Author's Notes

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Hey, is it just me or is the new story alarm going off? That's a-right, it is!

Ozpin pays a bit more attention, and 2 lives are changed forever. Blake Belladonna and Jaune Arc, Beacon's pair of frauds, have nothing but each other and their weapons when they are kicked from the academy before school even begins. Now penniless and hopeless, their only option is to unite and form a team of freelance hunters. Together, they will do missions and shit.

Be sure to give it the old check-out-arino. It's my longest story yet, and it's a fun one more focused on adventuring and friendship than on saving the world or going through trauma (so basically, it's a good cooldown from Origin Story).

Happy rats, and don't do crime!

Chapter 19 – No Right Choice

In which Weiss Schnee ponders her not-quite-a-villain teammate and her not-quite-a-hero professor.

Normalcy eventually returned, or at least as normal as it could be for a team of four girls who barely knew one another. Weiss still imperceptibly flinched every time she woke up to see Yang sleeping on the opposite side of the room, but she couldn't spend every waking moment worrying about it.

It was with that hope in mind that she'd abandoned all plans for setting up watch schedules with the others or laying traps to catch Yang in the act. Save for a small nanny-cam she'd placed in the room, just as a safeguard and a rubber stamp in case someone like father asked if she'd treated the situation with the appropriate gravity, she would leave her it in fate's hands. Yang wanted to be a huntress, and she wanted to stay in Beacon with Ruby, so presumably that the self-serving reward of not getting kicked out would be enough to quell any plans for vengeance before they even came to be.

The alternative is to either watch over my shoulder for the rest of my life, or to just give up after some arbitrary point of time, which I'm essentially deciding to be zero days. And Yang will know if I'm watching her. If she truly is redeemed, never giving her a chance will engender needless drama.

It wasn't the right choice, but there truly was no right choice. There was only the best choice even if that wasn't very good.

She's been well behaved so far…okay, she hasn't been poorly behaved so far.

Honestly, the bigger issue with Yang was that the mundane issues from the first week that remained unresolved were still that – unresolved.

"Blake! I swear to Dust, if you spend another fifteen minutes in there after the first three, I'm going to barge in on your and just start brushing my teeth right over your lip gloss or whatever the fuck you're applying. And let me warn you, I spray when I brush."

"She so does, Blake!" chimed in Ruby from her desk, who'd been in a good mood now that her sister was back. "You'd better finish up soon!"

As much as she'd sided with Team Weiss in the recent conflict, she was the one with the most to gain from their new state of non-adversarial teamly cohesion. Blake and Weiss cared not for Yang, but Ruby finally had her sister and her partner, and she was over the moon at those bare minimum requirements for happiness, even if things still weren't peachy.

Regarding the make-up kerfuffle, Weiss had decided she would only step in if things escalated to the type of conflict that required a leader's intervention. Divvying up time spent in the bathroom was the kind of thing that partners could resolve amongst themselves, and if she were to be honest with herself, Weiss wasn't entirely sure she could fairly reach a verdict without either favoring Blake for obvious reasons or overcompensating to avoid the appearance of favoritism.

"Yang, I wake up earlier than you do and set aside extra time to do this," Blake called through the door. "You were still fast asleep when I started, so it's only been about twenty minutes. You're more than welcome to wake up extra extra early and brush your teeth at 4am."

For her own part, now that Weiss understood how to work with the grain and not against it when it came to Ruby, she and her partner were getting along just fine. There were still some…grievances, but never anything that wasn't immediately forgotten as soon as an apology was granted. Weiss typically received more apologies than she gave, but then she wasn't as clumsy as Ruby.

As the others bickered with a bathroom door between them, the leader and her young pupil were presently brushing up on Chemistry Physics, the subject with which Ruby had the most difficulty. Weiss had occasionally taken it upon herself to tutor Ruby, and she'd quickly figured out that Ruby's age had nothing to do with her poor understanding of the scientific principles that governed the world. It was merely a matter of what interested Ruby – she was basically at the level of a sixteen-year-old student in terms of Dust applications and safety because she enjoyed that subject, but her understanding of physical forces, mathematical equations, and elemental bonds was lacking. Ruby tended to like a subject that directly factored into the combat portion or heroics of the huntress lifestyle, and things like Chemistry, Physical, Plant Studies, and Ecology were only taught to keep Beacon Academy competitive with conventional high schools.

