Chapter 21 – Paragon
In which Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose have polar opposite experiences with the same Special Tactics teacher.
It was one week after the first Special Tactics class that Weiss got her interview with Sensei Torchwick. Her partner was scheduled for the next half hour of the period, and Blake and Yang were to meet with him tomorrow.
At Ruby's insistence, Weiss went into the one-on-one meeting with an open mind. It was difficult – the way Torchwick carried himself so utterly perfectly reminded her of the image-conscious Atlas 'old money' crowd and set off alarm bells in her mind – but she supposed that being too 'perfect' wasn't a true character flaw.
It's not like Goodwitch, who's the image of stern grace. Whenever he's seen about the school, Torchwick is likable, approachable, similar in age to many of the students (compared to someone like Ozpin), and generally friendly. He calls students by their first names, and he picked them all up on the first try, I think. On the few instances when there're students making trouble or behaving problematically in his view, he talks it out instead of threatening detentions. There's no other word to describe him but perfect. A perfect gentleman, a perfect huntsman, a perfect teacher. Or Sensei. Whatever.
His office was the standard one for Beacon staff, but this unit was particularly sparse in terms of personal touch. A central desk with one chair on Torchwick's side was present, as was an identical one flipped around on the opposite side, but there was no other furniture. Not a single table, lamp, or cabinet could be seen within the room.
Furthermore, it lacked decorations save for a handful of hung scrolls with calligraphy in the form of symbols Weiss could not decipher. They reminded her of Mistral, but Weiss wasn't sure if it was actual recognition or merely subconscious assumption on her part, association mysticism with the east.
He didn't shake Weiss' hand or pat her on the back, even though she'd seen him do so with the boy from the first team he'd called in for the interview, and there was no point during their pre-interview introduction that his smile dropped. Weiss half expected him to take her hand and kiss the back of her palm, but he didn't.
I can't tell if he somehow knows I don't like to be touched without asking. Perhaps he's just perceptive?
"Professor."
"Weiss, my friend, it's great to see you." He gestured to the empty chair in his office. "Please, have a seat if it so suits you. Your comfort is paramount here – I want you to feel completely at ease so we can make the most progress determining your energies and how they can factor into your Special Tactic, whatever it may be."
"Thank you, sir." She sat, and he did the same.
"I must say, I was most pleased with the way you answered my question in class last week. My other friends' answers were all excellent, but yours was the perfect shot that struck the Nevermore between the eyes."
"I'm glad to be of help, sir."
The smile seemed to only grow larger. "Please. Sir is for people who have earned their respected positions at this academy. As I am still a humble beginner in the field of education, I have yet to deserve a title so formal. Call me Roman."
"Sensei Roman?" Weiss offered. Calling a teacher by his first name was a bit too much for her.
He nodded. "If it so suits you."
That smile of his – it wasn't fake. Rather, it lacked the telltale signs of a fake smile. The bottom teeth weren't showing, the wrinkles around his eyes and lips were genuine, his eyes didn't flicker in the patterns Weiss had seen in her childhood. Was it a real smile, or an exceedingly good facsimile? If the latter were the case, then Torchwick was truly an excellent actor.
Remember Ruby, Weiss. Give him a chance before you assign blame. Maybe he's just a happy person.
"Now, then. We have many things to discuss, and only a half hour to do so. Would you be amenable to starting with a discussion of your weaponry?"
"Actually, I'd rather discuss my semblance first, as it holds crucial context for why Myrtenaster was designed the way it was."
"That would be wonderful!" Sensei Torchwick said, clasping his hands together. "It fills me with joy that you speak your truth so freely, my friend. The more I know about you, the better equipped I am to work with you on this journey. I've had some friends who have yet to comprehend that their input in this process matters more than my own. Each Special Tactic is a unique vest to be woven and worn within with one's own thread, and I am but the humble needle."
It wasn't even a half an hour, but it felt like a lot longer. Weiss described her semblance in what she thought was vivid detail, categorically going over the different types of Glyphs she had at her disposal (hinting that Summons were still being practiced and mastered, not completely unknown to her). She even described the unique ways that each type of her Dust could be applied to semblance.
But apparently, it wasn't enough. The questions were a flood that nearly swept her away with their overflowing desire for knowledge. Weiss might've thought it a quiz if not for the fact that Sensei Torchwick didn't already know of her semblance's inner workings.
But that's assuming he doesn't already…
No! No, I need to stop this. Ruby specifically asked me to.
