Beacon Academy: The Dormitories, Link's dorm

Ruby Rose wakes up to the sound of her scroll vibrating and buzzing, she ignores it and takes in the sight of the dorm she is staying in for the second time this semester, but to the young huntress this is a familiar setting by now as Link's dorm feels as warm and safe as her own dorm. She finds herself in the boy's bed, still in her dress from the dance that she most watches from the main and second floor with Link, Jaune, and Yang. Then she blushes when she realizes her head is resting on the chest of her date for the dance, followed by thinking of what occurred last night. Fighting that mysterious woman, escaping from Ironwood's wrath and experiencing her first kiss with a boy she finds herself liking more and more with every passing day. The silver eyed girl checks her scroll and sees a message from Professor Ozpin himself, she wants to see her and Link in his office as soon as possible to discuss last nights 'events'

"Ruby? Y-you're awake" Link yawns, awakening himself due to his friend's sudden movement. "Come here, it's too early to be up right now."

"It's not that early." Ruby shakes her head. "And we can't go back to sleep, Professor Ozpin messaged me and I think he message you as well, we have to be in his office immediately, we should get dressed and head over there now-!"

Link grabs Ruby by her face, specifically her chin and directs her back to him, then sinks into another kiss with the team RWBY leader; using his other hand, he caresses her neck and cheeks with soft touches. The two students continue to make out passionately, with the latter placing his hand on the back of Ruby's neck and pulling her closer to deep the kiss even more. Ruby's hands wrap around the huntsman's neck and do her part in pulling him closer. This intimacy is momentarily paused when Link moves over to be on top of her now, in contrast making Ruby to wrap one of her legs around his waist while tangling her other leg with his legs. They continue until the students are both out of breath and are forced to break the kiss, too naive to breathe through their noses as they're caught up in their special moment

"That is why I said come here." Link chuckles and leans down to give Ruby a soft kiss on the neck

"T-too fast!" Ruby groans in pleasure, blushes heavily, but leans away from this action. "I said let's just kiss good sir."

"It is 'just kissing' actually." Link winks, "I'm not getting touchy and I'm only kissing you." He lunges forward and kisses her neck again

"Stoppp." Ruby lets out loud exhales before she effectively puts an end to this by sliding away so much, she completely falls out of bed. "OOF!"

"Am I that bad of a kisser? Wow." Link chuckles and extends himself to sprawl out on his bed with his face leaning over the edge to be inches away from Ruby. "Hey."

"Hi." Ruby sits up and eagerly kisses him on the lips. "You're not a bad kisser, I meant these types of kisses only. Besides, how will I explain if there's marks on my neck?"

"You already have to explain what happened at the CCT tower to your team, along with why you weren't at your dorm when it was time to sleep." Link scratches his head. "I think us kissing is going to be the least of their worries."

"I guess you're right." Ruby nods and gets up

"You mentioned something about Professor Ozpin?" Link shrugs. "We have to be in his office?"

"Yes."

Ruby walks over to the desk where she wanted to neatly put her clothes on the chair. However, due to Link surprising her with a kiss and then the huntress was so enthralled and smitten that she didn't twice about where to put the extra change of clothes she brought from her dorm; the girl picks up her clothes from the ground and dashes into Link's closet. Making quick work of removing her dress and black stockings, Ruby changes back into her normal clothes and looks refreshed when she emerges

"Professor Ozpin wants us both in his office as soon as we can make it there. He, Glynda, and General Ironwood will be there and… You and I both know it's about last night, right?"

"Definitely." Link nods. "As soon as you mentioned Ironwood I knew this was his doing, he probably put in a special request or worse, begged Professor Ozpin to make us talk to him about yesterday."

"We should get going, maybe talking to them will give us more information about Roman Torchwick or the White Fang." Ruby sets her dress and stockings on the back of the chair while gladly throwing her shoes to the side. "It feels so good to wear boots again. I really want to ask Weiss how she fights in ridiculous and uncomfortable heels."

"Your guess is as good as mine." Link smiles and remains in bed, showing no desire to change out of his suit, not because of its comfort but because he would have to get out of bed. "I won't judge her, we all dress our own way and fight however we want to. Maybe Weiss in boots is a horrible fighter because there's something about her heels that helps her. Or if we put her in your clothes, she could feel restricted and with no mobility she's toast against an opponent or Grimm."

"That does make a lot of sense." Ruby messes with her hair and checks her neck for marks not once but a total of three times, sighing in relief when nothing is visible. "What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to change?"

"Will do." Link exhales sadly. "I didn't want our moment to end, that's all. I wish we had all day to relax and enjoy each other's company but first there's what you're talking about, we're supposed to answer to Professor Ozpin and the general, then there's the mission we're all going to be sent on."

"I know, we'll get the chance to rest and enjoy each other's company when we get back though." Ruby happily nods. "The work of huntsmen and huntresses never stops Link, this is what we all signed up for. If we stop, they will send somebody else to do what we didn't."

"You're right, the job does not stop for anybody." Link sits up and thinks to himself

"H-hey, Link?" Ruby asks

"Yeah?"

"You don't have any regrets about yesterday or today, right?" Ruby turns and looks at him with concern in her eyes

"What are you talking about?" Link stands up and walks over to her, "I have zero regrets Ruby and I really mean that. Because if I had regrets would I do this?"

The blonde young man with open hands places them on Ruby's cheeks and presses on them, which forces her lips to pucker, but rather than jumping straight into a kiss, Link leans down and presses his forehead against hers, looking directly into her eyes and flashing her a smile as an added bonus

"Is this enough proof for you?"

"N-no." Ruby blushes, relishing in this sweet moment with her good friend. "I might need more, do you know how to give me more?"

"Of course." Link leans down and quickly kisses Ruby once again, respecting her wishes to kiss on the lips only, he leans back smiles at her, then sweetly kisses her more; the one person team repeats this over and over until Ruby is uncontrollably laughing

"O-oka-! Mmm!" Ruby giggles and enjoys all the quick kisses coming her way, eventually she is the one who pulls back and shakes her head teasingly. "We have to go."