Ruby had argued that it thus wasn't her responsibility to brush up on Chemistry Physics since she wasn't behind due to her early entrance to Beacon, but Weiss had pointed out that the tests and homework assignments weren't going to care why Ruby failed…or passed, Weiss quickly tacked on when Ruby's smile drooped.

"I only want what's best for you, Ruby," Weiss said. "In this case, you're correct that it's your own prerogative what subjects you choose to excel at or subsist in. However, I will be here to help you no matter what choice you make, as your leader and…" Weiss swallowed in her throat and swallowed her pride. "…as your friend."

It wasn't meant to be a manipulation tactic – Weiss truly meant what she said – but it apparently 'worked' in convincing Ruby to make what Weiss believed to be the correct choice.

In this case, it really is just what I believe, because there's, again, no right choice. Ruby's life is her own to live, and I would be just as wrong to micromanage it for her as it was for Yang. She not only needs to grow but deserves her own chance at self-discovery. My job is to ensure she has the tools to succeed wherever and offer my support, as she did for me when I endured my ordeal at the hands of her sister.

"Okay, so I think I've got it. Atoms are lazy and want to be at the lowest energy possible, but there're these big hills between two states that they can't climb over. But sometimes, the lowest energy state is over the hill…like a, uh, a comfy bed!"

Weiss nodded at Ruby's analogies. Many students choice to conceptualized more complicated physical phenomena using metaphorical pictures of daily life that were more easily understood, and if this was Ruby's ideal way to study, Weiss was all for it.

"And some of those atoms have eaten a big breakfast," Weiss explained. "But some haven't. That's why not all of them have the strength to climb over that hill. But once they do, they don't go back. And that's the natural of an irreversible reaction."

"I think I get…uh, but why don't they go back?" Ruby scratched her head. "I-I mean, in reality, not going with the bed and hill thing."

"In reality, there are millions of billions of millions of atoms in a single drop of water – literally: there are approximately 2e21 atoms in a droplet. That's 2 with 21 zeroes. And with so many atoms, there's a wide distribution of energy states. Atoms with moderate to low amounts of energy are the most common according to the Boltzmann distribution theory – that's going to be covered in Chapter 11 – and it gets less and less likely to find an atom with that much energy the higher you go." Weiss flipped through the pages of the textbook until she found the figure of the Maxwell-Boltzmann curve for Ruby to visualize. "Some will have enough energy to go back over the hill, so calling those reactions irreversible isn't quite accurate, but it's just exceedingly uncommon from a thermodynamic standpoint."

Ruby stared down at the textbook for long enough that Weiss began to worry she'd done a poor job of explaining it. However, she didn't know if she'd been too precise and needed to use more metaphor's for Ruby's safe or if she'd been wrong to go against Ruby's request to drop the hill analogy.

"So…it's kinda like a Rayleigh Distribution?" Ruby asked. "For modeling wind velocity vectors? It looks like one, but I'm not familiar enough with this Robot's-man distribution thingie."

She turned to look at Weiss expectantly.

Weiss blinked. "A Rayl…a what?"

"Alright, it's been long enough," Yang said, drawing the attention of the two girls a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶n̶k̶f̶u̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶a̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶W̶e̶i̶s̶s̶.

The blonde's hand moved straight for the doorknob, but before she could grasp it, the golden metal turned, and the bathroom door opened up.

"Done," said Blake, her makeup finished.

"Oh, you were so done in there for a while and waiting for me to come in," Yang accused. "Weren't you?"

"I wasn't. I rushed at the end to accommodate you, Yang."

"Bullshit."

"Yang, after everything, do you think I'd willfully antagonize you?"

Yang scowled at that, but she shook her head and let it go. Slipping past Blake, she shut the door and slammed it behind her.

Weiss waited until she heard the water running, then turned around.

"Please don't rile her up, Blake."

Blake didn't meet Weiss' eyes. "No idea what you're talking about."

"Blake." Weiss knew how long it took Blake to put on her make-up, even if Yang didn't. "Not for me."

"Weiss, she's hasn't gotten it through her thick skull that beating up Faunus and targeting their animal traits is wrong. Just cuz you've forgiven her doesn't mean I have to."

"But she said she was…" Ruby began. However, in spite of her protestations, her voice fell out at the end, as even she herself didn't seem to believe it.

