Several weeks have passed since team RWBY, Pyrrha, Sun, Neptune, Coco, Velvet, and Link all sat down and listened to the latter tell his story and speak up about what has been haunting him from the moment he arrived at Beacon. His initial run-in with the fall maiden Amber, followed by tales of his days as a mercenary, run-ins with the White Fang, Atlas, and more criminals. His rise to leadership in a mercenary group known as the Black Hawks was short lived as blackmail and manipulation caused his group to disband and ultimately lead the blonde teenager to a quaint little village named Garanda that nobody was aware existed. Life was great for a month until Atlas discovered where the leader of the defunct mercenary group was taking refuge. This is where Link discovered that the White Fang's blackmail involved taking other mercenaries, assassins and his own White Fang soldiers, masking them, having them portray themselves as Black Hawks members and causing havoc. From murdering innocent people, huntsmen, huntresses, Atlas soldiers, backstabbing other criminal organizations and more that even Link was not made aware of. The aftermath of these disgusting and horrific acts ultimately fell back on the original members of the mercenary group, more important Link, as his framing brought on Atlas to destroy the village and as a result, fully draw out the demon for the first time and slaughtering a majority of the Atlas soldiers who destroyed the little village. The silver lining to recalling all of this, despite not wanting to, was the successful restoration of Link's social life with his close friends, as before he was more content with keeping himself isolated from everybody, with exceptions being minimal contact with Yang Xiao Long and Lie Ren. Additionally, Weiss even found a new sense of respect and trust for the one person team, after initially not believing him
Island of Patch: Summer Rose's Gravestone
Dawn is the current time of day, Ruby Rose is enjoying the nice, crisp air of fall with her red hood over her head. Having already been here for some time, she lets out a big sigh, removes her hood, and squints are her mother's gravestone after hesitating for too long
"Hey, mom." Ruby speaks somberly, "Sorry I haven't come by in a while. Things have been... Well. pretty busy. You'll be happy to know that dad's here! He's, uh, you know... Daaaad." She giggles, "He's still teaching at Signal. I think he really misses you, I would know because I miss you too." The young huntress lowers her head. "No sign of Uncle Qrow either. I'm honestly starting to get worried, for being an expert huntsman, he sure is taking his time. But on a happier note. I made a bunch of new friends and some… Odd teachers."
Ruby snickers at the last part, thinking back to her mission with Doctor Oobleck, her team, Link, and Zwei
"I've had an amazing time at Beacon so far, being in a team with Yang really helps, I'm sure you'd be happy to hear that. But it hasn't just been her, there's also Weiss and Blake. They're my teammates and are soooo cool! Together, we form Team RWBY! And yes, it does cause a lot of confusion. There's also Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Ren, together they are team JNPR! And yeahhhh, it sounds cornier than my team's name, hehehe." She thinks carefully. "Um, oh there's these two goofballs from Haven Academy, they are really funny! Their names are Sun and Neptune, I've yet to meet the rest of their team but will soon now that the Vytal Festival is starting literally today. Hopefully they are just as funny. Hmmm, oooh there's also Penny, she's from Atlas. I haven't met her team but she's really nice and sweet, but she is also not ummm… like us? She's kind offf… beep boop, beep boop, bop!" Ruby poorly imitates a robot and makes herself laugh tremendously. "Here's the best team name, mom. Check this out, teammm CFVY! I know, right? A team named after the best morning drink ever. Their leader is a girl named Coco, and I won't exaggerate when I say she's more fearless than Yang, so calm and cool, it probably helps that she's a second year student, more experienced and whatnot. Their other members are these two quiet but really strong guys named Fox and Yatsuhashi, then there's also Velvet. A sweet but very shy girl, but I will say that she's slowly breaking out of her shell. Thanks to her teammates of course, and Link-!"
Ruby gasps and claps her hands together, almost forgetting to mention the surprise of the semester
"OH! I'm so dumb! How could I forget? The last friend I will mention is someone who took everyone by surprise. His name is Link, he's such an awesome friend, an amazing listener, and gives good advice and get this, mom."
Ruby giggles and blushes like the nerd she is about combat and Beacon Academy
"Link is all alone! A one man team! Isn't that insane? I do worry about how he's going to perform in the tournament against four people, but if anyone can handle that pressure, it's him one-hundred percent!" Her mood suddenly returns to its somber state from earlier. "He's got a umm, got a troubled past, strayed away from the right path here and there, but he's a good person deep down. Luckily for him we are here for him, it doesn't hurt to share my secret with you either. We kind of almost dated not too long before we all qualified for the tournament. Gah!" Ruby recoils in disgust. "It's not Link that made me do that, it just makes me sick in a way. I never thought I'd fall for a guy when coming to Beacon. Not that I... Uh, regret it though, Link has a heart of gold and good intentions. I don't think dad would like him very much, but you would've absolutely adored him and demanded to know every little bit about him, what 'us' if we were still you know. ANYWAY! Topic change! I wonder why Professor Ozpin let me into the school as early as he did. But I guess he'll tell me one day... and maybe he'll tell Link as well, seeing as he got accepted one year before the minimum age requirement. Both of us were early entries, you could say we're pretty cool." Ruby smiles. "Heck you could even throw Blake's name onto that list, she is at the required minimum age, but had no previous academy training at a reputable school. It's funny, the more I get to know Professor Ozpin, the more he sounds like Uncle Qrow and-!"
"ARF! ARF! ARF!"
The beloved corgi and pet of Ruby and Yang, Zwei, interrupts the silver eyed girl, who jumps in shock and turns to joyfully watch her happy dog run in circles and in front of a man hidden within shadows
"Right on time! Looks like Dad's back, I gotta go! He's dropping me off at Beacon for the tournament match before he goes on his next mission. Wish me luck!"
Ruby smiles and gently takes a bow as she walks off. Ten seconds pass before Ruby stops to put on her hood, and face her mother's gravestone one more time
"It was good to talk."
