Chapter 16
Team JNPR's Dorm
Existing the bathroom is Ren who is holding his shampoo bottle.
While walking to get his clothes, suddenly Jaune appeared, grabbing him by the wrist. "We need to talk."
Sitting down on his bed with an awkward Ren, Jaune sighed. "Ren, I'm just gonna come out and say it. You are one of my best friends. These past few months, I feel like we've really bonded, even though… you don't say much. I mean, you're very quiet… but darn it, I consider you to be the brother I never had!"
Ren sighed with a sympathetic smile. "And I, you."
"Which is why I wanted to ask for your advice on…. girls…" Jaune said.
"Girls?"
"I just… I don't know… how to…. Girls. Um, I guess what I'm trying to ask you is… how'd you and Nora…?" Jaune asked him, earning an awkward stutter from the Mistralese boy before embarrassed giggles from Nora, who wore a black shirt bearing her stylized catchphrase.
"Ehehehe… we're not actually… "together"…. together…"
"NORA, I SAID HEADPHONES ON!" Jaune barked, causing her to quickly follow her leader's instruction.
"Jaune…. What is this really about?" Ren asked the blonde.
Jaune sighed and let it out. "It's Weiss. She's cold, but she's also… incredible. She's smart, and graceful, and talented, I mean, have you heard her sing?!"
"I'd just wish she'd take me seriously, y'know? I wish I could just tell her how I feel without… messing it all up." Jaune explained, before hearing a voice at the door.
"Then do it."
"Uh, wha-" Jaune turned to see Pyrrha standing there, her eyes twinkling with contempt.
"Tell her exactly what you just said. No ridiculous schemes, no pick-up lines. Just be honest." Pyrrha told him, seeing his brow quirk.
"Jaune, you can't get it wrong if it's the truth." She reassuringly told him, causing Jaune's face to beam in newfound confidence.
"You're right. Thanks Pyrrha. Good talk, Ren!" Jaune said, exiting the room.
But as he left, Nora noticed Pyrrha's sullen expression and sighed. "Practice what you preach, Pyrrha…"
History Classroom, Beacon
"Yang, Tomas, if you're gonna tell me to stop, you both might as well just save your breath." Blake insisted, pacing back and forth with baggy eyes.
"We don't want you to stop. We just want you to slow down." Smoke replied.
"We don't have the luxury to slow down." Blake coldly objected.
"It's not a luxury. It's a necessity." Yang added, sitting down with crossed legs atop the teacher's desk.
"The necessity is stopping Torchwick!" Blake barked with narrow eyes.
"And we will. But first I need you to sit down and listen to a story I have to tell." Smoke said, rolling the chair Blake's way.
Blake sighed and reluctantly took a seat, waiting for Smoke to begin.
"I know you had a rough past, but did you have a family?" Smoke asked her.
"Y-yeah?" Blake answered, confused.
"I… never knew my parents. I have been a Lin Kuei all my life. Thing is, the Lin Kuei had this habit of kidnapping children they believe had potential in hopes of making them the perfect assassin's." Smoke began.
"That's cruel?" Blake said.
"Yes. Both me and Kuai Liang were bred to be hardened killers, trained to be efficient at eliminating targets."
Smoke clenched his jaw in recollection, as both girls watched in horror.
"Now I'm sure my parents might still be alive and sometimes I've even contemplated finding them, but even with those thoughts, letting it drag me down or make brash decisions won't get me closer to my goal rather it would basically be a hindrance."
Blake sighed and stood up. "Tomas… I'm sorry about what happened to you, and I understand what you're trying to tell me, but I'm not a child, and this isn't just for myself or for redemption! I CAN'T JUST-"
Smoke then clenched his teeth and pounded his fist on the board. "I TOLD YOU. We're not telling you to stop. To this day, I still want to find my family, but I'm not going to let myself be killed over it!"
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DO THIS!" Blake snapped stubbornly.
"NO, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Yang threw back at her with red eyes.
"If Roman Torchwick walked through that door, what would you do?!" Yang angrily asked her partner.
"I'd fight him!"
"You'd lose!" Yang rebutted, shoving Blake, who was too weak to resist.
"I'd stop him!" Blake insisted, weakly throwing a fist at her, only for Smoke to grab it with little effort.
"You can't even stop us!" Smoke replied, pushing her down to the desk.
Yang stepped forward, and much to Blake's surprise, hugged her gently. "I'm not asking you to stop. Just please… get some rest. Not just for you, but for the people you care about." Yang let go of her and walked toward the door.