"I know." Link sighs and bumps foreheads with her again. "You should start making your way there. I still have to get dressed and while I'm here I can start a pot of coffee that will be ready for us when we get back."

"Okayyy." Ruby smiles and opens the door. "Don't fall behind too much, okay?"

"I will catch up to you in no time." Link nods

"See you in a little then."

"Ruby?" Link calls out to here

"Yes?" Ruby stops and turns back

"Nothing, I just wanted to look at you again." He winks at her

"You are the worst!" Ruby blushes and storms out of the room, shutting the door behind her

The second Ruby exits his dorm and heads to her new destination, Link immediately goes back on his word and gets back in bed, not even bothering to set coffee. The blonde student stares up at the ceiling as two events keep replaying in his head, one is the very positive experience in which he had an amazing time with Ruby last night, while the other is a much darker scene that Link has kept to himself and never told nobody about. Soon enough, the troubled boy sighs, shuts his eyes and tries to go back to sleep

Beacon Academy: The Top of Beacon Tower, Professor Ozpin's Office

The happy and cheerful Ruby, after walking from the dorms, to the main entrance, down the courtyard, and heading inside again, finds herself in the elevator heading up to the office of her headmaster Professor Ozpin. She keeps her foot in the middle of the elevator in hopes of perfectly timing Link's arrival, unaware of his deceit due to all of his kind and loving actions. The young leader of team RWBY realizes she is blushing due to her own thoughts about her friend and date from last night, she shakes her head and decides to continue without Link. Therefore, the huntress removes her foot from the middle of the elevator and allows it close, but not before having fun and pressing every button available, which additionally helps Ruby by giving the girl more time before reaching the office on the top floor so the blush on her face can fade away. Meanwhile, inside Professor Ozpin's office is another story.

"They were here Oz..." Ironwood frowns and furrows his eyebrows, "Ozpin... they were here!" He angrily slams his fist into his longtime friend's desk

"We're very much aware of that! Thank you, James." Glynda sarcastically retorts. "Now every student is aware that somebody was here because an entire fleet of soldiers was inside our school AFTER the threat was long gone. The way you deployed all those soldiers last night is something we didn't approve of, but still allow you to get away with!"

"You should be thanking me!" Ironwood shakes his head. "My men kept your students safe!"

"Two of our own students were the reason the immediate crisis was averted! Meanwhile, your men didn't even put up a fight." Glynda angrily grabs her weapon 'The Disciplinarian' and slaps the riding crop against Ozpin's desk. "Since you want to go there and act like our students are scared children incapable of protecting themselves, I will gladly target your men!"

"I apologize." Ironwood takes a step back and relents. "I'm simply angry that they were right, not far off from where the dance was held, not far from where we have Au-!"

"Yes James!" Glynda cuts him off. "Like I said, we are very much aware of the situation!"

"Fantastic! You're aware! Now are we going to do something about it or should we just stay the course and continue to ignore what's right in front of us?!" Ironwood shouts

DING!

"Come in, both of you." Ozpin stands up off his chair and speaks broadly, while Ironwood and Glynda stare at each other in disagreement

In comes Ruby as the elevator doors open, she honors Professor Ozpin's request to meet in his office. Although, it is more of a demand by Ironwood, for questioning. Unfortunately for the professors who wanted all answers possible, Ruby was alone. Despite the fact that they also called in Link to be alongside her

"Sorry it took so long." Ruby mumbles with a smile on her face, "Someone accidentally hit all the buttons on the elevator on the way up here." She stops herself and quickly 'clarifies' what she meant. "It wasn't me."

"We're glad you could make it." Glynda speaks cordially

"Yes, thank you for coming, Ruby." Ozpin smiles. "How are you feeling?"

"Mhm. I'd feel a lot better if my bad guy catching record wasn't O for three." Ruby nervously chuckles and to her dismay, receives no laughter in return from the adults in the room. "Okay, so that's the tone we're going for, got it."

"Ruby, I feel it's appropriate to let you know this, so allow me the honor." Ironwood smiles too. "I think what you did last night is exactly what being a Huntress is all about. You recognized a threat, you took action, and you did the very best you could."

"Huh?" Ruby twists her head in confusion. "Thank you sir, but it wasn't only me. You saw Link and I there that night, if you're going to commend me, you should be commending Link too."

"Yes him, he was there too." Ironwood mumbles but does not give props to the boy on his radar. "Where is he? I asked Professor Ozpin to tell both of you to come up here."

"I'm sorry, who again?" Ruby whistles nervously

"Don't play dumb Ruby, you said his name yourself, Link." Ironwood steps forward and approaches the huntress. "The boy who you were with last night... you two combated that woman after all. Where is he?"

"Not another step." Glynda marches over and stands in front of Ruby

"Yes, General Ironwood, I know you mean Link. I was just messing with you." Ruby chuckles nervously

"I'm confused too. Where is he?" Glynda asks. "Professor Ozpin asked you both to come and even if Link's scroll isn't on, you told him what you both needed to do, isn't that right?"

"R-right." Ruby nods, "I was dressed and ready but Link needed more time, he said he would catch up to me. B-but, we both saw the same things, I can answer every question you have." She smiles and rubs her temples

"What a shame, it would've been nice to get two reports rather than one." Ironwood stops dead in his tracks. "But I suppose you're right, you both saw the same times and faced the same person."

"Regardless of Link's absence, thank you for coming again." Ozpin nods. "Now, the general reviewed the security camera footage and has already informed us of the events that transpired last night. He was also not very happy that you both ran off on him."

"Hehehe, sorry." Ruby looks away in embarrassment, taking the blame and not admitting it was Link's idea

"But now that you've rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add." Ozpin grabs his mug and drinks out of it, his sights set on Ruby. "Perhaps you feel differently after a good night of rest."