Several hours later: Continent of Sanus, Amity Colosseum
Roars, cheers, clapping, and excitement is in the air inside the massive Amity Colosseum. The colosseum is a ginormous floating island provided by Atlas for the purpose of the tournament, the main staple of the Vytal Festival. This tournament is open to students of all grades and ages, first years could match up with second years, third years, and so on. Inside the colosseum is the main arena, a plain, flat, white floor, in the shape of an octagon, with a transparent force field in the shape of a dome to protect the crowd from projectiles or gunfire. Additionally, with the help of Atlas technology, the octagonal platform is the only neutral fighting ground. All around the arenas are platforms that when activated, transform into different environments, ranging from simple flat savanna's to tricky gravity fields. The first round and doubles as explained by the commentators of the tournament, Professors Oobleck and Port, will have these randomized biome selections, while the singles round shall not and the remaining students in the tournament will fight on a neutral platform with ring out or aura depletion rules. With that being said, the tournament is officially underway, with team RWBY fittingly being one of the first matches of the day and the entire tournament. They face off against team ABRN, a team from Haven Academy, consisting of Bolin Hori, a staff wielder, Reese Chloris, a laid back girl with a hoverboard, Nadir Shiko, a timid young man with a machine gun, and lastly Arslan Altan, a hand to hand specialist. With the randomed biomes of a volcanic earth and icy terrain, Ruby fires and swings her weapon 'Crescent Rose' at Bolin, who blocks successfully with his staff. Blake exchanges blows with Reese, the sharp blade of her weapon 'Gambol Shroud' collides with the hoverboard of her calm opponent while leaving afterimages behind. The two trade blows, until the latter concedes and accepts that the cat faunus is stronger. Reese flips away and hovers away to gain some distance, gets ready to attack again, then charges in once more. Behind them, Weiss waves her rapier 'Myrtenaster' as a glyph forms under her and she uses it to boost herself towards Nadir. And finally, there's Yang, who crashes down on Arslan with a mighty punch, it is easily dodged and then the two powerful girls exchange strikes, mostly powerful overhangs, Yang mixes it up with a wild spinning heel kick that is also dodged, until the two huntresses in training decide to throw the same type of punch, straight forward right hands to the chest. The two pound their closed fists together and it is an even display of power, despite Yang firing her shotgun gauntlets 'Ember Celica' for an extra boost
"Wow look at them go!" Coco nudges Velvet while nodding at Link. "You think they're gonna win?"
"They do seem to have better chemistry than the opposing team." Velvet mumbles. "It might be evenly matched now, but I do believe team RWBY will win this match."
"It's the first round." Link grins, "They'll be fine and besides that guy…" He points to Nadir before leaning back in his seat. "...right there with the pink hair isn't even trying to get involved."
"Ouch! That's quite harsh." Coco smirks. "Did someone not have his coffee this morning?"
"Sorry... Ruby overloaded mine with sugar, and now I just want to take a nap." Link sighs and slumps deeper into his seat, keeping his sights on team RWBY. "No disrespect to the other team but, I think team RWBY outclasses them everywhere. Maybe that Arslan girl can give them a run for their money but she's only one person."
"Fair enough. I can definitely agree with that." Coco nods, her smirk remaining present. "Pfft, sugar and cream in coffee, you kill the whole point of coffee."
"I want to wake up in the morning and enjoy what I'm drinking, not take strong coffee and never sleep again." Link rolls his eyes
"Fair enough, kid." Coco scoffs and takes a big sip out of her cup of coffee, on purpose just to get at the annoyed one person team
Link keeps his focus on the action, despite all of team RWBY being his friends, he knows deep down inside that the four girls might be potential opponents in the future. He looks up at the big tron showing everyone's names and aura level, glances at team RWBY's and looks at team ABRN's side, quickly trying to memorize the names of each member. As the groups of four continue to go at each other, Link decides to switch all his attention to one pair, Blake and Reese. The mint green haired girl confidently steers her board over the ice with ease, she flips off it and launches the hoverboard at Blake, but the cat faunus is able to knock it away with a powerful swipe of her sword, only for Rees to redirect it back at her with a swift elbow strike. Blake acts quickly and blocks it once again with a side kick, launching it right back to her opponent and just in time to defend as the cat faunus sprints towards with several quick sword slashes and a jump kick. Reese struggles briefly with the first two slashes, until she gets comfortable and easily blocks the rest of the attacks. Next, she spins her hoverboard around, with sharp blades on each corner, forcing Blake to block and defend now. None of her looping spinning hoverboard swings land on the cat faunus but the last swing does have enough power to break Blake's defense and stumble backwards, while slipping on the icy floor. Reese chuckles, hops on her hoverboard and rushes towards a surprisingly smiling Blake. Unfortunately, what the team ABRN member does not realize when she is seconds away from her opponents, is that he is colliding with an ice clone, and Blake uses this opportunity to whip her arm like an uppercut, successfully land an upwards slash on Reese and slash her hoverboard in two pieces. Mid air, the split up weapons fold and transform into bayonet bladed revolvers. Reese flips over, grabs his guns, fires off a few rounds from her revolvers that are blocked and dodged by Blake, then lands on the icy ground, where she loses her balance and actually lands tailbone first. Even the cat faunus winces, looks at her with sympathy, and shows respect by not moving to attack her downed opponent
"L-Link?" Velvet waves her hand in Link's face. "Are you okay?"
"H-Hm?" Link blinks and suddenly is drawn away from the fight. "Sorry, I was focused on Blake."
"You were?" Coco leans forward and raises an eyebrow
"Not like that." Link rolls his eyes. "I meant her entire sequence with the hoverboard girl."
"Yeah I know, just teasing ya." Coco winks
"Sorry if you were trying to grab my attention for a while there, Velvet." Link smiles at the quiet rabbit faunus
"It's okay." Velvet smiles back whilst turning away. "Coco was asking if you are excited for your fight?"
"Hm..." Link thinks carefully. "I suppose you could say I am. It's strange really, during the qualifiers I was pumped for the tournament. Now I'm just feeling okay about it. Although, I do hope to avoid anyone from Beacon at least this first round."
"Scared?" Coco lowers her shades. "What if you face us?"
"I cannot say that I am prepared, but I know it won't be an easy fight, for either of us." Link smirks. "I am very aware of how you guys fight annnnd my aura would definitely go near the red."
"Is that so?" Coco nods and puckers her lips. "I'm glad you aren't underestimating us."
"Of course. But maybe fighting you guys will be for the best." Link's smile grows. "I have to beat the best Beacon has to offer to get stronger."
"Careful what you wish for." Coco chuckles
"Y-yeah, I learned that ages ago." Link sighs and glances up at the sky, seemingly forgetting the fight going on down below, (What would life currently be like if Ray were here with me? Would she be on my team? Would we be a full team of four? Would we even be here in Beacon if we traveled as a pair? She did always want to attend one of these academies.)
(That weak girl would probably be dead anyway. You were a disgrace for a teacher, and she made no progress.)
