"Monsters! Demons! Foul creatures of the night, terrible monstrosities, black of hide and sharp of tooth, nefarious and evil, ever-hungering, ever-festering— beetles and bugs— these creatures we have named Grimm!"
Ruby drooled a little on her palm, jolting herself awake when she felt a bump on the stretched out lecture-desk before her. Her partner sat at her side, staring down at Professor Port with an unmistakable glimmer of hype as she vibrated in her seat, pounding her fist on the surface of the desk out of excitement. They hadn't talked about yesterday. Weiss hadn't expressed anything about it, actually, not even some lingering anger or frustration with her partner, as if she could ignore what'd happened into non-existence (which Ruby was super okay with). They'd just done their morning stuff and gone to class.
Port— the professor for Grimm Inquiry 102— marched around the lecture-hall like the world's most gifted orator, orating oratively like everybody had paid exclusively to find out how many bad-coded words could be slapped onto a category of shadow-monsters that, in reality, just followed very specific guidelines of instinct and nature like any other animal. Ruby was kinda peeved by it, honestly, she really hated the narrative that Grimm were some evil force incarnate. Like, yeah, they were evil and occult and weird, but they did things by routine. There wasn't some political or religious alternative, they weren't a metaphor for the state of the world or the nation they were most prominent in, they were just big spooky monsters that evolved (mostly) to murder people and eat their souls. They were literally textbook.
But Professor Port was making it into a whole thing, and she really wasn't feeling it. She didn't need some higher, just cause to kill Grimm— her especially, she didn't want to do it at all— the things murdered and ate people instinctively, often with brutality and cruelty, having adapted specifically for their destruction to incite more negative emotions among other humans, thus drawing more Grimm. They were like ticks or mosquitoes: huge assholes, not super integral to the food chain, and it would do the world less harm than good to just have them exterminated.
Alas, some Grimm weren't exterminatable— Ruby had actually taken a little special interest in it, in the same way one takes a special interest in sharks or wyrms from the horror stories of people being attacked by them. It was always interesting finding out how non-natural Grimm were invoked, like reading something forbidden, complete with select invocation specifics being scrubbed from the public eye. Things like the Apathy or the Wendigo, or the Seraph and the Ur-Dragon, things that would always be a threat even if every Beowolf, Ursa, Bilgeling, Creep, or Nevermore were erased from existence.
But Port wasn't talking about any of those things. He was blabbing about Boarbatusks like they were on the same level of interest. It was, in the most literal sense of the word, riveting. In the ironic sense of the word, however, Weiss seemed to agree, and was practically bouncing in her chair as her pen flew across her notes, inscribing the wisdoms of Professor Port like he was the last sage of his kind.
Port continued: "And only when you have faced such monstrous monstrosities— only when the day has come and your hour is at hand— only when evil places its baleful eye upon you, when you are deemed the enemy of injustice, when you are deemed the instrument of good and shown the jaws of evil, only then will you be ready to face it! Only then do you show that evil what kind of Huntsman— or Huntress—" Professor Port turned to Ruby's sister, narrowed his eyes, and clicked his tongue in a way that was definitely an HR violation. "You have become! You will put fear into fear incarnate! You will put death into the death-makers! You will show divine retribution to that which is most unholy! Do I have any volunteers!"
Weiss' hand shot up so fast it made a nasty pop in its socket. Ruby winced, but the subsequent nod from Professor Port had her fully pushed back against her seat as Weiss barged past Ruby with as much bodily contact as possible, all with a perfectly unbothered smile on her face. Weiss crossed the room before them, sashaying much more than necessary with one hand resting on the pommel of her arming sword, its white sheath painting a bright contrast against the dark jacket and autumn-colored skirt of her uniform.
Out of all Team RWBY so far, Weiss was the only one to wear that uniform normally. Blake had ripped off the jacket sleeves by hand (which, holy shit, was hot) and cut the button-down shirt beneath into a crop top (uughhghh, uwaouw) to complete a look that was as silly as it was attractive . Yang didn't even wear the jacket (which might've been a uniform code violation), opting instead to leave her shirt fully open to show off the black-singed muscle-tee that'd once been a sweatshirt beneath it.