"I feel...different." Ruby smiles warmly

She resists her urge to blush as she bumps her index fingers together, but she knew that they were not asking about her 'love life', how her night went, or how well she rested, the professors are strictly asking about her mentality regarding the infiltration of the CCT tower

"I feel good, at the very least I am okay." Ruby nods

"Are you sure Miss Rose?" Ozpin asks

"Yes, Professor Ozpin."

"Now this is where Professor Ozpin and I have to ask questions." Glynda speaks up. "The general will not show us footage of what transpired, but tell us Ruby. Was anyone else with her? Not directly inside the tower but outside or anywhere? And did she look familiar to you at all?"

"I..." Ruby sighs, having only fought her for less than a minute and only seeing her eyes, "I don't know. She had amber eyes like my teammate Blake, she was wearing a mask, but she did say a few words to me. Nothing of importance, she just taunted Link and I when she got the chance." She snaps her fingers together. "Aha! I know she fought with glass, I've never seen that before. But I don't think that was her semblance, I simply noticed that her clothing lit up whenever she attacked us."

"Glass you say?" Glynda glances at Professor Ozpin. "That sounds like the woman I fought, the night we met Ruby."

"It was definitely the same woman. Unfortunately, embedding Dust into clothing is an age old technique. It could have been anyone... even that boy knows how to do it." Ironwood shakes his head

"Which boy?" Ruby asks

"He means Link." Glynda shakes her head. "Evidently, General Ironwood can't bring himself to set aside his conflict with a sixteen year old student for five minutes while we talk to you."

"Stop that!" Ironwood growls

"Link? Really?" Ruby rubs her chin and thinks

"Yes Ruby." Glynda nods. "In class when he spars, do you notice some of his clothing and weapons light up, that is dust."

"Oooh." Ruby gasps in surprise. "When and how did he learn that?"

"Nobody knows for certain." Ozpin drinks away and promptly puts down his mug. "His past is, let's say unclear."

"You're lying to her!" Ironwood angrily turns his head towards Ozpin. "I already told you about him, he's a-!"

"What did you tell us?" Glynda cuts him off. "An incomplete file you haven't touched in months to a year?"

"Very well, if you insist on having a criminal as a student, so be it." Ironwood balls up his hands into fists

"Don't talk about him that way, hmph!" Ruby frowns at the general's words but otherwise, remains quiet until she decides to take charge of the conversation. "So, do you think that woman we ran into last night is connected to Torchwick and the White Fang?"

"It's possible." Ozpin nods. "But we still lack the required evidence to link the two together."

"Actually, I..." Ruby snickers, thinking of a clever way to lay out the details of team RWBY's investigation. "I think I remember her saying something about a hideout or something, in the southeast... Just outside the Kingdom."

"Did she now?" Ozpin smiles. "Interesting."

"How is that possible?" Glynda asks. "Ruby, I thought you said the intruder didn't say anything of import-!"

"Thank you for your cooperation and time, Ruby." Ozpin motions for Glynda to stop her questioning as he continues with a smile. "Why don't you go and spend some time with your team? You have a big day ahead of you."

"Yes Ruby, fight today and the rest of the week the same way you fought last night." Ironwood nods

"I will, thank you." Ruby turns around and quickly speed walks to the elevator

"And Miss Rose." Ozpin calls out. "Please try and be, let us say... Discreet about this matter."

"Yes sir." Ruby nods and cannot get in the elevator fast enough to leave

The leader of team RWBY does not say a single word out loud in fear of hidden cameras or listening devices, but as soon as the elevator doors open and she steps out, Ruby lets out a sigh of relief and slowly walks back to her dorm first

"Phew..." Ruby wipes sweat off her forehead, "That went well." She then frowns, "That jerk said he'd catch up to me, he didn't even do that. I wonder now if he just went back to bed for a few more minutes of shut eye." Her frown turns into a smile. "Luckily for him and I'm sure he knows this too, I can't stay mad at him forever and I probably won't even yell at him. Plus he's making me coffee and he's so-! Stop it Ruby, get ahold of yourself! Go crazy over weapons, not boys."

Meanwhile: During the Meeting: Link's dorm

Buzzing and vibrating sounds wake up Link who sighs as he opens his eyes and yawns loudly. Not trusting himself to wake up, he set an alarm to go off not long after Ruby left, but he even messed that up by not adding sound to it. Nevertheless, he is awake now and rapidly sits up, expecting an angry Ruby to return after her meeting with Professor Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood due to his abandonment. Link gets out of bed and swiftly stretches his arms, legs, back, and neck, then momentarily throws a few punches and kicks, making sure he can throw the most basic attacks before he does anything else. The last short activity he performs before moving on is to first shut his eyes, relax his mind and begin to breathe in slowly and exhale even slower four to five times, with the last exhale, the one person team opens his eyes and nods to himself

(Time for the mission I suppose... I don't know what we are even going to do. Maybe I can hide here and nobody will notice.) Link shrugs and walks over to his desk, where he has school supplies, sketch books that are mostly untouched and a coffee maker. (I could use some coffee right and I will make enough for Ruby too, she wanted some anyway. Plus, it's the least I can do considering I totally bailed on her today.) He slowly sits down at his desk, stares at the coffee maker for a short period before inserting the necessary items and watching the liquid slowly brew while remembering everything that happened last night. From being woken up by Jaune, convinced to attend, asking Ruby to be his date last second, having heart to heart conversations with Blake, Pyrrha, and Weiss, going after Cinder, and lastly sharing multiple kisses with Ruby

"Last night was very eventful, but today is a new day and now I need to come up with a plan. They won't just let me stay in my dorm for a week." Link shakes his head rapidly and carefully waits for his coffee to be done. "It's easier said than done to move on from yesterday, it was very amazing... All of it."

Throughout all of this reminiscing of last night's events and thinking about today with everyone going on missions, the most important fact finally hits Link. Team CFVY returns from their missions today and Velvet is coming back, where does that leave him with her?