"I just don't see why everyone in this school gets held up to the highest standard of ethics, but she's given a free pass. Is it because she's white?"

Weiss's brow furrowed. "White?" She jostled her own hair, as though to confirm its color. "But I'm white. Yang's blonde."

"If you're saying it's human privilege, you're quite wrong," Ruby said. "Because…well, you know."

Because the entire student body was human. Because the only Faunus in the entire first year were currently either seated alongside Ruby or rummaging through their handbags for a scroll.

"Weiss, the second she realizes that you're not keeping her on the team out of some misplaced sense of love-thy-enemy bullshit, she'll realize she can push her boundaries," Blake said. "Mark my words, it's not going to end well."

Weiss had to admit, Blake was probably correct about that. Yang might not be openly belligerent again, but if she figured out that Weiss as leader couldn't afford to actually use her powers of banishment via expulsion (unless there were dire circumstances), she could easily do whatever she wanted. If Weiss gave an order as team leader, Yang could just ignore it. Leadership was only meaningful as long as the leader was respected…or if there was a threat of punishment, but the ultimate punishment for any student had already been threatened, and at this point, it was only mutually assured destruction.

"It's my fault," Ruby said forlornly, her head dipping down. "It's because you don't want to upset me."

"No," Weiss said. Seeing the normally cheery teen so unhappy instilled emotions in Weiss that she'd fain never feel. "It's not your fault, Ruby. It's mine. I'm the leader, and I need to find a way to get Yang to respect my authority. May I?" Ruby nodded, and Weiss patted her shoulder. "Leave this to me, Ruby."

"I still think we're being too easy on her, you guys," Blake said. "We shouldn't be the ones accommodating her, not when she did something wrong."

Weiss cleared her throat and broke out the big guns. "Our goal must be to reform her, Blake. Do you think Ghira would rather see her punished for her behavior than corrected to never do it again?"

Blake choked on that one, but only for a moment. "No, but I'm certain that Mom wouldn't be wasting time on any halfwit human closet racist."

"She's not racist!" Ruby quickly got in. She bit her lip and shook her head. "She's…She's not. It's not that."

Weiss truly believed it wasn't. Yang hadn't targeted her because she was a Faunus; she went after Weiss as retribution for yelling at Ruby. The only reason her wings were involved was because Yang had known that they would be an effective way to humiliate her.

Perhaps Blake is right, in some sense. My wings were used to hurt me, but Yang had to have known that degrading me in such a public manner would have species-related repercussions. Seeing a Faunus so thoroughly defeated would embolden true racists, and any allies of the White Fang cause in the audience would be cowed for fear of violence. I'll now never be known as anything other than the girl whose wings got torn up by her own teammate in the first week of class – the weak, ineffectual Faunus leader who got pushed around by the burly human on her team.

Weiss had to bite back her own contempt for both the teammate and the situation. No good leader had ever made a good choice when coming from a place of anger.

"Blake, you'll immediately stop antagonizing Yang. Ruby, you will leave your sister's rehabilitation to me." Weiss stood up and folded her hands together over her skirt. "I am the leader of Team RWBY, and this is my decision."

Blake shrugged. "You're the boss."

"Be careful, Weiss," Ruby said. "I…I think she doesn't hate you or something, but she doesn't respect just how far you went to keep her in Beacon either."

"Trust me on this one, girls. I'm making the right choice here," Weiss lied.

Ruby could've been mistaken for a canary for how much she chattered on during their breakfast, filling in her sister on every tiny thing she'd missed in her absence (well, not every single thing).

"…and then it turned out the rabbit Faunus and the big human boy weren't actually doing a racism, but they were kissy-kissy! Or something! Not really sure how to interpret what I saw! Oh, and then Wake and Bleiss decided that they really were deeply in love with one another, and they ate dinner at this restaurant where a walrus was a mascot…a walrus, Yang! It was adorbable! And then Blake got to touching Weiss all sensually and I started to feel weird in my tummy so I stowed the binoculars and decided to wait for them at the art place…"

Weiss couldn't help but cringe as Ruby brought up the unpleasant reminder of the walrus. To an outside observer, it must've looked like a jovial spot of meeting, but to Weiss (and Blake, who knew her well enough), it was a failure that had jeopardized it all.