At no point in the interview did he express any displeasure, even when her answers weren't satisfactory. He gave her time, he let her finish speaking before moving on to the next one, and every word she spoke was soaked up with a nod.
"Is there a physical limit to the amount of force applied to a Glyph before it fails?"
"No, but higher force does correlate to faster aura consumption."
"Is it more efficient to form an Ice Dust barrier than a physical Glyph?"
"In terms of the aura you spoke of, yes. But I can't easily compare the value of using Dust vs. using my aura."
"If you use a time dilation Glyph to speed up an ally, can you simultaneously move your own body? If so, at what speed?"
"I must remain physically stationary in order to cast time dilation or other support."
Torchwick considered this for a second. "You can stand on your Glyphs, as I understand it."
Weiss nodded.
"And barrier Glyphs exist as physical objects that you can move using your mind."
Again, she nodded.
"If you were to form a barrier Glyph to use as a base of support, could you move it in a three-dimensional space while simultaneously supporting others?"
Weiss' nose wrinkled. "I…I don't know, Sensei Torchwick."
He visibly tensed at her apparent displeasure and bowed his head. "Forgive me if I've overstepped. I invite you to decline any question if it is offensive or the answer is too personal to state, my friend."
She hadn't actually been upset with him; it was with herself for not ever having thought to try out that combination of Glyphs. He was asking questions about her semblance and devising new strategies with her semblance that she had never even considered, and it was only his first time ever hearing about it.
U̶n̶l̶e̶s̶s̶…̶
Stop it, Weiss. He's a professional huntsman, and he's been dealing with students and their semblances day in and day out for the past week. I suspect he probably just has Special Tactics on the brain from hours and hours of strenuous work in the subject.
Weiss gestured for him to continue, and he did. Every little aspect of her semblance was queried, itemized, and defined in a conclusive manner, and she couldn't help but feel like it was an invasion. This wasn't information that she hid – had someone like Goodwitch or Port asked, she would have answered them freely – but the sheer volume of data she was giving away set off alarm bells in her head that she patently ignored.
I come from a quasi-dysfunctional family and a class of society that uses deception, flattery, and manipulation as tactics to steal information from industrial competitors and rival households. It's me who's being weird here, not Sensei Torchwick.
It would be so easy if she could just believe that.
It was after twenty full minutes, two-thirds of their scheduled interview, that they finished on her semblance and moved on to the topic of swordplay. Her use of Dust had already been described, as it was inextricable from her Glyphs, so weaponry was the only remaining topic of discussion.
Weiss showed him Myrtenaster, demonstrated several key forms for about five minutes (taking care not to slice up the few decorations he had on his spartan living quarters), and prepared herself for any questions he might have had.
"From what material is it fabricated?"
"Stainless steel, alloyed with copper and platinum."
"Does the hilt have a grip?"
Weiss shook her head.
He nodded. "I see. You may put it away if it so suits you."
"W-What?" Weiss looked down her rapier, half expecting it to have grown a second blade. "Why? You had hundreds of questions about the Glyphs, but none about the sword?"
"While I do have questions, I can access the schematics from Beacon's records; they were uploaded during your application. Certainly, answers with a personal touch from the excellent blade's excellent wielder would be preferrable, we have only about five minutes of time remaining before your partner's interview begins, and there are more pressing topics of discussion."
More topics? They'd covered her semblance and aura, Dust use, weaponry, and her fighting style. Weiss couldn't think of anything else to discuss.
"I see your confusion, my friend. Fret not – this is not a fault of yours, but mine. Special Tactics are an atypical subject in that they require not only a fine understanding of one's combat abilities, but one's personality as well. For instance, an aggressive tactic would utterly fail a more cautious student like my friend Ren, whereas a slow, defensive one would be improperly suited for one of my more brash students such as my friend Cardin, or really any of his teammates. Should I suggest these poor methods and they result in a failure to deliver, the student's life could be imperiled, and I would be to blame." The smile briefly dipped, and the contrast to its normal brightness was enough to make Weiss liken his face to a frowning one. "I would rather not have such guilt on my energy, so I thus endeavor to take each and every student's personality into account."
"Very well," Weiss said, unsure of how much she was willing to disclose.
This was going to be difficult. She was a private person by her very nature, having grown up under intense media scrutiny, and simply admitting deep secrets about herself rubbed Weiss' wings the wrong way. After all, doing so would be a betrayal of her sense of privacy, meaning that it defeated the point.