For her own part, Ruby couldn't wear the jacket even if she wanted to— the sleeves were too stiff to roll up out of the way of her feathers— so she had it tied about her waist, using it as an extra shield in case her legs did any weird stuff to the uniform's skirt, which was itself a little shorter than she was used to. Her sleeves were rolled all the way past her elbows, and Blake (awesome, sexy, hot, and good) had even given her some fun buttons to pin the sleeves in place there, of which she'd picked the gay one (on the off chance Blake would get the hint), the 'I'D RATHER BE AT HOME RN' one (for obvious reasons), the 'FUCK FOURTHS GET BITCHES KILL MONEY' button (anti-Fourth solidarity was highly based [i.e. a way to get Blake's attention]), and the 'MY BODY IS A TEMPLE BUT NOT A VERY GOOD ONE' button.
Unfortunately, this meant Weiss was now the only one among them who looked normal, and Port seemed to take an unseemly interest in how Weiss approached— which, to be fair, Ruby was too, but only because she genuinely had no clue why Weiss would be acting like this if not to…
Ruby scanned the room. Jaune was looking, Cardin was looking, Sky and Russel were looking, even Pyrrha was looking, and very obviously trying not to. Nora was really looking, her eyes nearly boggling out of her skull as she smacked her disinterested partner's arm to draw his attention to it. Yang was looking, but with genuine revulsion, and the look from Blake was more 'I mean, okay, if you're just putting it out there' than the gobsmacked, rapt attention being paid by her peers. Yep. Almost everyone was looking at Weiss, none of their gazes even close to respectful, and she was clearly quite satisfied about it.
And, like, Ruby saw it. Yeah, of course she did. Objectively. Sure, the girl wasn't all that much up top, but she did have some action down below— mostly on account of her very (objectively) nice legs— and she knew how to work it. As a completely objective party, Weiss was (objectively) attractive from a visual standpoint, so it was totally okay for Ruby to look because she didn't even like Weiss like that (because she was mean, and that was a pretty crucial component to being liked by Ruby Rose), and it was, like, important to understand objective beauty and stuff, and that was it! Not that she was beautiful or anything, just that… well, like, paintings are beautiful, and statues are beautiful, but they've got a kind of beauty that tickles the mind and inspires the senses, as opposed to Weiss, who… didn't do… those things…
"Sir Port," Weiss drawled— of course she drawled, because she was obviously trying to get as much attention as possible— just to irk Ruby, which was probably the greatest feeling in the whole wide world for her considering she couldn't win a real fight. "Hast thou mine quarry? Must we sally out to the courtyard?" She bared a couple inches of steel as if it would be intimidating to anyone but Cardin. "Here or there, I stand ready."
Port nodded respectfully like he and Weiss were in their own little medieval world. Ruby watched the professor stroll behind desk and rummage around, making old-people noises and muttering to himself until he rose once more with something like a big dog-cage in hand. He set it on the table. The sides and the latched front were solid, but Ruby could hazard a guess as to what was inside based on the way it thrashed the box and made weird, nasally sounds like an evil pug.
"Miss Schnee," Port started in unnecessarily grave tones. "This is a hellspawn. This is a beast. This is a monster." He pointed at Ruby's partner. "You are a human. You are a Huntress. To this thing, you are a monster." He placed his hand on the latch. "Be its nightmare. Show it why the wisest, oldest Grimm know that humans are not their playthings."
Weiss nodded, drawing her sword with as much somber (and still undue) gravitas as Port was airing. "Aye, ser," she declared. "I am Weiss Schnee! Bane of—"
Port, who probably hadn't been expecting Weiss to start a whole grandiose speech, already had his hands on the latch, so when the creature inside rammed against the front it barged right through, knocking Port's arm aside as it burst into the air. It whooped and hissed with its weird little voice, rising high in the lecture hall like a flying goblin made of ink.
Ruby could recall the database entry with ease.
[IM-ISFT] IMP:
INVOKED - SWARM - FLIGHT - TORMENT
This invoked Grimm stands between 1.2 - 3.6ft tall on average, with standard Grimm colorations and bloodmarks that grow along the rib cage-analogous structure. Scutae have not been recorded, though no Imps have been recorded to reach scutae-bearing Tiers. Imps are hostile immediately upon invocation, and seek human prey without any regard for self-preservation; their utter lack of self-preservation is unique among torment types. Imp swarms stabilize at a lower limit of 6 members, but have been known to extend well into the thousands, with some apocryphal accounts of legend recording swarms numbering in the millions. These swarms exercise no hierarchy, but only exhibit anarchical degeneration when prey has not been exploited for a minimum recorded period of 3 months.