"But…if you feel like coming out tomorrow, I'll save you a dance." Yang turned before she left, winking at her partner.
Smoke then caught up with Yang outside. "Does this mean I'm still your date to the dance?"
Yang scoffed as both of them walked down the hallway. "What? Jealous?"
"Hey, Tomas? Thanks for the talk, even if it was a sensitive topic." Yang added
"It's fine, I'm glad to help you out anytime." Smoke said
Later
Jaune eagerly walked through the hallways, holding a white flower in his hand. After much doubt, he was finally going to tell Weiss how he felt.
Jaune took a deep breath and puffed up his chest with confidence. But then he heard Weiss' voice call out. Good! Now all he had to do w-
"Neptune!"
Wait… what?
Jaune quickly hid behind the corner to see the blue-haired boy and Weiss talking to each other.
"Oh, hey! What's up?"
"I know this is a little… unorthodox, but… would you like to accompany me to the dance tomorrow?" Weiss asked him.
Jaune didn't stay behind to hear the rest. He walked away with a dejected look on his face and dropped his flower. What was the point in trying if she was already into someone else?
Team JKHL Dorm
"Okay team, today we're commencing operation babe hunt." Johnny announced while striking a pose
"Pass." Scorpion said not looking away from the book he was reading
"Sorry Hanzo, but this is a group activity and we're going to need all hands to be on deck for this." Johnny said
"My answer still remains the same." Scorpion said
"Don't make me drag along Hanzo." Johnny threatened
"Good luck with that." Scorpion said as he teleported out of the room
Seeing this Johnny was about turning to Sub Zero but he noticed that the Ice assassin had taken a page from Scorpion and had teleported out of the room.
"Guess it's just you and be bro." Johnny signed turning to Liu Kang
"I don't know Johnny-" Liu Kang said but didn't finish as Cage added
"I heard Kitana doesn't have a date yet."
This caused the monk to pause for a moment before speaking
"Fine, but how do we go about this?" Liu Kang asked
"Don't worry, I brought back up." Johnny said with a wide grin as the door of the dorm opened revealing Kung Lao
Liu Kang was beginning to question his life choices.
School Balcony
"This is a bad idea." Liu Kang complained as Johnny and Kung Lao dragged him along the balcony
"Come on Bruce Lee, where's your sense of adventure?" Johnny asked
"Besides, it is said that a direct approach is always the best one." Kung Lao said as they all were greated with the site of Kitana and Sonya ending their sparring match
"Hello ladies." Johnny started
"Cage." Sonya said with a groan before turning to face his companions "Liu Kang, Kung Lao, what's going on?"
"Oh nothing, we're just here as moral support for Liu Kang here as he wanted to talk to Kitana." Johnny said pushing Liu Kang forward
"Wait, that wasn't the pl-"
"What did you want to talk about Liu Kang." Kitana asked in an almost playful manner
"Kitana! You're looking lovely today…not that you don't usually look lovely…I mean-" Liu Kang stammered but Kitana decided to help him
"Breathe Liu Kang." She said
Taking a deep breath he finally said "I was hoping if you could accompany me to the dance tomorrow."
"I would love to." Kitana said taking his hand causing him to smile
Walking towards Johnny Sonya whispered "That was nice of you."
"Does this mean you'll go to the dance with me?" Johnny asked
Groaning she finally answered "Fine but only this once."
"Yes! Sonya, you're about to experience what I call the 'Cage Magic'." Johnny said
"Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this." Sonya said
"Looks like my work here is done. Now then, where did Ruby go." Kung Lao said
Ballroom, Beacon, the next night…
"Oh! You look beautiful!" Yang squealed as she saw her sister enter the ballroom in her dress.
Ruby stammered and stepped awkwardly, trying desperately not to fall over in her heels. "C-can we have a serious talk about how Weiss fights in these?!"
Yang giggled as she watched her sister struggle to walk around uncomfortably. Behind her, the party was just starting, with students coming in two by two. Johnny was singing on stage and she had to admit, he was good.
Smoke was there too, setting things up backstage with Kung Lao who still had his hat on.
Weiss was making final touches to the decorations with Kitana and Sonya's' help, like placing new flowers in the vases and fixing the lights.
Outside, Sun was fiddling with his tie, walking with Sub Zero, who was dressed in formal wear, while Sun was simply dressed in a dark gray-colored version of his usual shirt.
"Grr… Stupid… neck trap!" Sun grumbled as he fiddled with his tie.