Link shuts his eyes, winces, quiet growls, and balls up his fists
(I don't appreciate your snide comments at the most random times. So leave me alone.)
A loud voice brings Link back down to reality as his opens his eyes and looks at the battlefield, specifically the outskirts of the arena, where Reese angrily slams her fist into the ground
"Ooh, a double whammy! Reese Chloris is eliminated by ring out and Aura level!" Port shouts into his microphone as his announcement makes most of the crowd cheer
"Oh, she really should've worn a helmet!" Oobleck says as he cringes
Back inside the battlefield, ABRN member Arslan uses her rope dart dagger to swing around an iceberg and avoid Yang, who is chasing her and using shotgun blasts to catch up. Meanwhile, Nadir aims his rifle at Weiss, who frowns at this action; she first sidesteps Bolin, who was about to strike her from behind. Next, she summons a black glyph and launches Bolin at his teammate, with the two of them colliding foreheads and finding themselves dazed, nearly unconscious even. But it only gets more difficult as Weiss stabs her rapier into the ground, a black glyph forms underneath Nadir and Bolin, levitates the two, and slams the Haven students until her gravity glyph forms a giant ice fist and then traps them when the ice fist closes. Eventually, it changes shape and turns into a ball that rolls around the battlefield. Arslan sees her teammates still available to compete in their tough predicament, and rolls her eyes before changing directions. Rather than continuing to engage in combat with Yang, she slides in front of the ball. She gets into a defensive stance with a powerful squat that cracks the floor she stands on, extends her left arm with an open hand, winds up her right hand, holding it by her ribcage. Then quickly twists her body, throws a powerful straight punch, and drives her fist into the ball of ice, which immediately breaks and splits into many pieces, freeing her teammates from their endless rolling
"Whoa." Coco lowers her sunglasses and narrows her eyes. "That girl packs a punch."
"She may even be able to match Yatsuhashi in a test of strength." Velvet mumbles
"Relax Vel." Coco shakes her head. "One compliment at a time."
"Pay attention, it's already over." Link sits up and stares intently
"What are you talking about kid? She just freed-!" Coco adjusts her sunglasses and follows Link's gaze, observing Weiss creating a large wall of ice in the shape of a slide. "Ummm, how did you-!"
"Lucky guess." Link grins. "Just don't blink, you'll miss the ending."
Yang blasts herself forward with gunfire from her shotgun gauntlets, smoothly slides over the wall of ice, she catches Blake's weapon in its pistol form as the cat faunus uses Ruby and a shot from Crescent Rose as a launch pad to launch both her and the blonde huntress towards the remaining members of ABRN. Arslan, Nadir, and Bolin unwisely line up, only having seconds to look horrified when Blake whips her weapon over her head and sends a screaming Yang right towards them with a powerful closed fist ready to strike! And indeed, Yang slams her fist into all three members, promptly sending the trio crashing into the volcanic biome, solidifying their elimination once and for all
BEEP!
"And that's the match! Team RWBY is victorious!" Professor Port's voice is heard once again as he announces the victors
"Yes and what a tremendous battle it was, I couldn't have thought of a better match to open the tournament!" Doctor Oobleck proudly chants, having recently shadowed the four girls
"That's done with." Link claps and promptly stands up. "See you guys… Later?"
"Leaving already?" Yatsuhashi, who is sitting on Link's right side, puts a hand on his shoulder and sits him back down
"Whoa, now I'm being held captive?" Link chuckles. "I am free to go aren't I?"
"No… Well yes but-!" Coco shakes her head. "You can congratulate team RWBY later, we're going for a coffee run."
"It's the afternoon." Link turns his head
"And?" Coco laughs as she and Velvet stand. "The coffee you had was all sugar, kid."
"Please?" Velvet smiles. "It won't take long. We'll get coffee together and you can return to the fairgrounds to congratulate Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss."
"Okay you guys know how to convince someone, sure." Link nods at Velvet, then smiles at Yatsuhashi. "You can let go now, please."
"Of course, my apologies." Yatsuhashi stands as does Fox, but he remains as silent as ever
"Don't worry. Like Vel said, it won't even take that long." Coco nods
"Are you sure? Because if you're lying to me…" Link sarcastically mumbles
"You're not scaring me." Coco giggles. "Yes we'll be fast, we have plenty of distance between us and team RWBY. Unless you want to keep running your jaw, be my guest."
The team CFVY leader confidently girns, she and Velvet lead the follow the way, behind them are Yatsuhashi and Fox, then Link trails behind at the very end
Twenty Minutes Later: Beacon Academy, The Fairgrounds
"See?" Coco winks
"Fair enough, considering we had to get on a ship loaded with other students, slowly fly all the way back to Beacon, and still find this coffee shop." Link rolls his eyes. "Sorry for doubting you."
"You're forgiven." She walks past and roughly smacks him on his backside
"W-What the?!" Link jumps
"You'll get used to that." Fox mutters
"Finally, he speaks." The one person team chuckles. "Where are you guys headed? I figured we would congratulate Ruby and her team together."
"That was the idea." Coco nods. "But… Tell him Velvet."
"O-Okay." Velvet sighs. "They are closer to you, Link. So Coco figured why not let you enjoy the moment more? It will make it more personal."
"I see. That makes sense, I suppose." Link shrugs. "What are you guys going to do?"
"Walk around the fairgrounds, maybe grab a bite to eat." Coco nods. "You guys hungry?"
"N-No, but I will join you guys if you are." Velvet smiles
"I could eat." Yatsuhashi slowly nods
"..." Fox does not speak but does give a thumbs up
"In that case, let's go team!"
Coco shouts as she, along with the rest of her walk off with coffee cups in their hands, and each of them saying goodbye to Link in their own unique ways. The team CFVY leader winks, Velvet waves and smiles, Yatsuhashi nods and smiles, and lastly is who Fox who meets Link eye to eye before grinning and just like that, the second year team is gone and off to have their own adventure
"I should have given her more credit where it's due, Coco knows good coffee places and that was faster than I thought it would be." Link takes a sip of his coffee but nearly chokes on the warm liquid when he spots none other than Emerald with team RWBY near them while Mercury stands a fair distance away. (They still don't see it yet... and I can't outright say Emerald and Mercury were part of that group that made the White Fang screw the Black Hawks, they'll never believe me.)
"How are things? Old friend…" Mercury mumbles with complete sarcasm as he senses the presence of a past associate
"Laugh while you can." Link narrows his eyes. "When I get my hands on you-!"
