Small Issues
AN: Here we go again folks! Better buckle up and enjoy the ride!
Class and Recreation
The bullying from Cardin had stopped since the incident in the Forest of Forever Fall with the Ursa Major. That's not to say that others hadn't tried to fill the roll but they were quickly squashed. Cardin was able to get his snark back by the next week but it was used more productively, adding a bit of humor to his speech, though it was a slow buildup as he gauged the reactions of those around him to the change.
Overall, it was welcome and the teachers were glad that it came with improved grades for the young man.
As for Jaune now that he didn't have Cardin bullying and making him do things for him, his team helped him improve his own grades as they studied together more often. Granted, Pyrrha would often pair up with the blonde to check his work and offer advice, never letting him copy off of her or doing something for him.
Then there was the knights training.
The more intensive team training helped considerably, Ren assisting in helping Jaune understand the importance of mobility, Nora helping to build up his endurance… Keeping up with her energy was something that only Ruby seemed capable of competing with and even then the younger girl could only last so long, not to mention the rattling of his bones with every hit from her hammer.
Pyrrha mostly took over the more technical aspects of the use of sword and shield, given that she used both herself. She taught him how to deflect attacks rather than outright block them as it not only preserved one's stamina and aura much better by taking a fraction of the force, but that the deflection can be used to create openings in the opponent for counter attacks. Not to mention that she drilled him in fighting with and without the complementary halves of his weapon.
That's not to say that Team RWBY didn't get invited to mix things up. The girls were almost too eager to help. Weiss and Blake offered different sword styles than what Pyrrha uses. The former going with speed and precision to complement her lighter blade and dance-like movements. The latter had her mismatched blades, the katana and cleaver with which she could switch hands with along with her hit and run tactics that would keep him on his toes.
Yang and Ruby offered a much more brute force approach to practice, often leaving him sprawled on the floor and gasping for air from a punch or kick. The reach of the scythe didn't help him either and while he did learn that staying out of reach was good, staying within Ruby's guard was better as her weapon was not made for combat that tight. Granted, his own weapons forced him to keep some distance to use effectively but there were things he could do in tight spaces.
Unfortunately, being that close to his opponent didn't translate well for dealing with the brawling sister yet against her he was the one with the reach advantage and the shield made it harder for her to get inside his guard.
Then there were the nights where Jaune and Pyrrha would slip up to the roof for more swordsmanship lessons, occasionally even getting one of the CRDL boys to help out. Each of them had their own style in how they fought- Russel being highly dynamic with acrobatics, Cardin with raw power, Dove's elegant maneuvers, and Sky taking advantage of his reach.
And Jaune was able to pick up a little something from each of them that he'd work into his own combat and slowly create a style of his own. So far, it combines a bit of athleticism, well honed fundamental strikes, a few flourishes, and a keen eye to recognize patterns and exploit them.
It may seem that should be the basics that any combatant should be able to do, yet he was making it his own. And it complimented the rest of his team by quickly establishing a firm foundation around which they could perform more fanciful techniques.
In short, his growth as a Huntsman was stunning and everyone took notice of it. He may technically be the weakest of his friends, but now he could make them work for their victories and occasionally get one in for himself.
—
"So… what do you want to do today?" The blonde knight asks his team at breakfast. It was the beginning of an extended weekend for the school and Pyrrha had already suggested that they rest and enjoy the days off as a celebration for Jaune's accomplishments in training.
"I want a movie!" Nora jumped to her feet and raised her hands.
Ren sighed from his place next to her. If anyone knew the hyperactive girls' thoughts, it was him… no matter how random they were.
"Umm… which one?" Jaune was familiar with most of what was in theaters at the moment.
"The one with giant space robots!" She answered immediately, leading to Ren pinching his nose and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Nora… there aren't any giant robot alien movies." The knight had to tell her, pulling out his scroll and bringing up the movie listings.
"What!?" She screeched at the sight of the screen that proved her wrong.
"That nature documentary does look interesting." Ren was looking at the listings too, ignoring as his best friend thumped her head against the table.
Jaune turned his scroll around. "What do you think, Pyrrha?"
The girl was a bit surprised to be put on the spot like that but read through the options. An animated show about a pig and spider… confused her as to how that works. One about an Atlas pilot with a bit of a renegade streak… could be interesting for some. Some musical movie made with puppets for kids. One about a small army fighting a far larger force back in the Bronze Age. Another puppet movie… with a rating to show that it's not child friendly, but also a musical. The documentary that Ren noticed. One movie about some candy factory.