The lone Imp has no weaknesses, but this is only by virtue of its complete lack of strengths. Lone Imps have been recorded dying to children as young as 8 years old, and their attacks physically cannot outpace the average regenerative rate of most adolescent Auras.
"Do not patronize me. It's just Imps."
-Last words of Wartime Huntsman Indus Maxine.
Ruby snorted, leaning back in her chair with ease. Weak as she was, Weiss wasn't about to get hurt by a friggin' Imp, and if she did, it would be 100% her own fault. Hell, Ruby would probably be too busy laughing to help if the Imp did get the best of her. She was free to kick back and watch Weiss swing her (admittedly cool) sword around.
The Imp flew for Weiss. Weiss did not move. Whatever bravado she'd started this with, whatever strength had inspired her to stand as a volunteer, none of it was in her face anymore. Now she stood perfectly still, wide-eyed, staring at the incoming Imp like a deer in headlights. Her lips parted at the sight of it, her lip visibly quivering.
Nearing Weiss, the Imp brandished the sickle-like talons of its feet: thin and jagged— shameful little toothpicks compared to Ruby's own— not a worry for someone with even a meager Aura.
Ah, shit.
"Weiss!" Ruby shouted, diving over her desk as she chucked her hefty textbook. The tome caught the wind, spreading its pages wide as it collided with the Imp like a weighted net, ripping and sending shreds of paper in the air when the creature started the thrash against it. Ruby clapped her hands in Weiss' ears, getting right in her face to shout: "What're you doing! Hey!"
Weiss' pinprick pupils suddenly blew out and she pushed her partner away, her features going tight and scarlet with embarrassment as she rushed to the still-downed Imp and stabbed down through Ruby's textbook. The Imp squeaked at being pierced, its limbs flailing out to try and catch Weiss, but she wrenched her sword around cruelly until the thing cried, hissed, and melted away into vapor. She brought the sword up with Ruby's textbook still impaled on it, and swung it to launch the tattered tome at her partner.
Ruby barely caught the book, but fell flat on her ass when Weiss stomped forward and pushed her hard. "I had it!" Weiss claimed, fury in her voice as she stood above her partner. "Thou'st never witnessed a lure, Florabel? Fowl thou art, surely thou wouldst know!" She kicked the textbook out of Ruby's hands, her knuckles visibly white around her hilt. "Hast thou a goal to humiliate me? Art thou devoted to my shame? Feedest thou upon mine embarrassment like yon Imp?" She gestured threateningly over Ruby with the point of her sword, getting a loud 'Hey!' from Yang that was promptly ignored. "Thou hast the coloring! Foul black-and-red thing! Torment be the nature of thee! Creature! Thou'rt mine own personal Grimm torm —"
Yang punched her so hard her feet left the floor, sending Weiss flying to clatter in a limby pile, her body making a hefty thud as it landed.
Ruby was immediately on her partner, dropping out of the line to kneel beside her.
Good god.
Weiss had no Aura. Yang had lots of Aura, a right hook like a freight train, and no idea that Weiss' soul didn't protect her. As such, she probably hadn't pulled that punch.
If Ruby were in a room full of little baby kiddos— kindergarteners, toddlers, a general population of cute snotty bastards— she would suck in a big breath and cringe, because sanitizing 'my partner's head looks like a kicked-in pumpkin and I can't tell if those goopy bits are bloody hair or genuine brain matter' wasn't really within her wheelhouse. She would probably just scamper herself and Weiss' body out of the room.
Oh, yeah, Weiss was dead, by the way. 100%. Ruby didn't need to check her pulse to recognize that vacant look in her wide-open eyes, nor did she need a medical professor to tell her that the giant bloody rift across the girl's skull wasn't exactly survivable. Weiss didn't breathe, didn't blink, didn't live. Again.
"Oh my god!" Ruby shouted overtly, whipping her jacket off her waist and wrapping Weiss' head up with it— both to keep her brains in and to keep everyone from seeing the corpse she now was. "You knocked her out, Yang! And busted her face up! That's what all the blood is from!"
Ruby hoisted her dead partner up under her arms and started pulling her back towards the exit. Yang and Blake tried to follow and help, but Ruby waved them off.
