A.N: Hoo boy. So, first thing's first. I know a lot of you really want to see the next RWBY Campaign chapter for War of Discoveries. I'm halfway done, don't worry. I just had all my ideas down for this chapter and I wanted to get it done before I forgot. So, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.
Chapter 37: Night on the Town
The shock of the moment finally began to sink in for Yang Xiao Long (and the rest of Team RWBY), as they came to realize they had indeed won against Team GLDN. Four one-on-one matches, and they won all four of them. Yang could no longer contain her excitement inside of their dorm room, where they were taking a moment to rest up.
"AWW YEAH!" Yang pumped her fist into the air triumphantly. "We bad! We bad!"
Everyone else was not as expressive as Yang, but they were all smiling and nodding in agreement. Ruby Rose seemed to want to jump in the air, but was restraining herself from doing so. Hansel Kobalt was leaning against a wall, away from the celebration while Zwei was propped up on two feet, planting his front paws on his right leg, trying to get the professor's attention.
"I wouldn't get too excited." Hansel spoke up. "You did only beat up a bunch of guys in training. The pros are way tougher."
The girls all looked at Hansel. Hansel winced at how betrayed they looked at him for raining on their parade. He sighed. "Though yeah...you girls did do well." He acknowledged.
"I gave you all a challenge and you answered the challenge. Well done."
Yang grinned. "Well don't sound so reluctant to praise us, Teach." She could not resist teasing the man.
"I'm not reluctant, I'm just trying to make sure you don't rest on your laurels." Hansel deadpanned. He then turned his attention to Ruby, making her eyes widen, realizing he was speaking particularly to her now. "You're making great progress. It'd be a damn shame if you wasted it now by acting like this is as good as it gets."
Blake seemed to shift uncomfortably, like she wanted to say something. However, she bit down on her lip, unable to find the courage to speak up. She would decide to save what she had to say for later.
"Anyway, how are you all feeling?" Hansel asked. "I didn't exactly get any indication that you were exempt from the rest of your classes for today. And considering Nurse Sclater didn't see a need to examine Belladonna too closely, I'd say you're good to return to classes."
Yang pouted. "You sure you can't just let us all hang out and celebrate the win?"
"Celebrate during your time off, Xiao Long, technically right now is class time." Hansel responded without missing a beat. He then turned his attention back to Ruby. "But Rose, you stay here for a moment."
"Huh?" Ruby looked confused.
"You heard me." Hansel insisted, turning his attention to the rest of Team RWBY. Hansel: You three go on ahead, there's something I need to discuss with Rose alone. She'll catch up."
"What about?" Ruby asked curiously.
"About your match today." Hansel responded.
Yang smirked at this. "What, embarrassed to tell her she did a great job in front of all of us?" She taunted.
Hansel rolled his eyes at her teasing. "Now, Xiao Long." He responded in a tone that left no room for argument.
Yang raised her hands in the air in surrender. "Fine, fine, catch up with us later, Rubes."
Yang gestured for Weiss and Blake to follow her. "Leave Zwei here," Yang told them. "Just in case Teach tries any funny business."
Ruby sputtered at Yang's crassness while Hansel just glowered at the woman. "OUT!" Hansel exclaimed, pointing at the door.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Yang laughed as she grabbed onto Weiss and Blake and forced them out the door.
Ruby shifted uncomfortably. Being left alone with such an intimidating presence was quite uncomfortable. Also, teacher of not, Hansel was a boy. She was alone in a room with a boy. Double uncomfortable. "Er...so what did you want to talk about?" She had to break the ice somehow before things got weird.
Hansel sighed. "You may be able to trick your teammates, but you can't fool me. Your ankle is sprained. It happened when that guy shot your ankle."
Ruby turned red in embarrassment. "Oh...so you noticed, huh?"
"You're not going to get a lot of things past me." Hansel pointed out to her. "So, why hasn't your Aura taken care of it?"
Ruby shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know…" she admitted. "I mean, normally I'd just say I exhausted all of it in my fight with Gra...but it ended so quickly…"
"Say no more, I think I know exactly what happened." Hansel shook his head. "You didn't sleep too well last night, because you insisted we stay up sparring all night. Your Aura didn't have a chance to recharge because you didn't get any rest."
That means she wasn't fighting Gra at full strength, and she still decimated the poor bastard. Hansel realized. Seriously, this girl...
Ruby lowered her head like a sad puppy. Then the actual puppy lowered its head, mimicking its master. Hansel shifted awkwardly at the sight. "Geez, don't give me that look, it's like I'm the bad guy here. I told you staying up late last night could have negative repercussions. You're lucky your Aura held out long enough for you to win." Hansel told her.
"Well, I guess I should just take it easy for the rest of the day." Ruby shrugged.
Hansel shook his head. "That won't do and you know it." He told her. "Even if your Aura does recharge and takes care of that ankle for you, you've still got to get through the rest of the day, and I know there's a little bit more physical exercise before classes end. Now come on, let's get you to the nurse."
Ruby let out a nervous whimper at this. "Umm...no." She muttered.
Hansel gave Ruby a deadpan expression. "What do you mean no?"
"She scares me." Ruby bluntly admitted.