"Umm… they all look… interesting." She replied neutrally, unsure which to choose and not wanting to offend Ren for his interest.
"So… which one do you want to see?" Jaune asks patiently.
"I want all of them!" Nora shouts as she threw herself across the table, thankfully not hitting anything or anyone in the process.
Jaune seemed receptive to the idea, getting a shrug of acceptance from Ren. "Eh, why not? We have the whole weekend to kill and we can eat out as a break from them. Two today, three on Saturday, and the last two on Sunday."
"And we will still have time to finish our homework." Ren reminded the team, taking the slight sour looks from Jaune and Nora in stride.
But Pyrrha, despite not really having a say in the matter but finding nothing to disagree about the plan, nodded in approval.
It was about that time that Team RWBY joined them at the table for breakfast.
"You guys seem happy." Yang commented as she dug into a large bowl of oatmeal with a selection of fruits and meats on the side- bacon, sausage, blueberries, strawberries, and pears.
"We are planning to have a relaxing weekend to go to the theater." Pyrrha responded as she paused in eating her own bowl of mixed fruit.
"Anything good in right now?"
"We'll have to see." Her fellow blonde shrugs. "I don't like reading reviews since they tend to spoil the movie."
Ren contributed to the conversation. "Not to mention that they can taint your own opinions of the film."
"Ruby! That's my strawberry!" Weiss suddenly shouts.
"Hmm hmm hmm!" The cloaked girl hummed as she chewed with delight on the pilfered fruit.
"Weiss…" Yang sounded disappointed. "If you are going to get strawberries, keep out of her reach and eat them first."
Blake looked at where she sat between the sisters. "Wait… I'm just a meat shield to you?"
"Yep!" Yang laughed as she took notice that of everyone on the team and friend group, Blake was the only one without fruit on her tray. But she did have fish… somehow. She didn't even realize that there was fish offered at breakfast, not that she'd eat it for the meal if anything else was available.
"What are you guys gonna do this weekend?" Nora asks, having just finished off a stack of pancakes and pulled over another plate, adding the old one to a small tower as tall as her current plate of food… and she still had three more plates waiting for her on the table.
With Blake lost in her fishy meal and Weiss and Ruby dueling with forks over strawberries on the former's plate, Yang had to answer. "Thinking of taking things easy and go wandering around Vale to check out the setup for the Vytal Festival."
"Don't we have a few more weeks until that starts?" Jaune asks since while a kingdom native, he grew up much further south of Vale.
"Yeah, but the Council likes to get things done early, especially since the Festival and Tournament are being held here this time." Yang shrugs a little. "Dad used to take us here for a little party before we'd go back to the island and let loose with our friends."
"Oh right, you live nearby, correct?" Pyrrha was interested.
"Eh, if your idea of nearby involves crossing half an island and a half-hour ferry ride just to get to the docks of Vale… yeah." The brawler replies before tossing a blueberry into her mouth.
"I'm sorry."
"No big deal, Pyrrha. We can see the Signal Tower from here on a clear night, so we're not that far from home."
"I wish my home was that close." The Spartan softly said, unknowingly prompting Ren and Nora to pause and hold hands under the table, Weiss stiffen, Blake slumped, and Jaune to smile nervously.
—
Later that day found the teams going their separate ways once they reached Vale by way of Bullhead transportation.
But apparently what Yang had said about the city getting ready for the Vytal Festival early was true as banners and strings of flags were being hung in the streets by city workers. Wreaths boasting bright colors were being set up on businesses doors. More was sure to come but there were weeks to prepare yet and these were just the outer streets and not the centers where most of the festivities would take place.
As much as the team were enjoying seeing the setup for the coming festivities, Nora was excited to see the movies and Pyrrha was looking forward to the entertainment that Jaune recommended.
"When Yang said they start early here, she meant it!" Nora was in awe of the decorations that were up so far. Given that it was a celebration that occurred only every other year and every eight years in the same kingdom, there was plenty of excitement to go around and no small amount of pride in home kingdoms. The latter part was definitely on display as shops were hanging out signs with the symbols and colors of the four kingdoms… with no surprise that many boasted the greens of Vale but the white of Atlas, blues of Mistral, and orange of Vacuo certainly added some variety to the streets.
"No doubt about that!" Jaune couldn't help but to chuckle as he remembered the last time he had been to Vale for the celebration- the entire Arc family had come when he was nine, though they never went to the Coliseum to watch the Huntsmen fight in competition. Not that Jaune hadn't been able to catch a few of the fights then given how many televisions were showing the broadcasts everywhere and later on using his scroll.