Of course, nothing came of it, and Weiss remembered that Blake had turned the memory into something more…pleasurable, but having it relived (and in front of Yang, no less) was a bit of a bother.

Ruby had kept talking, and Weiss belatedly realized she'd covered a lot of ground in the time she'd been distracted. "…teaching me about things like Dust safety and math and physics and stuff, so it's great! She's a really great teacher."

Ruby smiled at her, and Weiss returned it with one of her own.

"Glad you found a private tutor for your subjects, sis." Yang brushed her hand over Ruby's head.

Ruby screwed up her lips. "Well, not all my subjects, since I'm actually better at Weiss in stuff like weapon mechanics and combat."

Weiss knew that the former was true, but she could probably dispute the latter after their match yesterday. Still, she held her tongue, since she'd mostly won because of Ruby's misfortune during that fight rather than any overall strategy, and because the whole thing was an exhibition to test Yang, and because Weiss didn't feel the compulsive need to one-up everyone around her.

I can just be my best self. We're all exceptional here.

It ran in counter to what father expected of her, but she'd found herself not thinking of him all that much since coming to this school. And that was kind of what she'd been hoping for.

"And I guess we're equal in Secret Tactics, since we're both starting at zero," Ruby pointed out, tapping her chin.

"Secret what?" asked Yang.

"Special Tactics," Blake corrected for her partner. "It's a new class they're adding to our already busy enough schedules."

"I don't think there's really a curriculum, nor is it taught at the other schools or in years prior," said Weiss. "It's probably more of an excuse to get Professor Torchwick in front of the students."

She still didn't fully trust the video Ruby had shown her at face value nor the man starring within it, but she supposed it wasn't her place. If Beacon hired a quack, Weiss would just coast through the class. And if her paranoia was unjustified, perhaps she would find herself among the inaugural generation of huntresses and huntsmen privy to unique knowledge from the Torchwick dojo.

"Hold up…Professor who?"

"Professor Roman Torchwick," said Ruby, licking her lips. "I think he's kinda cool."

The fuck. Also, What. Not necessarily in that order.

Weiss did a double take and saw that Ruby had some porridge on her cheek.

That was close. I'll need to watch over her to ensure nothing untoward happens in the future.

"Roman…Torchwick?" Yang seemed quite perturbed by the name of their new professor and yanked her wallet out of her pocket. "Roman Torchwick?"

"Yang, we don't leave tips for breakfast," Weiss pointed out. Her teammate was quite out of practice with the traditions of Beacon if she thought she needed to leave a few lien chips on the table.

She didn't produce any money, though; instead, a small white card found its way into her hands. Yang seemed to read over it, pausing only once to do a double take at Weiss, and then stared down at it again.

"Problem?" asked Blake.

"I met Roman Torchwick in Vale."

"Huh," shrugged Weiss. "Small world."

"Did you get his number?" inquired Ruby. "Asking for a friend."

"He…He nearly mugged me, and he gave me this."

Their prior rivalry (apparently) forgotten, Yang handed Weiss the small white rectangle of firm paper. Weiss accepted it semi-warily, then read it over.

Huh. That's weird.

"Roman Torchwick," Blake read over Weiss' shoulder. "Professional son of a…" The vulgar language also threw her for a loop.

"Lemme see!" Ruby called, but Weiss would not be party to her corruption via profanity. She handed the card back to Yang.

"Did you make that?" Weiss asked.

"No! He gave it to me."

"Roman Torchwick? Supposed hero of Vale?"

"What?" Yang physically recoiled at that. "Nah, he was totes the sketchiest motherfuuuuorgetter that I ever met. He cornered me in a dark alleyway and gave me that, then just skittered off. I'm telling you, that guy was a creepshow in a bowler hat."

The hat…it was probably Torchwick's most defining characteristic, and if Yang referenced it specifically, it was almost certain that they had the same person. Roman itself was a rare name, and combining it with the surname Torchwick was even rarer, but that ruled out the possibility of this Professor stealing the identity of Yang's shady acquaintance, if that was ever a theory.

The principle of Ozccam's Razor said that the simplest explanation – Yang printed a fake card as a prank – was the true one, but…why? It was a bizarre practical joke, and it didn't humiliate or cleverly deceive Weiss to print out a fake business card and forge a story about the new professor. Plus, Yang didn't seem the type to go that route. When she was screwing with someone, she made them fully aware of it. Weiss had a rough patch on her feathered wing that could attest.