"You never will." Mercury shakes his head to the left and turns his back on the blonde teenager. "You wouldn't want to, trust me. Emerald and I, we might be your age, but we are another league from you idiots."
"You're still underestimating me, huh? Good. As much as I'd love to speed up the process and fight you now, you don't concern me." Link shrugs him off and and walks towards team RWBY
"That's great, Emerald!" Ruby shouts. "Since you guys aren't tired or injured at all… Why don't we all go and get a victory food together?"
"Oh, gosh, that's so nice of you." Emerald panics, "And I would love to accept, but my teammates are all kind of..." She looks back at Mercury, who on cue, sniffs the inside of a boot. "Ummm…"
Unlucky for Emerald, her panic only gets worse when she almost forgets what she wants to say next, upon noticing Link only a few feet away from her
"...They are introverted. Really socially awkward." She turns away from Link and stares at the silver eyed girl
"Link! Hi!" Ruby jogs over and punches Link in the arm. "We were thinking you didn't even show up to watch our match!"
"Hello." Link nods and quickly steps away from Emerald. "I wouldn't dare miss your match, how could you doubt me?"
"I'm sorry!" Ruby sighs. "I just-!"
"Um... Anyway." Emerald cuts in. "Merc and I are going to move on to the doubles round. My team had a heated debate about who should go, but eventually we decided. What about you guys?" She does her best to keep her attention on just Ruby
"WELL!" Ruby stands up straight with both hands on her hips. "As the leader of this team, I thought long and hard about this decision. After careful consideration and precise analysis I-!"
"What?" Weiss frowns, shakes her head, and clears her throat to interrupt her leader. "We put it to a vote."
"Y-Yes we sure did, of course!" Ruby nervously chuckles. "But I decided that we should put it to a vote."
"We voted for Weiss and Yang." Blake rolls her eyes and gently smiles whilst pointing to her chose teammates
"Y-Yeah!" Ruby shouts
"What about you?" Emerald turns toward Link with a sly smile
"I have not fought yet. What a shame that I did not draw your team." Link grins. "It would have been an interesting fight. Wouldn't you say?"
"R-Right..." Emerald stutters to portray herself as even more nervous whilst doing her best to act innocent in front of her new 'friends'
"Awkwarrrd." Ruby chuckles.
"Yeah, no kidding." Yang visibly cringes
"W-Well, if Mercury and I see you down the line, don't think we'll go easy on ya." Emerald looks at Yang and Weiss, the flashes them a bright smile
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Yang smirks as she and Weiss consecutively nod
"Alright, well my team and I are going to catch some more fights." Emerald turns away and slowly walks
"Hehe, have fun!" Ruby waves
"See you later!" Emerald throws up her hand, waves casually, then hurries to get back to Mercury
"Good riddance." Link shrugs. "Good win guys-!"
"No no no no no! No sir! You were rude!" Yang frowns and punches Link in the arm with some force. "She's so nice, did you two have a bad encounter or what?"
"Yeah… Let's go with that." Link nods. "A few actually, Blake was there for one of them."
"Huh? When was this?" Weiss rapidly turns her head, switching between her teammate and associate
"I believe it was the day before the dance?" Blake narrows her eyes, "Not sure, I do know that Pyrrha defeated team CRDL and Mercury in sparring matches during class." She nods. "Although, Mercury was the rude one, not Emerald."
"See!" Yang shakes her head. "Emerald is a sweetheart! And she did say her team is weird, maybe it was just a misunderstanding."
"I suppose." Link rolls his eyes. (C'mon, speak up damn it…)
"Psh, for being so mean we shouldn't even invite you to eat with us." Ruby crosses her arms and stomps her foot. "Lunch is officially for team RWBY only!"
"Oh, that's okay. I'm not hungry." Link shakes his head and turns to leave. "But if you guys want a private lunch to celebrate, I can respect that."
"Ruby!" Weiss frowns
"W-Wait!" Ruby quickly speeds in front of Link. "Ummm…"
"Yes Ruby?" Link smiles
"UGH! Just join us, dummy." Ruby grabs Link by his arm and tries to drag him
"Wait! Before we eat." Yang steps in front of the blonde boy and looks at him with intrigue
"Yes?" Link chuckles nervously
"Sooooo." Yang's eyes widened in anticipation. "What did you think of our performance?"
(Phew, I thought she was about to ask where I was during their match.) Link's nervous chuckle turns into a soft laugh. "I thought you guys looked great! Yang, you finally found yourself a match and she was doing it bare handed too."
"HEY!" Yang frowns but gives up immediately. "Okay fine, she was pretty strong, yes."
"At least you got the better of her." Link turns around to face the cat faunus. "Blake, you did very well against the hoverboard girl and considering she has one of the weirdest weapons I've ever seen, the way you outsmarted her was so fun to watch."
"Thank you." Blake joyfully smiles
"Hm…" Link decides to turn towards the team leader, "Ruby. Okay I'll admit there's not much say because you performed flawlessly. Team ABRN let you keep your distance and fire away or swing Crescent Rose without resistance." He takes a page out of Coco's book and winks at her. "If you were in the doubles round with Yang or Weiss who have the ability to keep the opponent away from you, that would be an unstoppable duo."
"Wowww, thank you master analyst Link." Ruby giggles
"Awesome! Let's eat!" Yang claps her hands
"Hey, wait up." Link wags an index finger. "I didn't get to talk about Weiss."
"Whoops." The blonde girl scratches her head in embarrassment
"Oh please, spare me the sarcastic color commentary." Weiss looks away. "Or lay it on me, I'm sure your novice level analysis can be of some use."
"Relax." Link covers his mouth to laugh without getting chewed out. "I actually thought you were the most impressive one out there."
"W-What?!" Weiss' jaw drops. "Now I know you're being sarcastic."
"Not at all." Link glares at her but with a big present smile, "The only time Ruby was in any particular danger, you were there to protect her. Your glyphs confuse me on what they can entirely do, but you put them to great use annnd-!" He nods. "You were the catalyst for their defeat. Trapping those two guys in ice, forcing their strongest teammate to have to go rescue them, which set up the final attack. Plus, that ice slide? The main reason Yang moved so fast."
"Wowww, someone focused on our match." Ruby laughs
"Of course, my favorite team was competing, why wouldn't I?"
"Well, thank you." Weiss appears stunned, not knowing how to respond to all the praise. "You really mean all of that?"