"There's the theater!" Pyrrha's joy was almost infectious as she did a little hop as they drew closer.
It turned out that the movie involving the pig was the first available for them to see so they bought their tickets and went inside, buying some snacks and drinks on their way to their seats. Once inside, they laughed and joked at some of the previews and one-liners shown on the screen as the time for the movie proper drew closer. Some of those previews were for movies on their list to see this weekend, giving Pyrrha a little more to look forward to.
"You've really never been to a theater before?" Jaune had to ask the redhead next to him as they shared a bucket of popcorn. She was rather surprised by the salty and buttery taste, finding that it was almost addictive and the soda that had been given to her was sweet and the fizzing bubbles caught her off guard.
"I… I've been to a theater before, back home. But nothing like this."
"Wait, you didn't watch movies?"
"I've watched a few with my mother on days that we could relax together and not worry about the next tournament or advertisement deal… not to mention my schoolwork."
"You've… you really were busy then, huh?"
"That's one way of putting it."
"Well then, I guess I should be glad to give you your first experience at a movie theater."
She blushed, glad that the lights were dim so he couldn't see her cheeks darkening. But just then, the lights overhead nearly went out and allowed the main screen to be more clear than before, the speakers coming to life with music.
—-
"Oh, I just love celebrations!" Weiss cooed as the team walked down the streets and observed the decorations being displayed.
Ruby pulled a face at her friend. "Weiss, I don't think I've ever seen you so happy… it's kinda weirding me out." Behind her, Yang nodded along as she had the same thoughts.
Over the months that they had been together as a team, they had learned that the girl was extremely diligent with her studies, academically and martially, but rarely showed glee. Satisfaction to a high degree when things went well, yes, but never true, unfiltered happiness.
Until now.
"Don't be a dolt." The heiress shot back, but it came off more of a reflexive response with no heat to it, especially given the girl's happy mood. "But what is there not to love? The coordination of acquiring the supplies, the distribution, the designing of the decor… and that's only the beginning! I can only imagine how much work goes into validating the vendors that will be coming and assigning them areas to set up shop during the Vytal Festival!"
"Guys… I think we lost her." Yang deadpans as Weiss went on about the planning of the event. Next to her, Blake was looking as disinterested as ever but nodded in agreement as Ruby simply sighed.
The cloaked girl moved closer to her sister so she could whisper, sure that Weiss was too distracted by her own words to hear her. "I know that it was our idea to check things out like we used to but now we know why she insisted so much on coming."
"Yeah, I see." The blonde readily agreed.
Weiss led the group through the streets, looking around at the various stages of setup in the streets and sidewalks, occasionally wandering into businesses to check out their decorations. It wasn't missed that she visited every store with prominent Atlas colors, though she at least paid for lunch for everyone.
"Chili… from Atlas?" Yang was as curious about that, though if that was supposed to be a pun or not was debatable.
"Just because my home kingdom is much colder than here, that doesn't mean that we can't grow our own crops. The greenhouses do an excellent job at ensuring that the kingdom has much of the food that it needs year round."
The blonde tried her spicy dish, one that Weiss easily disliked given that she was no fan of the heat they packed. Ruby had chosen a milder meal, one with a sort of sweet barbecue sauce and was supposed to be an Atlesian spin on a Mistral dish. Blake, unsurprisingly, chose a seafood option of a rarer fish only found in the frigid waters of Solitas' lakes and cooked with a blend of herbs and spices. Weiss apparently knew exactly what she wanted, getting a salad and a frozen blueberry yogurt.
"Mmmhmmm…. This tastes like home." The heiress said softly as she ate her meal, relishing the familiar flavors of the vegetables and fruits grown in Solitas soil and the cheese produced from her homeland.
"Not bad." Yang admired the blend of flavors in the chili that weren't overpowered by the spice. Just enough heat to clear her airways without burning her tongue.
"Pretty good." Ruby was enjoying the glazed chicken over rice that had a few vegetables and herbs cooked with it.
Blake… seemed lost in her fishy meal but it was a blissful lost.
—-
"That movie had such a bittersweet ending." As much as Pyrrha had laughed at the antics of the rat, admired the lengths the spider had gone through to save her pig friend, and she'd a few tears at the spider's death and to cry happy tears that the pig watched over her eggs until they hatched and one baby stayed with him… she had to admit that the animation was good and the story compelling.
"Yeah, but it was a fun ride all the way through!" Nora readily agreed, having been especially drawn to the rat with the things he said and did.
"Ha! No doubt about that." Jaune grins. "There's a burger joint right around the corner, we can get lunch there to hold us over before the next movie starts."
