and has fewer brains. Neptune didn't want anything to do with me."
"That probably has more to do with him than it does with you," said Yang. "It's not your fault or anything. You're a catch and a half."
"No one's breaking down my door to ask me to the dance," Weiss said, face whipping towards Yang as her anger spiked. "The way I'm sure people are with you."
"That doesn't mean I'm saying yes," said Yang. "But when I tell people no, I'm not telling them that they're bad."
"Just that they're beneath you," said Weiss with heat. "Just like I'm beneath everyone, apparently."
"Okay, you need to shut up," said Yang as she puffed up some, "because I'm not gonna sit here and listen to you neg yourself. Weiss, even if I didn't know you, I'd say that you're beautiful. Like, objectively beautiful."
"I'm flat and deformed," Weiss said as shame flooded her brain.
"You don't need curves to be beautiful," said Yang. "The people who judge you on that alone aren't worth knowing. And you're not deformed!"
"Permanently damaged, then," said Weiss.
"Which might be the sexiest thing about you!"
"What nonsense are you spewing now?!" said Weiss.
"Whatever scars mean up in Atlas," said Yang, "they mean something completely different to a Huntress. To a Huntress, having a scar means you took a hit bad enough to permanently damage you through your Aura. That's something that should've killed you, but you were too stubborn and hardcore to actually die, and you pulled through and lived anyway. You took the worst this deathworld has to offer and came back for more. Weiss, that scar means you're a certified badass."
Weiss's brain stumbled, unable to grapple with this new, novel point of view. She couldn't bring herself to take it in; it was too strange, too alien. "It makes me imperfect."
"It's proof that you're amazing," said Yang.
"You're just saying that," said Weiss, shaking her head. "You're just saying things to try and make me feel better!"
"Yeah, no kidding, because you should be feeling better," said Yang. "You have every right to feel awesome about yourself, because you are awesome."
"Not awesome enough for anyone to take me to the dance," said Weiss.
"Their loss," said Yang.
"Come on!" said Weiss, sure that she'd found the weakness in that argument. "You're just saying that to say it. I bet you wouldn't take me to the dance!"
Yang hesitated, her mouth open, and Weiss felt a sort of sickening, punishing vindication. "See? I knew it! You're not putting your money where your mouth is. You don't want to take me, either!"
"I've never taken anyone to a dance," said Yang quietly.
"Stop lying to me," said Weiss. "Being who you are, looking like you look, flirting like you flirt, no way!"
And yet, as sure as Weiss was of her words and her assessment, Yang turned her head away and put an arm behind it, like she wasn't sure what to do with either arm or head.
"What is going on here?" Weiss said deliberately.
"It's like I said," said Yang. "Some people asked me to go to the dance, but I said no. Just like I did for every dance at Signal when I went there."
Weiss stared at Yang.
"No one there meant anything to me," said Yang defensively. "I knew they wouldn't be there… you know… when it mattered."
It was pathetic. It was sad. It was so, so strange, to see indestructible Yang looking guarded, and vulnerable despite it.
It was also infuriating.
"And I'm not right here?" said Weiss, carving up every syllable. "You think I won't be with you when it matters?"
Yang's face filled with panic.
"We almost got blown up together at that warehouse," said Weiss. "And you somehow think I'll flake out?"
The panic intensified.
"Yang Xiao Long," said Weiss, "are you seriously telling me that all those times you flirted with me, you never actually meant any of it?"
"No– I did– I mean… yes?" Weiss could almost see Yang's brain shorting out. "Like, I meant all of the parts that were, like, about you being cute, and stuff, I just… never thought… that it'd matter, that it'd go anywhere."
"Oh, yes," said Weiss with her very driest sarcasm, "because I'm the sort of person who doesn't take things seriously, aren't I?"
Yang's eyes were wider than Weiss had ever seen them. Yang swallowed but couldn't summon any words.