"One hundred and ten percent." Link raises his arm and gives her a thumbs up. "You were great, Weiss. If anyone has anything bad to say about your performance, they should move on to another profession, because they don't know what they're talking about."
"Thank you, again." Weiss grins, turning away to hide said grin as it turns into a wide smile. "You gonna join us for lunch?"
"Oh yes, I was just teasing Ruby earlier. What are we eating?" Link asks
"The best of the best. Follow me children, we're only a few feet away." Yang waves her hand and darts ahead
"Ummm, Blake and I are older than you by a few months." Weiss narrows her eyes
"Shhhh!" Yang shakes her head
"Oh no! This better not be-!" Weiss can even finish her sentence, a quick left followed by a brief straightforward walks leads them to a hut stringed with paper lanterns, and a sign overhead that boldly displays the words 'A Simple Wok'
"THE BEST OF THE BEST RIGHT HERE! Yang Xiao Long approved!" Yang smiles and takes a seat on one of the stools
"Yeahhhh!" Ruby hurriedly sits next to her sister
(I wouldn't say the best but this is a good place to eat... if you're on a budget.) Link chuckles. (Sun, Neptune, and I totally ditched them to come to this place one time..)
"Hm, fine. I will not protest because you will all overrule me." Weiss shrugs and hurries to sit down next to Ruby
"We could always put it to a vote." Link chuckles. "I'd side with you."
"That's kind but it would be three votes to two." She shrugs
"Yup." Blake nods, sitting next to Weiss
"O-Oh..." Ruby sighs as Blake sits next to Weiss, which leaves Link as the last one to sit next to Blake
"Hmmm." Yang narrows her eyes at the extremely quaint menu. "I'll have a bowl of the regular, please."
Within mere seconds, a ginormous bowl with a ridiculous amount of noodles slides in front of her
"Oooooh... I'll take the same." Ruby clasps her hands in excitement as the same sized bowl with the same amount of noodles slides in front of her
"Um, okay..." Weiss thinks carefully. "Do you have any food with a low salt-!"
But low and behold… The same platter of noodles is served to the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company
"I'm still thinking." Blake waves the shopkeep over to her blonde companion
(I need to choose my words carefully. I am hungry but not this hungry… I got it!) Link raises an eyebrow. "Can I get what they're having but half the size?"
The shopkeeper shrugs but makes quick work of the order when he heads back into his kitchen. Seconds later, he comes out and slides Link his order… A bowl half the size of the girls bowls, but with the same amount of noodles as Yang, Ruby and Weiss
"Great..." Link sighs. (I should have said half the portion.)
Instead of ordering like her friends, Blake displays a gentle nod and a smile. The shopkeep returns the gesture and rushes through one door, the same way he hurried to prepare Link's food. Moments later, he comes out the other to leave a large bowl of noodles topped with fish in front of her.
"Ahhh..." Blake's eyes light up, the cat faunus drools over her order while her stomach rumbles
Weiss looks at Blake with a strange expression before she proudly offers her credit card to the shopkeep
"Aw, Weiss! What's the occasion!?" Yang asks as she prepares to dig in
"Consider it as a small thanks for sending me to the doubles round." Weiss nods at her team, then stops when her eyes meet Link's. "You're welcome."
"So humble." Link sarcastically nods. (Annnd there's classic Weiss. I knew her being nice was too good to be true)
Awkward silence takes over the five of them, but it proves to be only a brief silence when Weiss' credit card is thrown back at her like shuriken, the annoyed shopkeep points to his register as it beeps and showcases the word 'DECLINED' in big bold letters
"What?!" Weiss frowns. "How can my card be declined? I was barely into my monthly allowance!"
Blake looks around slyly, attempting to slowly slide her bowl closer to herself before the shopkeep grabs the bowl and yanks it away, causing her to slump over in defeat
"Noooo!" She dramatically slumps over with tears in her eyes
(Well? Better time than any to use all of this money.) Link reaches into the brown pouch on his belt, digging past his throwing knives, smoke bombs, and other personal items
"Maybe I could help?" Pyrrha Nikos' angelic voice slowly fades in as she with credit card in her hands, alongside her team, Jaune, Ren and Nora approach the noodle stall with big smiles on their faces
"YEAHHH! PYRRHA TO THE RESCUE!" Ruby claps with excitement
"Aw, you don't have to..." Yang sheepishly smacks her lips together
"BUT!" Blake's head peaks up, leaning closer to her teammates in desperation. "She could?!"
"No need, save your money." Link speaks up as he pulls out lien cards of his own. "My treat."
"Oh Link please, you shouldn't." Pyrrha gracefully responds while she and Jaune sit next to each other. "Allow me to treat us all to a meal."
"B-But he could… Any of you could." Blake looks at them both of the top Beacon rookies with bulging eyes
"Please, let Pyrrha pay." Weiss sighs as she puts away her card. "The last thing we need is to benefit from mercenary money. At least Pyrrha's money is legal."
"Weiss!" Blake snaps
"That is so funny, Weiss." Link frowns, stands up, and wants to shout but decides to bite his tongue, "At least my mercenary money would get accepted over your faunus blood money." He slides his bowl of untouched food over towards Blake, drops multiple green lien cards in front of her as well, then prepares to leave. "I don't even know why I bother trying to be nice to you."
"Hmph!" Weiss turns to her left, avoiding eye contact.
"Where are you going?" Jaune asks. "We can still eat together."
"Anywhere else, I have lost my appetite." Link shrugs. "Keep the money, just in case Pyrrha's card gets rejected too." He walks away without saying goodbye to of his seven friends or his acquaintance
"Link, please don't go." Pyrrha calls out… Only to inevitably get no response
"Just when we thought you guys were getting along… You just had to piss him off." Blake frowns. "I thought you were becoming nicer too!"
"I..." Weiss sighs. "I didn't think it would affect him that much okay? My intentions were not to strike a nerve. I'm sorry everybody. I guess I'm just upset about my card getting declined."
"Don't apologize to us, Weiss." Yang shrugs. "When Link comes back, then start apologizing."
"I'm sure he'll be back." Nora sits down in between Ren and Pyrrha. "Right?"
"He probably just needs to clear his mind..." Jaune chuckles. "Link has been through a lot worse, a few nasty words from Weiss shouldn't keep him down for long."
"Hey!" Weiss narrows her eyes
"Are you guys sure you wanna eat with us?" Ruby laughs. "Weiss makes you lose your appetite in record time."