Ren checked the time and saw that they did have an hour to spare. Certainly enough for them to eat and take care of business to be in their seats on time.
Sure enough, despite Pyrrha feeling a little guilty over such an unhealthy meal compared to her usual diet, they had gotten their seats well before the movie began and allowed themselves to be lost in the high altitude, adrenaline pumping film.
—-
"Ugh, why do we have to be near the docks? They smell like fish." Ruby complained as Weiss led the group towards the oceanfront of Vale.
"Don't you live on an island? I thought you'd like the ocean." The rich girl retorts, glancing over her shoulder at the cloaked girl.
"Yeah, the ocean is fun to swim in and go boating on, I just don't like the fishy smell from the catches."
Blake seemed insulted. "What's wrong with fish?"
The team leader recognized the predicament she was in- Blake was worse with fish than her uncle is with booze. "Uhh…."
"She did have a bad time when she got a bone stuck in her throat when she was six." Yang came to her rescue.
"I don't want to think about that!"
"See, there's a good reason not to like them." The elder sister seemed almost too proud about bringing that up, though it was more just that siblings like to tease each other than anything else. "Besides, fish does stink."
"Fish is good!" Blake insists, unusually excited and blunt.
"It seems that you can have their fish when we have it next time." Weiss stated with a wave of her hand.
"Really?!"
"Blake, please don't drool, we're in public."
"I can have your fish?" Blake ignored her shortest teammate thanks to her focus on her favorite food.
"Yeah, sure." Yang shrugged with Ruby nodding vigorously next to her. It wasn't as though Beacon would serve just one thing during meals so there was no real loss for the sisters.
"Yes!" Blake pumped a fist in the air, leaving the other three stunned at the sheer excitement the normally reserved girl was showing.
The team continued on wandering up and down streets, checking in on a few shops that caught their interests- a sportsman's place for Yang, a weapon store for Ruby, a small library for Blake, and the Dust shop that Weiss wanted to look into…
"Woah, what happened here?" Ruby had to ask aloud as they spotted the place in question with crime scene tape across the front of the storefront and a pair of investigators standing outside talking to each other.
"This is the third place this week!" One complained.
"Same thing as all of the others, took all of the Dust, left the money and everything else." Two said.
"I can't believe that they've been hitting these places even with all of the extra security."
"This and the last one both had cops stationed inside when they were robbed. Neither of them seemed to notice a thing until the crime was already done!"
"Don't tell me that both of them fell asleep on the job."
"Not this time."
"Meh, I'm almost feeling ready to say that the White Fang was behind this." One bitterly complained.
"I'm getting the feeling that you're still sore from not getting a bonus in your paycheck due to your poor attitude."
Weiss turned away with a huff, sticking her nose up in the air. "Hmph! Typical ruffians."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Blake retorted with a touch of heat in her tone.
"Well… they never caught the Torchwick guy that I ran into before school started. He was going after Dust then. Maybe it's him." Ruby suggests quickly.
"Yeah, the price for Dust has risen in Vale since the thefts began." Yang had paid some attention to the news and she'd never forget that it was her sister's run-in with Roman that got her into Beacon in the first place.
Thanks to the sisters, the beginnings of an argument were abated and the team moved on back towards the docks, though a part of which delegated towards moving passengers rather than the fishing boats.
"Back to the docks, Weiss? You like boats?" Yang tried to joke, though it didn't escape her notice that these docks had far more decorations put up than the more work focused ones.
Weiss spun to face the blonde. "I heard that some of the students from other kingdoms will be arriving soon and I thought that it would be best to give them a warm welcome."
Silver eyes blinked in surprise at the answer. "What?"
Blake put a hand on her hip as she addressed her team leader. "What she means is that she wants to spy on them." That came off a little too smugly to be coincidence.
But Weiss picked that up instantly and whipped an accusing finger at her teammate. "You can't prove that!"
HHHOOOOONNNKK! HHHOOOOONNNKK!
The nearest ship honked its horn to signal that passengers were about to disembark down the gangplank. But as the girls watched as people began to trickle down the ramp there was a bit of commotion from the ship itself.
Up on the main deck, several figures were moving quickly, soon coming out to where they could be seen as a couple crewmen chasing after a young man. Though said young man didn't seem to be taking things seriously at all as he wove through the crowds and bounced off walls and side rails effortlessly to put distance between himself and the pursuers. "Hey! Stop that Faunus!" One of them shouted.