But what's the alternative? Our new Special Tactics professor personally tracked down a misbehaving student to introduce himself as a fraud, or a rogue, or whatever 'son of a bitch' is meant to suggest in this context?

"What does it matter?" asked Ruby, looking between her teammates while Yang held the card just out of reach. "If he met Yang, that is? I mean, we know he was wandering about…wait, I mean, he was roamin' about Vale, looking for a school until he saved the city from the robo-assassin boy and then got pointed in Beacon's direction." Ruby wrestled against her sister, but Yang's grip strength was just too tight for her to pry the card. Yang didn't even seem to be paying attention to Ruby. "It's not like he swore under oath that he hadn't met you."

That was right, Weiss supposed.

Except…

There had already been holes in the story that Weiss had independently noticed, and Blake had concurred. Now, Yang was here, independently suggesting Torchwick was up to some unpleasant business. Weiss had already been on the verge of doing a little independent investigation of Beacon's newest professor, just to satisfy her own curiosity and allay any lingering concerns.

"Ruby, I think it does matter. I…I suspect that Professor Torchwick may have been working in cooperation with Mercury Black to secure a spot at Beacon. The fact that he was on the shady side of town, approaching huntresses with physical proof of his scoundrel-adjacent behavior."

She now had the table's full attention, more than the oats and cereals on their plates. It was the perfect opportunity to explain what she meant, except Weiss herself wasn't exactly sure of what it meant.

"Perhaps he was looking for a pilot and would've asked Yang if she'd shown a greater inclination towards criminal behavior. Or perhaps his initial method of becoming a professor was ingratiating himself to a student who appeared to be in peril. I…I don't know for sure."

Blake was nodding, though Weiss imagined she would offer her support merely on principle. Ruby clearly wasn't buying it, but Yang…

"The way he conducted himself was the way a criminal would, not a huntsman." Yang nodded firmly. "Trust me, I could tell just by looking at him that he was the kinda guy I wouldn't want to cross paths with."

Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao-Long agreed on something. Huh.

The fact that neither of them simply disagreed with the other on principle was proof of the astounding degree of confidence they both had that this was real, and not just in their heads.

"Let's just go to his class first," Ruby said. "We ought to give him a chance. We can even ask Professor Torchwick about the card…maybe it was a typo?"

It wasn't – if he approached Yang out of the blue and chose to introduce himself in such a manner, it had to be intentional – but Ruby was probably speaking the truth. The best way to get a measure of the man for real was to see him in his supposed element.

"I agree with Ruby," Weiss said. "But if we continue to see signs of suspicion, we can't just ignore them."

"What do you wanna do?" Blake asked. "Go to the headmaster?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of making a few discreet inquiries," Weiss explained. "But only if his behavior remains suspicious. We have no concrete proof that he's actually up to something; merely personal accounts and unfounded concerns."

"Fine," said Yang, finishing up her meal. "I do kinda wanna see him teaching, just to see how different it is. Like, if he's suddenly a gentleman, I'll know something's up because of the huge change, and if he still gives me the heebie-jeebies, that'll be also proof he's a scuzzball."

"So he's evil no matter what, then," clarified Blake. "You've already made your choice."

"Yup."

Myrtenaster crashed against Gambol Shroud with enough force had the air around them pushed away and patted Weiss' jacket against her shirt.

"Feels like old times, eh?"

Both girls were smiling like lemurs as their blades met in a flurry of twisting strikes, flourishing parries, and risky jabs. They'd sparred many times as kids, but for some reason, Weiss hadn't been able to fit a practice round with her bestie-turned-girlfriend since she'd come to Vale.

I was busy with some many things, but now that Yang's back and not a problem, there's no outstanding situations to take care of with the Rose sisters. Blake understood, but I ought to start setting aside time lest I begin neglecting my relationship with her. It's only even more important now that's we're courting.

Their swordfights were no longer truly for practice; both girls knew the other's movements and strategies so well that these little fencing duels of theirs felt more like theatrical performances or ballet recitals. When Weiss tested her mettle against Blake, it was akin to a game of chess or tic-tac-toe – there existed only so many theoretically possible combinations of moves to go through, and both girls knew them all. It was a race to see who could pull them off better or faster without making some slip-up.