Hansel thought back to Nurse Sclater's behavior yesterday and shuddered involuntarily. "...Fair enough." He relented before heaving a sigh. "Alright, I guess I'll have to take care of this myself."
Ruby looked at Hansel in confusion. "Eh? What do you mean?"
Hansel then walked over to his bag. Ruby had been wondering why he had brought it with him to their room. He then reached into his bag and took out…
"A first aid kit?" Ruby was surprised.
Hansel raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. What, are you surprised I have one?" He asked.
"Well, no it's just...okay, yeah, I didn't think you knew how to provide first aid."
Hansel shrugged. "One of the many survival skills Glynda ended up teaching me. And it was one I was almost as happy to learn like I was to fight. Truth be told...I was always scared of the idea of running into the one doctor who would refuse to treat any of my injuries because of who I am."
Ruby's face fell. "Oh...I see…"
Hansel sighed at the expression on her face. "Wipe that look off your face, Rose. I told you yesterday, I don't want pity."
Rub shook her head. "I can't help it, Professor, everything you said was…"
"Life's not fair, Rose. We all have to live with the cards we were dealt." Hansel brushed the matter off before Ruby could dwell on it more. "Now enough talk, let me see that ankle."
Right, the professor was offering something nice. Ruby knew she would be rude to turn down something like that. Wait...the ankle...her ankle…
Ruby turned red with embarrassment. Yeah, that might be a problem.
Hansel sighed. "What now?"
"Professor...we have a problem."
"Why?"
Ruby nervously poked her fingers together. "I mean, obviously I need to get my shoes off, but…" Ruby was now as red as her namesake. Gods this was so embarrassing to admit.
"But what?"
Ruby whimpered, summoning up as much courage as possible to say what needed to be said. She could only hope that this did not make things awkward between the two of them. "Professor, I'm wearing pantyhose." She reminded him. "I...need to get them off in order for you to work on my ankle and to get them off..."
Ruby whimpered again, lowering her head so Hansel could not look into her eyes. "..I have to lift up my skirt and…"
Hansel now turned red, realizing why this might be an issue. All calmness and confidence vanished and was replaced with a stuttering, sputtering, embarrassed eighteen-year old. "Gah, right!" He frantically yelled. "Sorry, I'll look away!"
Ruby's eyes widened. She forgot her embarrassment and started giggling at his behavior. "It's...kinda cute how shy you are at times like these."
Hansel turned away from her in an instant. "Sh-shut up!" He snapped. "You do realize I could get fired and in serious trouble if people got the wrong idea about this, right?"
Ruby, to her credit, gasped in realization. Hansel would be fired and his rep tarnished even further if someone saw this and got the wrong idea. "Oh, right, sorry." She said, reaching for her pantyhose.
Realizing what she was about to do, Ruby turned red again. "Please don't look." She pleaded.
Hansel grit his teeth while Zwei just looked at the two humans happily, blissfully unaware of how awkward this situation was becoming. "Of course I won't look...what, do you think I'm some kind of sick deviant?" He demanded.
"No, of course not!" Ruby promised before taking a deep breath. "Okay, here I go."
Hansel was as red as Ruby's namesake as he was then treated to the will-testing sounds of clothes rustling behind him.
Hansel Kobalt was a lot of things. An incredibly skilled Huntsman. A consummate professional. A surprisingly skilled teacher. A great cook. And thanks to Glynda's teachings, good at providing first aid. But he was still a guy. A guy at the tender age of eighteen. And a girl was undressing behind him.
Don't think about that, Hansel. She's your student. Just think about how badly Glynda would punish you if she found out you were thinking of doing indecent things to your students. Yeah, that's it. Or you could even think about something else.
Yeah, think about something else, like the numbers in pi! Hansel actually sounded proud of coming up with that idea. Yeah! That's it! 3.145926535897932384626433832795028841971...
Hansel was cut off from his frantic thoughts by Ruby's voice. "I'm...ready…"
"OH!" Hansel yelled out in a surprisingly high tone of voice. "Right!"
Hansel turned around. Then he turned red again when he saw…
"DON'T LOOK AT MY PANTYHOSE!" Ruby shrieked in horror.
Hansel instinctively yelled right back. "Don't leave them out like that!" His eyes darted away from the sight. "J-just put your leg on something for me and I'll...gah, let's just get this over with."
Ruby nodded and laid her bad leg out on the bed. Hansel blushed slightly. Of all the spots she could have picked, she of course picked the most provocative. He shook his head. He had to focus. More importantly, he had to get this over with. "Okay, okay, let's do this."
Hansel walked over to Ruby's ankle, holding onto some bandages. "Alright, now I need you to hold still while I do this. Applying bandages can be a very delicate process."
Ruby nodded. Hansel placed his hands on Ruby's ankle. Ruby let out a small whimper at Hansel's surprisingly soft and gentle touch, making him jump. "Don't make a weird sound like that!" He hissed in frustration.
"S-sorry…" Ruby whimpered.
Though he desperately wanted to get this over with, Hansel did not want to do a rush job. He knew better in that regard when it came to first aid. "Hold still and be quiet please." He requested.