"She's really sweet and nice... I cannot tell Ruby to pretend like last night didn't happen, we'll need to talk about 'us' which means I'm going to have to break Velvet's heart." Link sighs, becomes increasingly impatient, then pulls the pot only a quarter of the way filled up and pours himself coffee in a mug. "Look at me, I'm talking to myself, I'm basically a psychopath. To be fair I don't exactly know what I want either so we will see whenever I talk to Ruby about if we even have a future together."

Link chuckles out loud, adds powdered cream and sugar to his coffee and stirs so it all blends well together. Next, he sighs in relief when he picks up the mug as the coffee warms up his hands

(Sorry for not joining you or waiting to have coffee with ya, Ruby. I seriously need to wake up and this is my biggest lifeline right here.)

"YO!"

A girl's voice is heard as someone pounds on the door with their fist, the shock factor makes Link drop the mug filled to the brim with coffee all over the desk

"Come on, really? I waited too long for that. Grr..." Link balls up his hands and rushes to the door to confront the person who caused this

"Open up!" Weiss shouts. "Is Ruby in there with you?"

"Do you guys mind?" Link swings the door open. "Sorry, but why the shouting?!"

"Whoa whoa whoa..." Yang chuckles and storms inside Link's room. "Not a morning person huh?"

"Normally no, then again I'm also not used to people pounding on my door every morning." Link sighs and checks the wall for a potential hole caused by the doorknob. (No hole but damn, there's a small dent.)

"Why are you here and Ruby isn't?" Blake asks. "I thought you and Ruby had to talk to Professor Ozpin and Glynda? We figured if you didn't walk Ruby back to our dorm, then you both had to be here. But only you are?"

"Don't forget Ironwood too. He has to grab all the attention." Link rolls his eyes

"Why are you so sarcastic with the general?" Weiss frowns. "He's only trying to make the world a better place, he protects Atlas and runs Atlas Academy very well."

"He might be a good headmaster and protects Atlas very well, but to me he's like a corrupt office. Or in other words, a scumbag." Link was seconds away from continuing but then suddenly stops speaking entirely and laughs. "But that's a story for another day."

"If you say so." Weiss speaks with disapproval

"Link? What is this on your chair?" Yang walks over to Link's desk, reaches for the chair, and grabs Ruby's dress and stockings that are both wrinkled because she slept in her dance outfit. "Are these my sister's?"

"Oh..." Link back narrows his eyes and steps back away slowly. "Yes, those are Ruby's."

"Okay? So what were you guys up to last night?" Yang asks. "We know she stayed over here and this pretty much proves that. Start talking."

"I think you know." Link chuckles sarcastically. "Not for your ears either. Let's just say private stuff that should never be discussed freely."

"Is that so?" Yang nods and puts both of Ruby's pieces of clothing down

"Yes?" Link questions and observes Yang carefully. "Do you not want her staying over at my dorm anymore? We can make sure that doesn't happen again, I will just have to talk to Ruby and-!"

Whilst Link continues speaking, Yang circles around him, deciding to say nothing the entire time before rushing towards him, immediately throwing hard punches at him with full intensity

"Whoa what the-?!" Link shouts as he is thrusted into a fight with limited space and struggles to dodge without getting Weiss and Blake involved. "What are you doing?!"

"You want to say inappropriate stuff about my sister?! Now you pay for that!" Yang frowns and begins firing bullets from her shotgun gauntlets. "Come on Link, fight back!"

"You better stop." Link warns the blonde huntress as his clothing lights up and with his aura now activated, he takes on the brunt of the incoming shots from said gauntlets, "Yang! STOP!" He tries to fight back with kicks but his opponent runs through them with ease

"Or what? You gonna hurt me? I'd love to see you try" Yang taunts and punches faster, with more force. "This is also for our sparring match!"

"Stop it Yang! This isn't funny! You're destroying my room!" Link easily dodges her strikes after taking in her punching pattern

Once he slips past Yang, he quickly makes a run for it... Not to leave his dorm and run away, but to grab his sword and shield instead in order to properly defend himself with his weapons of choice

"None of that. Blake, some assistance, please." Yang smiles

The moment her blonde friend said the world 'please', Blake is directly in front of Link's desk and uses her semblance 'Shadow' to produce three clones and move in a side to side pattern to distract and make Link steer clear of his weapons

"Whatever game this is, I've had enough of it you guys! You better stop." Link says as he tries his best to remain calm

Although he may not have gotten his hands on the signature weapons he's known to wield, but the huntsman does slip a throwing knife out of his pocket, having it on him in case anything more occurred with Cinder after Link and Ruby returned to the dorms

"Since when did he-!" Weiss has no chance to even finish her sentence as Link launches his throwing knife, with the power and speed to nearly match a gunshot, the weapon surges past Yang... And unintentionally and unwisely clips a piece of her hair off

"U-uh oh..." Blake stammers and immediately backs away, staying near the open door

There's nothing but silence. Yang's smile vanishes, her eyes went from their shiny light purple to blood red in an instant. Weiss and Blake gasp, but Link is ready with a defensive guard and stance

"You're gonna pay for that!" Yang pounds her fists together before launching herself with an impressive spring off her feet, aiming a single punch directly for Link

"I said..." Link furrows his eyes and shows Yang's eyes aren't the only ones that change color when angry as his eyes flash gold for a split second. "ENOUGH!"

He sprints at Yang, abandons his defensive strategy and with the same motion strikes. Both huntsman and huntress with closed fists and even stronger punches. Both of them collide with each other and the room rumbles for a couple of seconds. Yang pushes back angrily, her arm and fist shake profusely, but Link, despite also shaking, is not struggling much, showing physically he has an advantage over the blonde huntress. The fight ends when both engaging students look at each other in the eyes, nod, and let go of their closed fists, all tension fades within seconds

"What is wrong with you?" Weiss snaps. "You could have blown a hole through the dormitories!"

"Who?!" Yang and Link yell simultaneously

"Both of you." Blake sighs but also shows off a smile underneath her 'disappointment'

"What was that all about?" Link frowns. "Were you actually mad or not?! Will someone explain?"

"Oh." Yang chuckles and rubs the back of her head. "Ruby sent me a message and said you told her that you needed help with hand to hand."