Blake ducked Weiss' thrust using her knees to lower herself, meaning that she could do one of three things: kick upwards and try to strike in Weiss' chin's direction, lean backwards and come out in a rolling somersault, or try to break Weiss' roots at the leg. Anything else would leave her at a disadvantage from which Weiss could pin her from above (she'd discovered that those three options worked best when employed against Weiss from a ducking position).

If Blake leapt up and went for a torso or headshot, that meant Weiss could follow up with a solid parry, but that left her open to Blake mechshifting her sword into a gun and opening fire. Rolling backwards would give Weiss enough space to swing Myrtenaster and form a Glyph, but Blake was agile enough to dodge from those kinds of distances. The best option was tripping Weiss up, but when Weiss fell down, she knew how to use her wings to slow her descent.

There used to be a time when Blake employed all sorts of different tactics against Weiss during similar points in their fencing duels, trying a new one each time. She'd attempt to do a backflip and kick Weiss in the face, but that exposed her face to Weiss' gravity-aided kicks while Blake had to oppose it. After that, she'd roped Weiss up in her weapon's ribbon, but that ended in her ribbon being cut on Myrtenaster. One time, she'd even dove between Weiss' legs, only for Weiss to close them on her and trap her with her heels.

They'd simply fought so frequently that the best moves in each scenario were known to both, but then the best counters to those best moves were known, and the best follow-ups to those counters were known, and so on, until both of them could practically recite the patterns of their fights.

Still, the lack of originality or novelty wasn't a burden to either of them. Fighting like this had become something of a bonding activity, in the same way that a couple could dance together in set moves without it turning into 'going through the motions.'

If they wanted to do something 'new,' the girls would agree on a variation or handicap on their fight – handcuffing Weiss and blindfolding Blake, giving both girls a glass of water to not spill, switching weapons – but this dance-fight of theirs was special to them too. It was a familiar way to relax and unwind, to feel the rush of combat without having to stress over strategizing their ways into a victory.

It typically ended in Blake's victory, but Weiss had a dignified quantity of victories to her name, and she never felt jealous over losing. This was a friendly showcase of themselves to one another, not a competition for points. Besides, the notion of ever truly fighting Blake sounded absurd. Blake and Weiss were always together on the same side when it truly mattered, meaning that their strength was pooled and not set against one another.

Blake's sword pierced Weiss' shoulder, and when Weiss reacted with the expected parry, it was slightly slower than usual due to some exhausting, and she knew she'd lost. From there, Blake would follow up with twin overhead swings, and Weiss wasn't in a good enough position to block with her typical Glyphs due to the space between them. The parry would have solved that, with Weiss pushing away, but it was not to be.

With that option out of her hands, Weiss did the second-best thing and tried to rap Blake's wrist and loosen her grip on her swords, but it never worked. It had always been the best way to drop down Blake's aura at the end of a fight so that Weiss' loss would be less humiliating, but it never worked.

The match played out exactly like Weiss called it, with Blake declaring victory.

"Kitty cat scores the win!" Blake pumped her fist in victory. "Yeehaw!"

They were alone at the moment, meaning neither she nor Blake needed to hold back their emotions for the sake of onlookers like the rest of their team. Ruby and Yang were up in Beacon's CCT tower doing some sort of progress report with Goodwitch – part of the Beacon-instituted punishment that the professor had forewarned of in addition to Weiss' own penalization as leader.

Both girls nodded at one another, knowing that after a tiring spar, collapsing back to back to become one another's lumbar support was the next step. Both still check that the other was comfortable with the touch, but never had one denied the other. Weiss prided herself in hearing Blake gasping for breath slightly louder than usual, as it meant she'd been improving.

She also began to redden slightly as she realized just how liable that last thought was to misinterpretation given their romantic involvement.

"You good?" asked Blake, hearing Weiss' own breathing grow heavier.

"F-Fine…"

"Yeah. Nice try with the wrist thing at the end – I only survived because I knew it was coming. Your strike force is getting better." Blake's hand moved to overlap with Weiss', which was placed on the ground.

"Thanks, Blake."

"I guess Beacon has done some good for you after all," Blake tittered. "Kinda makes up for all the shit it put us through."

Weiss smiled, but only for a second.