Hansel slowly and meticulously wrapped the bandages around Ruby's ankle, giving her enough support to walk on it with no issue. Ruby could not help but whimper as Hansel continued his work, something Hansel desperately tried to ignore. As he finished wrapping the bandages, Hansel then instinctively wiped sweat from his brows.
...Why was I sweating? He wondered.
"Alright, we're done." And Hansel could not have been happier they were done.
Ruby was red with embarrassment. She let out so many embarrassing noises in front of a boy. "Umm...could you maybe look away again." She muttered, poking her fingers together again.
"Why?" Hansel asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ruby grumbled meekly. "Well, I need to...get them on again, and that involves…"
Hansel blushed. "Oh! Right!"
Hansel looked away and then found himself face to face with the door. His eyes widened, when he realized he had not even considered a far better solution. "Oh damn it!" He face-palmed.
"What?" Ruby asked.
Hansel face-palmed and groaned. "Why didn't I just wait outside?!"
Ruby turned red. "Ugh...I'm an idiot." He groaned. "I'll be outside.
Ruby nodded, too embarrassed to say anything else. Hansel stepped outside to allow Ruby to dress herself. Hansel leaned against the door, let out another groan and started to chant repeatedly. "I'm an idiot...I'm an idiot...I'm an idiot."
Ruby soon exited, still red in the face from the sheer awkwardness of the situation. "Umm...thank you for the bandage job." She managed.
"...Go and join your teammates, Rose." Hansel ordered.
Ruby nodded and walked away from Hansel, red in the face. Hansel heaved a sigh. "Shit, am I glad that's over." He muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "I really should get back to work on my investigation. We're halfway through the week and the only thing I've managed to do is narrow the pool of suspects down to three people."
"I should reach out to Dr. Polendina, too, and see if he's made any progress on descrambling that footage from the night of the theft."
And so, the day proceeded as it normally would in Atlas Academy. Team RWBY went through their classes, while Hansel continued interviewing soldiers and other scientists to find any other possible lead to narrow the pool of suspects down from three to two, or even one.
It was now late in the afternoon. Hansel was reviewing everything he had managed to gather inside the teacher's lounge. He grimaced at the sight of his notes. "Still nothing that can actually narrow my remaining suspects even further." He muttered to himself.
"Knock knock." Came a familiar voice.
Hansel lowered his head, recognizing that voice. Looks like any possible productivity was about to go right out the window. "What is it?" He asked tiredly.
Team RWBY entered the teacher's lounge. "We just wanted to ask you a favor, Teach." Yang told him. "You're willing to listen, right?"
"As long as it's quick." Hansel replied. "I have a lot of work to do, you know."
Yang grinned. "We were talking all day in between classes." She explained. "And we thought it wouldn't be out of line if the four of us went out and celebrated our victories."
"You want to go out and celebrate?" Hansel gave Yang a deadpan expression.
"A night on the town, professor, a girl's night out." Weiss chimed in. "The girls haven't seen Atlas, and I'm a local. So I thought I could show them around. Show them things like the nightlife. Normally I'm not one for such frivolous activities, but honestly, after our hard fought wins, I think we've earned a break."
Hansel looked at Team RWBY. "You do realize that you're at a military school, right?" He asked. "That means curfews and stuff? I had to have exceptions made just for us to use the training grounds past curfew, ya know."
"Well, I mean it's only a problem if we go past curfew, right?" Yang pointed out like she was very smart.
Ruby looked at Hansel. Hansel noticed she was still a bit red from their awkward encounter earlier in the day. "Please, Professor." She managed to speak clearly though. "We worked so hard. And Yang and I have never seen any of the other kingdoms. Weiss promised she'd show us all around, too! We won't get another chance like this for a long time!"
Hansel rubbed the back of his head. Ruby really did seem to want this. Her expression showed it too. Hansel really wanted to say no, for the sake of professionalism. But damn it. He just could not say no to a face like that.
"Well," he said awkwardly, "you four did work really hard. I...guess you've earned a little bit of R&R. Okay, fine, you can go out and enjoy the nightlife for a bit. But just for tonight."
"Booyah!" Yang let out a cheer.
"And you better be back before curfew." Hansel glowered at them, returning to his rough personality. "I'm not going to save you girls from punishment if you're gone past curfew."
Yang laughed at Hansel's behavior. "Yes dad." She teased.
Hansel blushed in embarrassment. "Seriously, thank you, Professor." Weiss smiled. "After the past couple of fights, we really need a break."
"Again, be back before curfew and we'll call it even." Hansel muttered.
"Professor?" Blake suddenly spoke up.
"What is it, Belladonna?" Hansel asked.
"Umm...before we go, I was wondering if we could go and see General Ironwood together." Blake nervously requested. "There's...something I'd like to discuss with him."
"Huh? What in the world could you possibly want to discuss with General Ironwood, Blake?" Yang asked in confusion.
Blake took a deep breath. "I'd like to talk to the general about the White Fang." She revealed. "It's time I start doing my part for justice...real justice."
The rest of Team RWBY gasped in disbelief. "Blake, are you sure?" Weiss asked.
"Dollie...her parents were killed by the White Fang. That was why she wanted to hurt me so badly" Blake sadly revealed. "I can't defend an action like that. I should've never tried to defend an action like that. But the reality is, instead of trying to confront that, I ran away from it. I ran away and I doomed a lot more innocent people to suffer."