"Shut it!" Weiss scoffs
More awkward silence consumes both teams after Pyrrha pays for everyone and they begin eating their meals. However, nobody maintains a conversation that lasts past ten seconds, let along even start one
"I hate this silence!" Nora slaps her hand against the hut
"Nora." Ren mumbles
"She's right." Pyrrha nods. "This lunch was supposed to be… Nice."
"Yeah I agree." Yang growls and looks at each team member, a load of different topics come to mind, but nothing relevant enough to touch on
"Fine!" Weiss stands up and pats down her dress. "I'll go find Link and bring him back here."
"You?" Nora snickers. "Ren you go. Quiet squad, assemble!"
"..." Ren looks up and gives Nora a blank stare momentarily before nodding his head, without saying a single word, thus proving her right
"No, I'll do it." Weiss motions for Ren to stay put. "I will be right back-!"
"That makes sense." Yang rolls her eyes. "Let's send the person who made Link leave in the first place!"
"Do I have to say it out loud?!" Weiss shouts. "I will find Link and apologize. What I said was out of line. I may not feel differently about it but it wasn't right, considering how much he's been through."
"Wow..." Ruby smirks. "OKAYYYY! Good luck and come back soon or else I'm finishing your food."
"Go for it, I think I'm-!" Weiss stops and lets out a loud burp that rings throughout the Beacon fairgrounds, "F-Full anyway." She blushes in embarrassment and storms off in a hurry. "Bye!"
"Good luck, Weiss." Pyrrha smiles and waves as Weiss walks away
Elsewhere: Some Distance Away
Weiss sighs whilst trying to remember the steps Link took, but the last time he was seen, he walked in a straight line, took a left, and left everyone's eyesight. There is no telling where he went next, perhaps still roaming the fairgrounds, or maybe he is on his way back to his dorm
"Come on Link, please save me a trip back to school." Weiss mumbles as she finds herself walking away from the fairgrounds and into a forest with thin trees, "No way he could've gone here." She hesitantly enters. "Right?"
SNAP!
"Hello?!" Weiss' head snaps when she hears the sounds of what could be leaves or branches being stepped on. "W-Who's there?"
"Why don't you find out for yourself, heiress?"
"Link?" Weiss turns towards the voice, but all she sees is a boot coming right at her from above
WHAM!
Weiss takes a brutal axe-kick to the head and immediately falls to the ground from the power and impact of the strike
"W-what the hell?!" Weiss groggily sits up, wipes the dirt off her face, and sees a team of four standing in front of her: Two male, two female... And all of them have a one thing in common
"Nice kick, Skylar." The second girl cheers
"Not now Violet." Skylar scoffs and looks down at Weiss. "Why are you still sticking around here? Your team barely won, that's fine, fluke's happen. So go back to Beacon and celebrate far away from the hard workers. With Atlas having to send a whole army to Vale, I bet you'll straight to them, won't ya?"
"Excuse me?" Weiss frowns as she tries to get up. "What are you guys talking about?! Do I know you?"
"DOWN!" Violet reaches for something behind her back and slashes a long, thin sword wildly, intentionally avoiding landing a powerful shot... But also intentionally slashes Weiss's arm in the process
"Ah!" Weiss falls back down and holds her arm, even though her aura quickly kicks in to heal her, she remains on the ground.
"Never thought we'd get to beat on a Schnee." One of the male's in all dark clothing, brown hair and blood red eyes says as he towers over Violet and Skylar, who remains in front of the the group of four
"Let's consider ourselves lucky then Ryker." Violet chuckles and playfully punches his arm
"Who are you?" Weiss asks calmly. "What do you want with me?"
"We're from Haven." The last member speaks up, his deep voice is barely heard. "We're also the most unpredictable team in the entire tournament."
"I'll take it from here Leo." Skylar points back to her team, on command they all quiet down, "We are team SLVR, aka 'Silver' in case you're not very bright. We're from Haven. In case you haven't noticed either, we're all faunus." Skylar quickly goes over her faunus features, which includes ears with tiger like features along with a tail
"Take pictures if you'd like." Violet spins around to show off her ears and tail, which maneuvers and slithers around the way a cat's would
"I thought cats were nice." Weiss rolls her eyes
"Quit showing off and let's make this quick." Leo points to sharp horns on his head. "We have to be quick and precise."
"He's right." Ryker mumbles, but refuses to follow along and instead, clenches his fists. "Let's do what we have to do and move on. We don't have all day."
"Hmm..." Weiss carefully slides her left hand towards her hip, but remembers she left her rapier back at the stall with her team, "Drat!" She sighs and reaches for her second option, her scroll
"I'd put that away if I were you." Skylar frowns as she walks over, slaps the scroll out of her hand, and slaps Weiss on the cheek with a backhand slap
"OW!" Weiss flinches, leaning away from the tiger faunus as must as she can
"Listen carefully, Schnee." Skylar chuckles. "You don't wanna do something you'll regret later on."
"I would suggest never laying a finger on her again…"
"Huh?" Violet looks around frantically
"Before I teach all of you a lesson!"
The voice quickly fades away and only a burst of wind is felt as a figure enters the fray with incredible speed and an unknown presence
"Where is that?!" Leo scans the area frantically
"ABOVE US!"
Ryker instinctually grabs Violet by her waist, and quickly gets her out of harm's way. Leo and Skylar follow as they get out of the way of an incoming sword aimed right at whoever it connects with
CRUNCH!
The mystery sword pierces through the ground, and the wielder is revealed to be none other than Link as lands in a kneeling position
(Still can't hit anyone with that move, sorry Ray.) Link shrugs
"Who is this?" Violet asks
"Now this is very interesting." Leo smiles, instantly recognizing the face of adversity standing directly in front of them. "You know who this guy is right?"
"Hmmm, nah!" Violet giggles. "But he's kind of adorable."
"Violet!" Ryker snaps at her
"Hehe, sorry."
"Who is he?" Skylar asks
"Come on guys, I thought we prepared better." Leo sighs. "The one person team from Beacon, Link. He defeated multiple powerful Grimm to successfully enroll into Beacon."
"Big deal." Skylar rolls her eyes
"He also went undefeated and did not take ANY damage during the tournament qualifying matches. Only he and Pyrrha Nikos achieved that." Leo closes his eyes. "He's the real-!"
"Don't you dare say he's the real deal." Skylar stomps her foot on the ground, displaying impressive physical strength as the ground around team SLVR, Link, and Weiss rumbles. "The only reason he took no damage is because he faced weaklings."