Landing on one of the rails, he looked back and gave a cherry salute and spoke with a cocky tone. "Thanks for the ride guys!" With that, he leapt in the air over the heads of the other passengers on the ramp and landed on the dock proper before running off laughing.
And the crewmen were left flabbergasted on the deck as it was clear there was no way they could catch him.
The boy stopped for a small break by hanging from a lamppost by his prehensile tail, one covered in fine hair that matched the gold mess on his head. There he pulled out a banana and began eating it while upside down but that little break seemed to be enough for the two investigators from the Dust shop to march up to him.
"Alright kid, come on down and we can talk things over." Team RWBY recognized Two speaking.
"Or we might just need to get rough with you." One cracked his knuckles and neck, sounding too eager to get into a fight.
Just hearing One talking was enough to make Blake narrow her eyes in anger while the sisters were annoyed by his attitude.
And all three… including Two, were almost pleasantly surprised when One had the banana peel splat across his face.
"Sorry guys, but I got things to do!" The blonde cackled before giving a display of strength and agility as he pulled himself on top of the light effortlessly by his tail and swung up onto his feet, using the steel bracing to jump off of while performing an impressive twisting flip to land on the sidewalk a fair distance away from the pair and took off running down the street.
But now RWBY could get a clear look at him; unkempt blonde hair, blue eyes, sun kissed tanned skin, a white button down shirt that was left wide open to show off his six-pack abs, a pair of red bracers over black fingerless gloves, faded blue jeans held up by a white belt, the legs below his knees rolled up a bit to show some white wrappings around his legs, and a pair of white and yellow sneakers, all with a black duffle bag on his back held to him by its yellow strap.
And the boy ran by the stunned team, who even took the time to look Blake in the eye and wink at her as he passed, leaving her even more stunned than before.
"Well, Weiss. You wanted to see the competition and there it goes." Yang couldn't resist herself, assuming that he was a Huntsman student by his feats and how confident he was about his actions. In all her years being surrounded by Huntsmen and Huntresses, only those in the profession could pull off stunts like that with such ease and even then only by the most agile among them.
"After him!" Weiss shouts as the pair of investigators run after the monkey boy. The other girls glanced back at her with questioning looks. "We- we must observe him!" The heiress corrected herself and didn't leave the rest of the team any more time to judge her as she ran after the pursuit in progress down the street.
The team ran around a corner to watch as the boy casually outran the cops, the blonde taking to the air by way of signs and walls, bouncing well ahead and overhead of anyone who could think about catching him. But Weiss had been so focused on the laughing Faunus that she failed to watch for what was in front of her.
And she hit hard.
"Oof-Ah!" Weiss fell to the sidewalk, looking up just in time to see the Faunus swing around a corner down the street… using the eave of a roof to make the turn. The cops that were after him fell further behind and were panting by the time they reached that turn. "No! He got away!"
"Ummmm… Weiss?" Yang spoke hesitantly, causing the girl in question to look back at the blonde, only to find her pointing back down at her.
Weiss had no idea what the brawler was pointing at, even if her focus was still primarily on the chase. But she still looked down, if anything to ensure she didn't put her hand on anything… questionable to help her stand. Yet what she found was anything but what she expected, that being another young woman laying on the ground… though she seemed rather happy considering the circumstances.
"Uhhghghhh!" Weiss couldn't help herself as she jumped back to her feet, feeling a conflict of emotions from guilt about running into the girl to disgust that her manners failed her because she ran into her and didn't notice that she had been laying across her to so much more. "Er, I mean, sorry." She tried to make up for it.
"That is quite alright, it's been a lovely day so far!" The other girl sounded chipper, though her speech was a bit stilted as if she wasn't used to talking to others. That was odd enough and would have been fine… if she wasn't still laid out on the sidewalk.
The team shared a look at the odd behavior before Yang asked her. "Do… you want to get up?"
The girl seemed to pause for a moment before nodding. "Yes I do!" Then she performed an effortless kip up to land on her feet and look the team in the eyes.
She stood a little taller than Ruby with orange hair in a bob cut, the ends in a tight curl inwards, with a large pink bow on the back of her head. Her green eyes stood out on her pale, freckled skin and she wore an off-white blouse with sleeves that flared a little before ending in tight cuffs under a dull grey suspender skirt. Interestingly, most of her legs under the skirt were covered by black leggings with built-in shoes, a line of green rising up from her ankle to the top of the legging that looked almost as if it were glowing. The green lines were also on her otherwise plain skirt, a pair of lines that ended in small circles sat on either side of her waist and from the bottom hem a pair of green tall triangles rose to stop short of the lines on her waist, mirrored on the back of her skirt. In addition, she wore a black collar around her neck with green lines like her leggings.