But at the same time, if she fulfilled Ruby's request and trusted Sensei Torchwick at his word, he was trying to save her life here. Weiss imagined that she would be willing to put aside her secretive nature in order to spare herself a grim fate at Grimm hands.
"I won't be able to truly get a measure of your truth from five minutes, nor would I from a full day spent together. A person is far more complicated than that." He reached into his desk and pulled out a clipboard with a laminated sheet of white paper on it. The writing was too small to make out, but it seemed to be sparse. "Thus, I will instead ask a set of standard questions, the same for all students, to get a general picture of how you think. You may feel free to decline any of these questions, as they may be personal."
Weiss nodded, internally reminding herself that declining would be giving away information that the question made her uncomfortable. She was going to have to be very careful here.
"Firstly, if you hadn't chosen to be a huntress, what career path would you have picked?"
"Businesswoman," Weiss answered without missing a beat. She was already planning on inheriting her place as future CEO of the SDC and balancing that out with her duties as a huntress, so the answer came to her easily.
He didn't prompt her for any further clarification, nor did he write anything down on his clipboard.
"Next question. This one varies for team leaders or non-leaders. For a leader…if you could give the position to someone else, would you? For reference, a non-leader would be asked if they would be willing to accept the position if offered."
Weiss wanted to ask for clarification, because it mattered immensely to her if he wanted to know if the 'someone else' she was to hand the position away to was on her team. She would not foist her responsibilities onto Blake, who'd asked not to receive it when they'd first arrived at Beacon, or Ruby, who was just barely struggling to keep up as it was. Neither girl wanted the position, and Weiss knew the burden would be too much for them. Yang was out of the question – even setting aside their personal disagreement, she was simply too hotheaded, and she obviously thought that Ruby was the most important member of the team, even if she didn't say it.
If it weren't them…maybe. She wasn't enjoying leadership as much as she thought she would have. In the SDC, she would have the power to give commands and see them followed, as the big boss got to decide who was fired and who wasn't. But here in Beacon, Weiss' title of team leader was only as valuable as the tablet screen on which it had been typed.
He'd asked if she would give the position to someone else, not specifically stating a partner, so Weiss had to assume it was anyone else, not necessarily a member of Team RWBY. Thus, the answer was probably yes.
"No," Weiss said.
Some things were too personal to reveal to an outsider. Even if she hadn't doubted Sensei Torchwick's intentions, she would have lied nonetheless. Had Goodwitch or Port or Ozpin himself been the asker, she wouldn't have told them the honest truth either.
"Alright. The next question is a two-parter. If you were tasked with an assignment to rescue ten defenseless people who were all in danger from the Grimm, but you received a scroll call that ten of your closest family and friends were in immediate need of rescue from an equivalent threat, who would you save?"
The man's smile had disappeared, likely not wanting to appear insensitive in the wake of such a morbid question.
Weiss didn't think she could count the number of people she counted as friends or family up to ten. Blake, Kali, Ghira, Klein, Ruby…barely even halfway there. Still, the intent of the question was obvious.
"I would save my family and friends. Assuming that, in this hypothetical scenario, the family and friends in question wouldn't be capable of defending themselves. Many of them are hunters or hunter-level, but I feel that that hypothetical defeats the purpose of the question."
Torchwick nodded. "Thank you for your candor. Now for the second part. If it were a village of one-thousand people vs. ten members of family and friends, would your answer change?"
"I…I would go for the village. I don't think I could face my people if they knew I'd sacrificed thousands of lives for their own."
Another nod, and but the smile didn't return.
"Well, we're at the final question. This one's probably the most important one, so I'm going to have to insist that you answer it for me. Even if you feel the need to be dishonest, I cannot accept you declining."
Weiss couldn't help but swallow tensely. If this question was so serious, especially after having just been asked to comment on the comparative value of lives, she feared to know what he had in mind.
Torchwick cleared his throat.
"What…is your favorite color?"
The smile returned, and Weiss couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"White," she replied, unimpressed with his little joke.
"Sorry, my friend. An attempt to lighten the mood. That's all the time we have, but I think I now know all that I need. Please send your partner in when you leave."
Weiss patiently sat outside of Sensei Torchwick's office (she was honestly surprised he didn't insist on referring to it as a Dojo) as she waited for Ruby to finish up. She had her scroll out and was browsing the news, something that she was taking more seriously after nearly missing the video of the new professor's exploits against the paladin robot just a few days prior.
She had open both the local news and the world news, and none of it was particularly heartening.