Blake was right on both counts. Beacon had run both Weiss and Blake through the wringer, and it was finally getting better for Weiss. But was Weiss the only one who was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel?

"Blake…how are you enjoying Beacon?"

"Oh, it's great. Plenty of shelf space for the books."

Weiss patted her girlfriend's hand. "Is it everything you imagined?"

"I know, right?"

Weiss shook her head. Blake couldn't see it, back-to-back as they were, but she could feel the motion. "I wasn't fishing for a compliment to the school. Is it living up to your expectations?"

"Uh, I guess. I mean, fewer Faunus than back home, and there's nothing wrong with humans, but I was hoping for a bit more of an equal percentage of representation among the hunter crowd and all."

"Perhaps we could do something about that," Weiss offered. They were the children of the most famous civil rights leaders in the world, but plenty of simpler options existed – making a club to draw attention to the inequality, writing a letter to the headmaster with suggestions, volunteering their time to training up young Faunus in primary combat schools that couldn't afford tutoring. Weiss suggested some of these ideas to Blake.

"That sounds nice, Weiss." Blake snorted childishly "Heh…rhymes." She shifted slightly against Weiss' back. "But what brought this up?"

"I've been raising Ruby so much one might mistake her for my daughter, and the situation with Yang doesn't need explaining, but I think I haven't even asked how you're doing."

"You know I'm good. And if I wasn't, I'd come to y–" Blake shivered for some reason. "…I'd reach out to you."

"I know it doesn't sit right with me that I've put more effort into my responsibilities as Ruby and Yang's leader than I have as yours. And I'm now your girlfriend, on top of being in charge of us all. I don't want you to have to come to me – it's my job to be proactive and see that you're getting what you want or need."

Blake's shoulders shrugged upwards. "…I wouldn't mind a kiss, if that's on the table."

Their heads turned, and their lips met. It wasn't rushed, but it didn't last as long as Weiss would've liked. It was more because of the uncomfortable positions in which turning to face one another while sitting with their backs touching put them in.

"I think that makes up for our lack of quarterly review," Blake said, her eyes making an otherwise wholesome smile turn mischievous and flirty.

"Glad to hear it." Both girls turned back to face the walls of the empty room. "But I also wanted to ask more about how you're doing."

Blake's hand patted Weiss on the shoulder, then slid down the length of her arm. "Seriously, Schnee, I'm fine."

"Fine with Yang?" Before Blake could answer, Weiss cleared her throat. "You've done a great job of making sure I'm feeling supported. You and Ruby. But she's your partner, and it was anti-Faunus in the way it happened. I know it's got to be hard on you what happened. Not as hard as it was on me, perhaps, but hard. Are you okay?"

The black-haired girl was silent for a long while.

"…no. No, I'm not."

Weiss swallowed uncomfortably. "Would you like to talk about it? I'm here for you, always."

"Sorry, that came out wrong. I'm feeling okay, but I'm not okay with Yang. I don't forgive her. I…I hate her. I hate what she did to you, and I hate how unrepentant she is, and I hate that you and Ruby have to just play ball in her court because both of you fear that you risk offending the other if you don't."

Blake sighed, but her breath was ragged, and it didn't sound tired this time. If anything, it sounded angry. This wasn't the studious teenager who'd decided her parents had things under control and had switched to preparing for the past five years for her Academy entrance exams; this was the young child who used to go to every single protest and scream louder than anyone at the injustices that the world dared to contain. Angry Blake was Passionate Blake, but she was also Fearsome Blake.

"I don't forgive her. I can't. And I don't think I'm going to be able to for a while – maybe ever. If you need to, as leader, I get it, but don't ask or order me to interact with her unless it's a requirement. That's what I need from you, as leader."

"Mm-hmm. I'll see to it that Ruby doesn't either. Oh, but this conversation should stay private. Uh…I'll…"

"I can handle Ruby," Blake said. "As long as I don't have to handle Yang."

Next Chapter: Gilderoman Lockhart

In which Weiss Schnee doesn't have to charm a room full of Cornish Pixies.

Author's Notes

Sorry Bumbleby shippers. But if you want that ship, I'm really unsure why you're reading this, my most heavily Checkmate fic.

If you want clarification on Yang, she's not plotting Weiss' downfall, but her apology was still quite lackluster. Other than that, you'll have to field specific questions, as I won't make any broad statements to avoid spoilage.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!