"No, you guys stay here," she ordered sternly. "She's my partner, she just needs to see the nurse. We'll be back in no time— nothing to miss class over. I'll be right back!" She craned around Weiss to shout at Professor Port: "Sorry for interrupting! My bad!"
Port, bewildered, waved her off. "Er, no problem, Miss Rose. Your care for your teammates is commendable," he commended, his words coming slowly as if he was trying to make up something positive to move past the burst of violence. "Even if they're, uh… impolite. Most Faunus wouldn't be so kind."
Ruby soured intensely— what she was doing was hardly kindness, it was keeping her sister from catching a murder charge, and she'd have her own tirade to spawncamp Weiss with once she got back— but took that as her opportunity to leave the room with a tepid 'thanks, sorry, bye'. Thankfully, nobody tried following her out, and this class was only a few doors down from the bathroom. Ruby dragged her partner into one of the stalls, huffing out a little chuckle at her own luck as the only occupied stall was on the far end, and she could hear snoring from it.
Ruby sat Weiss' corpse onto the lid of the toilet seat and took off the jacket, then had to rush to hold up a little chunk of meat or bone or brain that threatened to slop out. She secured the dead girl's face with her other hand, cupping underneath the chin and pinching both cheeks between thumb and forefinger (didn't want her to freak and bust Ruby's lip), conveniently making Weiss' lips pucker. If Weiss weren't dead, if half her brains weren't threatening to slip out at a moment's notice, the moment would probably look romantic to anyone else. They weren't even trying to kill each other— the whole 'murder' step had already been conveniently rushed past— so the only thing keeping this from looking gentle was the fact that Ruby's fingers were acting as a shitty sieve for the flow of blood and cerebrospinal fluid running between them.
Feeling the worry of permanent brain damage start to peck at her sensibilities, Ruby laid her lips on Weiss'. Just like last time, there was a pull, and Ruby could feel the flesh of her partner's broken skull immediately mending beneath her fingers. Weiss didn't jolt up like last time— brain damage being repaired, probably— so Ruby was content to let the feeling of gentle, rocking emptiness wash over her senses as her soul was siphoned away. She probably just needed a little more before she'd be conscious again and push her away.
It was nice. As nice as usual. Ruby moved her hand from the now-sealed crack in her partner's skull to hold the back of her head, keeping her in place; with everything draining away, it was easy to forget who she was kissing. It was like she had a normal person's lips on hers. She was breathing air that wasn't Weiss'. The gentle pleasure soothing her brain wasn't from her unconscious partner siphoning her soul away, it was the normal good-feel of kissing a normal person. The hands crawling over her sides were a good person's. The warm tongue against hers, sliding slow and gentle, didn't belong to anyone awful. The heartbeat under her fingers was kind. The sigh of pleasure in her mouth was right.
It wasn't Weiss stealing her first kiss while they were trying to kill each other. It wasn't something hot and awful in a janitor's closet. It was her real first kiss, with a real person. At least, it felt that way.
Ruby's knees buckled, her lips separating with a moist pop as her empty, pulsing body collapsed onto her partner. The vacancy in Ruby was more profound than ever, like her head was gently nestled in an Ur-Dragon's warm maw, the teeth closing around her temples as Death took slow and lengthy strides towards her, but nothing was telling her to escape. There was no fight or flight, no self-preservation, just a divine emptiness that could only get more empty, more good, even if it killed her. She clutched the shirt and jacket she was lying against, trying to pull herself back up to reclaim that feeling, but the soft landing of a palm upon her cheek was all that it took to stop her advance.
She was so weak, so tired, but she could be weaker. She could sleep. That would be good. It would be good to fall asleep like this. It would be nice. With the warm hand on her cheek, the thumb stroking the outline of her cheekbone, the soft palm drifting across her skin as the fingers caressed the shell of her ear. Even if it was Weiss above her. Even if it was Weiss looking down with the blue eye that was hers and the silvery one that she stole. Even if Weiss, the worst person in the world, was touching her face and her lower back, it would be okay. Weiss could be a normal person. Weiss could be good. Even if it was a lie, Ruby could make herself believe it. It was easy to believe, then.
Even if Weiss was bad, Ruby wouldn't mind going to sleep like this. She was her nemesis, after all. It felt right to slip away into her arms.