"Blake, you can't blame yourself entirely for what happened to the White Fang." Ruby tried to comfort her.
"Maybe...or maybe if I had tried to bring them to justice by cooperating with authorities...maybe I could've protected people who were hurt by the White Fang afterwards." Blake shook her head. "Either way...there is something I can do to avoid more Dollies, and I want to do it, because that is the just thing to do."
"I agree," Hansel nodded without hesitation, "come on, Belladonna, let's go see Ironwood. The rest of you, remain here and wait for your teammate. You can go and have fun after we're done."
With that, Hansel and Blake left the rest of Team RWBY to make their way towards Ironwood's office. The two stoic individuals were understandably silent. However, Blake surprisingly chose to break that silence. And Hansel was not surprised about the first thing she ended up saying to him.
"Professor, what I said to you yesterday...I…" Blake trailed off, still clearly ashamed of herself for how she behaved.
Hansel shook his head and raised his hand into the air, silencing Blake. "There's nothing more you have to say, Belladonna." He promised in a surprisingly gentle tone of voice. "You were angry, and you said some things you now regret...things you can't take back."
Blake meekly nodded. "You're not the first person who's said something to me that most would consider 'awful' so I'm used to it." Hansel admitted. "If I had a lien for every time someone ran their mouth on me, I'd be richer than the Schnee Family."
"Point is, I've got way more important things to worry about than what's basically just another Tuesday." Hansel told her. "So don't let it get to you."
Blake was briefly taken aback by Hansel's statement, only to soon realize this was his way of telling her he forgave her. She gave a small smile at this. "Thank you, Professor." She said softly. "Not just for that...but for...everything yesterday and today too."
"Don't thank me." Hansel told her. "A lot of that was you after all."
You say that, but I wouldn't have found the courage to face all that if it wasn't for you. Blake acknowledged inwardly. So...thank you.
The walk to Ironwood's office continued, a somewhat awkward silence followed. Blake blushed slightly, a bit embarrassed how she said something so personal but had nothing to follow up with. So, she thought of something else she could say. Or rather, something she could ask.
"Professor?"
"Yes, Belladonna?"
"Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"We've got a bit more time before we reach Ironwood's office, so sure."
Blake took a deep breath. After everything that happened today and yesterday, she simply had to know. "Why do you do what you do?" She bluntly inquired.
Hansel fell silent at this. Of all the questions Blake could have asked him, she chose that one? "Do you really want to know?" He replied.
Blake nodded. "I would love to know why you became a Huntsman, yes." She admitted before adding. "Every time I feel like I've gotten you figured out...you do or say something else that completely changes how I see you. I just...I have to know why you do this. What makes you tick."
Hansel let out a small hum. "What makes me tick, huh?" He mused before sighing, deciding that it would not hurt to tell her. "I do this because I made a promise."
"A promise?"
"I can certainly say it was the death of my family. A desire to redeem the Kobalt name. Or even it being my way to repay Professor Ozpin for everything he did for me. There are a lot of things I could claim to be the reason I became a Huntsman. But it all boils down to one thing: A promise I made a long time ago...to a little girl whose name I never got."
Blake looked at Hansel in disbelief. That was it? Of all the reasons to become a Huntsman, a simple promise was the reason? "Why then?" She asked. "If you don't even know her name, what makes that promise so special to you?"
Hansel shook his head. "It's not her name that matters to me, it was what she was like."
"Okay, what was she like?"
Hansel sighed longingly in remembrance. "She was very kind and sincere. The picture of human purity. I was...taken aback by how pure someone could be."
"And that purity was why?"
Hansel nodded. "Belladonna, I may have only been an official Huntsman for a year...but I've been in this game for far longer. I've seen the worst the world has to offer during that time. Enough for a man to actually doubt the worth in fighting for it."
"So why then?"
"Because that same world also has the purest, most innocent girl I've ever met." Hansel replied. "A girl whose name I never learned, but who's heart made an incredible impact on me. If the world truly has someone like that...then it's still worth fighting for."
"So it's not justice for you, or anything else like that?" Blake assumed.
"Justice is a small part of the fight in the grand scheme of things." Hansel admitted. "For me anyway. In the end, Belladonna...it's the people you keep close to your heart that make the fight worth it."
Blake's eyes widened. She never expected Hansel to have such a sentimental attitude. "Where did you learn that?"
Hansel stiffened slightly for a moment before responding. "That creed...was everything to the Kobalts." He sadly admitted.
Blake fell silent at Hansel's statement for a moment. However, she knew she could not end on such a sad note. She gave Hansel a smile. "Well, for what it's worth, I think it's a great reason when you put it like that." She offered sincerely.
Hansel was no longer listening. Blake took one look into his eyes and saw that he was deep in thought. It was at that moment, Blake decided that silence was the best course of action now.
The two soon reached Ironwood's office, guarded by two soldiers. "Excuse me, gentlemen." Hansel spoke up. "Would you please allow us to enter and speak with Ironwood?"
"General Ironwood." The two guards corrected.
"General Ironwood, whatever." Hansel rolled his eyes. "Look, can we see him or not?"