The entire team took a step back as one, having not expected that move.
"Salutations! My name is Penny!" It wasn't hard to miss that that line seemed far more fluid than her previous speech.
"Well, I'm Ruby."
"Weiss."
"Blake."
"Yang… are you sure you didn't hit your head?" The blonde was quick to receive an elbow to the ribs, courtesy of Blake. For her part, Penny cocked her head and looked like she was going to comment but Weiss interrupted that.
"Sorry for running into you." The heiress gave a tiny curtsy before walking away, being followed by Blake.
The sisters hung back for a second longer, if only for Ruby to wave. "See you later… friend."
The pair caught up to the other half of their team who were already halfway down the block and Weiss was looking around everywhere. "Now we just need to find that Faunus riff-raff."
The sisters shared a concerned glance while Blake was just short of a glare at the shortests head.
"What did you call me?"
The team stopped as Penny had somehow gotten ahead of them and stopped them short of an intersection. Though despite Weiss' initial reaction was to glance back to where they had been and to where they are now, she was able to come up with a hasty reply.
"O-oh! You heard that? I-I didn't mean you." If she had seen Blake, she would have noticed that the girl had a combination of annoyance and smugness on her face at the flustered girl.
"Not you." Penny's dismissal shocked them all, though Weiss took it hard due to lack of experience. "You." It was then clear that she was focused on Ruby.
"Umm, uh, what?" The cloaked girl had no idea how to properly respond to the situation. It didn't help that Penny marched right up to her and their faces were mere inches away.
"Am I really your friend?"
That was NOT a question they were expecting at all. Ruby looked around the pink bow to her team for their opinions, finding them all signaling 'No' in some way.
"Umm… yes?"
The reactions in response were drastically different as WBY stared at her dumbfounded as Penny… raised her fists.
"Sen- sational!" The girl seemed to be a bit more than pleased. "Oh, I can't wait to hang out with you more! We can paint our nails, try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!"
Forget pleased, she was giddy.
Weiss slid around to her leader's side, ready to give the younger girl a small dig when Ruby leaned over to ask. "Why do I feel that you would have used that line to mock me?"
"Hmm… possibly yes." The dig on Ruby was completed, the girl slumping a little.
"So…" Yang interjected to try steering things from the awkward. "What are you doing here in Vale?"
Penny snapped to attention with a sharp salute. "I'm here to fight in the Tournament!"
Weiss was taken aback by the declaration. "Wait, you're taking part in the Vytal Tournament?"
"I'm combat ready!" Penny sounded oddly pleased with that phrase.
Weiss gave her a sceptical look. "Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."
Blake heard her and countered with. "Says the one wearing a dress?"
The target slammed her fists into her hips as she turned pointedly at her normally quiet teammate. "It's a combat skirt!"
"Yeah!" Ruby's backup was welcome, if unexpected. Didn't stop the two from exchanging a low five.
"But if you are here for the Vytal Tournament, where's the rest of your team?" Yang was curious, though that spiked as Penny became nervous and looked around.
"Umm… I may have snuck away to explore Vale on my own."
"'Snuck away?' It sounds like they don't trust you or something." As an elder sibling, Yang had a few times she could remember Ruby doing the same thing… not that she was innocent herself.
"This is the first time I've been away from my home kingdom. They are afraid that I could get lost or damaged on my own."
"So… you are proving them right?"
"I have not been damaged as of yet and we are at the intersection of Mulberry and Elm."
Yang had to glance back at the street signs behind her to confirm that was indeed the case and Penny didn't seem hurt after her collision with Weiss. "Eh, I guess you're fine… at least for now." The blonde shrugged off the problem. Given her experience with this sort of thing, Penny would likely receive a short lecture and a minor punishment for the tour she was giving herself.
Off to the side, Weiss had a small pad and pen that she was writing in. "If you are fighting in the Tournament, does that mean you might know who that filthy rapscallion Faunus is?" She asks as she holds up a VERY crude drawing of the monkey boy. Even if it was rushed, it was clear that art made by hand was far from her forte.
Behind her, Blake gave her a glare.
Penny looked at the picture. "Who?" It was uncertain if she couldn't make sense of the doodle or had no idea about the Faunus in question. More than likely both.
But that answer seemed to touch something inside of Weiss. "The degenerate who had stowed away on the ship that just arrived!"
Blake's glare intensified as she stepped up to the heiress and spun her by the shoulder to speak face to face. "What is your problem?!"