"How are you so cool wearing that?" Sun asked Sub Zero, who didn't seem to mind his suit.
"The Lin Kuei oftentimes take on convert missions that required us to dress formally." Sub Zero informed him, causing him to groan.
"I always knew you looked better with a tie." Both boys turned behind them to see Blake, dressed in a beautiful black dress, her bow sitting atop her head.
Sun nudged Sub Zero with a smile, knocking him out of his trance, cueing him to link arms with Blake. "So, I guess this mean we're going… together?"
"Technically, although my first dance is spoken for." Blake answered him, as the three of them walked to the dance.
Inside the ballroom, the party was in full swing, with all the students laughing, having fun and dancing with their dates. Yang waltzed with Blake, before letting Sub Zero take over.
Ruby, Weiss and Yang looked at the scene in front of them, hearing Blake laugh with a smile on her face as she danced with Sub Zero.
"Told you she would come." Yang said to her team.
"Mission accomplished." Weiss added.
"So… what now?" Ruby asked her teammates.
"Just have fun!" Yang said, before running off to the front of the room to greet the students, while Weiss went off as well, leaving Ruby confused.
"Does that mean I can change out of these stupid things and back into my hood now? Grr… Stupid… lady stilts!" Ruby grumbled.
"Not enjoying yourself?"
Ruby turned to see Professor Ozpin giving her a kind grin. "Oh! No! Everything's fine! I'm just not much of a dansey… pansy... dancy kinda girl."
"Well, you can't spend your entire life on the battlefield, even if you might want to." Ozpin told her.
"Yeah, that lesson's been floating around a lot lately."
"You know, if you think about it, fighting and dancing aren't so different. Two partners interlocked, moving in sync with each other." Ozpin said.
Ruby followed his eye to spot Smoke waltzing with Yang, both of them moving gracefully with each other. Neither of their gazes left each other's, and even caught glances of both envy and wonder from the other students.
"Thanks for helping me back there with Blake." Yang said to Smoke.
"Don't mention it. Friends help each other out." Smoke said, smiling.
"You know, after all this time at Beacon, you've never asked me out. Why?" Yang asked her fellow long haired companion.
"Let's just say I wanted to do it with style?" Smoke joked, causing Yang to giggle.
"Although, one wrong move on the ballroom merely leads to a swollen foot." Ozpin continued.
"Or a twisted ankle…" Ruby added.
"It's not every day friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds, but it's nights like these that we can keep them stronger than ever. And that's why it's nights like these we'll never forget."
Ruby's gaze turned to and fro across the room. Weiss, playing with a flower vest.
Liu Kang simply sat in the corner, fiddling awkwardly, until Kitana walked by and offered him a dance. Smiling he took her hand as they began dancing.
Walking off stage towards Sonya, Johnny extended his hand towards her
"I didn't know you could sing?" Sonya asked taking his hand
"Sonya my dear you have so much to learn from the Cage master." He said as they both began their dance
Yang and Smoke were chatting the night away. But Ruby merely stood behind the punch bowl, holding a glass in the corner with Jaune.
"I see you're hiding in the punch bowl, too." Jaune said to Ruby.
"Yup." Ruby replied with an indifferent expression.
"To the socially awkward." Jaune tilted his glass in Ruby's direction, cueing her to clink glasses with him with a giggle.
"Sorry that things didn't work out with Weiss." Ruby told Jaune with sympathy.
"Nah, it's fine. Neptune's pretty cool. I get why she went with him." Jaune said
"Wait, what're you talking about?" Ruby asked him, her eyebrow cocked in confusion.
"Well come on, not many people can pull off blue hair, am I right?" Jaune said sarcastically, trying to hide his envy.
"No. I mean, Weiss didn't come with a date."
Upon hearing that, Jaune nearly choked on his punch. "Wait, what?"
"Yeah, she's right there ." Ruby told him.
Jaune looked ahead at the dance floor to see Weiss still playing with the vest. On the other side of the room, he saw Neptune joking with Blake, Sun and Sub Zero.
Jaune frowned. Something was off, and he was getting to the bottom of it. "Hold my punch."
As Jaune left, Ruby was being approached by Kung Lao.
"Lovely." Kung Lao said
"Yeah."
"May I have this dance." Kung Lao said holding out his hand
"I don't think I can dance." Ruby said
"Me neither, the Shaolin didn't really teach dancing. Besides there's a first time for everything" Kung Lao said as Ruby took his hand beginning their dance