"Okay then." Link sighs with relief. "What about the other thing? Were you actually mad or not"

"I should have probably brought it up sooner, my bad." Yang's chuckling turned into a wide smile, though she ignores Link's question

"No problem..." Link nods and glances the coffeemaker, which did make enough for more mugs and enough for himself and Ruby

"I never knew you were a coffee person, Link." Blake spoke. "Your presence gives tea drinker."

"I do enjoy both but I would learn towards coffee." Link nods. "Today's coffee is for Ruby." He yawns and rather than serve himself more coffee, he chooses to walk over and jump back in bed. "My earlier nap did not do the trick. But I should have a blast with the week off."

"Week off?" Blake raises an eyebrow

"There's no way Professor Ozpin exempted you from this mission." Weiss frowns. "You might be the only one person team in Beacon's history but you're still a first year like the rest of us."

"Did Professor Ozpin exempt me? Probably not." Link shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. "I just don't see the value of doing this 'mission', we are first year students like you said Weiss."

"Your point?" Weiss glances at him with confusion written all over her face. "Wouldn't it help us grow as fighters more than staying here and doing nothing for a week?"

"Of course? For those who need it. People like team CRDL or Jaune who are more behind than the rest of us." Link nods. "But people like you, Weiss? You don't need this easy cakewalk of a mission. You're above that. The same goes for you Blake, Yang, Ruby, myself, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, the list goes on."

"Well I..." Weiss smiles at the compliment and forgets to come up with a comeback. "I ummm, think you're an idiot?"

"There we go. You always have a comeback." Link chuckles

"You know it's that laid back attitude that could cost you big time later on." Blake mumbles. "And if we run into Roman Torchwick or that-!"

"I understand, Blake. But it's hard to change, you know?" Link stares at the ceiling. "Bad habits and tendencies, they are hard to get rid of."

"Yeah..." Blake nods. "I know how you feel."

"Same here." Yang speaks up. "It's not easy to change."

"Brilliant, we're all weird." Link smiles. "Just kidding."

"Listen." Yang mumbles, her tone changing from cheerful to serious in basically no time

"Yes?" Link sits up. "What is it, Yang?"

"You keep my sister happy, okay?" Yang maintains the same serious tone. "No funny business or toying with her heart. My sister has never felt what does for anybody the way she feels about you."

"Look." Link sighs. "I was kidding when I said 'private stuff that should never be discussed freely' I was trying to get a rise out of you. We didn't do anything besides kiss..." Link blushes, not aware that he has revealed about his and Ruby's kiss. "I don't even know if we're going to be in the words of Nora... You know, 'together together', we still need to talk about a lot of things. But she's still the same Ruby you've known for fifteen years, a few kisses hasn't changed her in the slightest. I'm still the same person you guys met last semester too, the only difference being my feelings towards your sister are stronger now. Heck, she isn't even that big of a fan of all the affection so like I said, we have plenty to discuss and figure out." Link smiles and nods at Yang

"You two kissed?!" Yang gasps, her eyes light up with joy. "Awww, my baby sister is growing up so fast and she's getting the full experience WHILE attending her dream academy? Lucky her... Where's my partner at?"

"That shouldn't be on your mind as a main priority, Yang." Blake wags her head once but shows off a weak smile afterward

"The first part is a massive relief, you two do not need to be doing anything you'll regret." Weiss speaks sternly before her tone loosens up. "You two are clearly close friends, so keep her happy either way. Okay?"

"No problem, that we can agree on." Link gets up, marches over to Weiss and promptly extends his hand out to her. "I will keep her happy, you have my word."

"Thank you." The Schnee heiress gladly shakes his hand

"We gotta go." Yang calls out with her scroll out. "Ruby messaged, she asked where we were because she stopped by our dorm and we're all gone obviously. She can't know we were here interrogating Link."

"Your secret is safe with me." Link throws his hand in the air and gives the three girls a thumbs up

"Shall we go then?" Blake looks at Weiss

"Sure." Weiss nods and slips her hand out of the handshake imitated by Link

The latter of the four says nothing in regards to any of this panic and calmly watches as Weiss, along with the rest of team RWBY, minus Ruby of course, are now exiting his dorm and quickly running off in the opposite direction of their dorm, knowing that Ruby is bound to run into them if the three girls head back the same way they came

Present Time: The Dormitories, Link's dorm

"You owe me big time you jerk!" Ruby shoots Link a nasty glare while enjoying her warm coffee. "But thanks anyway. When did you even get yourself a coffee maker anyway? I should have asked sooner."

"I saved up a lot of money before I started attending Beacon, not all of us have wealthy fathers like Weiss." Link nods. "You're welcome of course and I'm sorry for making you go through that all alone. I will definitely make it up to you when you get back. When do you want to go? Your team is probably expecting you."

"I'm sure they are." Ruby nervously laughs. "They're gonna want to know everything that happened today... and yesterday too."

"Umm, yeah don't mention all the details now, if they really want to know then too bad..." Link shrugs, attempting to play off that he nonchalantly told her team about their tame intimacy

"Oh of course, nobody shall know and we probably should not discuss it any more, right?" Ruby nods to herself and happily drinks some of her coffee. "But wow... That was really my first kiss! I cannot-!"

"Ah!" Link shakes his head jokingly. "Remember? We're not going to discuss it anymore."

"R-right." Ruby blushes. "Fineee, we can discuss it."

"That's more like it, very good." Link smiles and looks down at the dress and stockings on his chair. "Oh and don't forget your dress too."

"Ugh as if I want that back." Ruby groans. "I would burn it but Yang got it for me and there's always next year's dance too."

"Your leggings and heels miss you too." Link teases. "To be fair, you did improve rapidly, by the end of the night you only slightly stumbled around a bit."

"Ugh! Those shoes..." Ruby sighs. "I was completely off my game. Not that I would've captured her or anything but fighting in these heels is really tough."