"My problem?"
"Stop insulting him!"
"Stop what?"
"'Filthy rapscallion', 'degenerate'! You don't think those are insults?"
"Is it an insult to call a trash can a 'trash can'?" Weiss gestures to the object near the corner of the street. "Or a puddle a 'puddle'?" This time she motioned to a puddle next to a parked car, though from the look of it, the car was leaking oil to create the puddle. But the girl wasn't done just yet. "Just give him time and he'll run off to the others of his kind in the White Fang!"
"It's dismissive attitudes like yours that drive people to the White Fang!"
"I don't see what the problem is."
"That's exactly the reason!"
Ruby, Yang, and Penny stood off to the side watching the argument and realized that if they didn't do something soon, it would keep going. And they really didn't want to risk it if things would escalate from words to fists… or beyond that considering both of them were armed.
"We better get them out of here." Yang concluded, having done something similar to friends in the past.
"Yeah." Ruby agreed, moving to grab Blake and guide her away while Yang handled Weiss.
"Where are we going?" Penny stood in the middle, making it unclear if she thought she was going back to Beacon with them or purposely said that for the confusion to put the bickering girls on pause.
—-
"That movie was great!" Nora was skipping around, still excited from the movies they had seen.
The team had enjoyed the one with the pilot- a smartass and the skills to back up his boasts as he'd fly his aircraft doing stunts that most wouldn't be able to pull off.
The other movie involving puppets, as much as Pyrrha had doubted its enjoyability, was extremely endearing with the jokes ranging from sight gags, to slapstick, to puns, and nothing was safe from being made fun of in some way. Even more adult humor was in there without making it too obvious for the younger members of the audience.
"I can't believe that he used a toilet to wash his hair!" Pyrrha laughed as she recalled the scene. Granted, the puppet didn't make it his first choice but with the shower taken by a bear in a raincoat and matching hat, a tub occupied by a bunch of penguins, even a shrimp bathing in a sink… the guy had little option but to wait or dunk himself. If that wasn't ridiculous enough, he flushed the toilet while his head was in there. Then had a hair dryer that needed a pull start and was powerful enough to blow him out the door, off the balcony, and into a kitchen chair. Though landing on his head seemed to do little to hurt him or dampen his spirits.
And all of that insanity to start the movie was set to music, making it even better.
Then there were the rats and the tests. Obviously it was to make fun of animal testing that was done years ago and has since been banned, but the commentary the rats had during the tests were hilarious.
"'Watch out for the red circles' He said!" Nora laughed at the maze scene.
"Nora… you would touch those circles just to see what happens." Jaune shook his head.
Ren smiled at the comment. "I wish I could say that she wouldn't."
"Hehehe… I would touch them."
"So… have you seen any of the other movies? Or heard their songs?" Jaune asks.
"The movie with the interrogation scene and song was rather amusing." Ren admits.
"Oh! Oh! Oh! Cabin Fever!" Nora began dancing as they walked.
"Oh my, how many movies are there?" Pyrrha had to ask.
Jaune was quick to answer her. "A couple. They are all pretty good but a few of them overshadow the rest with how memorable they are."
Ren spoke again with a smile. "Rainbow Connection is always a calming song to listen to."
But the mood fell drastically once they reached their dorm because they could hear arguing from RWBY's room. Arguing that, while not screaming, was far from quiet.
Ten minutes after they returned and the 'discussion' had yet to end, Jaune hesitantly knocked on the door. Ruby opened it a few seconds later looking scared, though relaxed upon seeing the knight.
"I-is… are things alright?" He asks, looking past the reaper to spot the sources of the noise in the middle of the room.
"You're a judgmental little girl who knows nothing about how people are treated in the real world!" Blake yelled at the heiress.
"H-how dare you!?" Weiss sputtered.
Ruby let out a huge sigh. "I really don't think so, Jaune." She checked to see her sister sitting in a chair waiting the two girls out, hoping that they'd drop it soon but ready to jump in if they got physical. So far, there had been a few close calls of the latter and the former seemed unlikely as both were proving to be extremely stubborn in their stance and would not rest until the other conceded to their view, even if slightly.
The blonde looked over with a tired face. "Might be waiting for them to collapse from exhaustion or lose their voices at this rate. Not sure which I'd prefer right now."
Jaune had witnessed his sisters have big arguments, even his parents, but nothing seemed to at this scale. "How long have they been at it?"
The elder sister rolled her eyes after checking her scroll. "Five hours… give or take. They had a few small breaks but went right at it again."
"Okay, umm…. If you need anything, we're right across the hall."