"We're already closer than you thought," said Weiss. "I've confided in you. I've discussed… numerous… taboo subjects with you, and only you. You know me in ways no one else on this planet does."
"We're… great friends…" Yang squeaked.
"In just this conversation," said Weiss, "I have shown you more genuine emotion than I was allowed to display in the last five years I lived in Schnee Manor."
"That blows," said Yang.
"I'm aware," said Weiss. "And it speaks to how different this is, doesn't it?"
"I… guess so?" said Yang.
Weiss made a go-on gesture with her hands.
Yang trembled– Team BXPS' great bastion of strength and support, wavering, as if teetering on the edge of a chasm.
"Hm," said Weiss, and she stood. "Perhaps I'm the one who misread–"
"Wouldjagotothedancewithme?"
Weiss looked sternly at Yang. "Use your words, please."
Yang swallowed again, though her voice was so dry there couldn't be anything actually going down. "So, um… would you want to go to the dance? With me?"
"I would be delighted to," said Weiss. "Do you have something to wear?"
"I've got a dress," said Yang, almost resentfully.
"You're getting a new one," said Weiss. "Let's plan to go down to Vale this weekend."
"You don't have to–"
"Yang, if I tell Blake I've found an excuse to blow some of my father's money, she will order us to blow as much as I can get away with. Or, you can accept on your own."
Yang nodded dumbly. "Fair. Sure, we'll go get dolled up."
"That's the idea," said Weiss. She felt something within her soften. "Thanks, Yang."
"Don't mention it," said Yang, who looked more than a little punch-drunk. "Hey… Weiss?"
"Yes?"
"Are you sure you want to go to the dance with m—"
"Yang, I swear that if you finish that sentence I will scream. Of course I want to go with you, you oaf."
"Oh," said Yang in a daze. "It's just... you know me better than the other people who've asked me. I thought that might make a difference."
"It does," said Weiss. "It's why I said yes."
Yang placed a hand over the center of her chest as if worried her heart might escape if she didn't hold it down.
"Although," Weiss said with a twist of her lips, "I find it enormously comforting that you, of all people, would also struggle about feeling desired."
Yang gave a bark of a laugh. "I've been desired for years. Wanted? Not so much. There's a difference, you know?"
"I suppose I do," said Weiss. She indulged in a smile, and though the following words were firm, the smile never left. "I'll expect you at the air dock, dressed and ready to go into town, at nine AM sharp."
For the first time in a while, Yang smiled. "I'll see you there."
Weiss didn't believe in karma, because Jacques existed; she didn't buy the notion that everything happened for a reason. And yet, she thought as she left the room to consider the fascinating turn her life had taken, sometimes a setback was a blessing in a different form.
Or, perhaps, a different dress.
Penny knew that the roof of the faculty building didn't have noticeably better reception then her room. It made little difference to her scroll's functionality whether she was up here or down there.
Yet a part of her insisted on coming up here, just in case it did make some minuscule difference. Penny didn't know from medicine, but she understood the placebo effect.
Her scroll remained mute.
Penny's eyes tracked up from it to the Atlesian ships hovering over the city beyond. If Weiss' assessment was correct, then Ruby was on one of those. Close, so close, in a place Penny could physically get to without much trouble.
And yet Penny knew enough to understand that an unwelcome visitor arriving unannounced on a military ship would cause a diplomatic incident at best and a firefight at worst. Penny did not, could not trust her ability to find which ship Ruby was on, nor where in that ship she might be.
Ruby was closer than she'd been at any point since the Forge, and she might as well have been on the Dark Continent for how inaccessible she was.
Penny was sad.
OMAKE
Blake, grabbing Sun: Everyone have your Emotional Support Blond(e)?
Pyrrha: grabs Jaune
Weiss: grabs Yang
Pyrrha + Weiss: Ready!
Blake: Good. Let's roll.
Author's note: "The Pyrrha Effect" was posited in a quite enjoyable story of the same name by Inthretis. It's worth your time.
Next time: An Invitation to Pleasure Island