"I feel ya about being off my game." Link nods sadly. "Maybe I should start placing my weapons in the lockers given to us. If I had my sword and shield... she would have been done for."

"TOTALLY!" Ruby nods, "There's always next time if she tries to intrude in our school again." The girl finishes her coffee and sets down the mug on the wooden desk. "So are you still gonna skip the mission?" She whines. "Won't you please reconsider?"

"Hm, reconsider? I think not." Link nods to himself. "Being here alone is going to be boring but at least I can go to the city and do something every night. I'm totally getting caught but it's not like they can send me on a mission after the missions have started."

"Please? It'll be fun." Ruby tugs on Link's arm, soon transitioning to wrapping her arms around him. "Pleeeaseee?"

"Nothing is fun about being restricted to the work they're going to give us. We're first year students Ruby, only the easy jobs will be available to us." Link shrugs, looks at her and leans down to kiss the huntress on the forehead gently. "But hey... You should call me during your mission? I'd love to speak to you and the rest of your team."

"You bet I will." Ruby smiles and releases her grip on him. "Link?"

"Yes, Ruby?" Link asks

"My turn to say come here and do this!"

Ruby leaps forward, locking her hands in a tight grip around Link's neck, boosts herself up to her tip toes and sweetly kisses her friend on the lips. In return, Link wraps an arm around Ruby's waist while his other hand rises up to touch and caress her cheek. The soft and sweet kiss doesn't last long as the huntsman and huntress separate moments later. To keep things formal, they attempt to hug but this attempt proves to be too awkward, so they settle for confidently fist bumping each other, a familiar action

"Good luck, Ruby." Link waves. "I miss you already."

"Aww stop, you're going to make me want to stay here for the week."

"Maybe we should, we could relax in my dorm all day or go to your dorm and I can die via bunk bed collapse." Link giggles. "I'd love it if you stayed Ruby, but I know you have been itching to go on this mission for the longest time. Good luck again."

"Thank you, Link." Ruby waves back and rushes out of the room, she looks back one more time, glancing at Link with sad eyes before sprinting off back to her dorm

"Why was it so hard to say goodbye?" Link sighs. "Maybe I care about her more than I let on."

Link follows up his sigh by finishing his coffee quickly, letting out a yawn, first walking to close the door to his dorm, secondly he walks back over to his bed and lastly gets in bed, warm resting under his sheets, resting his head on his comfortable pillows, desiring to fall asleep and not wake up until night time

Continuing in Link's dorm: Around Fifteen Minutes Later

Knock! Knock!

Silence

Knock! Knock!

"Huh?" Link opens one eye, not being able to tell if that was a dream of his or reality. The immediately shuts his eye and rolls over in bed until the sound comes yet again

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"W-well, definitely not in my head." Link lets out a sigh. (Maybe if I wait it out, whoever it is will go away. But it could be Ruby coming back and trying to change my mind...)

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

(This is just getting ridiculous. It's definitely not Ruby or Jaune, they know if I haven't responded after a third knock it's best to simply walk away. Pyrrha would've used her semblance to force my door open, Nora and Yang would've pounded on my door. Then there's Weiss, Blake, and Ren but they're gentle knockers.)

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Go away!" Link sits up and shouts, his frustration grows with every passing second. "Whoever it is, you're not funny."

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Not that it was ever funny to begin with." Link shrugs as he slides over and sits at the edge of his bed, contemplating who that could possibly be. "Hello?!"

"Good day my student!" A familiar voice is on the other side of the door, with an unusual but familiar hyper tone. "And my knocking was never intended to be humorous, my young pupil!"

"What the... Is that who I think it is?" Link wipes his eyes and opens the door to find his least favorite teacher... Professor Oobleck, not for any particular reason other than taking his note from Velvet and never giving it back. "Can I help you, professor?"

"Young man! What on earth are you doing?! Get dressed at once!" Oobleck exclaims. "You can't go on a dangerous mission dressed like you are ready for bed."

"I did not think I would get caught this fast but since you're already here... It's because I am ready for bed, professor. I'm not going on the mission." Link sighs and weakly throws the door, expecting it to slam shut, except it does not slam shut and Professor Oobleck has not placed his hand in between

"Yes yes, Professor Ozpin told me about your intentions of not participating in your mandatory mission."

"Wait what? He knows? How does Professor Ozpin know?" Link frowns

"Professor Ozpin knows everything young man! This is his school after all! He also gave me permission to escort you out the easy way... or the hard way." Professor Oobleck pushes his glasses back

"Are you threatening me now?" Link frowns. "Look, I'm not asking for a fight. And I'm not scared of-!"

"Yes, you are not afraid of me in the slightest." Oobleck eagerly cuts off the student as he himself drinks coffee too. "And you would not hesitate or hold back if we were to battle, is that correct?"

"Um?" Link slowly nods, feeling unable to answer a question that has already been answered. "Sure?"

"I can see now why Professor Ozpin would take such an interest in you. Fearless, brash, strong willed, talented, clearly special..." Oobleck seems to get lost in his own train of thought before he completely opens the door

"Are you finished with what you were saying, professor?" Link asks. "Because if you are here to insist I join you on a mission, then spew empty threats not fight, I would rather get back to sleep."

"Yes. Now I must repeat myself so you understand better. This mission is mandatory, ESPECIALLY to first year students, you must shadow a huntsman or huntress." Oobleck nods

"And if I don't?" Link does not retort sarcastically, but instead asks with genuine concern. "What will happen to me? Do I fail a class or something?"

"Consider yourself in big trouble, young man. Your maximum punishment would be expulsion, while your most lenient will be suspension."

"Alright then, you guys are really strict about this shadowing a huntsman or huntress mission, aren't you?" Link sighs in defeat

"Yes, it is very important that all students go on this mission, a lot can be learned by shadowing a professional huntsmen or huntress for a week. You will gain a lot more knowledge than being here to yourself for an entire week. Even if you were to train all week, that would not even begin to compare."

"I understand." Link nods. "Who will I shadow and what mission will I be going on? I imagine all the missions were taken since I have been here this entire time."