Within Vale, the transfer students for the Vytal Tournament were arriving in droves, and there had been an incident between a team of Vacuoans and an Atlesian unit that nearly resulted in violence. The news article didn't share the full story, as the Atlesians were first years and thus minors, but apparently it was a difference of opinion regarding dress code. Fucking dress code.
Her home kingdom's military was becoming more and more isolated from the outside world. People, Atlesians and Mantleans, were coming to think of themselves as fundamentally better – more disciplined, smarter, stronger. It originally had been for the purpose of morale, as the Grimm hunted based on negativity, but eventually, enough generations had passed that the people who wrote the propaganda started believing it. Now, the entire army and navy of Atlas seemed to genuinely accept that they were the best solely on the basis that they had the most guns. Sure, Atlesian technology was probably ahead of the rest of the world, but that didn't mean that its culture was inherently superior, not its leaders, nor their militarized stance, nor their dress code.
I wonder if this is good or bad for Father. He needs victories against Ironwood more than anything at this point, but the worse the military behaves, the more support he can drum up against them.
In terms of the situation worldwide, it was even worse. This year's human supremacist group, Anthrosurgent, a name Weiss was beginning to despise more and more, had reportedly robbed a business caravan originating out of Menagerie. None of the goods were stolen, though; all were destroyed. This clearly wasn't a case of theft. The humans responsible were sending a message – they'd rather destroy merchandise touched by the Faunus than even have it.
There had been others before. Never in history had there been a lack of unhappy humans who sought to blame the other sapient species inhabiting Remnant, and frequently their numbers had reached critical mass and congregated into groups, clusters, or herds – whatever you wished to call them, they were always the same scared, fearful animals.
This one was different, though. Usually, by this point, Ghira was onto them, and Weiss' father too. The problem with such groups was that they tended to want for manpower, and it was easy to get an inside man or woman to infiltrate their group and sell out their information to the authorities.
But something was different about this one. According to both the news article she was reading and the absolute radio silence from her parents and guardians on the subject, they had nothing so far. That meant one of two things – they either had enough people and weren't in the recruiting stage, or they had someone professional behind them who knew how to root out the spies.
It's inevitable that the inverse will eventually happen. A defector from the military, the police, or maybe even the White Fang will go to their side and become a spy for the enemy.
If this group survived longer than the others…if they somehow endured the four year mark and weren't behind bars or bullet-riddled corpses by that point, it would conceivably fall to Weiss to stop them. As both a huntress of the kingdoms and the heiress to the SDC, the responsibility would be hers.
It's almost a guarantee that Blake will take over as either the White Fang's High Leader or the Chieftain of Menagerie, and we're on the same team. Our parents have left big footprints for us to fill, but we're the Faunus who are best suited for the job. We know the ins-and-outs of the business, we're huntresses, and we have the legacy of our parents behind us. Even as figureheads, we'd do better than someone like Adam, a glory-hound, or Whitley, who cares as much for the average Faunus as he does a stray cat in the streets.
But I can barely keep my own team afloat? How will I ever handle an entire company? I always assumed I was an excellent leader, but my first trial has been one by fire so far, and I've yet to endure.
Hopefully, it would be different. Ideally, Weiss would be a better, more well-rounded person by the time she took over the SDC, with many more years of experience under her belt by that point. And the responsibility of being a huntress was one of skill and power – something Weiss could learn. Leadership of Team RWBY was a test of social prowess, at this point.
The news wasn't all doom and gloom, even if that was what Weiss focused on. There were plenty of wholesome puff pieces about interviewing the newcomers and getting their statements on all sorts of topics – how excited they were to see the new kingdom, how they hoped that this tournament would be the best in history (an obligatory sentiment shared by every generation), and some factoids about their home kingdom.
There was also a decent article about Leonardo Lionheart being honored for having the highest survival rate of his huntsmen and huntresses within the first thirty years after graduation of any headmaster in academy history. Weiss had never personally met the man, but his appointment to his position was one supported by Father, both Belladonnas, and Ozpin himself, so she supposed she ought to be proud that the first Faunus headmaster was settling in so well.
Weiss skimmed the piece about Roman Torchwick – it was more of a tabloid piece on how much the author wanted to write about fucking him than any true piece of journalism. She did make a note to send it to Ruby, in case she either wanted to compare notes or fight for his hand in marriage.
As if summoned by Weiss' thoughts, the door to Torchwick's office opened, and Ruby popped out.
"Ah, there you are." Weiss powered down her handheld device and rose from her seat. "Were you able to…"
She trailed off.
Ruby was crying.