"Professor Kobalt, you can't just show up unannounced and…"
"Let him in." Came Ironwood's voice over an intercom.
"Umm...are you sure, Sir?"
"Hansel's not the type to come here unless it's something important. So, even if I didn't have time, I'd make time. Now quit wasting both our time and let him in. Let them both in." Ironwood ordered.
"Yes Sir." The guards turned to Hansel. The one who had just spoken continued. "It's your lucky day. The general is in a very generous mood."
Hansel resisted the urge to roll his eyes and respond with a very sarcastic comment. The doors opened and he walked inside with Blake following. Ironwood could not help but smile slightly at the sight of Hansel. "You didn't come here to brag about your students beating mine, eh Hansel?" He joked.
"No." Hansel replied bluntly as the doors shut behind him and Blake.
"You say that and yet you've brought one of your students here." Ironwood noted.
Blake took a deep breath. Time to face the music. "General Ironwood," she spoke up, "I would like to offer you information on the White Fang. Information that can lead to their capture and being brought to justice."
Ironwood's eyes widened briefly before regaining his composure. "I see, and how do you have such information?" He inquired.
Blake had built up the courage to do this and was now going to see it through. However, Hansel raised his hand, silencing her. "Hold it, Ironwood." He said. "In return for this information, you are to give Belladonna immunity, do you understand me?"
Ironwood was taken aback by Hansel's statement. Blake gasped. She had not even considered something like that. "She's giving you what I can only assume to be very useful info, after all." Hansel noted. "So you better be prepared to give something valuable in return, like immunity from prosecution."
Hansel held up his scroll and turned on a recording app. "I need you to say it, let me record this so I can hold you to it."
Ironwood could not help but smile slightly at Hansel's candor towards his student. "Very well," he said, "I, General James Ironwood, promise to grant Blake Belladonna immunity from prosecution in return for her cooperation and information on the White Fang."
Hansel stopped recording. "Good," he said, "now you can continue Belladonna."
Ironwood could not help but laugh. "Hansel," he said, "I would've given her immunity without all this, you know."
Hansel was taken aback by this. "I'm not heartless, Hansel." Ironwood reminded him.
"Er...right." Hansel was, to his credit, rather embarrassed by his paranoia.
"Now why don't you leave, Hansel?" Ironwood suggested. "You can trust me with Blake. And you have a very important investigation to continue, right?"
Hansel decided he could indeed trust Ironwood this time and turned away. "Very well," he began to walk away. He stopped for a brief moment and said, "thank you, James."
The shift to first-name basis had its immediate impact; Ironwood smiled slightly at Hansel for having addressed him without any contempt for a change and nodded. "You're very welcome, Hansel."
"Now then, Blake," Ironwood turned his attention back to Blake as Hansel left the office, "take a seat. We can start with you telling me how you know so much about the White Fang."
Blake nodded and took a seat, just as Ironwood requested. Then, she began to tell her story. Her true story.
An hour then passed for Hansel, who went back to reviewing the information available to him regarding the Gray Jackal theft. He let out a hum, thinking about Team RWBY. Belladonna's probably done with her chat with Ironwood. He noted. By now, those girls are enjoying their night out.
Hansel looked at his watch and frowned. "15 minutes to 7." He sighed. "Guess it's going to be a late dinner tonight."
"If you're worried about dinner, I have a few suggestions." A familiar voice spoke up.
Hansel almost leapt from his seat, but quickly calmed down at the familiar voice. "Specialist, please don't do that." He groaned. "I was kinda absorbed in my work you know."
Winter chuckled. "Sorry, sorry." She said. "I just thought I'd invite you out for a nice meal again. You got those girls ready, so you've earned it."
Hansel raised an eyebrow at Winter's offer. "You really don't care about your rep if you want to have dinner with me twice, Specialist."
Winter smirked. "I think I've made it pretty clear I don't give a damn in the grand scheme of things, Professor. The good people of Atlas are the kind of company my bastard of a father keeps, after all."
"...Fair enough." Hansel shrugged. "So where did you have in mind this time?"
"I'll tell you along the way."
"Fine, fine, let's have dinner again." Hansel quickly relented. "But this time, I'm paying. Got that? I may get the teacher's salary but that doesn't mean I'm strapped for cash."
"Excuse me, I'm the one who offered to pay, and you will let me pay." Winter narrowed her eyes as Hansel rose from his seat, the two beginning their trek out of Atlas Academy.
"And I'm telling you that I'm paying this time." Hansel insisted. "I'm probably just as rich as your family after all, thanks to having the Kobalt Family estate to myself."
This argument lasted until the two reached the restaurant…
Ruby Rose, meanwhile, was pouting in frustration as Weiss and Yang happily carried shopping bags filled with souvenirs to commemorate their trip to Atlas. Blake, who was currently reading a book and walking in between the group noticed Ruby's pouting and frowned. "Ruby, come on, try to enjoy yourself." She pleaded. "I mean, just because we couldn't find any good weapon shops to get new attachments for Crescent Rose, doesn't mean the whole trip was a waste."
"Yeah, Rubes, we were going to get a ton of souvenirs, remember?" Yang grinned, reaching into the bag and pulling out a random object. "See? Snowglobe! Isn't that awesome?"