"Oh but on the contrary for you. You see, Professor Ozpin has already chosen the mission and huntsman for you to train under for the week." Oobleck smirks

"Seriously? Wow, that's really generous of him." Link softly smiles. "What is it? And with who?"

Professor Bartholomew Oobleck does not respond verbally, instead he continues smiling as he drink more of his coffee

Beacon Academy: The Courtyard

Only requiring five to ten minutes to change into his regular clothes, make his bed, and grab his head, Link and Professor Oobleck quickly make their way out of the dormitories and down to the courtyard. And by quickly, the reality of the situation was Professor Oobleck zooming away and Link playing catch up, not wanting to fall behind

"Mister Link. You must work on your speed." Oobleck smirks

"Yeah yeah, I know. But I'm here aren't I? And I'm ready." Link nods and double checks to make sure he grabbed everything needed. He pats his waist and feels the pouch of extra weapons at his side, then tugs on his sword, bow and shield on his back. "Although, I still can't believe Professor Ozpin put me on this dangerous mission... With you of all people, no offense."

"...Me of all people?" Oobleck glares at him. "Young man, something you also need to understand is that when you say 'no offense', you are more likely going to always offend whoever you are directing your words at. Luckily, I am not offended."

"That's good to know. I will reword my sentences. No offense Professor Oobleck, but you look very passive. More of a teacher than a huntsman, if that makes sense."

"Yes yes young one." Oobleck nods. "Many have said so too, and those many, including you, are wrong to make such assumptions. You will see soon enough that I am a strong and capable huntsman."

"I hope to be wrong. I have a lot to learn from you in that case." Link and Professor Oobleck look at each other and nod respectfully, standing side by side. "Sooo, what are we waiting for?"

"The other team joining us." Oobleck mumbles. "Normally it is only one team per huntsman but since you are alone, it would only be the two of us and already puts us at a disadvantage, no matter how strong you are, Mister Link. Additionally, Professor Ozpin told me you are just as close to this information as team R-!"

"NO WAY!"

This shout comes from none other than Ruby Rose, who's jaw drops in amazement and fright. Meanwhile, the rest of her team looks on with various stunned expressions, having just seen who they will be shadowing for the week

"P-professor Oobleck?" Weiss mumbles

Blake says nothing and drops her head in disappointment. Yang, following along, does not say anything either, she simply looks the most shocked

"My thoughts exactly." Link chuckles. "Hey Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang."

"H-hey Link-! Wait a second!" Weiss frowns. "Professor Ozpin didn't mention you or Professor Oobleck to us at all."

"Yes Miss Schnee it is I!" Oobleck shouts. "Now then before we begin our mission, I'm afraid those bags on your back won't be necessary in the slightest, seeing as you're shadowing a huntsman outside of the kingdom on what is now, a reconnaissance mission. We will not be establishing a single base of operations, rather, we will be traversing several miles and making camp in any defendable locations we come across. I packed all of our essentials and readied the airship myself. And now before we proceed, there's two more pieces of knowledge for you all!" The unamused professor gets directly in Weiss' face. "Firstly, it's Doctor Oobleck. I didn't earn a PhD for fun, thank you very much! Secondly, I spoke with Professor Ozpin, who informed me about Mister Link. After a brief discussion, he approved the idea of Link coming along with us, it was that or he would face punishment for his poor attempt at skipping the big mission today."

"Hey, Doctor Oobleck." Link turns and looks directly at Oobleck "How did you or Professor Ozpin even know I was planning to ditch this week? That was not answered when I asked you earlier."

"One of your friends informed Professor Ozpin... four of them actually. They will be joining us." Oobleck laughs uncontrollably as he points at team RWBY. "It was Miss Schnee and Rose who insisted."

"Brilliant, so much for relying on friends." Link mumbles. "Thanks everybody."

"Sorry." Ruby sighs. "We brought you up to Professor Ozpin because we were worried about you and then he mentioned a punishment, and I just couldn't bear the thought of you being unfairly punished."

"Besides, now that you're here with us, this mission should be even easier." Weiss smiles brightly

(She's... Happy that I'm there?) Link thinks to himself as he displays a puzzled look

"Annnd! This is the perfect time to work on your striking too." Yang punches the air excitedly

"I'm glad you're here with us." Blake smiles

"If you say so... I'm happy to be here." Link nods

"Back on topic!" Weiss shouts and receives looks from everyone, she points at their Huntsman. "DOCTOR OOBLECK?!"

"Right... Well, while you guys remain in about Profe-! Doctor Oobleck, I'm going to the airship." Link nods and makes his way to the landing docks at end of the courtyard where multiple airships are ready to fly students out.

However, on his way to the airship Doctor Oobleck readied himself, he notices a very dejected team CFVY walking back to the school, finally back from their mission that extended far past their return date. Fox looks out of energy, Yatsuhashi is wounded, then there's Coco and Velvet who look exhausted Link swiftly changes course and rushes over towards them, eager to talk to any of the four or at least Velvet

"Coco! Velvet! Fox! Yatsuhashi!" Link calls out when they ignore him and keep walking

"Oh look..." Coco mumbles and tries to smile. "Did we skip past you kid? Sorry about that."

"It's okay, I'm glad you've returned at least. Welcome back... all of you." Link waves and got no response from Fox, a small nod from Yatsuhashi and a weak smile from Velvet. "What happened to you guys? It looks like you were all hit by a truck."

"Heh, good one. I will speak on behalf of all of us and say we're sorry for being so down." Coco nods. "We're just a little beat up from the mission, we even missed the dance."

"Oh it was nothing exciting." Link chuckles. "Maybe team RWBY outshined you when it comes to the decorations but who knows, next year if you guys plan the dance again, I'll see what I would have gotten this year."