Weeping.
"I…I'm so sorry," said Torchwick, coming out shortly after her with no pep in his step. The smile was missing. "I'm so sorry, my friend. I cannot apologize enough."
Ruby just kept bawling her eyes out.
Weiss had borne witness to many emotional moments with many people who meant more to her. She'd comforted Klein when he'd received news of a positive diagnosis of Type II Diabetes, with some emotion slipping through his brave face put on for her benefit. She'd held Blake's hand when her grandparents, Akela and Raksha Belladonna, had been killed when an old military mine that Atlas had never properly decommissioned went off in a forest trail they'd been hiking on. Dust, she'd watched her own mother slowly sink into depression after going to a discreet rehabilitation clinic, coming home sober, and not being able to forge a motherly bond with Whitley in spite of her newfound desire to do so, ultimately leading her to go back to drink as her only source of comfort following his rejection.
But seeing Ruby Rose, a child of fifteen-years who barely knew who she was meant to be in her own life, so utterly reduced to this sorry state broke her heart. She'd seen Ruby cry before, but this wasn't Ruby being slightly teary-eyed. The croaking of her voice as she gasped for breath, the snot running down her noise and dripping into her open mouth, the tint of red to her eyes as she just kept crying and crying – Ruby was heartbroken.
"What did you do?!" Weiss thundered, turning her anger at Torchwick.
His head hung in shame. "I…I thought she was…"
"Weiss, luut's go." Ruby could barely enunciate her own words through her complete emotional breakdown. "Ah wan…unt'a go."
Ruby threw herself into Weiss' arms, practically begging for support, and Weiss had no objections to being touched in this case. Her own personal preferences went out the window when lives or health were on the line, and Ruby was clearly unwell. Even if it weren't a physical ailment, she needed help right now.
"Come on, Ruby. Let's go home."
She looked over her shoulder once more at Torchwick, who had turned away from them. Weiss held back her sigh and began departing from the teacher's office with Ruby in tow when a frightfully loud cracking noise filled her eardrums. She turned back in alarm, fearful of danger or peril, but the only thing she could see was a door slowly closing into a demolished doorframe. The frame seemed to have suffered an extremely violent blow that splintered the wood, and there was a small sum of red blood mixing in with the white paint on the wood.
"Wih…hnnn." Ruby tried and failed to moan her leader's name, and her voice broke again as she gasped for air. "….need to go…"
"Oh, Ruby. I'll take you home. Let's go."
The walk to their dorm room was far longer than the walk from it, as Ruby dragged her feet the whole way along. Weiss had to physically hold up her partner to prevent her from slumping into the floor in a heap. With every step she took, the silence only broken by Ruby's arhythmic sobs every other moment, Weiss thought up a new way to castrate Professor Torchwick using Myrtenaster.
He'll be lucky to hold on to his cushy professorial job after I've reported this. Fan-favorite teacher my ass; only a monster would –
Weiss pushed out the image of Ruby crying on the second day of class because of Weiss' outburst from her mind. There would be time for guilt later.
And blame would also have to wait. As much as Weiss wanted to plan Roman Torchwick's suffering down to the microsecond, Ruby needed to come first.
"If you want to talk, I'm here. Always, Ruby. If you don't, that's fine too. It's up to you."
"Nuuuuh…don't."
It wasn't much, but it was a complete word spoken without Ruby coming apart at the seams and unravelling into rose petals, so Weiss considered it progress.
And then, against all logic, Ruby started laughing. It only lasted about four seconds before she started crying again, and Weiss genuinely began to wonder if the dorm room was the right place to take Ruby, or if the counselor's office would be better.
"Ruby, are you alright?" Weiss asked dumbly. "A-Are you well? Rather, do you need medical aid, or any professional services?"
"Home," Ruby weakly said. "I…just wanna go home. I thought of something stupid, and it was stupid, but it was kind of a thing about the thing that just happened. I'll tell you later. I just need to lie down. I…I wanna be alone for a bit. Maybe sleep. I dunno."
Weiss nodded and did her best to restrain her curiosity. Ruby had said she didn't want to talk, and Weiss would respect that.
At this point, Ruby was better off and able to stand on her own without Weiss' aid, so Weiss quickly took out her scroll and sent a brief message to Blake.
"I'm not going to tell her anything personal, just that you need the room."
Ruby didn't even hear it. Right now, she was lost in her own little world of Ruby thoughts, probably reliving whatever had happened inside Torchwick's office over and over again in her head. That was what Weiss did with any particularly traumatic core memory shortly after it happened.