Link does not say a word, but simply pulls his sword out of the ground and grabs his shield, but instead of waiting, he charges at Weiss' attackers
"We didn't prepare for this guy!" Violet grabs her sword
"We weren't supposed to cause a scene either but here we are." Ryker also grabs his sword and gets in a striking position
"Back off! He's mine!" Skylar runs ahead and runs at Link
Skylar shouts and growls like a tiger, instantaneously more faunus features emerge from the girl, such as sharp claws. However, before she can even put them to use, it is Link who lands the first attack as winds up his arm for a high strike. He perfectly baits Skylar to protect her head, only to grin, lower his blade, deliver a quick horizontal slash that shreds parts of his opponent's clothes and visibly cuts open her stomach, and effectively 'breaks' her aura in the midsection
"H-How did he do that with one strike?!" Skylar growls and steps back
"Four on one against a weaponless victim, PATHETIC!" Link shouts, charges forward, and slams his shield into the tiger faunus' chest
"Shut up! You don't know how long we've been waiting to get our hands on a Schnee! They are the worst creatures to come out of Atlas and you won't spoil this for us!" Skylar takes the hit on purpose so she can grab Link's shield, rip it out of his grasp, and toss it to the side
"Hm..." Link shuffles a few feet away, reconsidering how he will approach
"Scared? Need your weapons that desperately?" Skylar continues to taunt, but only annoys herself when noticing the calm and composed look on her opponent
"You think I desperately rely on my weapons? If you wanted to fight hand to hand, just say so." Link puts his sword back in its scabbard without another thought
"Hahaha, he's a dead man." Violet laughs
"Don't overlook him you clutz." Leo shakes his head
Skylar cracks her knuckles, Link just stares at her while he balls up his hands into fists, releases said fists, and breathes calmly
"Team SLVR huh?" Link nods. "You must be the leader then, Skylar is it?"
"Yeah, what of it?"
"Oh nothing. I was just wondering who runs your uncoordinated pack of rebels." Link frowns but continues to show that he is serious and ready for anything
"Pack of rebels?" Skylar laughs. "Just call us filthy animals already, since the rest of your people already do so. It's nothing we haven't heard before"
"Maybe do some research next time. I'm my own person and you don't know me." Link shakes his head. "I have two close friends that are faunus, so I would really watch what you say about me."
"Shut up!" The tiger faunus shouts
Both Link and Skylar perfectly match each other's timing as they sprint towards one another with the same speed and intensity. The tiger faunus tries to clobber Link with some powerful hook, some perfect, other looping. But Link, despite appearing like he would match the hand to hand challenge, returns to his main fighting style of dodging and waiting for his opportunity to counter, rather than earlier when he initiated the fight
"What the hell? Swing back! Come on mister 'one man team', show us why you're so powerful!" Skylar continues to taunt and force him backward, not aware that she has not landed a single punch
(She fights exactly like Yang, she puts all her power and focus on the punches she's going to throw now, hoping that one big shot will land and that would be the difference maker. I have some bad news for you, my tiger faunus 'friend'.)
After another short sequence for rapid hooks, elbow strikes, and straight punches, Link finally makes his move when he gets a good idea of Skyla's rhythm and punch pattern. The last punch of every combination she throws is the most powerful, but unfortunately for her, has the worst technique. When throwing that punch, a wild overhand, aiming for behind the ear or the back of the head, Link brings up an open hand and with sharp timing, catches, stops, and redirects the punch to his right, leading to a massive miss for Skylar, who hits nothing but air and is now a whole foot away from striking her opponents head
"W-Whoa." Leo stops reaching for his weapon when he sees his leader's punch get caught and redirected far off from her intended target
"Let go!" Skylar growls whilst attempting to retract her fist, but the blonde teenager's grip is stronger than she anticipated
"No more. Let's call it a day, okay?" Link gently lets go of her fist and turns his back to check on Weiss
"Y-You..." Weiss winces as she stands up. "Saved me?"
"Yes, me." Link chuckles and extends his hand. "Of course I saved you. No matter what you say, you don't deserve a beating. You hurt?"
"No." Weiss takes his hand
"Good." Link smiles and lifts her up in one fluid pull, with minimal strength required
"Skylar?" Violet mumbles and reaches for her leader
"Not now!" Skylar frowns and pounds her fists together, "He didn't really stop my punch... That was pure luck!" She growls, grabs the blonde teenager's shield and launches it back at him, casually like a frisbee but with tremendous force behind it
"Oh come on!" Link rolls his eyes, turns around and takes a few steps back involuntarily as he uses both hands to catch his shield, the speed and force behind the launched shield makes him slide back, "Gah! Seriously?! Alright then… You want to keep going so badly?"
The one person team slides his right arm into the straps of the shield, draws out his sword and gets into a defensive stance. His right leg and shield are firmly in front, while his left leg is slightly extended backward, his sword remains in the middle. Link narrows his eyes, unsure of what to do next. Dealing with team SLVR is crucial, but protecting Weiss is a bigger priority to him
"Take the shot." Violet nudges her teammate's arm
Not Ryker, but Leo. The moment she whispers... Leo reaches behind him and pulls out a concealed sniper rifle. He aims with lightning quick speed and immediately fires off a shot at Weiss
(Where's that going-! OH NO YOU DON'T!) Link frowns, but his decision to stay near Weiss pays off, he slides in front of her with his shield raised
The bullet makes contact and smashes against the sturdy defensive weapon. The collision is so powerful, a loud crack, followed by an explosion are heard when the red fire dust bullets hits the shield. Although, it is not enough to penetrate through the shield
"Link!" Weiss shouts in concern, but gasps when realizing he has not moved an inch and successfully blocked the shot
"Are you okay, Weiss?!" Link turns his head and looks at her with concern
"I-I'm okay." She nods. "More like are you okay? That shot sounded like it hit you or at least could have damaged your hearing."
"Don't worry about me Weiss." Link rises to his feet, turns back to her and smiles. "I'm okay and I will handle them."
"Handle us?" Ryker grins. "I find your confidence admirable but very irritating as well."
"Yeah, no kidding." Skylar rolls her eyes
"More importantly, what the hell was that Leo?" Violet shouts and this time really slaps her teammate's arm with force, "So much for all that sharp shooter mumbo jumbo you preach."
"I had like… Two seconds to aim." Leo shrugs. "One second if you really want to be critical."
"Whatever. I'll finish this." Skylar brushes off her teammates and with any hesitation, charges at Link again
"He said no more!"