"How was the dance?" Velvet asks, having a feeling that Link has lied about it being nothing special

"Okay you got me, it was fun. It was also hysterical. Jaune danced in a dress because he placed a bet on himself that Pyrrha would attend the dance with a date or else." Link smiles

"R-really?" Velvet replies, her previously glum expression morphs into amusement and a big smile

"That does sound pretty funny, I hope someone recorded it. Anyway, who'd you go with, mister hustler?" Coco nudges Link's arm

"Nobody." Link sighs with a small hint of annoyance under his breath

"You sure?" Coco takes off her sunglasses. "It's okay if you went with somebody, we were gone after all so Velvet couldn't ask you to the-!"

"COCO!" Velvet blushes

"What? Be serious Velvet, he deserves to know what was written in that letter after all this time."

(Oh wow... If I had read it immediately or if I pressed her harder about what the letter said, damn. But even if I said yes, she and her team were gone for their mission. Regardless, that really sucks and now I feel terrible.) Link closes his eyes and nods. "So that's what your letter was about? I'm sorry Velvet. I kind of already promised to be Pyrrha's date next year but only under the condition if we both do not have dates. I'm positive Jaune will get his act together by then and I am sure that I will have a date to the dance next year." He smiles, not giving away hints at who he is referring to

"Ugh you're lucky I'm exhausted and that you have a mission... otherwise I would be asking you all about the dance." Coco shrugs. "I'm gonna go to our dorm and go to sleep, peace out kid." She put her shades back on

"Have a nice nap. I'd say sleep all day if it's possible." Link extends his hand in a fist

"I'll try. Thanks." Coco nods and accepts his fist bump. "But when you get back..."

"I'm going to be interrogated, I know." Link chuckles

"That's right." Coco smirks

"I look so forward to that." Link shrugs sarcastically

"Cool. Peace out." Coco waves, then walks off with Fox and Yatsuhashi

Velvet walks slower than her teammates and signals Link to walk with her, which he happily obliged to

"Are you okay?" Link asks with concern. "You're falling behind ya know. You looked the most tired too."

"I'm okay. I just missed Beacon while I was gone."

"Was the mission that rough?" Link raises an eyebrow

"N-not really, but I just thought we were going to be there forever and..." Velvet looks at the ground. "It made me think back and appreciate all the memories I have of this place, current and past."

(Mission life can be tough after all... I used to know all about it.)

"You'll be fine though." Velvet produces a weak smile, "You're strong and brave. And-!" She blushes. "Well..."

"Well...?" Link gets closer to her and with hand motions, signals Velvet to continue

"When I said the mission made me think that and that I missed Beacon... I missed you the most." Velvet jumps into Link's and wraps her arms around him

"...O-oh, that's really nice of you to say." Link looks around awkwardly before hugging his faunus friend back. "I missed you too."

(Well this is awkward, luckily Ruby isn't noticing this, not that anything is official anyway.)

Link continues to look around as he increases his grip on Velvet and hugs her tightly, despite knowing that Ruby wasn't looking. The hug lasts for what seems to be an entire minute and the lone one person person found himself only enjoying the hug for about twenty seconds while worrying for the rest of that time

"..." Velvet nods slowly as their hug comes to an end, but deep down, she wanted to say more... However, her shyness completely takes over as it always does

"Is anything else on your mind, Vel?."

"Hmm, n-no." Velvet shakes her head

"ONE MINUTE!" Professor Oobleck screams from the airship as he and team RWBY begin to board it

"Crap. Time really got away from me." Link giggles and rubs his head in a guilty fashion

"You should go." Velvet points at the airship. "I don't want to be the reason you get left behind."

"Right, thanks for the heads up." Link nods. "And just like that I'm already missing you, Velvet."

"Very funny, we'll see each other again in no time." Velvet smiles. "Good luck on your mission."

"Thank you, I'll see you soon." Link waves and runs off

The huntsman's running turns into full blown sprinting towards the airship when it slowly begins to rise. When he is close enough, Link has to leap in order to barely grab on then climb up himself, with some assistance from Weiss and Ruby

"...Don't be away for too long." Velvet mumbles to herself, looking at the airship which contains Professor or in his own words Doctor Oobleck, Link and team RWBY

"Come on Velvet." Coco calls out. "He'll be fine, that kid can handle himself against anything."

"R-right, on my way!" Velvet cries out, she too begins running towards her team, but does look back at the airship one more time before catching up to them

End of the Courtyard: On Board of the Airship

"You almost got left behind." Ruby frowns, not angrily however. She was more worried than anything

"I'm sorry." Link mumbles as he got up

"What was holding you up?" Weiss narrows her eyes. "You left to board the ship first and yet we beat you there."

"I was just talking to team CFVY." Link nods

"Oh okay, no need to worry now, all that matters is that you're here." Ruby happily cheers and openly hugs Link in front of her team, while either no realizing or not caring what other thought

"Yep, you guys are totally dating soon." Yang snickers happily

"How inappropriate." Weiss frowns. "We're on a mission, not a date."

"Don't be judgmental. Happiness is important, at least to those who chose to be..." Blake softly whispers

"Hey!" Weiss growls. "What are you implying Bla-!"

"Miss Belladonna is correct!" Professor Oobleck cuts off Weiss before she goes on a tirade. "It's important to keep your spirits up because with an important mission like this, we do not know how much hardship will come our way. We can prepare but once we are on the battlefield, it is a completely different world than when you children were sent into the emerald forest or any form of sparring."

"Right 'doctor' but with a pro huntsman such as yourself and two good solid teams like us, I think we will be okay. At worst we'll come back exhausted like team CFVY." Link speaks with confidence, but then notices two things:

One of these things being Ruby who brought her bag despite team RWBY being told they won't need bags by the huntsman they are shadowing. The other thing is something is visibly moving around inside Ruby's bag

"Hehehe..." Ruby awkwardly split off from the group and scratches her head to appear confused

Link says nothing about this new discovery, instead he chooses to keep an eye on Ruby's bag and shortly after a small ear pokes out from the bag being held firmly

(An animal huh? I wonder what's up with that?) Link speaks internally and smiles to everyone on board in an effort to act normally. (I suppose we'll find out eventually...)

(Edited on 10/06/2023)