Inside Torchwick's office…
Ruby…
Ruby, a child, alone with an adult man…
"Did he – ?!" Weiss practically screamed.
"Whuh?" Ruby broke out of her little stupor, blinking. "What?"
"I…he didn't touch you inappropriately, did he? Or hurt you?"
That snapped Ruby back to reality, and she was instantly denying everything. "No, no! He…He didn't do anything inappropriately. This was all me."
Ruby swallowed deeply, and Weiss held her tongue. Ruby had said she didn't want to talk about it, but if jumping to defend his integrity had changed her mind on that, Weiss wouldn't object.
"I…I…I just…I told him I was in love with him." She smacked the back of her hand to her forehead with such force that Weiss could practically feel her own head getting a headache. "Gah, stupid! Stupid!"
"Y-You aren't stupid," Weiss said, not really sure of how to tactfully phrase this. Because honestly, if Ruby herself wasn't in shambles, Weiss might've felt the need to berate her over saying such a stupid thing.
She's known of his existence for less than two weeks, and this was her first time meeting him personally. Blake and I have spent our entire childhoods together, and we're not even sure it's real romantic love. For Ruby to think she'd found a soulmate based on first impressions alone…
…but she's a child. This is quite possibly her first crush, and finding fault over a kid being a kid is wrong.
"You are not stupid, Ruby," Weiss said, believing it this time.
"I am, Weiss. Now how do I go to class every day and look him in the eyes after how horrible I made him feel?"
"By showing up, Ruby. He's a teacher, a professional. And a rather charming huntsman, if you're into such things." Weiss preferred huntresses, but this was Ruby's moment. Though she held no attraction for Roman, she was aware of what standards the male gender was held to in terms of physical attractiveness, and he fulfilled most if not all. "I'm sure he's had crushes directed his way before. Every teacher has, and hunters of the academies for certain. They're practically celebrities."
"It's not so easy, Weiss." Ruby was no longer crying, but her eyes were still bright red.
At least she's talkative. That means she's feeling good enough to not break down just from thinking on the topic.
"You'll be fine, Ruby. I'm sure you'll be laughing on this in time – both of you."
"Laughing." Ruby's nose wrinkled in an ugly way. "Weiss, I probably made him feel like a bucket of poop."
"What, by having to turn you down?" Weiss scoffed. "Any adult that doesn't belong in prison would do so, given your age in relation to the age of consent, Ruby."
Ruby grimaced and shook her head. "I was laugh-crying just now because of that joke. You know, the old 'Worst thing he can say is no' meme. I told him I loved him, and he…he laughed. In my face. Not maliciously, not cruelly, but because he legit thought I was just kidding around with him, and he thought that the idea of me liking him was utterly hilarious. He actually congratulated me at the end for being so funny."
Weiss wasn't sure what that revelation made her feel. The anger from Roman from before reared up its vicious head again, threatening to burst free from the box into which she'd shut it so that she could tend to Ruby, but not escaping just yet. There was also sympathy on behalf of Ruby, who pretty much lived through a worst-case scenario when it came to baring one's heart and facing rejection.
Everyone feared being told no, but it was in their worst nightmares that their honest feelings would be met with scathing, dismissive laughter. But most people knew that their irrational fears were just that. Even if they couldn't overcome their own nerves, few truly expected such cruelty from their crushes. Weiss herself had worried that Blake would be angered when asked out, but she'd logically known that such a response was practically impossible.
"I'm sorry, Ruby," was all Weiss could say. "It's going to be okay, I promise."
Ruby began to cry anew, not as bad as before but still rather thickly. Weiss placed a hand on her shoulder, assuming that Ruby would be okay with contact after having initiated it just a moment ago.
"I'm sorry, Ruby," Weiss said, echoing their teacher's word from just moments ago. "I'm so, so sorry."
And it was in that moment – with Weiss holding and apologizing to a profusely crying Ruby – that Yang Xiao-Long rounded the corner and came upon the two girls.
Next Chapter: Broken Bird
In which Weiss Schnee's team finally reaches the bird-breaking point.
Author's Notes
I'll never miss an opportunity to crush Ruby's spirits! Never!
Nah, she's just sad because of the break-up. It's a childhood crush that didn't work out, and that's probably for the best given...everything.
Anyways, great cliffhanger, 9.5 rats out of 10, five stars, let's hope Wiess fckuing sruvives Yang's adolescent rage this time.
Happy rats, and don't do crime!