"And we promised you we'd get you some nice desserts afterwards, remember?" Weiss added. "Seriously, stop acting like such a child."
Ruby grumbled. "Now let's keep going, it's just up ahead." Weiss added.
"Yo, Blake," Yang changed the subject, "how are you doing? You haven't noticed anyone who looks like they want to give you trouble, right?"
Blake shook her head. "I've just gotten a couple uncomfortable glances, but other than that I'm fine."
"Honestly, I'm just riding high after my talk with General Ironwood." Blake admitted with a smile. "I just...I feel like a huge weight's been lifted from my shoulders. I spent so much of my life still believing in the old White Fang...to a fault, that I think I really did forget what justice really was. And now that I've had my eyes opened...I feel like I can really move on."
"Good for you." Yang grinned, bumping Blake's shoulder.
"I...just hope that General Ironwood can actually take the info I gave him and do something with it...for all the victims." Blake continued.
"We're almost there!" Weiss exclaimed. "But while we're here, let me take this opportunity to welcome you to my personal favorite entertainment district in Atlas. This is the place with that dessert shop I told you three about. You'll love the cookies, Ruby."
"That...does sound nice." Ruby admitted, finally dropping her pout but looking off to the side, still playing the role of the spoiled little girl of the team.
She was still just a kid in the end…
However, in an extremely odd coincidence, Ruby's look off to the side caught something incredible. It was the sight of two familiar faces enjoying dinner together. Her eyes widened in shock. "No way!" She exclaimed, running up to the large glass windows and looking inside the restaurant. "Guys, look at this!"
"What is it, Ruby?" Yang, Weiss and Blake curiously followed Ruby.
"Right in the middle! Check out the table right in the middle!" Ruby exclaimed.
The girls did as asked and their eyes widened in disbelief. Sitting right in the middle of a very nice restaurant, just being given their food to enjoy dinner, were Hansel Kobalt and Winter Schnee.
"Professor Kobalt is with Winter." Weiss noted before her mouth dropped open. "Why is Professor Kobalt with my sister?!"
Yang, naturally, jumped to an insane conclusion. "Whoa," she said in awe, "so your sister is the kind of woman that Teach is into. Nice!"
"Absolutely not!" Weiss shrieked.
"Yang, please don't jump to conclusions like that." Blake said tiredly. "Neither of them are dressed up, so clearly, neither of them see this dinner as a date. If I had to guess, I'd say they're just enjoying dinner as two colleagues."
"Do you really think Teach packed nice clothes for a date? I bet Weiss' sister is just being nice." Yang insisted. "Besides, Teach knows how to pick 'em if it is a date. I mean, look at her. She's basically a curvier version of Weiss."
"How dare you…" Murder was in Weiss' eyes for that comment.
"Yang, you can't possibly think that Professor Kobalt and Weiss' sister are in love, do you?" Ruby looked at Yang in shock and awe.
"Why do you word it like my sister isn't good enough for him?" Weiss demanded.
"As someone who's been on a lot of dates, I've got a pretty good sixth sense for this." Yang replied.
Ruby gave Yang a deadpan expression. "Yang, how many of those dates actually lasted past the first?"
Yang sputtered at this while Blake chuckled. "Ha, well that was their own fault!" Yang quickly regained her composure. "They kept staring at the twins for too damn long, so I sent them all home with broken noses. So maybe I haven't been in love before, but I like to think I can at least tell when two people are dating."
"That is true, but as for me…" Ruby began before being interrupted by someone. It was Weiss.
Weiss heaved a sigh, forgetting her anger at both Yang and Ruby. "Unfortunately, my dating experience is...slim." She admitted. "Not a single boy has proved himself worthy of my time. Same with Winter. Makes the idea of her dating the professor even more unbelievable."
"And by that you mean you two scared every one of them away." Blake interjected.
Weiss almost denied that but sighed. "Well...okay, fine." She conceded. "But, much like Yang, I've never been in love before. Though I think I can tell when two people are dating too...and Yang, you're wrong. My sister is not dating our teacher...I won't allow them to date."
Ruby pouted. "Hey, I was about to…" She was once again interrupted. This time by Blake.
"Anyway…" Blake continued. "I don't think you guys need to know about my dating experience. You got enough of it during the Vytal Festival. I thought I was in love once...well that obviously didn't work out well."
Ruby could no longer take being interrupted like this. "WHAT ABOUT MY DATING EXPERIENCE?!" She demanded
Yang gave her little sister a deadpan expression. "What dating experience?" She flatly asked.
Ruby looked incredibly offended at that statement. "Excuse me?!"
Weiss sighed, giving Ruby a sympathetic look. "Ruby, there's no way you have dating experience." She bluntly told her.
Blake nodded. "Right," she agreed before adding, "I mean, not to beat a dead horse, you're still kind of the baby of the team."
"Yeah, and there's no way dad would let any boy within 300 feet of you if he knew you felt that way about them." Yang added. "Or vice versa."
Ruby then shocked them all by giving them a triumphant smirk. It was time to prove them all wrong. So very wrong. "Oh yeah, well guess what, I was in love once." She proudly declared.