"Thanks Jaune." Ruby gave him a tired smile before closing the door and resting her back against it. "Oh… I don't know what to do."
"I just don't care for the criminally insane!"
"The White Fang is hardly a collection of psychopaths! They are a group of misguided Faunus."
"Misguided?! They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!"
"Then they are very misguided." This seemed to be about as close as Blake was willing to concede.
"So you admit they are just a group of radical terrorists!"
"Judging him based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you think he is!"
"You do realize that you are defending an organization that hates humanity, don't you?" Weiss accused. "The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil."
"There's no such thing as pure evil!" Blake fires back, taking a step closer. Off to the side, the sisters quietly groaned as the argument gained renewed life. "Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin!" Nobody had time to point out that the young man was changing for the better, though Team RWBY had preferred to keep their distance from CRDL. "People like you forced the White Fang to such drastic measures!"
"People like me?" Weiss almost looked like she had been slapped thanks to that accusation.
"You're discriminatory!"
"I'm a victim!"
That last statement shocked the room into complete silence.
"Do you know I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly care for the Faunus?" This was the calmest Weiss had sounded for the entire afternoon but there
was an underlying edge in her voice that hinted at danger. She walked over to the window that was left open for warm summer breeze,
"It's because they've been at war with my family for years. As in actual bloodshed." Behind her, the sisters shared a glance of worry for their friend as this was the first time such a thing had come up. Though with how she was acting, how deep the feelings ran were becoming clear. "My grandfather's company has had a target on its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child… I've watched family friends disappear, board members… executed. Nearly an entire train load of Dust… stolen in one move.
And every time it happened, my father would come home furious. And THAT made for a very difficult childhood." She balled a fist and pounded on the bookshelf.
Ruby felt her friend's pain and crossed the room, putting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Weiss, I-"
"NO!" The white girl shouts, shrugging Ruby off as she spun and glared at Blake, walking over to get right into her face. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"
Blake glared right back, her amber eyes flashing as her anger peaked. "Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"
Silence hung over the room as Weiss recoiled from being shouted at in her face but then expressions turned to shock as the wording overcame the surprise.
With wide eyes, Blake backed up until her leg touched the bed, spooking her.
That touch turned out to be the final trigger.
In a flash she ran to the door, though Yang's hand snapped out to keep the door closed.
"Blake, wait!" Ruby shouted just as the girl in question did something unexpected- she used her Shadow Semblance to phase her through the door, leaving her quickly fading clone behind.
By the time the sisters opened the door, the girl was nowhere to be found.
"What happened?" Jaune asks as he and Nora poke their heads out.
"Blake just ran away!" Ruby told them before dashing down the hallway in an attempt to catch up to her scared teammate.
Yang glanced back through the open door to her room to spot Weiss having sat down on her bed, still stunned from the implications. She turned to the JNPR door. "Keep an eye on Weiss and if Blake comes back, let us know." Once she received nods that they understood, she ran off for her own search, wondering if she should ask any of the professors or try her luck on her own before getting them involved.
—-
Outside in the dark of night, Blake found herself a fair distance from the dorms, coincidentally stopping by a large statue in front of the main building- one that depicts a Huntsman and Huntress standing over a defeated Beowolf.
She wiped the tears from her eyes as she had been crying as she ran. As she took in the details of the statue, her eyes fell to the Grimm as she reached up. Taking hold of the ends of her bow, she slowly pulled until the knot came undone. The cloth fell and through her already panicked mind, she felt a sense of relief now that the bow no longer covered the pair of cat ears on top of her head.
Her ears twitched and swiveled as she heard someone behind her. "I knew you'd look better without a bow." She may know very little about him but she recognized his voice. But then he saw the signs of crying on her face. "Oh, ummm… do you need to get away for a bit?"
AN: Have some fun guessing the movies that JNPR are watching, though some of them should be fairly obvious by now. I polled three Discord servers and on my DA page about which movie to reference the most, though I added in a quick shout out to the second and third place finishers. So more movies to guess at and let the memories come back to you.
Also, we ran into Penny and a certain monkey has been loose on the town while Blake and Weiss have gotten into a VERY heated argument. But we'll have to see how the results of that plays out next time.
While we are here, I'd like to know if you all would prefer for me to finish Small Issues so that I can focus on Larger Issues. There are only a few chapters left to go in this part of the series but things have been building up at the other end for quite a while. In addition, I may be getting back to work on my RWBY/DC rewrite once I wrap up Small Issues... so that may be some incentive to get this series done even faster.
Let me know in the reviews!