In front of Link and Weiss is Blake, who appears out of nowhere like a sudden flash, she draws her weapon, and wields it while crouching into an attacking stance
"A fellow faunus?!" Skylar jumps in shock and tries to stop herself, roughly skids her feet on the ground, and comes to a halt only a few inches away from Blake, "Greetings." The tiger faunus coldly mumbles
"What do you think you're doing?!" Blake shouts, leans forward, and gets in Skylar's face. "Did you attack my teammate?!"
"I-I..." Skylar shakes her head. "I was getting payback! That's a damn Schnee right behind you! I'm so sorry that you are forced to team with one but remember who they are! I don't care if you guys have bonded, she's still a Schnee and-!"
"Enough! This isn't the way to do things." Blake frowns. "Don't you see that by jumping and trying to beat Weiss down, you'd only give her more leverage to call us animals and second class citizens! You just set us two steps back."
"B-Blake!" Weiss shouts. "I would never..."
"Sorry." Blake turns and looks at her teammate apologetically, "I'm just using you to make a point." She turns to face team SLVR. "Weiss is more lenient of us faunus... But if anyone catches wind of this, it makes us all look bad."
"She's right." Ryker scoffs, "As much as it hurts to admit. Let's go." He speaks with a cold tone as he turns his back on Skylar, Leo and Violet, then walks away
"Rykey!" Skylar shouts. "I'm your leader. You follow my ord-!"
"I said… LETS. GO." Ryker continues to walk away, Violet follows but Leo stays put
"Fine!"
Skylar frowns and stomps away, with Leo following her closely behind. Neither of them bother to glance back at the girl she and her team assaulted, or the two friends who came to her rescue. Meanwhile, Link keeps his sword and shield out until team SLVR are at a good enough distance from them, Blake sheaths her sword and places it on her back. Lastly, Weiss feels her forehead and cheeks for any marks or bruises, along with patting down her combat skirt to get rid of dirt
"Well then..." Link audibly sighs and nods to the two girls as he puts his weapons away, "Two questions. Assuming the rest of your team tagged along, where are they? They are quite late." He looks around, expecting Ruby and Yang to pop up out of nowhere, before he turns to Weiss. "And what was all that about?"
"No, they're not here. It's just me." Blake nods at Link, then turns to Weiss as well. "We all agreed that you were taking too long. Then I volunteered to come look and make sure you were okay."
"Well, thank you." Weiss nods gratefully before shifting her focus to an unlikely ally. "As for your second question, I don't know. I was looking for you Link and then suddenly I was kicked in the face."
(Weiss was looking for me? That's weird.) Link nods to acknowledge her but does not reply verbally
"I can tell you what that was." Blake sighs, "Those are the types of faunus portrayed in the media. Aggressive, unreasonable, wanting to hurt humans and in your case Weiss, your family." She lowers her head. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Weiss mumbles and then nods her head towards the blonde swordsman, "Thanks to Link, that is. I unwisely left my weapon behind a-and-!" She stutters. "Thank you, Link."
"Of course. You saved me from getting 'pummeled' by our friends, now I saved you from a team of crazy faunus." Link smiles at her. "Let's say I repaid you, like I said I would."
"I suppose you did." Weiss rolls her eyes but smiles as well
"Yeah. Besides…" Link watches team SLVR as they slowly disappear into the fairgrounds. "I know the faunus have been oppressed for a long time. But there is no excuse for them to assault you. Bringing up the war between the faunus and humanity, specifically to target the Schnees… That's unacceptable. You certainly don't deserve that, Weiss."
"Agreed." Blake nods
"I didn't suffer any major injuries at least, luckily my aura took the brunt of that girl's attacks." Weiss rubs her arm nervously, wanting to thank the boy who saved her again
"Weiss?" Blake raises an eyebrow. "Did you do it?"
"Do what?" Weiss blinks in confusion
"Talk to Link." Blake narrows her eyes
"OH! Right, I was occupied, getting attacked and all." Weiss walks up to the blonde teenager and extends her hand. "I was trying to find you earlier in order to say this: I'm sorry, Link. For bringing up your past and making fun of your days as a mercenary. I do admit that I was very out of line."
"Apology..." Link's smile grows wider at the same time he shakes her hand. "Accepted. I get it, you still feel strongly about certain topics, but it's the thought that matters."
"Really? You'd forgive me just like that?" Weiss turns her head in confusion
"Of course." Link nods. "The fact that you went out of your way to come find me when somebody else could have, that says a lot."
"We should head back." Weiss mumbles
"Right." Blake nods. "We should decide now if we're telling Ruby and Yang what happened?" She points to her teammate's clothes. "There's a slash going across your arm, and your aura can't hide torn fabric."
"No." Link shakes his head. "Not yet at least. Something tells me we haven't seen the last of team SLVR."
"I know that tone, you want to draw them when it's time for your match." Weiss grins
"Maybe. That and I would rather have your team stay in the tournament as well, telling Ruby and Yang what team SLVR did to you might cause some problems."
"Knowing Ruby's impulsiveness and Yang's brashness, you're not even wrong." Weiss shrugs her shoulders. "Okay I will not say a word. Blake?"
"If you're both in agreement to not say a word, I won't mention it either." Blake nods
"We're all in agreement then." Link smiles and nods his head towards the fairgrounds. "Come on, let's go before they all come looking for us, team JNPR included."
"Good call." Blake nods, gets ahead and leads the way back to A Simple Wok
"Psst! Link..." Weiss carefully whispers as she and Link walk side by side
"Yes? Is something wrong?" Link whispers as well
"No no! I just wanted to thank you again." Weiss turns to him and nods, with a grateful smile present. "You out of everyone could have let me take that beating without interfering. And you honestly might have been justified."
"Maybe I would have been, but I couldn't live with myself if I willingly let you get hurt. Especially if I have the capability to stop it." Link smiles back. "You're very welcome. Despite our differences, I will have your back if you ever need help or assistance, Weiss."
"That's nice of you." Weiss glances up into the sky and nods happily as she, Blake, and Link head back to rejoin Ruby, Yang and team JNPR, finally able to have lunch as friends before the next match begins
(Yo, to me this chapter is a bit of a stub, but then again I just came off a 31.1k chapter lol, so I'm not used to doing the shorter one's anymore, but um... hope ya enjoy and if there's any mistakes please let me know I'm open to any criticism as it'll only help me improve from being a mediocre writer xD.)