The rest of Team RWBY looked at Ruby in shock. "What?" Yang could not believe it.
"You...were in love once?" Weiss could not either.
Ruby nodded proudly. "With a very nice boy." She admitted.
Blake sighed, deciding to humor Ruby. "Okay...what was his name?" She asked.
"I don't remember." Ruby admitted bluntly.
Blake gave Ruby a deadpan expression. "Ruby, that is not a good start. But, I'll hear you out regardless. Please, continue."
Ruby nodded, missing Blake's point that her story was not off to a very good start. "We were both little. We played together all day, going on an amazing adventure while the Patch Island Festival went on behind us." She explained
Yang glared at Ruby in realization. "Wait a minute, was that the year you ran off on your own?" She demanded. "Dad wouldn't stop screaming at me over that!"
Weiss ignored Yang's outburst, genuinely curious about Ruby's story now. "And?" She inquired, egging Ruby on.
Ruby's face fell. She shrugged. "And that was it," she sadly admitted, "that was the first and the last time I ever saw him. I don't just remember his name, I never even got his name. But he was such a sweet boy. I wish I could see him again, just to see how he's turned out."
Weiss sniffled. She actually wanted to cry a little at how sweet Ruby's story was. "That was beautiful, Ruby." She said. "Really, it was."
Blake nodded in agreement with a small smile. "Yeah, no doubt about it, you were definitely in love that night. It was probably puppy love at best, since you were little kids...but that was definitely love."
"Thanks, you two." Ruby said sincerely.
"Oh, we're talking about love?" A familiar male voice inquired curiously, butting into the conversation.
Team RWBY almost leapt before Gin Byakko stuck his head between the quartet. "Try not to cause a scene." The bodyguard said with a smile before pointing at Hansel and Winter. "You don't want to attract their attention, do ya?"
"What are you doing here, Gin?" Yang demanded.
"I'm on duty, technically." Gin replied, gesturing in the restaurant. Team RWBY looked to see Circe Ithaca happily waving at them. Chrysos Agamemnon stood behind her, giving Gin a look that promised a 'bear claw' if he wasted too much time. "But Lady Circe let me say hi."
"Great." Yang muttered sarcastically.
"Have you been in love before, Gin?" Ruby asked, clearly not caring that a girl asking a boy this was arguably a breach of social norms and not-so-awkward conversation.
Gin grinned. "Well, yeah, of course. I'm always on the lookout for the future ex-Mrs. Byakko." He joked. "And it's not a search I'm too fond of."
"Eww." Yang said bluntly and derisively.
"Didn't you just admit to being on the most dates out of all of us." Weiss deadpanned, noting the double standard in Yang's attitude.
"Point being, you girls are young ladies," Gin pointed out, "take it from an old man like me. You don't want to be too eager to find love. Enjoy life first and foremost."
"Why do you say that?" Blake raised an eyebrow at that statement.
"And why are you calling yourself an 'old man', you're like what, eighteen? Nineteen?" Ruby added, weirdly on that instead of Gin's surprisingly sage statement.
Gin's face briefly twitched before his smile widened. "Let's just say you're not always going to date a queen or a king, princess or prince." He noted before adding. "Though I will say, good ol' Hansy is definitely dating a queen here."
Weiss paled in utter terror at the thought of her sister dating her teacher. Gin then laughed. "Well, that's what I would say if they were dating." He added. "Lady Circe could not resist saying hi to him so I know what's really going on with them. They're just having a nice dinner between two colleagues."
"You jerk!" Weiss hissed.
Gin chuckled. "Sorry, sorry, could not resist. But seriously, you really should go and do...whatever the hell it is you were going to do before. It's probably a better use of your time then spying on your teacher and talking about love. I don't think Hansel is the kind of guy who appreciates being spied on after all."
"That's...very true." Blake acknowledged. "We should leave them be. Otherwise, Professor Kobalt will probably find a way to make our weekly detentions even worse...if that's even possible. But knowing him, he'll figure out how to do it."
The girls all looked at each other and came to a silent agreement they had to leave their teacher be. They all walked away while Gin happily waved them off. "It was great to see you again though." He told them. "Congrats on your wins today and yesterday!"
That did make Team RWBY feel pretty good in spite of the awkward conversations…
Time passed once again. It was now nighttime and Team RWBY knew they had to make their way back to Atlas Academy or incur the wrath of the school for breaking curfew. "Now might be an appropriate time to tell us you know a shortcut or something, Weiss." Yang noted as the quartet hurried their way through Atlas' streets.
"Normally I'm never in a rush for things, so no."
"Right, because the world just stops for the ice queen." Yang sarcastically rolled her eyes.
"We've still got plenty of time, you two, no fighting." Blake chided.
Then, the fogback started rolling in…
Team RWBY all gasped simultaneously as visibility suddenly worsened. "Whoa, that is creepy." Yang muttered. "Have...any weather stations pointed out fog?"
"No," Blake shook her head, "Weiss, is fog common in Atlas?"
"I mean, we're a city in the sky, so it happens sometimes." Weiss shrugged. "Never mind that. I've got Atlas Academy's location in my scroll's GPS. We'll be fine if we don't get lost."
"She's right, let's keep moving." Ruby nodded.
The quarter continued making their way through the foggy streets, trying to do so as a group. As they continued, Ruby slowly found herself falling behind, her mind weirdly going back to that boy she met a long time ago.
Why am I thinking about him right now? She wondered. Is it because Blake assured me that it was love, am I just guilty that I never found out his name, or is it something else entirely?
Ruby was falling behind just a bit more. Then out of the corner of her eyes, she saw something that made her stop in her tracks. Her eyes going wide and her body freezing up in shock. Standing clearly in an alley was a woman who looked just like her, except older and wearing a snow-white cape with a hood.
"Mom." She muttered in disbelief.
Summer Rose smiled and gestured for Ruby to follow her. She disappeared further into the alley.
"Wait!" Ruby exclaimed, turning into petals and speeding after Summer.
Further ahead, Yang, Weiss and Blake stopped in their tracks, hearing Ruby's voice in the distance. "Ruby?" Yang looked over her shoulder and saw that Ruby was gone. "Ruby!"
"How did Ruby of all people fall behind?" Weiss wondered, trying to get a good look behind her, only to see the fog thickening. "Damn! Is visibility getting worse?"
"She couldn't be too far." Blake noted. "Come on, let's backtrack and meet up with her. Visibility is worsening so let's hold hands."
Blake's cat ears started twitching, much to her confusion. Why in the world are all my instincts shouting 'DANGER' at me?
Meanwhile, Ruby exited her Petal Burst form to get her bearings. "Mom? Mom!" Ruby called out. "Mom, where are you!"
Ruby then saw Summer. She was smiling kindly at her. She gestured to follow once more and disappeared past another corner. "Wait!" Ruby smiled happily, tears welling up in her eyes. "Please, wait! There's so much I want to say to you!"
This had to be a dream. Ruby knew it had to be a dream. She knew Summer Rose was dead. But even so, she could not pass up a chance to see her own mother, speak to her own mother, embrace her own mother.
Ruby ran around the corner and saw Summer standing there with her arms open wide. Ruby did not hesitate, she threw her arms around her mother. "Oh Mom!" Ruby wept. "I've missed you so much. There really is so much I want to say! And now I can!"
Then Summer opened her mouth, and Ruby felt all the color drain from her face from the sound of her voice. "So, I was your mother this time, little one?"
That was a man's voice.
Ruby tried to react. She tried to pull away. However, she was instead grabbed by the throat and pinned to the ground. "Such an adorable girl." 'Summer' mused, giggling madly. "Much younger than the one I already took care of...fresher too."
Ruby grabbed 'Summer's' hand and tried to break free from 'her' grip. But it was to no avail. "You're special, little one." 'Summer' promised, whispering into Ruby's ear as 'she' tightened her grip around Ruby's throat. "After all, I usually turn my blade on whores who've already wasted their lives…who are already dead women walking."
"But to entrap a little flower like you, who has yet to bloom! Oh it is such a rare treat!" 'Summer' declared, brandishing a large butcher's knife with a mad gleam. "Uprooting adorable flowers such as yourself is an even greater thrill!"
"After all, I can kill you before you kill yourself by becoming just like those whores!"
Ruby kept trying to wrench herself free. She tried to call on her Aura as well. But she could not. Her eyes widened in realization. My allnighter from training...I can't call on my Aura because my body still hasn't recovered!
"I'll take my time with you, little one." 'Summer' promised as she held the butcher knife above Ruby's face. "Like I said, you're special."
Ruby saw her terrified expression reflected in the butcher knife. She...he...he's going to kill me! Ruby realized. I'm going to die...I'm going to die at the hands of some monster with my mom's face!
I'm scared...I don't want to die yet! Tears of despair welled up in Ruby's eyes. She could see the shadow of Death itself right behind her 'mother.' The cold air of Atlas became even colder. But she still was not ready. She was far too young. Unable to scream, she sent out a silent plea, praying someone heard her somehow.
Someone...anyone...HELP ME!
What sounded like a rocket's engine ignited permeated through the area. A fiery foot planted itself right into 'Summer's' face, knocking 'her' off of Ruby. The assailant landed in between the two.
Ruby looked up tearfully at her savior and her eyes widened. Answering the pleas of a silver-eyed angel, the gods sent a devil to fight another devil.
Hansel Kobalt looked over his shoulder at the stunned Ruby. "You alright?" He asked gently.
Ruby tearfully nodded, holding herself back from weeping freely. Hansel felt his heart ache at the sight of Ruby in such a state. He turned and glared at 'Summer', who was rising to her feet, her body seemed to be fading and merging with the fog.
"What the hell," Hansel said in a low but furious tone of voice, "are you doing to my student?"
A.N: The best way I can describe this chapter? The 'Boy, that escalated quickly' meme. I mean, we go from a lot of comedy moments (one of which is part of why this story is M-rated, poor Hansel), to some romantic slice of life moments, and then after I lulled you all into a false sense of security that this was going to be a calm chapter, I cap it all off with arguably one of the darkest things I've written yet.
Ruby's assailant definitely came across as more rapey than I probably intended them to, but they've got more screws loose than an incomplete desk chair, so it fits.
I hope everyone enjoyed this topsy turvy chapter. I'll see you all next time.